A Brief Tour of the Blackboard Learning EnvironmentProfessor Melissa HallSpring 2013
Homepage
Your Blackboard course opens by default to the Announcements page
Homepage
I will use this page to make announcements to the class
Course MenuThe Course Menu is the gray panel on the left
It includes links to Course Information, Content, and Tools
SyllabusThe Course Syllabus can be accessed from the Course Menu
SyllabusYou should read it
carefully -- it contains important information
about course objectives and policies!
Course ScheduleThe Course Schedule lists weekly topics and corresponding textbook pages
Course ScheduleYou should print a copy and keep it handy for
times when Blackboard is not accessible!
Course GuidelinesThe Course Guidelines includes detailed information about quizzes, exams, and discussion posts
Course GuidelinesYou are required to
read all of these materials carefully, so
that you are fully informed about course
policies and expectations!
Course Guidelines
OK, I’m ready! How do I get started?
Learning ModulesClick on the Learning Modules link to access course materials
Learning ModulesFolders are organized by weekly topics, with the closing date prominently displayed
Learning ModulesClick on the module folder topic to access contents
Learning ModulesEach module folder begins with an overview of the week’s learning activities
Learning ModulesEach module folder begins with an overview of the week’s learning activities
Learning Modules
After reading the overview, follow the links in the order provided
Learning Modules
The first two links are to external web resources
Learning Modules
They will open in a new window
Learning Modules
The next two links are to the web lectures on my Wordpress course website
Course Websitehttp://art109wcc.wordpress.com/
The course website will be accessible, even when Blackboard is down
Course Websitehttp://art109wcc.wordpress.com/
The course website will be accessible, even when Blackboard is down
You should bookmark the page to make sure you can always access
it easily!
Course WebsiteThe lectures on the course website are fully illustrated
Course WebsiteThey include embedded videos that you are expected to watch
Course WebsiteMost of the videos come from the Smarthistory web book
Course WebsiteMost of the videos come from the Smarthistory web book
If one of my videos is not working, you are
expected to look for it here
Learning Modules
The Video Lecture folder is optional
Learning Modules
Here, I provide a link to a recorded video lecture at Screencast.com
Learning Modules
When the Screencast video is fully loaded, just click to play
Learning Modules
I also include the Smarthistory videos that are embedded in the Wordpress lectures, just to make sure you don’t miss them if you choose to use this format
After you have read all the assigned course material, you are ready to move on to the graded learning activities
The first activity is the Discussion Forum. Click on the link to access the Discussion Tool
Discussion Forum
Start by clicking on the thread title
Discussion ForumClick reply to post your response
Discussion Forum
Compose your message, and hit submit
You can find Discussion Forum guidelines and tips in the Course Guidelines folder
It also includes a grading rubric
AssignmentsAssignment instructions can be accessed from the Course Menu
AssignmentsI will provide
instructions about how to upload assignments – but it is too early to
talk about assignments just yet!
AssignmentsThat’s true – we
haven’t even learned anything yet, so it’s a
little scary to start thinking about papers!
The course menu also provides links to my
course website and to the Smarthistory web book (since we will be
using both a lot)
And under course tools you will find links to the
course email, Discussion Forum,
calendar, MYWCC, My Grades, and Blackboard
Help
You will get a chance to practice using all of
these tools in the first Learning Module
So are you ready to get started?
Yeah, let’s go!
Start by going to the course Announcement page
Click on Learning Modules
Click on Start here, and follow the instructions
After you have completed the Blackboard course orientation, click on “Start Here Next” for an introduction to art history