Blackboard Skills for Beginning Users SI2008

8/14/2019 Blackboard Skills for Beginning Users SI2008

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Blackboard for Beginning UsersSupport Training Series

from

Tec hnology Enhanc ed Learn ing Serv ic es

Yavapai College1100 East Sheldon Street

Prescott, Arizona 86301Phone 928-445-7300


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Table of Contents

TECHNOLOGY ENHANCED LEARNING SERVICES ........................................................................................ 1INTRODUCTION TO ESSENTIAL SKILLS FOR TEACHING WITH TECHNOLOGY IN

BLACKBOARD ........................................................................................................................................... 1COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY ONLINE UTILIZING EMAIL,ANNOUNCEMENTS AND DISCUSSION FORUM 1

Learning Objectives .............................................................................................................................. 1Send Email in Blackboard .................................................................................................................... 2Checking Email Addresses in Blackboard ............................................................................................ 4Junk Email and Bulk Mail .......... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .. 4Best Practices on Communicating with Email ...................................................................................... 5Posting Announcements in Blackboard ................................................................................................ 6Create a Discussion Forum in Blackboard .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... ....... 8Adding Discussion Threads in Blackboard ........................................................................................... 9 Managing Your Discussion Forums.................................................................................................... 10

ADDING CONTENT TO BLACKBOARD........................................................................................................ 11 Learning Objectives ............................................................................................................................ 11Adding a Folder .................................................................................................................................. 11 Adding an Item .................................................................................................................................... 13 Adding an External Link ..................................................................................................................... 14 Adding a Course Link ......................................................................................................................... 15 Adding an Assignment ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... .......... ........... ..... 16Adding and Managing Gradebook Items ............................................................................................ 17


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Introduct ion to Essential Skills

for Teaching w ith Technology

in Blackboard

All course sections that are currently listed in the AMIS or Registration systemnow have a Blackboard component available for instructors to utilize. There are anumber of essential skills that are necessary for online teaching and learning.

This three-hour session will cover the basic computer skills required foreffectively teaching an online course utilizing the Blackboard system. Thedifferent sections we will be covering include:

Communicating effectively online utilizing email, announcements, and thediscussion forum;

Adding content to Blackboard using folders, items, external links, courselinks and assignments;

Adding and managing gradebook items;.

Comm unic at ing Ef fec t ive ly Onl ine Ut i l iz ingEm ai l , Announcem ent s and Disc uss ion ForumInteraction is the most important aspect for student success in an online course.By allowing opportunities for the students to communicate with one another, itenhances their learning by letting them question and discuss issues in thecourse. As an instructor, you need to decide the level of interaction you want tohave with each student - and build the courses accordingly.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this section, learners will be able to:

Use email for effective communication as an online instructor;

Send an email from the Blackboard system;

Check the listed email address of students in the course;

Inform students of junk mail and bulk email issues;

Understand the best practices for effectively communicating to yourstudents online;

Post an announcement in Blackboard;

Create a discussion forum in Blackboard;

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Add a new thread to a discussion forum.


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Send Email in Blackboard

Email is one of the most used forms of communication today. Compared to othercommunication media such as the telephone, radio, and television, emailremains a relatively new invention. Email is an essential communication tool fordistance education. Email is about staying connected to your students in yourcourse.

The Blackboard Send Email feature allows users to quickly send email to thestudents or other instructors in Blackboard. You cannot view incoming email, orsend an email to someone outside of the class. Any emails sent to you from yourstudents will be delivered to your Yavapai College email account.

The Send Email feature can be accessed from two different areas:

1. When you first log into Blackboard, you will see a customized screen thatstates, Welcome, (Your Name). There will be a Tools menu on the

left hand side of your screen. Click the Send Email link. Select thecourse in which you want to send an email.

2. In the course, the Send Email feature is available in theCommunications area. This can be customized accordingly so it appearson the left hand navigation.

At this point, a screen similar to the following willappear:

Functions of Users:

The following users and groups are available tosend email to from the Send Email page:

Description GroupAll Users Sends email to all users in the course.All Groups Sends email to all of the groups in a specified course.

All TeachingAssistants

Sends email to all of the Teaching Assistants in a specifiedcourse.

All Instructors Sends email to all of the instructors for a specified course.

Select UsersSends email to a single user or selected users in a specifiedcourse. Select a person(s) by placing checkmark in box nextto name.

Select GroupsSend email to a single group or selected groups in a course.Select a group(s) by placing checkmark in box next to name.

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If Select Users is chosen, the following screen will appear:

Type in the subject and email message after selecting the users.

The following table will help with understand the areas in the email feature:

Field Description

Enter Message Details

To:Names of users to receive the email will appear. Or, select theindividual users depending on the option chosen.

From: The users email address will automatically be displayed in this field.

Subject: The users subject will automatically be displayed in this field.

Message: Enter the email message.

A copy of this email will be sent to the sender.Add Attachments

Add:Click here to add attachments. Select Browse on the page thatappears and navigate to the file that should be attached to the email.

Instructors and students can easily receive hundreds of legitimate emails perweek. If you are teaching multiple courses and/or sections online, it can becomeoverwhelming. Add junk email or spam, and the emails can continue to grow.Because of this large quantity of email, it is important to make email you send aseasy to identify as possible, for you and your students. This can be done with

meaningful display names and subject lines.

For example, require the students to include the class, assignment, and studentname in the subject line.

Subject: ENG 101, Essay #1, Jane Doe

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This will help you identify and manage your class more efficiently.


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Also, remember to make sure the spelling and grammar are correct. Misspellingsand poor grammar distract from the subject of the message and reflect poorly onthe sender. While most email applications have built-in spell checkers, most donot have tools to check grammar. If you want to check your grammar before

sending your email, copy your message text and paste it into a word processorthat has a grammar checker, such as Microsoft Word. Once the grammar checkis completed, copy and paste the text back into the email message.

Checking Email Addresses in Blackboard

The list of students in the course can be viewed by going into the course controlpanel and selecting List/Modify Users.

Click the Search button and the class roster will appear. You can view thestudents username and email here. (This is very helpful if you have studentswho cant log into Blackboard).

If their email address has a [email protected] then they will have to contact

Registration or change it in Electronic Student Services. Once the email addresshas been changed officially in the Registration system, it will update itself inBlackboard that evening.

Email relies on students having a valid email address and a way to access theirmail outside of Blackboard. Email messages are received in the users emailaccount that is listed in their Personal Information. Email messages do notbecome part of the course record; no copies are retained within Blackboard.

Junk Email and Bulk Mail

If students are emailed through Blackboard as a group, they may not receive the

information due to the configuration of their hotmail, yahoo, etc. accounts. Manytimes, email will be sent to their Junk Mail or Bulk Email accounts. If a studenthas a setting in their email to delete junk email when they receive it, they maynever be graced with your words of wisdom. Please remind students to checktheir junk mail and update the settings to receive your email.

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mailto:[email protected]://www2.yc.edu/content/ess/http://www2.yc.edu/content/ess/mailto:[email protected]


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Best Practices on Communicating with Email

Please remember that Blackboard is new for many students. Send yourstudents a welcome emailprior to the start of the semester. Some instructorsalso include this information in their syllabus. If you are utilizing the differentfeatures in Blackboard, provide the following information to the students.

How to access Blackboard;

Date of when students can access the course;

How to check and change their own email;

How to provide information in the subject line ofemail.

Other topics to include in the welcome email are:

How to utilize the discussion boards;

How to check their grades;

How to send assignments.

By contacting students using email from within the course, you are able to keepthem up-to-date, answering questions and providing feedback.

Notes

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Posting Announcements in Blackboard

Announcements in Blackboardshould be postedon a consistent basis.

Push critical or time sensitivemessages out to all coursusing Announcements.Announcements can be madepermanent, always displaying, or theycan be timed to release and expire on

particular dates. Announcements can contain hyperlinks as well as links tocourse content. By default, announcements are set as the course entry point,

although you have an opti

e users

is setting as an instructor.on to change th

In order to add an announcement to Blackboard, go into the course control paneland select Announcements.

A screen that looks like the following will appear:

Click Add

Announcement.UnderAnnouncementInformation, type asubject for theannouncement andadd a message. Ifyou are using


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Internet Explorer on a PC, you will see a WYSIWYG (What You See Is What YouGet) Editor. You have an option to format your content similar to a wordprocessing program.

By default, the View Last 7 Days tab appears. When you post an

announcement, it will be visible for 7 days and then move over into the ViewLast 30 Days and View All tab. If you would like your announcement toalways appear, select Yes under Permanent Announcement? That way,students will never miss any of your announcements. You also have the option toChoose Date Restrictionson when you want your announcement to beavailable.

You also have the option to browse to a course link. A course link allows you tolink directly to any content area of your course such as the syllabus orassignments.

Notes

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Create a Discussion Forum in Blackboard

The Discussion Board is a communication tool that can be used to enhance anonline course or a way to continue the discussion outside of class. Accessdiscussion forums by clicking the Discussion Board link on the left sidenavigation bar. Instructors have the option to customize where they add thediscussion forum in their courses. You can also locate a discussion forum byclicking the Communication button.

The discussion forum is designed for asynchronous use, meaning users are notpresent at the same time to converse online. For example email is asynchronous.An additional advantage of the discussion board is that student conversations arelogged and organized. Conversations are grouped into threads that contain amain posting and all related replies.

1. Click the Add Forum button to create a new Forum.2. In the Title field, type the name of the forum such as Introductions.

3. In the Description field, provide the students with a question ordescription of the forum.

4. Make Forum Available5. Set the Forum Settings options.

Forum Setting What Happens?Allow anonymous posts If enabled, users have the option of

posting messages under the name"Anonymous.

Allow author tomodify own published posts

If enabled, a user has the ability tomake changes to their messages afterposting them. Otherwise, only theinstructor may make changes to themessage.

Allow author toremove own posts

If enabled, a user has the ability toremove their messages after postingthem. Otherwise, only the instructormay remove the message.

Allow file attachments Enabling this function allows users toattach files to messages they post tothe Discussion Board.

Allow member to create new threads If enabled, users may create newthreads. Otherwise, no new threadsmay be added to the forum.

Grade > Grade Forum If enabled, this will add the DiscussionForum to the Gradebook. This workssimilar to the Discussion Grader.

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6. Click the Submit button.


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Adding Discussion Threads in Blackboard

1. Click on the title of the forum you wish to respond2. Click the Add New Thread button.3. Enter a subject and message. Click the Browse button to search for and

attach a document or image. (Instructors may take this option away).4. Click the Submit button.

Note: If you are using Blackboard on a PC with Internet Explorer 5.5 or above,then you will see a word processor screen. If you are using a MAC or differentInternet browser, you will see a less robust version of the text editor.

There are a number of options in the discussion forum view.

TO CLICK

Start a new discussion, which is calleda thread

Add New Thread. The Add Threadpage will appear. On the Add Threadpage a new subject title and new

discussion description may be addedSee all the threads and responses Tree ViewSee only the threads List View

Notes

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Managing Your Discussion Forums

Most of the controls for managing a forum are shown above and below theDiscussion Board Threads.

1. Click the Go next to Select All.2. Notice the options available under the dropdown menu of Display and

Change Status to.

3. Some options are available to everyone; some are only available toinstructors or users with forum administrator privileges, such as Flag,Locked and Remove.

o For example, you might want to lock a thread when the discussionhas run its course and you no longer want students adding to thatthread.

o To Lock a Thread, you don't have to select all messages in thethread; just the initial message.

4. Collecting messages allows you to view a group of messages in theirentirety on a single web page. This is useful if you want to see an entirethread at once or perhaps all messages from a particular user. The collect

function is also useful if you want to print out a group of messagesbecause it saves you from having to print each message separately.

5. Remove the threads with the Remove option, however that permanentlydeletes them.

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TO CLICK

Read a message Click on message link.Sort the list of messages Click on the drop-down menu at the

bottom of the forum and sort by Date,Thread, Author, Status, Unread

Postsor Total Posts


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Add ing Conten t to B lac k boardInstructors can add content to Blackboard by using items, folders, course linksand external links. When adding course content, give clear explanationsdescribing what each folder contains and how it fits in with the overall structure ofthe course. Comprehensive instructions should be given with each online itemand assignment.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this section, learners will be able to:

Add a folder and write a description of what users will see when they clickon the folder;

Add an item that contains an attachment and text;

Add an external link;

Add a course link to your content item;

Add an assignment;

Add and manage gradebook items;

Use the test manager to add multiple choice, true/false and shortanswer/essay questions.

Adding a FolderFolders are an excellent way to separate and manage content in your Blackboardcourse.

1. Go into the course Control Panel and select a content area such asAssignments or Course Information.

2. Click the Add Folder icon.

3. Under the Folder Information area, enter the name of the folder.

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4. Choose the color of the name by click on the Pick button. You will be ableto select a color for the name of your folder.

5. Information for the folder can be added in the Text field. This is similar toa word processing program. Formatting to enhance the instruction canalso be added by using bold, italics, underline and much more.

6. Under the Options section, you can choose to make the folder availableto your students or select dates of availability.

7. When completed, click the Submit button to finish.

Notes

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Adding an Item

Now that a folder has been added to the course, add the items that apply to thatfolder. For example you can add course handouts, PowerPoint presentations,media files, links, assessments and much more. Remember, Blackboard is only acontainer to hold all of this information.

In order to add an item inside the folder:

1. Click on the folder title2. Click the Add Item icon.

3. Follow the same steps as when the folder was created. Remember to bedescriptive for the students. Provide clear, concise, detailed instructions.However, there will be an additional option to attach a file.

4. Click the Browse button to locate the saved file.5. Provide a clear, descriptive name for Name of Link to File6. Keep the Create a link to the file as the Special Action7. Select Dates of Availability

8. Click Submit

Dont forget that you can add items anywhere in the content areas of yourcourse.

Notes

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Adding an External Link

1. Click the Add External Link icon.

2. Under the External Link Information area, enter the name of the link,URL address and provide a description of the link.

3. If you want to attach a file, you are able to do so.4. Under Options, make sure that the following options are selected Yes

It is important to have the link open in a new window so students can navigatethrough the site. They will also have the Blackboard course site open. Youshould mention that students will need to turn off a pop up blocker, as the sitewill open in a new window.

5. Select Dates of Availability6. Click Submit

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Adding a Course Link

1. Click the Add Course Link icon.

2. Under the Course Link Information area, enter the name of the link,

and type text.3. Under the Location area, click the Browse button.4. A Course Map window will appear. Select the area in your course that

you wish to link.5. Select Dates of Availability6. Click Submit

Notes

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Adding an Assignment

1. Click the Assignment button from the drop down menu in the contentarea.

2. Click the Go button.3. Enter a name for the assignment and the number of points.4. Provide clear, concise instructions on the assignment needed for the

students to complete. It would be helpful if the following information was

provided for students.

5. Select Dates of Availability6. Click Submit

When you create an assignment in Blackboard, it automatically adds a column inyour gradebook.

Notes

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1. Click on the blue View/Complete Assignment link.2. In the Assignment Upload area, add any Comments forthe instructor.3. To attach your file, click the Browse button and locate yoursaved assignment file. Your saved file should be in Rich TextFormat (rtf).4. Click Open to attach.5. If you want, you can Add Another File by clicking on thebutton.6. Click Submit to send the assignment to your instructor.


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Adding and Managing Gradebook Items

Access the Gradebook by going into the course control panel and selectingGradebook. You will come to a screen that resembles the following:

Students will be added in the column that states Name (Last, First). Yourassignments will be added as you create them. Click the Add Item button andfill out the information.

Remember that anyassignment, test or

survey added willautomatically create acolumn in thegradebook.

Would you like a tipon best practicesutilizing theBlackboardgradebook?

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Change your Dateaccording to whenassignments are due.Otherwise, it willdefault to the date thatyou have added this

item. In many cases, this is way before the semester even begins! Studentswill question you on the date that appears.


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Notes

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We have reached the end of our Blackboard for Beginning Usersworkshop.

Please contact Ruth Alsobrook-Hurich,Instructional Technology Specialist, formore information on Blackboard.

[email protected] or (928) 776-2076
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

Documents

Blackboard Skills for Beginning Users SI2008