Navigate 3.1.3 Tools within the LMS Quest

I feel that the Content area and the dropbox are the most important functions of this LMS because just about any type of lesson(interactive, video, text, real-time, ...)can be uploaded and the dropbox allows the student to submit, upload or respond in several capacities to assignments.  Below is a summary of the different functions in Course Sites - there are others including blogs, wikis, and other collaborative activities.


Tool                                          Description

Dropbox	Course sites has a drop box in each assignment area where students can submit assignments directly by uploading or attaching files.  Students also have the option of typing their response directly into the assignment section prior to submitting.
Discussions	Course sites has a discussion box where the teacher can start a forum, then the students may respond - can split off into groups if needed.
Quizzing/ Testing	Course Sites tests are sets of questions that are graded to measure student performance.  Once a test is created here, it must be deployed within a content folder before students can take the test.  Test results are reviewed in the grade center, with the exception of certain types of questions that cannot be automatically graded.
Self- Assessments / Surveys	The Course Sites surveys are not graded. They are useful for gathering data from students that is not used to evaluate student performance. Surveys must be deployed in a content folder for students to respond to the survey.
Integrated Rubrics	Course Sites has an integrated Rubric creator, where you can follow a template to create a rubric.  There is also the function of importing a rubric from your computer that has already been completed.
Gradebook	In Course Sites, grades may be entered on the Grade Details page, accessed - show overdue assignments, incomplete work, needs grading, or gives the grade.
User Progress/Class Progress	Course Sites has a Performance Dashboard that  provides an up-to-date report on the activity for all students. Information appears in a table format. Class Reports has several types of progress reporting that shows activity and progress for individuals, class, groups.

Gradebook Function	Blackboard Course Sites
Report Generation	This report displays information showing how a single Blackboard Learn Course performs against a selected set of goals. Performance targets and a range of acceptable performance for the course can be determined when running the report. Data includes averages for the entire course as well as break downs for individual students and goals.
Commenting/Feedback	Feedback can be given via the Course Sites Dropbox or the message center.
Rubrics	Course Sites has an integrated Rubric creator, where you can follow a template to create a rubric.  There is also the function of importing a rubric from your computer that has already been completed.
Data Import	I could not find this capability in this particular application - there is a gradebook that works within the assessments and assignments directly in the LMS, but I could not find an import function.
Weight vs. Percentage	The instructor can set the percentages in the gradebook for any assignment as long as they add up to 100%. Course Sites allows for text, letter grade, completion or no completion or score, so there is quite a bit of flexibility.