Adding Content to BB - For Faculty

Basics:

Announcements

  • Announcements are used to notify students about course events, time changes, and assignments due.

    Consider using announcements to let students know:

    • When assignments are due Changes in the syllabus
    • Corrections/Clarifications of materials Exam schedules
    • Anything else important

    To add announcements to a Blackboard class

    Step 1: Click the Control Panel button.

    Step 2: From the Course Tools area, choose Announcements

    Step 3: Click Add Announcement

    Step 4: Type in a Subject(required) and the Message 

    Step 5: Set the display options that meet your needs.

    Step 6: optional Click Browse to locate content in the course to link to the Announcement. If the link points to a content item that is not available the link will not appear in the Announcement until the content is available.

    Note: Removing the content will remove the link to the content in the Announcement but The Announcement itself will remain.

    Step 7: Click Submit

     

    Modifying and Removing Announcements

    Step 1: Click the Control Panel button

    Step 2: From the Course Tools, choose Announcements

    Step 3: Scroll down and click the Modify button located on the right side of the screen

    Step 4: Make your changes

    Step 5: Click Submit

    Step 6: Click the Course Breadcrumb located at the top of the screen to view the announcement.

    Step 7: Locate the announcement you wish to remove, and click Remove

    Step 8: A Warning Dialog Box will appear. Click OK in response to the question Are You Sure You Want to remove this Item?

    Step 9: Click the Course Breadcrumb located at the top of the screen to return to the student view.

     

    Optional

    Announcements with HTML codes may be used.

    Step 1: Click the Control Panel button

    Step 2: From the Course Tools, choose Announcements

    Step 3: Click Add Announcement

    Step 4: In the Message box, type or copy the desired HTML code

    Step 5: Indicate that the text Contains HTML by clicking in the radio button associated with that field.

    Step 6: Click the Submit button. A receipt will appear to confirm the process.

    Step 7: Click the Course Breadcrumb located at the top of the screen to view the announcement.

  • Adding a document to Blackboard: (1 page)
  • Creating and posting documents in Blackboard: Techniques for creating and posting documents into your Blackboard Web site. (10 pages)
  • Copying/moving folders or documents within Blackboard: Instructions for moving a file or folder within a course site or into a different course site. (1 page)
  • Quick Start Guide: This is the handout used in seminars: If you've never used Blackboard, or would like a refresher, you might begin here. It's an overview of the features and will help you get started. (17 pages)
  • Introduction to Blackboard: An overview of the Blackboard environment and easy ways on how to get started putting your course online. (11 pages)


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  • Seeing your Course Roster in Blackboard

    • The most accurate roster is available through Sis/Web. Full time faculty can sign up for a training session to receive a username/password and instructions for using Sis/Web.
    • You can also see your class list in Blackboard. Blackboard is automatically updated 4 times daily with current registration information so it will catch up with any adds/drops.

    After logging-in to Blackboard, click on the link to enter your course.

    At the bottom of the course navigation, click on Control Panel.

    Control Panel


    On the left side, under User Management, click on List/Modify Users

    Ctrl Panel

    Click on the 'Search' icon to display all of the student's names

    search


     Your roster will be listed with the student's names, their usernames, and the email addresses that they have listed in their version of Sis/Web, 'MyAcademic Records'.    You may print your roster.

    list

    Rosters for courses on Blackboard are automatically updated 4 times daily with current information so you can see student names and email addresses. (2 pages)

    • Course Send Email

    Instructors can send email to individuals who participate in the course or organization from the Send Email page. Emails can be sent to individual users or to groups of users within the course, such as all Teaching Assistants.

    Instructors cannot send email to others via the Internet with the Send Email function; however, Instructors can use the Web email function to email via the Internet.

    To email students, click Control Panel, and Send Email.  Choose the option that meets your needs.

     email selections
    : An easy way to send e-mail to individual students, everyone in a group, or the entire class. (3 pages)

    Assignments and Student Responses

    • Creating and managing assignments in Blackboard: Creating an assignment in the course lets the instructor describe the assigment, and gives the student a place to submit their work. Submitted work can be viewed through the assignment's column in the Gradebook, either one at a time, or downloaded all at once. (4 pages)
    • Using Blogs: Blogs allow students to respond to specific questions or reflect on experiences.  Their responses can be private or open to the class, and other students can optionally respond to their comments. (2 pages)
    • Using Wiki: Wikis allow students to collaborate on a project; only one person is allowed to edit the document at a time. (2 pages)

    Guided Learning

    • Learning units: Blackboard Learning Units enable the instructor to set a structured path for progressing through the content within a course. Students can now access content, including assessments, in a sequential order. The instructor may either allow students to access content nonlinearly within a Learning Unit or enforce a sequential path. (9 pages)
    • Adaptive release: Adaptive Release allows instructors to control which users within a course have access to course materials and when. Adaptive Release is especially useful when course content does not apply to all users in the course or when instructors wish to create custom learning paths through course content and activities, displaying content to certain users for a limited period of time. (5 pages)
    • Review Status & Performance Dashboard: The Review Status tool allows the Instructor to track user review of specific content items. The Performance Dashboard allows the Instructor to see the Review Status of all currently available items for a single user in the course. (3 pages)

    Creating External Links

    Renaming or Creating a new Course Content Area

    • Adding course contents: If you want to create a new content area and add a button to the left of the screen. (2 pages)

    Additional Resources

    • MERLOT Building Block: The MERLOT Building Block provides access to a "continually growing catalog of online learning materials, peer reviews, learning assignments, and user comments, organized by discipline into specific discipline communities and created to help faculty enhance their instruction." Instructors can find materials and insert them into their course sites.(2 pages)

Page last modified February 5, 2009