Inline Grading with Bb Annotate

Bb Annotate provides a straightforward workflow for grading Assignments in Blackboard Learn. Instead of downloading student-submitted files to view or edit those submissions, you can grade those files “inline,” i.e. in the web browser, without requiring any plugins, applets, or additional software. Additionally, you can annotate on some compatible file types in the inline viewer.

Bb Annotate is identical in Original and Ultra Course Views.

Supported File Types

You can view and annotate these document types in the browser:

  • Microsoft® Word (DOC, DOCX)
  • Microsoft® PowerPoint®(PPT, PPTX)
  • Microsoft® Excel®(XLS, XLSX)
  • OpenOffice® Documents (ODS, ODT, ODP)
  • Digital Images (JPEG, JPG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, TGA, BMP, HEIC)
  • Source code (Java, PY, C, CPP, etc)
  • Medical Images (DICOM, DICM, DCM)
  • PDF
  • PSD
  • RTF
  • TXT
  • WPD

If a student submitted an unsupported file, you're prompted to download it. Assignment submissions created through the editor aren't compatible with inline grading.

Annotation Tools

You can access annotation tools by clicking the annotation or comment icons in the Bb Annotate toolbar.

  • Comment: Provide feedback in comments. Your comments appear in a panel next to the submission.
  • Highlighter: Select specific portions of the submission to highlight, strikethrough, underline, squiggle, or comment on the highlighted section.
  • Drawing, Brush, and Eraser: Draw freehand on the submission with various colors, thickness, and opacity. Select the eraser to remove annotations. You can erase parts of a freehand drawing with the eraser or select the Delete icon to delete the whole drawing.
  • Image or Stamp: Choose a preloaded stamp or create your own customized stamp or image to add to the submission.
  • Text: Add text directly on the submission. You can move, edit, and change the text and select the font, size, alignment, and color of the text.
  • Shapes: Choose Line, Arrow, Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, and Polyline. Each shape has its own settings to change the color, width, opacity, and more.
  • Content Library: Create a bank of reusable comments. You can add, edit, delete, and search comments in the library. You can also add a comment directly to the submission page from the menu. Select the plus sign to add a new comment to the Content Library. You can Place comment, Copy to Clipboard, Edit, or Delete content from the library. Type keywords or phrases to search for saved comments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why am I prompted to download the student's file instead of viewing and annotating it?New

It is likely that the student attached a file that isn't compatible with Bb Annotate. Supported file types include: 

  • Microsoft® Word (DOC, DOCX)
  • Microsoft® PowerPoint®(PPT, PPTX)
  • Microsoft® Excel®(XLS, XLSX)
  • OpenOffice® Documents (ODS, ODT, ODP)
  • Digital Images (JPEG, JPG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, TGA, BMP, HEIC)
  • Source code (Java, PY, C, CPP, etc)
  • Medical Images (DICOM, DICM, DCM)
  • PDF
  • PSD
  • RTF
  • TXT
  • WPD

You may need to switch to a compatible browser. Bb Annotate is supported on current versions of Firefox, Chrome, Edge, and Safari.

I can see my student's submission, but why can't I add any comments to it?Updated

This is often because the student typed their submission directly in Blackboard, or copied and pasted their submission from another file into the text editor. Unfortunately, you cannot annotate on these types of submissions. Instead, you can add your comments in the Feedback to Learner field in the grading toolbar to the right.

If you want to annotate over the student's submission, they must attach their submission as a file. These file types are supproted:

  • Microsoft® Word (DOC, DOCX)
  • Microsoft® PowerPoint®(PPT, PPTX)
  • Microsoft® Excel®(XLS, XLSX)
  • OpenOffice® Documents (ODS, ODT, ODP)
  • Digital Images (JPEG, JPG, PNG, TIF, TIFF, TGA, BMP, HEIC)
  • Source code (Java, PY, C, CPP, etc)
  • Medical Images (DICOM, DICM, DCM)
  • PDF
  • PSD
  • RTF
  • TXT
  • WPD

 

Why can't I see all of the tools in the Bb Annotate toolbar?New
As part of the responsive design, the Bb Annotate toolbar display changes based on the screen size. On medium and small screens, the Document View settings display the page number you're viewing. Annotation tools are stacked under the View Annotation Tools icon. On small screens, the Content Library is hidden.


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