How to Take a Quiz on Blackboard

1. Go to the official GMU Blackboard site at courses.gmu.edu, and check your browser to ensure it can handle Java and pop-ups as required by Blackboard

2. Enter your GMU User ID such as jdoe7 and password (same one used for accessing your GMU e-mail account)

3. In the Course List column, click on the link to "Geography of Virginia"

4. Click on the link to the Practice Quiz. (If you click on the Geography of Virginia link, you'll end up at the home page for the class with all the course material. That's why I put it there...)

NOTE: You can take this practice quiz multiple times. I set the parameters of the quiz so "Attempts allowed:Unlimited." Also, there's no submission deadline for the Practice Quiz ("Available until: Unlimited"). The 12 real quizzes in the semester allow you to save answers, close the quiz, and come back later to submit before the deadline. Practice doing that with the Practice Quiz.

However, the 12 real quizzes in the semester can only be submitted once, when you click the "Finish" button. You get to save answers and come back to the quiz, so you can change the answers after doing some review/research - but you can Finish the quiz and submit your final answers just once.

Also, the 12 real quizzes in the semester have a real deadline, and it's a hard deadline with no exceptions. You get several days to complete each quiz, so there is plenty of time to think and research your answers (quizzes are "open book"). However, after that deadline, quizzes are graded and answers are revealed to everyone - so you may not submit a quiz late. Let me repeat: you may not submit a quiz after the deadline. There are 12 deadlines for quizzes plus one for the Final Exam; mark your calendar now. I drop the lowest 2 quiz grades and only count your best 10 grades, so if you have a "life happens" moment and screw up a quiz... that's OK, we'll drop that low score.

5. Blackboard calles quizzes "assessments." (Hey, maybe they think the more syllables in a word, the more important it is.) Click on the "Begin Assessment" button:

6. You'll see the quiz appear in a new browser window. The first question in the Practice Quiz is a fill-in-the-blank question. It requires, in this case, for you to type in a one-word answer. To give you a hint to accompany the graphic: Lee County is not in the southeastern, northeastern, or northwestern corner of Virginia. Hmmm, I wonder what option is left to select...

Note two things about the screen: you can get help from Blackboard, and you can "Save All" your answers. You do not need to complete the entire quiz in one session; you get an entire weekend to come back to the quiz, change answers or complete remaining questions, then click the other button to "Finish" and submit your final answers to the quiz:

7. If you click the "Save All" button, the status of how many questions still need to be answered is listed in the upper right hand corner. In this case, I have answered only the first question in the Practice Quiz:

Why don't a see a quiz pop up when I use Blackboard?

In Blackboard, a quiz "spawns" in a new window. If you have a tool that blocks pop-up window blockers in your browser, you may not see the quiz appear... or it's waiting for you in another window on your desktop. You have to configure your system to allow pop-up windows.

Can I complete just a portion of the quiz, then return later to finish?

Yes. You can interrupt a quiz,"click the "Save All" button to save what you have done to date, and take a break. You can successfully restart where you left off, and do this unlimited number of times even for the 12 real quizzes. After you "Save All" answers to the quiz, you can come back and change answers as well as complete remaining questions. There's no hurry to finish a quiz once you start; there's no "gotta finish in 1 hour once you begin" requirement. Take all the time you want to complete each quiz, just so long as you submit your final answers by the deadline.

Can I Finish the quiz and then take it again?

No. You can save an incomplete quiz and return to it as many times as you wish, and change the answers when you return, but once you "Finish" the quiz, it's a done deal. I configured Blackboard so students can Finish and submit a completed Geography of Virginia quiz just once. (NOTE: For the practice quiz, you can see your grade immediately and you can take the quiz as often as you want. That's by design, so you can practice... but the 12 quizzes that count towards your grade can only be submitted once. .)

I know computer/telecommunications glitches are inevitable, however. Murphy's Law will apply, and the computer gremlins will be playing "gotcha" - so contact me immediately if you Finish a quiz prematurely for some reason.

Can I see my grade after taking the quiz?

Yes, but not immediately. You will be able to see the grade and the correct answers for each question after the deadline has passed for everyone to complete the quiz. The 12 quiz grades will be available only after the midnight deadline expires for each quiz. (The Practice Quiz has been provided so you can experiment with the Blackboard tool. The practice quiz provides immediate feedback and you can take it over and over, but the 12 "real" quizzes are not so flexible or fast to respond.)

Are all questions worth the same number of points?

Some questions may be worth more points than other questions. Each quiz will be worth at least 60 points. However, if I include extra credit questions, some quizzes may be worth more than 60 points.

Is there only one correct answer to each question?

Yes, questions will be structured so only one answer should be correct. Questions will be designed so you can't guess at the one obviously-wrong answer. Look for question such as "All of the following are true EXCEPT..." with 4 answers that are true and one that is false. For example, "All of the following cities are north of the James River EXCEPT..." with the choices being 1) Fredericksburg 2) Petersburg 3) Winchester 4) Staunton 5) Charlottesville. Four of the five choices are north of the James River, but none of the four are the correct answer because the question asks for the exception. Answer #2 - Petersburg, the one city south of the James - is the "right" answer. (NOTE: If I screw up a question, I'll throw it out and give everyone credit for it.)

What do I do if my computer or connection to the Internet malfunctions during a quiz?

Don't panic. Count to 10. Breathe. Fix the problem, if you know what it is. If someone else picked up a different extension of the phone, let everyone in the house know that you need a block of uninterrupted time online before you restart. If you have a pop-up blocker on your system or use an outdated version of a browser such as Netscape 4.7, consider taking the quiz from a GMU computer lab rather than from home. One standard technique for scaring away computer gremlins is to turn off your computer, count to 10, then re-start. Sometimes, yelling and stomping your feet helps - but get that out of your system before re-taking the quiz.

If that doesn't take care of the computer gremlins, contact me immediately at

Can I look at the Geography of Virginia class materials online while taking the quiz?

Yes, the quizzes and exam are open book. Feel free to browse the Web, read books, use notes from previous classes, etc. However, do not post the questions on listservers or newsgroups, or consult with other people. Use your brain to research the question and determine your answers.

Can I get help directly from the Blackboard specialists at George Mason University?

Yes. See the information at the bottom on the Blackboard transition page, and contact the ITU Support Center in Innovation Hall, Room 233 (support@gmu.edu, 703.993.8870).