Blackboard Training

  1. Turn off any button, area or tool that you are not using. It lowers a student's anxiety level especially at the beginning of a semester.
    • Login to Blackboard
    • Select your course
    • Go to the Control Panel
    • Select the Manage Course Menu in the Course Options panel
    • Select the Remove button for the areas you're not using. (FYI: if you accidentally remove an area that has content in it - it will be deleted!! Be careful.)
  2. Don't try to build your course in one day!!  Build your course over time.  For your first semester, use the Announcement and Gradebook tool and add your syllabus.  If that's too much, just add your syllabus.  Once you feel comfortable inside the Blackboard environment then by all means, venture out! The point is, you didn't build your classroom course in a day and no one is expecting you to build an online course in a day either.  Baby steps.
     
  3. Always, always demo your course for students at the beginning of the semester.  It will cut down on the, "Where's the syllabus?" and "What's my grade?" questions.
     
  4. Use a fake student account to test your course as a student. You can enroll by the username the account student with a password of student.
     
  5. Refrain from using dates in your course except for the course syllabus/schedule.  This is important if you copy the course from a previous semester.  If you use dates throughout your course (i.e. this assignment is due on xx/xx/2005) you'll have to go back and change them for the next semester.
     
  6. If you're using advanced tools like the groups or assignment tool, create a separate "How to Use Blackboard" content area within your course for students. For example, if you're using the assignment tool, go to the Blackboard student manual, search for assignments and copy and paste them into a Word file.  More often than not, students will not read the manual, but will download a one-two pager describing the steps.
     
  7. Sign up for training for you and your colleagues. There are many ways to gain the knowledge to enhance your courses' online presence: attend local conferences, attend national E-Learning/Blackboard conferences and on-campus hands-on training workshops.  You have a dedicated support staff that offers training-take advantage of it!!  Again, you don't have to do it all by yourself and within a short period of time.  Take full advantage of your support staff and various conferences dedicated to Blackboard and/or E-Learning.  You and your students will be glad you did.

 

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If you have questions about the SHSU Computer Services, please contact us at:

Computer Services
SHSU Box 2449
Sam Houston State University
Huntsville, Texas 77341-2449
Phone: (936) 294-1950
Email: helpdesk@shsu.edu
Fax: (936) 294-1231