Blackboard Learn Tip Sheets by ebmaney

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SLN Blackboard Learn Faculty Migration Training Blackboard Learn Tip Sheets !

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Technology

Pedagogy

Information Transfer

Assess Learning

Communication and Interaction

Collaboration

Bloomâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Revised Taxonomy

Ease of use

Announcements

Item

Easy.

None

Easy

File

None

Audio/Image/Video

Easy.

RUAAEC

Web Link

Easy.

RUAAEC

Learning Module

Content

Folder

Blank Page

Fairly easy

None

Easy.

None

Easy. None

Home Page/Module

Mashups

Test/Survey

Assignment

SafeAssignment

Fairly easy None

Fairly easy

RUAAEC

Tricky.

RUAAEC

Easy

Fairly easy

RUAAEC

Pick the Right Blackboard Tool for the Job! legend

Great Fit

Can work with some learning design

Not the best tool for the job

Information Transfer

Technology

Pedagogy

Discussion Board

Assess Learning

Communication and Interaction

Collaboration

Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy

Ease of use

Easy

RUAAEC

Easy.

Blog

RUAAEC

Tricky

Wiki

RUAAEC

Easy

RUAAEC

Journal

Glossary

Easy

Groups RUAAEC

Tricky.

Self/Peer Assessment

Collaborate

Tricky

RUAAEC

Tricky

Discussion Boards, Blogs, Journals, and Wikis – What’s the Difference? Journal

Blog

Discussion Board

Wiki

Potential Uses Potential Uses:

Potential Uses

Note: Instructors can set options so that Groups have access to their own tools such as: Discussion Board, Journals, Blogs, Wikis, Assignments, etc

Need Blackboard 9.1 Help? legend

Great Fit

Can work with some learning design

Not the best tool for the job

Folder or Learning Module? Blackboard Learn often offers several options for you to choose from when planning your course content and activities. For example, choices for providing several pieces of related content include two similar options â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Folder and Learning Module. The chart below is designed to help you better understand these options and to make more informed decisions about leveraging these options to most effectively meet your goals.

Folder

Display/Functio n Displays as a link (folder title in the Content Area) in which other content objects and activities can be gathered for students to access.

Student Access

Uses

Students must click in to view the folder contents.

Folders can be used as repositories for content. They can also contain learning activities. They can be utilized to create learning units that contain both content and learning activities.

Displays as a link to a set of contents with their own internal structure, including a table of contents and sequenced pages.

Students must click the link to view the contents. Students must click into each page separately.

Learning Modules are used for presenting content in a specific sequence. Students can be required to go through the contents in a specific order.

Inside the folder:

Learning Module

Inside:

Visibility Potential It is possible to provide a brief description of the contents of the folder that will be visible to students on the Content Area page.

It is possible to provide a brief description of the contents of the learning module that will be visible to students on the Content Area page.

Item, Blank Page, or File?

Blackboard Learn often offers several options for you to choose from when planning your course content and activities. For example, choices for presenting content include three similar options - Item, Blank Page, and File. The chart below is designed to help you better understand these options and to make more informed decisions about how you want to leverage these options to most effectively meet your goals.

Display/Func tion

Student Access

Uses

Visibility Potential

Other

Item

Displays content directly on the Content Area page.

Content is visible when the Content Area is opened.

Use this choice for shorter pieces of content - objectives, introductions, and/or graphic organizers. It can also be used to attach a file.

It is possible to show an image or video without having to click into a link.

Use sparingly to avoid having your Content Area become too large requiring students to scroll.

Blank Page

Displays on the Content Area as a link.

Students must click it to see the contents you created there.

Use this choice for presentation of lengthier pieces of content and/or combinations of content â&#x20AC;&#x201C; i.e., text, image, links, or video.

It is not possible to provide a brief description of the content that will be visible on the Content Area page before students click in.

File

Displays on the Content Area as a link

Students must click the link to

This choice can be useful for providing pdfs,

It is not possible to include a brief

Rarely used as using the attach

to a file you have uploaded.

view the file.

documents, and/or media files.

description that will appear on the Content Area page.

function in the Content Editor to add files to Items and Blank Pages is usually preferred.

Font tools – use common word processing tools to bold, italicize, underline, strikethrough, and size your chosen font.

Formatting tools – add bullets, outlines, text color, and highlighting; or remove formatting using the eraser tool.

Less common formatting tools – including horizontal rule and spell check.

Text placement tools – align and/or wrap text. Editing tools – cut, copy, paste and find.

Less common tools – superscripts, subscripts, block quoting, symbols, emoticons and anchors.

Undo and redo – reverses or returns to most recent edit.

Media tools - add content using your webcam, attaching a file, inserting an image, embedding, and inserting mashup items such as YouTube videos.

Link and unlink – create or remove a link to a website.

Table tools – insert tables and manipulate the cells.

HTML tools – insert or edit html and style sheets.

Getting Started With . . .

Blackboard Learn Interactive Tools Release 9.1 Research supports the relationship between interpersonal interaction in the online environment and the learning that takes place. When members of an online community direct their efforts toward a common goal, powerful connections are made. Learners can achieve more through in-depth conversations, relationship building, and problem solving in a community. Without a goal, connections, and conversations, there is no community. In a successful online learning community, students have the right tools for their interactive tasks. Blackboard Learn offers four communicarich assignments and evaluate students in authentic ways where students can share and create knowledge.

Discussion Board The Discussion Board often becomes the online classroom. Because students contemplate before posting, more thoughtful conversations evolve. You can observe students demonstrating their grasp of the material, as well as exchanging ideas, debating topics, asking questions, and working in groups. You can moderate, evaluate, and even grade discussion posts. You can also invite subject matter experts to participate in discussion threads.

Blogs Blogs allow authors to communicate their knowledge and opinions to others. Course members can express their ideas and use facilitate critical thinking and knowledge construction, and support the development of communication skills in a “public” arena of your course.

Journals students create meaning and internalize learning as they engage in personalized one-on-one conversations with you. The private nature of journals offers students a safe environment to express themselves and receive individualized feedback.

Wikis Wikis allow students to contribute and modify pages of courserelated material in a collaborative area. Students can create new content or edit existing content as well as view revisions and provide comments. As students construct knowledge, the instructor acts as a facilitator instead of the provider of all course content. Unlike a blog, which is more personal, wikis necessitate intense collaboration, as students build upon each other’s contributions

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Getting Started With . . .

Blackboard Learn Interactive Tools

Each of the four interactive tools serve distinct purposes. You can use one or all of them in your course, and they can work well in combinagested uses for the tools to help you determine how they could play a role in your course.

Tool

Suggested Use Students can express their ideas, gathering

Discussion Board

Blogs

and plans.

Medium > replies and related posts from all course members

Examples Post ideas for projects and papers, and ask colleagues to weigh in; share initial thoughts about a topic before it is discussed in-depth in individual blogs; brainstorm ideas for a wiki project; express opinions to help divide students into work groups

Students can interpret what they learned, showcase their grasp of the material, and present information to their colleagues. Students often incorporate rich media into their posts to entice and inform others.

Medium > commenting from others

Students can express their thoughts, questions, and concerns to you privately.

Low > private feedback from the instructor

Ask students to record observations; question the content; identify areas for help; develop a plan for improvement; set goals; evaluate their educational journeys; submit prewriting for a graded assignment for guidance and feedback

Sudents can create course content together. Divide students into pairs or groups, or generate work as a class unit. Because each course member is a trusted source of information, everyone may edit and organize the content.

High > intense collaboration through edits and comments

Class summaries and outlines; course glossary; resources repository; lab experiments; group project presentations; research notebooks; connecting student writing to form a book, student solutions

Journals

Wikis

Level of Interaction

a written, graded assignment; analyze a topic, adding information over several weeks or the entire term; deliver arguments and supporting evidence; provide commentary on a subject

Discussion Board and Wiki in Combination On the Discussion Board, students post their ideas for a course wiki assignment. As posts develop and ideas are presented, students narrow the topic and divide the work before they transition to the wiki. In the course wiki, students provide text, images, and rich media to support the course content and the topic they chose in the Discussion Board.

Journals and Blogs in Combination Assign a graded blog where you require students to fully explore a topic, adding entries as the term progresses. However, main points and require initial writing samples before their ideas are posted for the entire class to read and comment on.

Discussion Board and Blogs in Combination Ask students to post an Internet source on the Discussion Board that expands on the most recent lecture. Next, in their blogs, students can select a source and synthesize that information with the course material, extending their understanding beyond the classroom. Ask all students to provide comments for at least two classmatesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; entries that include potential test questions.

650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 6th Floor

Washington, DC 20001-3796

Blackboard and the Blackboard logo are registered

1-800-424-9299

trademarks of Blackboard, Inc.

Getting Started With . . .

Blackboard Learn Interactive Tools

Task

What You Need to Know

Create a Discussion Forum

You can create forums and threads to organize discussions into units or topics relevant to your course. Forum settings allow you to use the Discussion Board in different ways. For example, to control a forum, you create all threads, and moderate and grade the posts. For a student-led discussion, allow students to create new threads with the option of posting anonymously. When creating a forum, you determine whether or not to grade students’ posts in forums or threads and how many posts are required before they go into Needs Grading status.

Create a Blog or

In Blackboard Learn, blogs and journals consist of two elements: Blog and journal entries: Text, images, links, multimedia, Mashups*, and attachments posted by course members and open for comments. Comments: Remarks or responses to blog and journal entries made by others. When you create a blog or journal, you determine whether or not to grade students’ entries and specify how many entries are required before they go into Needs Grading status.

Create a Wiki

You create the wikis for course members to use. Then, all course members can create pages, unless you intend to be the sole author and use the wiki as course content. When you create a wiki, you determine whether or not to grade students’ wiki contributions and how many page saves are required before they go into Needs Grading status.

Steps to Accomplish 1. On the Course Menu, click the Tools link. On the Tools page, select Discussion Board. -OR2. On the Control Panel, expand the Course Tools section and select Discussion Board. 3. On the Discussion Board page, click Create Forum on the Action Bar. 4. On the Create Forum page, type a Name and provide instructions or a description in the Description text box. 5. Select the appropriate options, such as selecting Yes to make the forum available to users. TIP: You can create forums ahead of time and set the availability to No until the discussion is ready to start. 6. Click Submit. 1. On the Course Menu, click the Tools link. On the Tools page, select Blogs or Journals. -OR2. On the Control Panel, expand the Course Tools section and select Blogs or Journals. 3. On the Blogs or Journals listing page, click Create Blog or Create Journal on the Action Bar. 4. On the Create Blog/Journal page, type a Name and provide instructions or a description in the Instructions text box. 5. Select the appropriate options, such as whether or not to allow users to delete comments they make. 6. Click Submit. 1. On the Course Menu, click the Tools link. On the Tools page, select Wikis. -OR2. On the Control Panel, expand the Course Tools section and select Wikis. 3. On the Wikis listing page, click Create Wiki on the Action Bar. 4. On the Create Wiki page, type a Name and provide instructions or a description in the Instructions text box. 5. Select the appropriate options, including whether you will allow course members to edit pages. 6. Click Submit.

* A Mashup combines elements from two or more sources. When you view a YouTube™ video in a Blackboard Learn course as part of the course content, you are experiencing a Mashup. Mashups also include Flickr® photos and SlideShare presentations. The Mashup function is available when you create many types of content.

650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 6th Floor

Washington, DC 20001-3796

Blackboard and the Blackboard logo are registered

1-800-424-9299

trademarks of Blackboard, Inc.

Getting Started With . . .

Blackboard Learn Interactive Tools

Spotlight on Commenting and Feedback to determine how long it takes to respond adequately to all students to make the assignment worthwhile. If you are grading contributions, you also need to allow time to provide comments and add grades. desire to continue writing and sharing. Some instructors award credit for completion rather than in-depth grading, while relying on commenting to encourage, suggest, and guide student responses. When students are not worried about performing to a set standard, they may be more Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind as you provide comments: Focus on content and ideas rather than grammar and punctuation -OR- alert students ahead of time when the mechanics are part of the grade or feedback. Always provide positive comments along with areas needing further work. Do not overwhelm students with too many comments.

Make comments that let students know you are a willing audience who looks forward to their writing. Focus on what you want students to address in future work.

their writing, reading comments, and communicating about those comments all contribute to a better understanding of the course material and writing itself.

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650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW 6th Floor

Washington, DC 20001-3796

Blackboard and the Blackboard logo are registered

1-800-424-9299

trademarks of Blackboard, Inc.