1 Communication Tools Blackboard Academic Suite (Release 7.1) Essentials Training

2 Workshop Objectives and Agenda Group Pages –Create a Group and assign members –Group versions of course-wide collaborative tools Asynchronous Tools –Send –Messages –Discussion Board Create Forums and Threads Use board management tools Understand viewing options

3 Workshop Objectives and Agenda Synchronous Tools –Lightweight Chat Discuss 508 Compliance Manage active/passive users, use Instructor controls and archiving tools –Virtual Classroom Use Web Browsing, Course Map, Whiteboard, Equations Understand Breakout Sessions, Private Messaging Manage active/passive users, use Instructor controls and archiving tools Best Practices and Suggestions

4 Group Communication

5 Groups Function allows for small group work to take place within the course (study groups, projects, individual communication with instructor and student). Group Tools –Discussion Board –Virtual Classroom –Group File Exchange –Group Remove function is irreversible. If a student is removed from a group, the student’s interactions (Discussion Board postings, files in Group File Exchange) are removed as well.

6 Asynchronous Tools

7 Overview When using asynchronous communication tools, it is not necessary for individuals involved in the communication to be online at the same time. This delayed response allows the instructor and students to participate in reflective text-based discussions. Discussion threads may be archived and Blackboard Messages may be saved.

8 and Messages

9 Asynchronous Communication Send –System communication tool to “push” to users with user accounts in the Blackboard system. –Messages are sent to recipients’ accounts residing outside of Blackboard system. Blackboard Messages –Internal course communication tool with the functions of an account. –Enables safe and secure communication within courses whereby addresses are not necessary.

10 What are Blackboard Messages? Internal course communication tool with the functions of an account. Messages may not be sent or received outside of the course. Tool may be enabled or disabled by Instructor in Manage Tools Area of Course Control Panel. Features –Individual user has a designated Inbox. –Compose and send messages. –Add attachments. –Reply to messages. –Organize messages through moves and maintaining folders.

11 Blackboard Messages Inbox Module available in the Blackboard Community System Course ID Message Options Folder Structure

12 Blackboard Messages User Interface Text Box Editor for Composing Messages Fields for Designating Recipients of Message Select recipients from list of users enrolled in course

13 Discussion Board

14 Discussion Board Applications Provides forum for a free exchange of ideas Facilitates student/teacher interactivity Activates student learning Encourages students to work together Enables the juxtaposition of opinions Offers students the time to formulate thoughtful responses Emphasizes intellectual responsibility and the morphology of ideas

15 Sample Forum Ideas Introductions –A place where participants can get to know each other. Technology Tips –A place where participants can assist each other in using Blackboard and with technology in general. Cyber Café –A place to discuss topics of general interest.

16 Discussion Board Prompts Sharing personal experiences Share a job interview experience that you would like to have the opportunity to do again. Debating a topic in teams What is the best method for weight loss? Role playing Imagine you are a customer with a complaint. Write a letter to request a refund. (Another student answers as the “manager.”)

17 Discussion Ideas Describing a complex process in detail How can one make the perfect shortbread cookie? Considering ethical dilemmas Should an employee be fired for stealing ink pens from work? Finding mistakes in a document or process What steps are missing in the following process?

18 Discussion Board: Sample Forum

19 Sample Topic

20 Students Learn from Students

21 Share Experiences

22 Instructor Input

23 Authentic Discussion

24 Student Research

25 Discussion Board: Forum Suggestions

26 Eight ways to involve students... Require participation. Create learning teams or groups. Make the activity interesting/relevant. Demand analysis – don’t settle for opinions. Structure the activity. Include a graded assignment. Consider peer reviews in final assessment. Involve yourself in discussions.

27 Discussion Board: User Management Forum RolePrivileges BlockedA forum role that blocks the user from accessing the forum. ReaderA forum role that grants the user the rights to read the contents of a forum. Users with this role may only view content and cannot add or respond to posts. ParticipantA forum role that grants the user read and write privileges in the forum. GraderA forum role that grants the user Participant privileges as well as the Grading privileges for the forum. ModeratorA forum role that grants Participant privileges as well as the ability to modify, delete, and lock posts. If a Moderation Queue is used, the Moderator may also approve or reject posts in the queue. Users with a course role of Course Builder are granted this forum role by default. ManagerA forum role that grants all privileges. Users with a course role of Instructor or Teaching Assistant are granted this forum role by default.

28 Discussion Board Terminology Forum –A space to discuss a specific topics –Unlimited forums may be created by the instructor –Different preferences may be set for each forum Thread –A subtopic within a forum Post –Component of a thread created by a user

29 Discussion Board Terminology Published –All threads are assigned this status by default. Threads can be read by members of the course and users can reply to them. Locked –This feature suspends the user’s ability to reply or comment further to a thread. The thread can still be seen and read by users. (Use when assigning grades to threads.) Hidden (Formally “Archive”) –A thread assigned this status is accessible by users through the Display dropdown menu but hidden from the default view in the Discussion Board. It is in an locked state. Unavailable (Formally “Archive”) –A thread assigned this status is not accessible by users. It can only be viewed by the Manager. Show All –This display choice should be used to display and locate drafts.

30 Discussion Board Terminology - Actions Reply –Generate a response to a post. Remove –Remove the post. Removing a post also removes all the replies to that post. Subscribe –Receive an alert when a post is updated or a user posts a reply. Rate –Select a score for the post on a 1 to 5 scale. Moderate Forum –Moderating posts requires that all posts are reviewed by a responsible party (Manager or Moderator) before the content is shared with the class.

31 Discussion Board: Forum Settings Thread subscription – notification Peer rating of posts Force moderation of posts –Allows managers/moderators to provide feedback with posts –Allows managers/moderators to control what posts are published –Posts managed from the Moderation Queue Grading –By Forum –By Thread (If threads are graded, users cannot start threads. The Manager must post a Thread to enable discussion to begin.) –Gradebook column

32 Discussion Board: Feedback with Grading and Peer Rating Faculty who wish to evaluate student participation in e-Learning now have the ability to create graded forums and threads, as well as peer- reviewed (rated) threads. Graded threads have a column in the Gradebook, and can also be viewed in the Performance Dashboard. On rated threads, users can use a star system to indicate their support for a particular posting – they can rate a posting only once.

33 Discussion Board: Comprehensive Assessment The Performance Dashboard has been enhanced to give instructors a view of Discussion Board statistics for each user. Each user has a page that displays details of all forums in which the user has participated. The Manager can also the user or grade the user from this page.

34 Discussion Board : Using Drafts The Discussion Board defaults to display only Published Threads within a Forum. If a user saves a post as a draft (s)he must select Show All to see his/her draft.

35 Discussion Board : Show/Hide Parent Post

36 Discussion Board: Additional Features Discussion Board displays with Threads collapsed Forum Availability –When Adaptive Release is set on a Discussion Board Link in a course, the Discussion Board tool on the course menu will respect the rule(s). –A Discussion Board Forum can be made available or unavailable in the properties to remove the forum from the view of users. –Improved Search –Search can now be expanded to include all forums in all discussions within the course. –Date Criteria can also be added. –Note that while the search is a fuzzy search it is case sensitive Thread Collection –Collected Threads and Replies now appear in appropriate order. –Collection Page allows for sorting and filtering. –A Print Button has been included. Archive has been replaced with “Hidden” and “Unavailable” status.

37 Synchronous Tools

38 Overview Synchronous communication tools allow the instructor and students to participate in real time text-based discussions. Instructors have options to record and archive sessions for later viewing. Section 508 compliant with accessibility standards.

39 Collaboration Tools Lightweight Chat –Text-based chat tool intended for group collaboration. –May be used alone or in conjunction with Virtual Classroom. –Low band-width. Enhanced Virtual Classroom –Consists of all the functionality included in Lightweight Chat. –Contains advanced features to conduct “class tours.”

40 Considerations for Collaboration Tools Virtual Classroom requires a Java Plug-in. –Java Plug-in [v.1.4.1] should download and begin installation automatically. –If you do not have the Java Plug-in installed or have problems loading the application, click a link to download the Java Plug-in. Implements JAVA Accessibility API, making the tool Section 508 compliant. Macintosh Users: –OS8 or OS9 – Must use Accessible version of the tool. –OSX and Netscape - Use Netscape 7. (Netscape may put the tool in the background – Check under the Window menu for the Collaboration tool.) –Safari – Disable Pop-Up Window Blocking. Located in Course Control Panel. –Click Collaboration in Course Tools. A multiple number of Collaboration Sessions may be scheduled in advanced or on the fly.

41 Accessing Collaboration Tools

42 Create a New Collaboration Session

43 What is Lightweight Chat? A tool that allows users to participate in real time text- based discussions. Includes Chat Control Panel, through which the Moderator may allow or disallow access to particular functions. Features: –Recording Sessions –Archiving Sessions –Sending private messages –Viewing user information –Creating breakout sessions

44 Uses of Lightweight Chat Online office hours Peer mentoring Synchronous study groups Remote review sessions for examinations Guest speaker presentations Student lounge

45 Instructor Interface Chat Display Area Participant(s) Panel Menu Items Chat Compose Area

46 Student Interface Menu Items Chat Display Area Chat Compose Area Participant(s) Panel

47 Lightweight Chat: Overview

48 Lightweight Chat: Private Messages

49 Lightweight Chat: Controls Default settings Modified Access Rights – No rights

50 Lightweight Chat: Passive Users

51 Lightweight Chat: Clear Displays

52 Lightweight Chat: Archiving

53 What is the Virtual Classroom? A tool that allows group viewing of presentations and material as users participate in real time text-based discussions. Includes Instructor-led session controls for features and participation of users. Features: –Course Map for “class tours.” –Whiteboard with advanced functionality such as math and scientific notation capabilities. –Group Browser for Web-browsing. –An area in which to manage questions. –Recording and archiving sessions.

54 Uses of Virtual Classroom Class tours Web site tours Online slide shows Course content discussion Question and answer sessions Small-group breakout discussions Synchronous study groups Remote review sessions for examinations Guest speaker presentations Online office hours

55 Considerations for the Virtual Classroom Session leaders cannot annotate Web pages in the Whiteboard. Session leaders cannot click a link in the Web page and force all users’ browsers to go to the same link. Whiteboard pages and other content can still be viewed sequentially but the new Virtual Classroom does not require the slideshow structure. Due to the new technology in Release 6, sessions archived in the version Blackboard 5.x Virtual Classroom Tool do not migrate. Sessions do not automatically archive - Session leaders must turn on archiving function.

56 Moderator Interface Chat Compose Area Chat Display Area Menu Items Classroom Tools Whiteboard Toolbar Participant(s) Panel Whiteboard Draw Area

57 Student Interface Menu Items Classroom Tools Whiteboard Toolbar Participant(s) Panel Whiteboard Draw Area Chat Display Area Chat Compose Area

58 Virtual Classroom: Overview

59 Virtual Classroom: Course Map

60 Virtual Classroom: Whiteboard

61 Virtual Classroom: Adding Whiteboards

62 Virtual Classroom: Snapshots

63 Virtual Classroom: Ask Question

64 Virtual Classroom: Group Browser

65 Virtual Classroom: Question Inbox

66 Virtual Classroom: Question Display

67 Virtual Classroom: Question Response

68 Virtual Classroom: Breakout Sessions

69 Virtual Classroom: Breakout Sessions

70 Virtual Classroom: End Breakout

71 Virtual Classroom: Controls Default Settings Modified Access Rights – No rights

72 Collaboration Tools: Archives

73 Best Practices Require participation. Form learning teams. Make the activity interesting and relevant. Do not settle for opinions. Plan and structure the activity. Require a “hand-in” assignment. Employ peer grading. Involve yourself.

74 Resources and Materials

75 Tutorials

76 The Blackboard Community Users Conference Client Advisory Boards Listserve Behind the Blackboard for Administrators Regional User Groups Developer Community