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Author: Janice Florent

Technology Coordinator in the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development at Xavier University of Louisiana

About Janice Florent

Technology Coordinator in the Center for the Advancement of Teaching and Faculty Development at Xavier University of Louisiana

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #121: Blank Page

The blank page tool allows instructors to include files, images, and text as a link in a course area. Blank pages present content in a different way than items do. No description appears below the title of the blank page. Blank pages appear as clickable links. Users see your content only after clicking the link. This reduces the amount of scrolling and streamlines the appearance of the course area. Blank pages can include mashups, links to course content, and file attachments.

blank page

Instructors can create a blank page directly on the course menu for critical information. For example, you might add a map image for an upcoming field trip, information and photo for a guest speaker, a checklist of reading materials and websites to visit before a chat session, or a study guide for the final exam.

Follow these steps to do it.

To create a Blank Page:

  1. Turn Edit Mode ON.
  2. Access a content area, learning module, lesson plan, or folder that you want to add the new blank page to.
  3. On the menu bar, roll your mouse over [Build Content] then click on [Blank Page].
  4. Replace the "New Page" title with a descriptive name for the page. This becomes the link in the course area.
  5. Type your content for the page in the Content box.
  6. Select your Options.
  7. Click [Submit].

Want more information?

About Blank Pages
Customizing the Course Menu
Best Practices: Items, Blank Pages, and Files
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #120: Lesson Plans

A Lesson Plan is a planning tool that can be created for the instructor’s use (for example, as an organizing or planning tool), or for presenting content to students. Simply put, a lesson plan is a container for content similar to a learning module or folder that can hold and organize course items. You can create lesson plans within your course to hold lesson profiles, instructional objectives, and the content items students need to complete a lesson.


lesson plan
Example of a student view of a lesson plan: A - lesson profile and instructional objectives; B - content

Adding lesson plans to a course can benefit students in several ways. You have the option of adding information for students to view alongside of the content to help them understand the objectives and intended result of their learning. You can provide students with information on how their knowledge will be measured, the needed materials, the duration of the instruction, and what they should have learned after the instruction. The more information students have at the start of the lesson, the more prepared they are for the content ahead.

Follow these steps to do it.

To create a Lesson Plan:

  1. Turn Edit Mode ON.
  2. Access a content area, learning module, or folder that you want to add the new lesson plan to.
  3. On the menu bar, roll your mouse over [Build Content] then click on [Lesson Plan].
  4. Lesson Plans are created in two steps based on the two tabs appearing on the Create Lesson Plan page:
lesson plan

Content Information: This tab contains general information about the instructor and objectives. This information appears at the top of the lesson plan in a gray box when students access the lesson plan or when you view it with Edit Mode turned OFF.

Curriculum Resources: This tab contains the lesson plan’s content items. You can create all content types in a lesson plan just as you can in a content area, learning module, or folder.

Want more information?

About Lesson Plans
How to create a lesson plan (video)
Content Folders, Lesson Plans, and Learning Modules Compared
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #119: Learning Modules

A Learning Module is a collection of content items focused on a specific subject that students can navigate at their own pace. For example, a Learning Module about the solar system can include lecture notes, links to websites with pictures and information for all the planets, as well as assignments.

A Learning Module organizes information using a table of contents that lists everything contained within the module. Instructors can create a structured path for progressing through the items. The path can be set so that students must view content sequentially, or set to permit users to view the content in any order.


learning modules
Components of a Learning Module: A – table of contents; B – content frame; C – navigation; D – current content page being viewed

Follow these steps to do it.

To create a Learning Module:

  1. Turn Edit Mode ON.
  2. Access a content area, learning module, lesson plan, or folder that you want to add the new learning module to.
  3. On the menu bar, roll your mouse over [Build Content] then click on [Learning Module].
  4. On the Create Learning Module page, enter a Name for the Learning Module.
  5. Optionally, type a description in the Text box.
  6. Select the options for Availability, View, and Table of Contents.
  7. Click [Submit].

Note: A newly created Learning Module will be empty. Any type of content, including text, audio, video, assignments, or even a Mashup may be included in a Learning Module. Click the link for the Learning Module in the content area to access it. Files are added or edited in a Learning Module in the same manner as they are in any content area.

Want more information?

About Learning Modules
About Content Folders
Best Practices: Content Folder vs Learning Module
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

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Published on 1 Comment on Bb Tip #118: Organizing Course Materials into Folders

Folders are useful for organizing and structuring content in a course content area. Folders are intended to hold collections of items. For example, you may add folders for each chapter, each module, or each week of the course to a content area. You can use folders to organize the content area by content-type (e.g. Assignments, Assessments, Group Projects).

folders

Once a folder is created, you can add content and "subfolders" to it. All of the content types available in content areas may be added to a folder.

Additionally, having too many subfolders can make your course difficult to navigate. As a general rule, if it takes more than three mouse clicks to access the course material, reconsider how you have that part of your course organized.

Follow these steps to do it.

To create a new folder:

  1. Turn Edit Mode ON.
  2. Access the content area, module, lesson plan, or folder you want to add the new folder to.
  3. On the menu bar, roll your mouse over [Build Content] then click on [Content Folder].
  4. Enter a Name for the folder.
  5. Select your folder options.
  6. Click [Submit].

Note: Your course is created with default content areas. You can customize the course menu if you would like to add a folder that is not listed by default to the course menu. Refer to Bb tip #117 for instructions on customizing the course menu.

Want more information?

How to create a content folder
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

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Published on 2 Comments on Bb Tip #117: Customizing the Course Menu

course menu

The Course Menu appears on the left side of your course window and contains links to materials and tools within the course. All Blackboard courses are created with a default course menu (e.g. text links on a blue background and default content areas.) You can structure your course menu to fit your needs. You can personalize your course menu with your own wording, order, colors and styles.

Follow these steps to do it.

To create a link on the course menu:

  1. Turn Edit Mode ON.
  2. Roll your mouse over the plus sign above the course menu. The Add Menu Item drop-down list appears.
  3. Select the type of content to create.
  4. Type a Name for the link. Complete any other required text boxes, such as URL for Web Link.
  5. Select the Available to Users check box to enable users to see the link on the course menu. You can create content ahead of time, make it unavailable, and then make it available at the appropriate time.
  6. Click [Submit].
  7. A link to the new content appears at the bottom of the course menu. You can drag-and-drop the link into a new position by rolling your mouse over the link and then clicking on the cross arrow on the left of the link and drag-and-drop the link into a new position.

To remove, show/hide, or delete a course menu item:

  1. Turn Edit Mode to ON.
  2. Roll your mouse over the link and then click on the dropdown arrow on the right of the item.
  3. Click on [Rename] to change the link title. Select [Hide Link] to make it unavailable to students. Click [Show Link] to make it available to students. Select [Delete] to permanently remove the item.

To change the color and style of the course menu:

  1. Goto the [Control Panel] for the course and click on [Customization] to expand it.
  2. Click on [Teaching Style].
  3. Choose your menu style, layout, and content appearance settings.
  4. Click [Submit].

Want more information?

Understanding the Course Menu
Course Style Options
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #116: Beginning of Semester Tasks

As you prepare for the start of the semester, it is a good time to get started setting up your Blackboard courses. Blackboard courses are automatically created using the course information in Banner a few weeks before the start of the semester. You can post your syllabus, course documents, and announcements to your Blackboard courses. You can also customize your course menu and/or add a course banner.

If you teach a course that is cross listed you will have a Blackboard course for each cross listing. You can combine the cross listed courses into one Blackboard course so that you can post course materials and grades to one combined Blackboard course. Combining courses may also work for you if you are teaching different sections of the same course and would like to have the different sections combined into one Blackboard course so that you can post course documents and grades in the one combined course. The beginning of the semester is the best time to combine your Blackboard courses before you add course material or grades to the courses.

Follow these steps to do it.

Listed below are links with instructions for

  • Merging courses [Web page]
  • Hiding old courses from view [Web page]
  • Getting started with the course environment [PDF] [Video]
  • Course structures and course themes [Web page] [Video]
  • Changing the display name for your course [Web page]
  • Adding a course banner [Web page]
  • Adding items to the course menu [PDF]
  • Adding a test student to your course [Web page]
  • Posting announcements [Web page]
  • Copying content into another course [Web page]
  • Using date management to update dates after course copy [Web page]

Want more information?

Attend a drop-in session to get one-on-one help.
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Published on Leave a comment on Plan for Potential Classroom Disruptions

by Janice Florent

Course delivery is vulnerable to unplanned events. Potential interruptions to class activities include but are not limited to natural disasters, widespread illness, acts of violence, planned or unexpected construction-related closures, severe weather conditions, and medical emergencies. Whatever the event, an instructional continuity plan will help you to be ready to continue teaching with minimal interruption.

As you begin preparing for Spring 2015, consider developing an instructional continuity plan for your courses.

For those who missed our workshop and for those who want to learn more about instructional continuity you will find a link to the PowerPoint presentation above. Also, please visit our Instructional Continuity web page, where you will find planning guides, resources, and a recording of the workshop presentation.

Do you have a plan? If so, we would like to hear about it. If you had a classroom disruption and found a way for students to continue to make progress in your course, we encourage you to share it with your colleagues. Please email a brief description of what you did along with your reflections on how it worked for you, and we will post it to our Instructional Continuity web page.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #115: End of Semester Tasks

As we approach the end of the semester there are a few things you can do in Blackboard to wrap up for the semester.

Download your gradebook

Student access to courses is removed two weeks after the end of a semester. During this process all grade book records are deleted. You should download your gradebook to your local computer after you submit your final grades.

Create a master copy of your course

Courses remain on the Blackboard system for three semesters before they are removed. You can request a Master Course Shell that you can use to develop and maintain your course materials. Master Course Shells will not be removed from the Blackboard system.

Hide old courses from view

When you login to Blackboard you will see your courses for previous semesters listed along with the courses you are currently teaching on the Xavier University and Courses tabs. If you do not want to see older courses in the list, you can hide them from view.

Follow these steps to do it.

Instructions are available in previous Bb tips for downloading your grade book, requesting master course shells, and hiding old courses from view.

Want more information?

Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

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Published on 4 Comments on Bb Tip #114: Grade Center – Smart Views

A Smart View is a focused look at the Grade Center. It shows only the columns that match a set of criteria, and the view is saved for continued use. Smart Views are useful to quickly find data when the Grade Center includes a great number of students and columns. A Smart View is especially helpful if you have merged multiple sections of a course into one Blackboard course and you want to keep the students organized by their assigned section.

image showing Grade Center Smart Views

Several Smart Views are available by default, but you can also create your own. You can easily move between the Full Grade Center view and any of the available Smart Views. You can set a Smart View as the default view of the Grade Center and change it at any time.

Follow these steps to do it.

To create a Smart View you should:

  1. Goto the [Control Panel] for the course and click on [Grade Center] to expand it. Click on [Full Grade Center].
  2. Roll your mouse over the [Manage] button and click on [Smart Views] in the drop-down menu.
  3. Click the [Create Smart View] button.
  4. Enter a name for the Smart View.
  5. Optionally, you can mark the Smart View as a favorite by checking the Add as Favorite box.
  6. Select the type of Smart View you want to create and select the criteria for the Smart View.
  7. You can optionally select a filter for results and include hidden information in the grade data.
  8. Click [Submit].

To access the Grade Center using a Smart View you should:

  1. Goto the [Control Panel] for the course and click on [Grade Center] to expand it.
  2. If you saved the Smart View as a favorite you can click on the Smart View to open it.

    3. Otherwise:

    Click on [Full Grade Center].
    Roll your mouse over the [Manage] button and click on [Smart Views] in the drop-down menu.
    On the Smart Views page, click a Smart View title to open the Grade Center with the appropriate Smart View columns.

Note: You can also use the Grade Center's Filter function and a selected Smart View to narrow your view of the Grade Center.

Want more information?

Creating Smart Views [Video].
Using Smart Views in the Grade Center.
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

2

Published on 2 Comments on Bb Tip #113: Get Feedback from your Students

desk with feedback written on piece of graph paper

You can use Blackboard to get feedback from your students. The Survey Manager allows you to create anonymous non-graded surveys. You can get statistical analysis of the responses provided by your students as a whole but you cannot see how a student answered a particular question. Some examples of the types of uses for surveys are: seeking feedback on the effectiveness of active learning exercises, the need for clarification of course material, and/or seeking suggestions for course improvement.

Follow these steps to do it.

Making surveys available to your students is a two-step process. You must create the survey first and then deploy it.

Create Survey:

  1. Goto the [Control Panel] for the course, click on [Course Tools] to expand it and then click on [Tests, Surveys, and Pools].
  2. Click [Surveys].
  3. On the Survey Manager page, click [Build Survey].
  4. On the Survey Information page, enter the survey Name, Description, and Instructions.
  5. Click [Submit].
  6. On the Survey Canvas page, roll your mouse over [Create Question], choose the appropriate question type, and then enter your survey question. Click [Submit] to save the question. Repeat this step to add all of your survey questions.
  7. Click [Ok] to exit the survey creation process.

Deploy Survey:

  1. Turn Edit Mode ON.
  2. Navigate to the Content Area where you want the students to go to take the survey.
  3. Roll your mouse over [Assessments] and click on [Survey].
  4. On the Create Survey page, select the survey from the Add an Existing Survey box and click [Submit].
  5. On the Survey Options page, specify the survey availability and other settings.
  6. Click [Submit].

Analyze Results:

  1. Goto the [Control Panel] for the course and click on [Grade Center] to expand it. Click on [Full Grade Center].
  2. Locate the survey column in the Grade Center. Roll your mouse over the survey column heading and click on the arrow on the right of the survey column heading and then click on [Attempts Statistics].
  3. Review the survey results.
  4. Click OK at the bottom of the page to return to the Grade Center.

Download Results:

  1. Goto the [Control Panel] for the course and click on [Grade Center] to expand it. Click on [Full Grade Center].
  2. Locate the survey column in the Grade Center. Roll your mouse over the survey column heading and click on the arrow on the right of the survey column heading and then click on [Download Results]. This option allows you to compile the questions and answers in a spreadsheet to review offline.

Want more information?

Step-by-step instructions are available [PDF].
About Tests, Surveys, and Pools
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Image credit: desk/feedback by www_darkworkx_de | Pixabay License