LMS and Gradebook Sync Setup Guide for Blackboard Learn 1.3

Packback is compatible for integration with most Learning Management System (LMS) platforms, including Blackboard, Canvas, D2L, and Moodle. This article lays out how to go about setting up your Learning Management System with Packback and our Gradebook Sync feature.

This article will cover the entire setup flow across the following steps: 

• Adding the Packback Tool/Link To Your Learning Management System
• Connecting Your Learning Management System Course to Packback
• Turning on Gradebook Sync
• Setting Up Gradebook Sync for Blackboard 1.3

Follow along with instructions below to learn how you can go about enabling the Packback integration in Blackboard. 

Step-by-Step Instructions for How to Add Packback to Blackboard

1. To enable Packback in your course on Blackboard, open the module/course in which you’d like to use Packback.
2. Find Customization on the left hand side.
3. Select Tool Availability from the Customization dropdown.
4. If your institution has enabled Packback as a tool that can be displayed in the Tool Availability section, you should see Packback Questions as an available tool in the menu.
1. If you do not see Packback as an available tool, you may need to contact your school’s IT department and ask them to enable the “Tool Availability” placement for Packback in your course. If you need any assistance, please contact our team at help@packback.co
5. Next, select Tools from the menu on the left.
6. Find Packback Questions in the menu of available Tools.

From there, you're ready to connect your Learning Management System course to Packback. Take a look at this section of our article for instructions on how to do that!

Connecting Your Learning Management System Course to Packback

From here, you'll now be able to connect your LMS to a Packback community. If you haven’t added Packback as a tool in your Learning Management System quite yet, you’ll need to do that first in order to complete the connection process. 

Already have a Packback community created?

If you’ve already created a Packback community and are just looking to connect your Learning Management System to it, you’ll first need to click on the Packback link that has been added to your Learning Management System.

From there, you’ll be shown a list of Packback communities associated with your account. Click Connect next to the one you’d like to connect your Learning Management System course to. To complete the Learning Management System setup process, simply verify that the connection information is correct and Confirm Connection.

Still need to create a Packback community to connect to?

If you haven’t created a Packback community quite yet, you’re able to do so right from your Learning Management System! 

Click on the Packback link that’s been added to your Learning Management System, first. This will initiate the Learning Management System Setup Wizard. On this page, click Create a New Community and fill out the community details. Make sure to double check the information and finally select Save and Continue at the bottom of the page. 

Congratulations, you’ve successfully created a new community and connected it to your Learning Management System!

Already created a Packback community but don’t see it?

If you’ve already created a Packback community but don’t see it when you click the Packback link in your Learning Management System, it’s possible you created the community under a different email address than is logged into your Learning Management System. 

In this case, please reach out to our Support team for assistance. You can contact us via email at help@packback.co. We’ll be happy to help!

Turning On Gradebook Sync

If you are hoping to have Packback sync to the gradebook built within Blackboard Ultra for LTI 1.3, here are the step-by-step instructions for how to accomplish that!

1. Click on "Gradebook Sync" in Packback underneath Professor Tools
2. Confirm your deadlines and posting requirements
3. Turn on Gradebook Sync

Gradebook Sync is now active and you can proceed to create your assignments!

Step-By-Step Instructions for Setting Up Gradebook Sync

1. Before you can set up Gradebook Sync, you'll want to make sure you've added Packback as a tool in your Learning Management System. You can follow along with the instructions above to do so!
2. In your LMS, click the Packback link to access your community.
3. Before you can initiate Gradebook Sync, make sure to confirm that you have your community posting deadlines and grading requirements are set up. If you still need to do so, you can follow our instructions for setting up your grading requirementshere
4. Once you’ve confirmed that, you’re ready to set up Gradebook Sync! On the left hand side panel of your community, click Gradebook Sync.
5. Here you’ll be asked to confirm your assignment deadlines and posting requirements. Take a moment to scroll through to make sure everything looks good!
6. You’ll be asked to set your preferences:
   1. Gradebook Sync: On/Off
   2. Sync Frequency: Auto or Manual
      1. Auto = Packback will do the work for you by automatically syncing your gradebook to your LMS after each deadline you’ve set up has passed
      2. Manual = You will have the autonomy to send your Packback grades to your LMS at your discretion! 
7. After setting your Gradebook Sync preferences, confirm that everything looks good and click Save Changes.

How does Packback create a grade in my LMS gradebook?

Auto Gradebook Sync

Packback does the work for you! When a deadline passes, our system pushes the grades from your Packback community gradebook into a new column in your LMS gradebook. It’s as simple as that! 

Manual Gradebook Sync

Whenever you’re ready to sync gradebooks, go to your Packback community gradebook by clicking View Gradebook button on the left-hand side panel.

At the top of your gradebook you'll see a Sync Grades button. Click that to initiate the sync. This will create columns for each grading period in your LMS gradebook and will keep everything up-to-date.

Will a student’s grade still sync if they don’t access Packback through the LMS?

Students should only access their community through their LMS. If they are doing so externally (directly through the Packback site), the LMS will be unable to recognize the work they've done.

As long as they are doing that and staying up-to-date with Packback assignments, their grades should be reflected in your LMS gradebook the same way they do in the Packback gradebook when a sync is initiated. 

Having trouble?

If you are running into issues with the above instructions or just have a question, please reach out to our Support Team at help@packback.co.