Supplementing Your Course with Blackboard

You may have seen the announcement of our series via the Firebird on the Fly.  Here's a quick blurb from day 1:

DAY 1: Getting Started -- So you read our New Year's Day post and are ready to use Blackboard in a more expansive manner this semester. Now, you are about to populate your Blackboard course.  

First, read this post on 100 Reasons to Use Blackboard before you start. There's likely a few Blackboard features which have slipped by under the radar. Identify those which may be of help and then go down the checklist below. We've listed a few concepts and skills which will be of help as you build your Blackboard site.

Think of your Blackboard site as three areas: content, communication, and assessment. The three areas should align with each other and one should dovetail into the next.  Blackboard's OnDemand Learning Center has some great tutorials which can be helpful as you begin designing your course.

Click on this link to access the series (day 6 will be on top, day 1 on the bottom).

Alternatively, use the list of posts along the right side of the blog to access each day.

Supplementing your Course With Blackboard -- Day 6

Last day, you can rest OR set some stretch goals for next semester.  Identify 3 or 4 things that you would LIKE to do and possibly try to implement a couple in a trial basis (extra credit perhaps) during the semester.  

Take those lessons learned into your Blackboard site for the next semester.  Yes, it sounds early, but I actually keep a folder for next semester as soon as I start the current semester. Personally, I believe it takes from 6 months to a year to fully adopt a new technology. So the earlier you start, the sooner you can add it to your technology toolkit (we are all lifelong learners... RIGHT?).

Eleven Digital Trends to Watch in 2011

Did you know that all University of the District of Columbia students have access to FREE Online Tutoring through SMARTHINKING?

There are Math, Business, Nursing, and Writing subjects and over 1500 tutors to help your students!

To access* FREE tutoring:

1. Log into your Blackboard account

2. Select a course

3. Select "Communication and Tools" on the left

4. Scroll down to click “Smarthinking login"

* Faculty cannot login to Smarthinking.  Only students.

Lastly, be sure you make the course available to the students and make a commitment to stay 1 to 2 weeks ahead of the course if you need to make changes. Avoid the situation where you need to make changes on Sunday for class on Monday. Students will pick up on this and it eventually leads to complaints: "It wasn't there when I checked!" is my favorite:)

That completes our series. Outside of visiting this blog often, I also recommend keeping an eye on the Faculty Focus website and their online teacher postings.  

Please use the comments field to share your thoughts or if you want to keep your thoughts private, drop us a line using our online form.
Related Blog Posts:

New Year's Technology Resolutions

FREE Online Tutoring for all UDC students through Smartthinking

Supplementing your Course With Blackboard -- Day 5

[We've had a decade of cool dates, but there's only 1 more time, Nov. 11th, is the next 11 years that we'll be able to see a cool date like this again. So here's to 1.11.11!]

On Day 5, you strive for perfection. It's like putting all of the decorations on the Christmas tree, taking a few steps back and saying: "What else can I add without this thing toppling over?"  

First, think information literacy. Like education in general, the library has also transformed with the advent of the Internet and other educational technologies. Consider embedding an information literacy component to a project and critical response paper.  

Expect some hiccups ... though realize the experience of utilizing a 21st century digital library may be new to some of our students. Gaining the experience will be an asset for your students. (see the Partnership for 21st Century Skills for a framework on 21st century learning)

From part 1 of our Information Literacy Series, with guest blogger Prof. Rachel Jorgenson:

…information flows in all directions and does as it pleases, for better or for worse, serving no masters and obeying no party line. -- Walter Kim “Little Brother Is Watching.” New York Times Magazine, October 17, 2010, p. 18.

In essence, information literacy describes a set of skills that allow you

• a) to collect information, b) critique that information, c) use the information for a specific purpose.

Many institutions and organizations have created their own definition of information literacy, but these definitions, when compared, are very similar to each other. (link to the full post)

The Learning Resources Division at UDC offer services to faculty which include:

• Information Literacy Instruction 
• Orientation services for the First Year Experience program.
• Curricular Support
• Individual tutoring sessions for students.
• Professional development opportunities to faculty
• Information Literacy Program website

Use this form to make a request for their services. 
Information Literacy Services

MASHUPS
One of the best additions to Blackboard are the mashups. While the term mash-up doesn't really fit, as implemented in Blackboard, it gives you an opportunity to add content from Slideshare (it's a .net, not a .com), Youtube, or Flickr. Check out this interesting webpage on "The Use of Digital Media in Blackboard"

Never heard of these?

• Flickr: a site for viewing and sharing photographic images.
• Slideshare: a site for viewing and sharing PowerPoint presentations, Word documents, or Adobe PDF Portfolios.
• YouTube: a site for viewing and sharing online videos.

Augment your lectures with existing content from these services. I especially like Slideshare [see blog post

] as there are many quality presentations which can provide background to students.  Don't forget to share your presentations too!

BLACKBOARD SCHOLAR
Also check out Blackboard Scholar, which is a social bookmarking tool (Educause's 7 Things You Should Know About Social Bookmarking). It allows you to effectively share links with the class and the outside world.  According to their site wiki:

[Scholar] provides an exciting new way for students and instructors to find educationally valuable resources on the Web. Using the knowledge and power of [a] network of educational users, Scholar will make it easier for instructors and students to find relevant resources on the Internet for courses and research. Furthermore, by storing and sharing associated information with each resource such as tags, disciplines, other users who have tagged and more, Scholar will allow users to evaluate the resources and find the most relevant and reliable.

Related Blog Posts:

Stepping Up Your Web 2.0 Game

Online Tools for Educators -- and a Diigo demo

Supplementing your Course With Blackboard -- Day 4

Most of the heavy lifting is done.  At this point, you should focus on how the site appears to the student.  Often dubbed as a 'learner-centric' approach [view Google Book on Learner Centered Teaching], you want students to be able to readily locate materials, assessments and announcements.  Yes, you did ADD them to the site, but are they easily found?

The Edit button, when turned off, will show how
Blackboard will look to your students.
When turned on, you may make changes again.

Blackboard 9 has an edit mode (see tutorial) which allows the instructor to view the course as it appears to the student.  The button (which toggles on and off), is located in the top right corner of your page.

According to Blackboard:

The Edit Mode toggle allows a user to change the way they are viewing the content on screen. Switching the Edit Mode to ON allows users with certain Roles in the system to add, delete, and edit content and tools in the Course. Switching the Edit Mode to OFF displays the Course as students would see it. The Edit Mode toggle will only appear to those users who have permission to use it.

Bloom's Revised Taxonomy

Lastly, spend a few minutes reviewing Bloom's Revised Taxonomy. This new version introduces a digital element to the 1950s model.

Blooms Digital Taxonomy v2.12

Lastly, look for alignment between course objectives, couse content and course assessment.  If you can’t readily identify how they correlate, neither will the students. The folks at Quality Matters do a great job of embedding alignment into their rubric. Most of their material is copywritten, can't share much:(

Here' a blurb on alignment:

Alignment is an important component of the Quality Matters rubric.  Learning Objectives, Assessments, Resources and Materials, Learner Engagement, and Course Technology work together to ensure that students achieve the desired learning objectives.  When aligned, each of these course aspects is directly tied to and supports the learning objectives which is important for student success.

Related Blog Posts:

Information Literacy and the Learning Resources Division

Teacher vs Learner Centered Learning

Supplementing your Course With Blackboard -- Day 3

So you have completed the checklist and created a skeleton for your course and now you are ready to add content. Start with the static items - the ones that won't (or shouldn't) change during the semester.  

Before you start, check out the I-CARE model for displaying information online. The presentation [special thanks to the folks at San Diego State University College of Education] is a bit dated (1997), but I think that adds to its appeal. Good online design didn't START in 2009, the principles are essentially the same, the tools have just become more advanced (remember doing HTML code manually? Probably not:)

At a minimum, add the following items. You should be able to release the course to students upon completion.

• Welcome statement -- I borrowed this from the folks at Quality Matters. It is nice to have a blurb introducing students to the course. Share a little about yourself and perhaps include a brief activity to get the students immediately involved with contribution to the site. The idea of "Personalized Learning" [see our Nov 29 blog post] resonates here...though suited for blended/hybrid/online courses, some of the tips are universal.
• Syllabus -- A syllabus is a contract between the instructor and student. [UDC's 2008 ABET review has some guidance for creating a syllabus] Posting this to Blackboard, in addition to handing it out in class, ensures students have access to what is required for class. You can attach as a file, or use Blackboard's syllabus builder [see tutorial for both]
• Add Contact information/communication statement -- let students know your expectations [see videos from University of Texas faculty on setting expectations online] for checking the site... weekly, everyday? I like to give a finite amount of time... 1-2 hours a week. [Tips for Efficient and Effective Communications Using Blackboard]. I also find it helpful to let students know the response time for emails (typically one business day in my courses)
• Add folders from your outline/skeleton (i.e. a place for: documents, Powerpoints, discussion boards, assessments -- see video below)

The best piece of advice I can offer when adding content is to FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED. When working online, you will find things get easier as you go. Doing a finite set of tasks in one sitting is much better than starting and stopping and starting and stopping.  

Spend an extra few minutes completing your tasks versus coming back to finish later. I can guarantee, it will take longer to remember where you left off, than it would have taken to finish in one sitting. Perhaps try the Pomodoro Technique (where you work in 25 minute increments), as discussed in the Wall St Journal as one way to get tasks done without interruption.

Related Blog Posts:

Porting Assessments to an Online Environment

Creating Content in Blackboard

How to Respond to Discussion Boards

Supplementing your Course With Blackboard -- Day 2

So you are ready to populate your course. But wait a minute. You should spend at least 20% of your technology time DESIGNING what you are going to do BEFORE you do it.

Set a Schedule to Update Content

Create a schedule. What days of the week will you update/check the site? How many hours a week are you willing to devote to Blackboard? The answer to these questions should determine your ambition as you layout a design. 

Designing Content
In terms of design, draw a napkin outline [view Fast Company article on the concept]  of your site [see example]. You don't have to use an actual napkin, a blank piece of paper which shows folders and the content which will reside inside of them is sufficient.  

The idea is to create a skeleton of your course that can act as a guide before you begin to add content. Go through existing  materials for reusable content, perhaps ask to view a colleague's site to 'borrow' ideas.

Organizing Content

Important to your layout is where you place content -- see Principles for Document Preparation (courtesy of San Diego State University).   Effective use of folders (how to create folders) in Blackboard make it easier for students to access content.  


At a minimum, your sketch should show where content will be placed and how folders will be employed (I humbly suggest grouping content by week, so all content for a certain week can easily be accessed).  


Lastly, determine what assessments (quizzes, tests, papers -- see Blackboard tutorials on assessment) will be employed via Blackboard.  Assessments managed by Blackboard allow students to view grades and be aware of their progress in the course via the Grade Center.

Planning Communication

Also dedicate some space to communication, perhaps creating a discussion board to act as a Digital Cafe, where students can correspond with one another or ask questions to yourself and the class.  The tabs along the left side of your Blackboard site are the most effective way direct students to content.  You have the ability to modify the order of tabs, rename, hide or delete items.

File Management

Lastly, you may want to develop a file management strategy for your computer.  There's nothing worst than knowing you created the world's best powerpoint, but now can't find it on your computer.  While thumb drives or emailing it to yourself is one option, online file storage services (like dropbox.com, box.net or Google Docs - 

How to Share a Document Using Google Docs

) may be a more effective strategy for accessing your files from any computer (sometimes called cloud computing).

Dr. Dan Gutwein (a former colleague) of the Center for Professional and Organizational Development at Montgomery College  created a nifty Flash presentation for faculty which discusses file management strategies.  View the graphic below to see how to access the tutorial.

Related Blog Posts:

Creating Content in Blackboard

How to Share a Document Using Google Docs

Eight Ways to Increase Social Presence in Your Online Classes

Supplementing your Course With Blackboard -- Day 1

DAY 1: Getting Started -- So you read our New Year's Day post and are ready to use Blackboard in a more expansive manner this semester. Now, you are about to populate your Blackboard course.  

First, read this post on 100 Reasons to Use Blackboard before you start. There's likely a few Blackboard features which have slipped by under the radar. Identify those which may be of help and then go down the checklist below. We've listed a few concepts and skills which will be of help as you build your Blackboard site.

Think of your Blackboard site as three areas: content, communication, and assessment. The three areas should align with each other and one should dovetail into the next.  Blackboard's OnDemand Learning Center has some great tutorials which can be helpful as you begin designing your course.

Assess your current Blackboard skills, at a minimum, you should be able to do the following:

• Create a folder in a Content Area [see tutorial]
• Hide content [see tutorial]
• Create an assignment [see tutorial]
• Create an assessment [see tutorial]
• Utilize grade center [see tutorial]
• Upload a file [see tutorial]
• Understand basic accessibility standards -- View UDC website on Universal Design

TIP: Your students will have a more enjoyable experience with Blackboard if you start at (or near) the beginning of the course as opposed to adding things on in a piecemeal manner.

Related Blog Posts:

Orienting Students to Blackboard

Creating A Totals Column in Blackboard

Adding Grade Center Columns in Blackboard

10 Lesser Known Features of the Blackboard Grade Center

CAT UDC Blog: Creating A Totals Column in Blackboard

Adding Grade Center Columns in Blackboard

CHANGI

You also may want to change the starting point for your course.  See the tutorial below:

CHANGING THE ENTRY POINT FOR YOUR COURSE

Access the Style Option in the Control Panel

Go to the Control Panel and click on STYLE.

Go to OPTION 4

Select the button you would like your course to open from. Then hit submit. NOTE, if you JUST added the button, you may have to logout and then log back in. Otherwise, the ENTRY POINT box may bnot have your desired selection.
If you have other questions, please contact the 24x7 Blackboard Helpdesk at (877) 736-2585 or visit their homepage.