SafeAssignments are Blackboard assignments that are checked for plagiarism. Currently, to add an assignment to a content area you hover over the Assessments button and have to choose between an Assignment or a SafeAssignment.
The new integration between SafeAssignments and regular Assignments means there will be only one type of Assignment to choose.
The advantage of this integration is that almost all the features of a regular Assignment are now available for assignments checked for plagiarism. This includes the ability to attach a file, inline grading, and rubrics.
SafeAssignments that already exist in containers prior to this upgrade will still work without any problems at all. You will still access them through Course Tools > SafeAssign. They will not be automatically converted to these new integrated assignments.
This is not a problem, however, you may prefer to use the new integrated assignments to take advantage of the advanced features. There are a couple of different ways to get your old SafeAssignments converted to the new integrated assignments once the upgrade is complete.
- Recreate the SafeAssignments by hand.
To do this, go into a content area, hover over Assessments, and choose Assignment from the drop-down as seen in the image above. Fill out the fields as usual and in the Submission Details section, put check marks next to "Check submissions for plagiarism using SafeAssign" and "Allow students to view SafeAssign originality report for their attempts".
- Wait until after the upgrade to do a Course Copy.
If you wait to copy your course until after the upgrade is complete, your assignments will be automatically converted. If you are not teaching a course this summer, and haven't already copied courses for fall, I'd really recommend you choose this option and wait to copy your courses until after the upgrade is complete on June 7th.
- Just wait until the next time you copy your course.
The next time you copy the course after the upgrade, SafeAssignments will automatically be converted to the new integrated assignments. There is no problem leaving SafeAssignments as they are. You just won't have the advanced features available to regular assignments. Even if you've already copied courses for the summer and/or fall, there's no harm in leaving SafeAssignments as they are until the next time you copy your course.
To find out more about SafeAssign and the new integrated assignments, watch the video at https://youtu.be/QId2Xza_95k.
Additional information and step-by-step tutorial: https://help.blackboard.com/en-us/Learn/9.1_2014_04/Instructor/100_Assignments/025_Use_SafeAssign
