Blackboard Learn 9.1 © 2013 Blackboard Inc. All rights reserved

Blackboard Learn 9.1

© 2013 Blackboard Inc. All rights reserved.

Workshop Overview1

Workshop Roadmap

• Workshop Overview

• The Student Experience

• Planning Your Content

• Creating Web-Friendly Content

• Building Learning Modules

• Creating a Glossary

This workshop contains six sections:

1 Workshop Overview

Student Experience2

Learning Outcomes

• Access a learning module as a student

• View content in a learning module

• View a glossary

2 Student Experience

Hands-on Activity

• Use the Student Course to complete the hands-on activity at the end of the Student Experience section.

2 Student Experience

Planning Content3

Learning Outcomes

• Write a course goal

• Write a course objective

• Analyze your audience

• Evaluate your materials and resources for online use

• Create a storyboard for your course

• Create a learning module

3 Planning Content

Identifying Course Goals and Objectives

3 Planning Content

Clearly defined course goals and objectives are critical to an online course.

Course Goals – General statement about learning outcomes

Course Objectives – Statement about learner behavior

Identifying Course Goals and Objectives

3 Planning Content

SMART

Specific – Define your goal and methods clearly.

Measurable – Define your objectives numerically.

Achievable – Your objectives must be realistic and attainable with the available resources.

Relevant – Your objectives must address the stated need.

Timely – State the start and finish for your objectives.

Considering the Audience

3 Planning Content

• Average age of student

• Educational background

• Types of computers and Internet

connections

• English as second language

• Assistive technology used

Hands-on Activity

• Use your Practice Course to complete the hands-on activity in the Planning Content section.

3 Planning Content

Gathering Materials

3 Planning Content

Are materials web-ready or easily modified?

• Lectures in HTML format

• Lectures in Microsoft® PowerPoint® presentations

• Digital file images

• Permission to distribute them online

Organizing Content

3 Planning Content

Create a storyboard:

• An overview of each page’s content

• Linear or hierarchical flow of subject matter

• Steps students will take to learn the material

• Tools and methods connected with each objective

Organizing Content

3 Planning Content

Example 1: Chronological Storyboard

Organizing Content

3 Planning Content

Example 2: Subject Area Storyboard

Organizing Content

3 Planning Content

Example 3: Content Type Storyboard

Mapping Your Content into Blackboard Learn

3 Planning Content

Learning Modules are similar to Content Areas.

Here is an example of a Learning Module used in a course about British poets.

Hands-on Activity

• Use your Practice Course to complete the hands-on activity at the end of the Planning Content section.

3 Planning Content

Creating Web-Friendly Content4

Learning Outcomes

• Explain the meaning of accessibility

• Create more accessible pages

• Design web-friendly pages that make effective use of text, typography, layout, color, and graphics

4 Creating Web-Friendly Content

Effective Web Page Design


Well designed web pages can help achieve the following:

• Ease of learning

• Efficiency of use

• Subjective Satisfaction

• Accessibility



There are five common elements in well-designed web pages:

• Text written for the web

• Simple typography

• Simple, straightforward layout

• Well-chosen color scheme

• Graphics that are worth a 1000 words


Text Written for the Web

• Brief sentences, written conversationally

• No jargon or complex language

• Short simple paragraphs

• Break down pages in subcategories

• Important content above the fold

• No abbreviations or acronyms

• Highlight key words




Simple Typography

• No more than three different font types

• Sans-serif for text, especially smaller sizes

• Use italicized text sparingly

• Avoid underlining and CAPITALIZATION



Simple, Straightforward Layout

• Keep pages clean and uncluttered

• Use lots of white space

• Use block style paragraphs

• Be consistent throughout the course

• Avoid nested tables for accessibility



Well-Chosen Color Scheme

• Use color consistently

• Use light shades for the background

• Use alternating colors in rows or columns of a data table to make the information standout

• Be aware that the most common form of color

blindness is red – green. Do not depend on color

alone to get an important point across.



Graphics that ARE Worth a 1000 Words

• Use simple graphics that mean something

• Crop photos when possible

• Use thumbnails to link to larger versions

• Save pictures in the correct format - GIF, JPEG,

PNG

• Add well constructed alt tags for accessibility

Effective Web Page Design Sample


Hands-on Activity

• Use your Practice Course to complete the hands-on activity at the end of the Creating Web-Friendly Content section.


Building Learning Modules5

Learning Outcomes

• Add a learning module to your course

• Add content to your learning module

• Arrange and delete items within a learning module

• Move and copy learning modules

5 Building Learning Modules

About Learning Modules


As we learned in the Student Experience section, aLearning module is an organized collection of content presented together.

Hands-on Activity

• Use your Practice Course to complete the hands-on activity in the Building Learning Modules section.


Hands-on Activity

• Use your Practice Course to complete the hands-on activity at the end of the Building Learning Modules section.

Building Learning Modules

5

Creating a Glossary6

Learning Outcomes

• Add individual glossary terms

• Upload a glossary

• Edit or delete glossary terms

6 Creating a Glossary

Hands-on Activity

• Use your Practice Course to complete the hands-on activity at the end of the Creating a Glossary section.

6 Creating a Glossary

Workshop Wrap Up7

Key Concepts

• Write course goals and objectives

• Analyze your audience

• Evaluate your materials and resources for online

use

• Describe three ways to organize a storyboard

• Explain the meaning of accessibility and create

more accessible pages

• Design web-friendly pages

7 Workshop Wrap Up

Key Concepts

• Create a learning module and add content items

• Arrange and delete items within a learning module

• Copy and move learning modules

• Add individual terms to a glossary

• Edit or delete terms in an existing glossary

• Upload an existing glossary file

7 Workshop Wrap Up

Documents

Blackboard Learn 9.1 © 2013 Blackboard Inc. All rights reserved