Assessment and Educational Technology

Educational technologies for setting up and managing assessments

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JIBC uses two educational technology tools that can be very helpful for setting up and managing assessments. In both cases, these tools incorporate much more than assessment considerations and are meant to be regarded as institute-wide technologies. While its not essential for course developers and instructors to be comprehensively familiar with all the functions of each of these tools, it is important to be familiar with the potential of each. Anyone wanting to become more familiar with these tools should contact CTLI for further information and training.

On this page:

Blackboard Ultra

The first, Blackboard Ultra, is our institutional Learning Management System (LMS) which we use to host courses, both in online and blended formats. Ultra has a number of assessment tools built within it that course developers can leverage to organize their assessments. Ultra is also very convenient for the administrative aspects of assessment such as grade management. The many links below will take readers to recorded trainings for the use of Blackboard Ultra and its many helpful functions.

Assessment How-Tos (Blackboard Ultra)

Once you have designed your assessments, you will need to set them up in your courses. For online courses, we have several guides to help you. Be sure that you have completed your design tasks before setting your assessments up in a course environment.

How to set up an assessment in Blackboard Ultra:

How to organize your Gradebook:

How to create assessable discussion areas:

How to add a rubric to your assessment:

How to create and grade with Rubrics

PebblePad

The other ed tech tool that has a major focus on assessments is PebblePad. PebblePad is a powerful e-portfolio and learning design platform that can be strategically leveraged to strengthen assessment in both post-secondary education and training contexts. Its value lies in supporting authentic, reflective, and longitudinal forms of assessment that move beyond traditional tests and essays.

Attributes and Benefits

PebblePad offers a number of attributes and benefits that assessment designers will find useful, including the following:

E-Portfolio Functionality: : Students can collect, curate, and showcase evidence of their learning over time.
Showcasing Achievement: Students can curate portfolios for employment, credentialing, or professional registration. They can also build evidence-based portfolios that resemble professional practice (e.g. demonstrating competencies for nursing, policing, paramedicine, education).
Reflection Tools: Encourages metacognition and critical self-assessment.
Workbooks & Templates: Instructors can design structured assessment activities (e.g. guided reflections, checklists, competency tracking).
Feedback Integration: Allows iterative instructor, peer, and even external (e.g. workplace supervisor) feedback.
Scalability: Works for individual courses, entire programs, or across an institution.
Longitudinal Tracking: Programs can track student growth across semesters or years, linking assessments to graduate attributes or professional standards.
Customization: Workbooks allow instructors to align assessments closely with specific course or program learning outcomes.

Choosing to integrate PebblePad into your course or training experience involves a significant instructional design decision, and this is something you would be considering at the early stages of assessment design. It involves a number of benefits for tracking and managing assessments, and it involves a deliberate move toward a more robust assessment structure for your curriculum. If you are considering implementing PebblePad, it is important to get involved with an appropriate ed tech specialist who can discuss options with you.