Once you sign into Blackboard and select your course, click ‘Launch Akindi’, which is located at the bottom of the left-hand course panel. Once launched, Akindi will automatically sync your course and class roster (including section numbers and emails) and be ready for you to create your first assessment.
Collaborating with TAs and Instructors
Invite a TA or another instructor to collaborate on a course or section by clicking 'Collaborate', inputting their email and selecting the permission settings.
The instructor or TA will receive an email inviting them to join the course or section.
If they already have an account the course or section will appear once they log in. If they don’t have an account they will be prompted to create one using their email or the Akindi LMS integration.
Creating an Assessment
To start, click the 'Create Assessment' button in the top right corner.
When creating a test, select the relevant course and add the assessment name. You can choose a layout, choose to prefill the bubble sheets with your class roster, or create multiple versions of the test! You will see a real-time preview on the right.
Once the assessment is created, you can print the bubble sheets using any printer!
Need a different test layout? Contact us, we are happy to help!
Creating an Answer Key
There are a few different ways to create your answer key:
- Creating your answer key online
- Copy and Pasting your answer key
- Uploading the questions you'll give the students
- Scanning a completed bubble sheet
Creating your answer key online
Our answer key interface allows you to quickly complete an answer key online. Simply choose the correct answer and watch the live preview on the right.
We also offer advanced marking, which allows you to control the weight and grading scheme of each question.
Importing Your Answer Key
Have a list of the correct answers? Click 'Import/Export' to copy and paste your answers into the field or type them by hand. Once you 'Save' your response, the answer key will be updated.
Uploading Your Questions
You can upload a PDF or Word document containing your test questions and we will create the answer key for you!
Number the questions just like normal and either bold, italicize, or change the color of the correct answer and Akindi will identify the correct answer and generate the answer key.
Click 'Save' to update the answer key.
Scanning a completed bubble sheet
Don't want to create the answer key now? You can always scan it in with the complete test sheets by bubbling in '0000' as the student number.
Made a mistake on your answer key? No problem! Edit at any time by clicking the 'Edit Answer Key' button on your course dashboard.
Scanning
Use any document feed scanner to create a PDF of the completed bubble sheets - just make sure the four black boxes and the QR code are visible. The scanner's default settings should work just fine!
If your scanner has email capabilities, you can scan the bubble sheets directly to Akindi using your unique Akindi-provided email address found on your course dashboard!
If you don't want to email bubble sheets directly to Akindi, you can upload the PDF by clicking 'Upload Sheets' on your course dashboard.
Resolving Exceptions
When scanning the test sheets, Akindi will call exceptions if a student's information is missing or mis filled, if a student bubbles-in more responses than the answer key contains, or if the version bubble isn't completed.
Akindi will display a preview of the Student ID and Name sections on the test sheet. Select one of the suggestions pulled by Akindi or search the class roster for the student by typing the student name or ID number into the dropdown menu.
Resolve Question Exceptions by clicking "Resolve Exceptions" under the question heading.
Analyzing the results
Akindi provides instructors with a variety of actionable data to help to answer two main questions:
- How well did my students do?
- How well was my test designed?
Akindi identifies the easiest and the hardest questions as well as providing a grade distribution, a question breakdown, a discriminatory score (point biserial), and a distractor analysis.
You are also able to see the full breakdown of results, change the answer key, and preview the completed bubble sheet in the ‘Responses’ tab .
Exporting the Results
Sync grades back to Blackboard by clicking the 'Send Grades back to Blackboard' button on the 'Results Analysis' Page.
You can also choose to export the grades, question breakdown, corrected bubble sheets, or even email students their grades by clicking the 'Actions' drop-down menu.
The students will be sent a secure link to their grade, a short breakdown of how they did, and a scanned image of their bubble sheet.
Want to learn more?
If you want to learn more about Akindi or have any questions, feel free to check out our help center or send us a message !
