Offline marking works through a combination of a Blackboard submission point and the Marks and Feedback tool. First, a Blackboard submission point is created and students submit their assignments. The Marks and Feedback tool then allows the assignments to be downloaded as a zip file to be marked outside of Blackboard, or ‘offline’. The zip file includes an Excel spreadsheet, in which each student’s mark must be entered.
Once marking has been completed, annotated assignments, any other feedback documents, and the completed spreadsheet are reuploaded to the Marks and Feedback tool as a new zip file. When this has been done successfully, the Release function in the Marks and Feedback tool sends marks and feedback to the Gradebook.
Please note that ‘releasing’ marks and feedback makes them viewable by students immediately without the need to ‘post’ them from the Gradebook. This means that moderation should be conducted prior to the upload of grades and feedback to Blackboard.
If you or your school have never used an offline marking workflow before, the Digital Education Office recommends you arrange a consultation with one of our staff, assessing your needs, discussing the process, and providing training where required. Please email digital-education@bristol.ac.uk with the subject line “New Offline Marking Assessment” and include the unit code and a brief description of your intentions to receive support.