S4-Blackboard: An Application for the Formative Monitoring and Evaluation of University Students

This paper presents S4-Blackboard, a web application developed in R Shiny that automates the evaluation of student participation in synchronous Blackboard classes. Through the download of chat transcripts generated after class recording, three metrics are calculated: (a) number of messages sent to the chat, (b) oral interventions via microphone, and (c) webcam use to participate. Each dimension is normalized using customizable weights to fit various pedagogical objectives and is visualized in an interactive dashboard that includes filterable tables, export to Excel and dynamic graphs. Technical validation was conducted with fourteen sessions of an undergraduate course with over sixty students; S4-Blackboard results matched 100% with manual counts, and total processing time ranged from 5 to 10 seconds on standard equipment (Intel i5, 8 GB RAM). By eliminating manual counting and associated errors, S4-Blackboard facilitates early detection of students with low participation and provides teachers with practical, data-driven information to optimize real-time interaction.