Welcome to Blackboard McDaniel College July 23-24, 2002 Blackboard Fundamentals

Introductions Meaghan N. Duff, Ph.D. Senior Learning Solutions Consultant, Blackboard, Inc. Professional Experience –End User Trainer, Prometheus/The George Washington University –Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University –Assistant Professor, Western Kentucky University –Ph.D., American History, The College of William and Mary

Introductions Please introduce yourself… Name Position/Title Course(s) you teach Experience with Bb software How you plan to use Bb –Supplement existing course –Teach entirely online –Mixed format

Agenda Demonstration –Navigation in a course, Student View, Instructor Control Panel Content Areas –Announcements, Staff information, External links, Course Information/Documents User Management –Registration/Enrollment, Create/Modify users, Create/Modify groups Assessment Manager –Assessment options, Question types, Add questions, Preview and modify, Availability, Setting properties, Online Grade Book Course Management & Security –Area Availability, Course Availability, Enabling/Disabling course functions, Securing the course, Customization Resources and Materials –Blackboard Instructor Center – Training Center –Useful Blackboard Links Document

Resources and Materials Online Training Tip Sheets Tutorials Manuals

What is Blackboard? Computer software that runs on a server Available anywhere via the Internet Accessed with a web browser Flexible Customizable User Friendly Many tools, many options

Many Tools, Many Options File storage and retrieval Asynchronous Discussion Board Synchronous chat and whiteboard Group Areas “Digital Dropbox” for sending and receiving assignments Assessments and Surveys Online Gradebook

It’s sort of like... Tupperware! Bring existing materials into Blackboard –Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF files, etc. Integrate text, graphics, audio/video, multimedia into your course Include CD-ROM material No need to learn HTML code What does it look like?

Header (image/buttons) Navigation Tabs Tools Module Modules -My Announcements -My Courses -My Calendar -My Tasks -My Organizations My Institution Page – Portal Area

Portal Frame Navigation Buttons Content Window Blackboard Course View – Frame Structure

The Course The main Bb system component Course roles in Blackboard –Student, Instructor, Teaching Assistant, Grader, Course Builder. –Each role corresponds with specific privileges Courses can be copied and recycled at end of semester

Navigation in Blackboard Use the “built-in” navigation buttons –Course navigation buttons –Course navigation menu (“Breadcrumb Trail”) As much as possible, avoid using the Back/Forward buttons in your browser. –Bb stores course content in database –Need to move forward, requesting new data

Control Panel – Instructor’s View Navigation Button Bar –Left Frame –Students cannot see the control panel! Course controls enable customization of individual courses. –Instructors post content –students view content

Login Information USERNAME: train35 train36 train37 PASSWORD: train35 train36 train37 lowercase

Who does what? Administrators –Create course shells and or course templates –Create and remove user accounts on the system –Enroll students in course(s) Instructors (and TAs) –Customize course display –Add, modify, and remove course content –Create and manage Groups –Create Discussion forums

Text Options

Blackboard Text Options HTML –Renders all HTML tags – Primarily used if copying and pasting HTML from another source. Plain Text –Allows instructors to insert HTML tags without being rendered Smart Text –Renders HTML but does not require tags for line or paragraph breaks –Web addresses entered in the URL format

Online Course Policies

Course Policies and Procedures Attendance –Decide how you will determine attendance. –Require participation in threaded discussions, virtual classroom chats, etc. –Assign due dates and times for assignments. Academic Dishonesty –Exams/Quizzes –Papers –Assignments

Course Policies and Procedures Courtesy Code –Create standards for conduct and address etiquette issues in writing s, posting and responding to threaded discussions, and using the chat areas. and Drop Box Procedures –General guidelines –Naming convention for submitting assignments –Use of electronic attachments –common technology formats (.rtf,.pdf,.html)

Course Policies and Procedures Technical Assistance –Who? Where? When? How? Instructor Responsibility –State what students can expect from you –Consider how often you will respond to and discussion board postings –Set day/time for office hours Virtual classroom (online) Office meeting (traditional)

Content Attachments

Content Attachments in Blackboard Bb Your computer Student server

Display media file within the page… Video –.MOV –.AVI –.MPEG or.MPG Graphics –.JPEG or.JPG –.GIF Audio –.WAV –.AIFF Multimedia –.SWF

Learning Units

Traditional Learning Flow Add content items or folders (vertical) Student can select their own learning path. Lesson Overview Objectives Lessons Assignments Activity

Sequential Learning Flow Add and present material within in a specific learning path. (horizontal) Students can only access material in a linear manner –useful when pacing and guiding students through a lesson or when concepts progressively build on each other.

Non-sequential Learning Flow Add and present material in a flexible learning path (horizontal) The student has the option of selecting any item or file that appears in the Contents list

User Management

Removing students from courses When a student is removed from a course the following information... Is removed automatically: –Name from the student roster –Student Homepage –Student Drop Box/Drop Box Files –Grades/Assessments –Group File Exchange- any files added by the student Is not removed: –Student Input to Virtual Chat Archives –Student Messages posted to the Discussion Board –Student files in the Instructor's Drop Box (NOTE: there is not a username associated with the file, only the file name and file content.) –Student Data in Course Statistics

Workshop Feedback

Workshop Feedback Note: ("BlackboardWorkshop") is case sensitive -- you need the capital 'B' and capital 'W'