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Bb Annotate Quick Start Guide for Instructors

This is a quick guide on how to use Blackboard (Bb) Annotate for inline grading

From either the Needs Grading page or the Grade Center within the course, access the student’s submission to provide inline grading feedback using Bb Annotate.

Supported File Types

On the Grade Assignment page, supported file types open automatically in the browser.
You can view and annotate these document types in the browser:

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

Original formatting and embedded images are preserved. If a student has uploaded an unsupported file, you're prompted to download it. Additionally, assignment submissions created through the editor aren’t compatible with inline grading.

Supported Browsers

Bb Annotate is supported on current versions of Firefox, Chrome, and Safari.

Bb Annotate Menu

There is a wide array of features to select from on the menu.Bb Annotated menu

As part of the responsive design, the menu will appear differently based on the screen size. On medium and small screens, the Document View settings will change to display the page number being viewed, and annotation tools will be visible under the View Annotation Tools icon. On small screens, the Content Library will be hidden. As part of the responsive design, the menu will appear differently based on the screen size. On medium and small screens, the Document View settings will change to display the page number being viewed, and annotation tools will be visible under the View Annotation Tools icon. On small screens, the Content Library will be hidden. 

Annotation tools from Bb Annotate

Sidebar View

The left Sidebar view allows you to see a thumbnail view of the submission, an outline, a list of all annotations and bookmarks. You can show or hide the sidebar as well as resize it.

Document View Settings

From the view settings, it is easy to jump to a specific page, zoom in and out of the submission or adjust the view to fit the page, fit the width or select the best fit.

Annotations

  • Drawing, Brush, and Eraser – The drawing and brush tools allow you to freehand draw on the document using various colors, thickness, and opacity. You’ll have the option to either erase pieces of the freehand drawing or delete fully using the trash icon. 
  • Image or Stamp – An image or stamp can be added to the document. There is a set of pre-loaded stamps or create your own customized stamp. 
  • Comment – Comments can be added to the document to provide feedback and will appear to the right of the submission. You and other graders can add additional replies to a comment. 
  • Text – You can add text directly on the page. There are additional options to move, edit, and change the appearance of the text, including font, size, alignment, and color. 
  • Shapes – There are 6 options for adding shapes: Line, Arrow, Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, and Polyline. Each option has its own customization settings to change the color, width, opacity, and more.

Print or Download

You can either Print or Download the document with annotations. When downloading, it is recommended to view annotated PDFs in a native PDF viewer such as Adobe Acrobat.

Search

You can quickly search through the document to find specific text.

Content Library (only available in SaaS environments)

The content library allows you to keep a bank of re-usable comments. You can easily add, edit, delete or search through comments in the library. A comment can be added directly to the page as well through the context menu.

Highlighting

When directly highlighting text on submission, an additional menu will open to allow you to highlight, strikethrough, underline, or comment.

Highlighting

 



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