The Survey Tool

 

Blackboard's survey tool provides an easy way for instructors to get feedback from students on new instructional strategies, activities, or assignments. Whether a brief mid-course check-in or a more comprehensive end-of-course survey to supplement the standard course evaluation, this tool provides a convenient method for instructors wanting to include student reaction and feedback in their assessment and evaluation activities.  Surveys do not have correct answers or point values and all information is anonymous.  Blackboard records which students have taken the survey, but you cannot associate specific answers with any one student. These are great for assessing content comprehension or pre and post topic knowledge assessments. However, Blackboard does place a check next to the student's name in the Gradebook so you can tell when they have completed the survey.

 

One way I use the survey tool is to gather opinions from students about a current topic we are using for a writing assignment.  I then post the class survey results in the Discussion area of Blackboard.  This provides stimulus and information to fuel the students' online discussion.  For example, my ENG101 students write a personal essay similar to the essays at the This I Believe website.  I use a survey to help students articulate what they believe in our Discussion area.  The survey asks the students to agree or disagree with very broad value statements like "Life is fair" and "Words can hurt" and "Money can't buy happiness."  The results are in percentages, like 65% agree with the statement and 35% disagree with the statement.  I then copy and paste the survey results to the Discussion area.  The students are always surprised at how many people in their class agree (or disagree!) with them, and they proceed to explain why they feel the way they do.  This results in some interesting and enlightening online discussions.

 

Using tests/surveys on Blackboard can be very helpful to gauge the learning that is taking place or not taking place in your class. Set up a brief 3-4 question test or survey and ask your students to take it right before coming to your next class session. This way they can reflect on what they do and don’t know and you can adjust what needs to be covered in your instruction.

 

Directions to Create and Add a Survey

All surveys are created with the Survey Manager located in the Assessment area of the Control Panel. It provides a "wizard" type interface to guide you through the step-by-step process of creating a survey in Blackboard.

Creating a survey

1. Access the Control Panel of your course
2. Click on Survey Manager under the Assessment Section


3. Click on Add Survey


4. Fill in the Name, Description, and Instructions for your test
5. Click Submit
6. Click the down arrow and choose your question type
7. Click Go
8. Create your question and answers
9. Click Submit
10. To add a new question click the down arrow and choose your question type
11. Click Go
12. Create your question and answers
13. Click Submit
14. When you have completed adding questions and are ready to submit your survey click OK

Making your survey available for students
1. In the Control Panel select the Content Area where you want your survey to be located. (Documents, Assignments, etc.)

2. To the right of the Add Menu bar click the pull down menu
3. Select Survey
4. Click Go


5. Select the existing survey you wish to deploy and click Submit
6. Click OK
7. Select Modify the survey options
8. Scroll down to Survey Availability
9. Select Yes to make the link visible

10. Choose the options for Survey Availability, Survey Feedback, and Survey Presentation
11. Click Submit

Viewing your survey results

Instructors can view survey results on the Assessment Attempt Details page. This page is located in the control panel Gradebook.

1. Select Gradebook in the Control Panel
2. Select the survey title (the heading of each column)
3. Select Assessment Attempt Details from the menu

Getting Started with Blackboard

Blackboard is not just for online or hybrid classes.  It's a tool that can be used in traditional classes, as well as those taught traditionally in the computer classrooms.  Let's get started in Blackboard!

1.  To create your Blackboard account, email Michelle Shivnani at michelle.shivnani@gcmail.maricopa.edu and request she create your account and a Blackboard shell course for you to practice. 
2. Once you can access Blackboard, email Karen Schwalm or Marla DeSoto for access to the English Sandbox in Blackboard, a practice area for instructors.