Summer Session Reminders

I hope everyone is ready to roll for the start of the summer session.   Here are a few reminders as you put the finishing touches on your courses.

1. Course Availability:  Don't forget to make course areas available to students by 8:00 AM at the start of your session.  (For example, if you have a 10 week session online or hybrid course, your course area should be made available no later than 8:00 AM on May 23rd.)    Modifying Course Availability Video 


2. Upgrade Checklist:  If you had content set-up before the upgrade or you ran any sort of course copy or export/import to reuse content from previous semesters, you should go through your courses very carefully to look for areas that may need to be fixed.  Use this course checklist as a guideline. 
   
   
3. Copy and Paste from Word:  As you continue to work on your courses or add content throughout the semester, remember that we have a new Copy and Paste from Word tool  If you are copying content form Microsoft Word to then paste into Blackboard, you need to utilize this tool.   In the past, instructors have been encouraged to not copy and paste from Word into Blackboard because of the number of issues that could result…text formatting problems, students unable to see text at all, corruption of tests, discussion board errors, and the list goes on….  This is due to hidden formatting code that is included when copying and pasting from Word.   We now have a tool in Blackboard that can remove that code which should address these issues and allow you to copy text from Word and paste directly into Blackboard.  It will preserve your tables and formatting from Word, but will remove any problematic coding.    Copy and Paste from Word Mash-Up
    
4. Instructor Student Accounts:  Do not forget that you will no longer have the capability to enroll or remove students within your course areas.  In the past, you had to enroll your own student account in your course(s), but you will not need to do this now.  I do encourage you to utilize your student account when checking your courses before the start of the semester and during the semester.  (Using Instructor Student Accounts)


5. The Blackboard Upgrade:   Blackboard 9.1 Information  (This is a link to the last blog post concerning the Blackboard upgrade.)


6. Tools:  If you utilize a link to "Tools" on your course menu, do not "Hide Links" to any tools that you utilize in your course from that screen.  You can make this button unavailable and make direct links to tools either on your course menu or within content areas of your course.  In Blackboard 9.1, if you hide the links on this "Tools" page, it hides those areas from students EVERYWHERE in your course.  This is not how Blackboard functioned in the previous versions.  


7. Web Browsers and Blackboard:  There continues to be issues with using Internet Explorer and Blackboard.  In the past, if you or a student HAD to use Internet Explorer, we recommended that you utilize Internet Explorer in Compatibility Mode.  We are beginning to now find issues with compatibility mode.  We recommend that you use either Firefox or Google Chrome when accessing Blackboard.  We are still testing Google Chrome, but it is now identified as a supported browser, and so far it looks positive.


8. Duplicate Menu Buttons:  When you copied over course content into your new course, you may have copied buttons that you didn't need. You need to either delete or hide those to clean up your course menu. For example: You should have a "Student Help" button, not "Help?".  Delete "Help?" if you see this in your course menu. Click here for Organizing the Course Menu Instructions (Warning if you course copied Instructor Resources or Student Help, you probably duplicated the content within those areas. Those areas are automatically created for all courses in the template. You don't need to include them in the course copy. Check the Student help button. You should see 4 folders. If you see duplicate folders, please get rid of them.) If your course is either an online or hybrid course, DO NOT remove the course evaluation button on the course menu.


9. Technology Training Site (This link will take you directly to BB handouts and tutorials.)    We will continue to update this with new Blackboard 9.1 Tutorials.  Also remember that you have access to software tutorials through Atomic Learning.  You can utilize these tutorials with students and/or view them yourself.  There are tutorials for Blackboard 9.1 (and many, many other software programs and tools) through this site, and several of those Blackboard tutorials are linked in the Student Help section of each summer and fall course shell.    There is information on Atomic Learning, including a link to the site, within Blackboard on the SVCC tab.
   
   
10. SVCC Distance Ed Page (Go to this website and scroll down to "Important Links". There you will find links to a Blackboard FAQ page, BB test taking tips page, Computer Maintenance Tips, etc. You might find useful information here that you direct your students to, such as how to submit an assignment into Blackboard or how to post to the discussion board.)

One Final Blackboard Upgrade Update and Summer Session Reminders

It is just about that time!!  The Blackboard upgrade to version 9.1 is upon us.  Blackboard will be unavailable from 8:00 AM Friday, May 11th until 11:30 PM Sunday, May 13th.   Here are some last minute reminders and additional notes for you, and links to training materials for the major areas impacted by the upgrade and/or new tools available to you.

Reminders and Notes:

1. Before the upgrade - Export your course content and save to your computer (It never hurts to back-up.  This is a good rule of thumb as part of your wrap-up at the end of each semester.  Export your content - This creates a zip file that you can save to your computer or flash drive.  Just remember where you saved it!)  : )   For instructions on how to do this, go this site and scroll down to 'Course Management and Navigation'.  There is an 'Export Course' handout linked there.    Blackboard 9.0 Handouts
    
2. After the Upgrade - Check your course(s) after the upgrade.  Those of you who are teaching summer courses, need to go through your courses very carefully to look for areas that may need to be fixed.  Use this course checklist as a guideline.  Be ready to make corrections.
    
3. Change/Note Concerning File Management within Blackboard 9.1  -- Please review notation below within the training materials section.
   
   
4. Two Additional New Tools:  There is a 'Manage Users' tool and 'Copy and Paste From Word' option that will also be added to Blackboard at the time of the upgrade.  These are not new 9.1 features, but are tools that have been approved to be integrated into our system and the upgrade seems like a good time to do it.  : )  Although these are very minor additions, I believe they will prove to be extremely useful.  Here are some guides to these tools for your review. 
   
   Manage User Tool    Copy and Paste from Word Mash-Up
    
5. Do not forget that you will no longer have the capability to enroll or remove students within your course areas.  In the past, you had to enroll your own student account in your course(s), but you will not need to do this now.  I do encourage you to utilize your student account when checking your courses before the start of the semester...especially after this upgrade.  (Using Instructor Student Accounts)
    
6. Course Copies - Feel free to run your course copy or export/import of your content into your new summer course areas before the upgrade.  Please DO NOT wait until the day before classes begin to do this.  It can take up to 24 hours for a course copy to process, so you may have to wait awhile, especially right before the beginning of a session. If the copy does not process in 24 hours, please email me at kelly.goscinski@southside.edu.  I can submit a ticket with the VCCS to check their logs.  You don't want to run a copy twice and end up with duplicate content.  (The link above to our Blackboard 9.0 handouts has one on course copies and another on exporting/importing content depending on which method you use.) 

You can find information below on the primary new features and tools available within Blackboard 9.1.  I have included links to the recordings of our online sessions (There are some areas that do not have recordings posted at this time.), and our instructional guides that we shared during the sessions are all linked below as well.

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File Management within Blackboard 9.1: "Course files eliminate redundancy and simplify the management of content updates. An in-course file storage structure makes it easier to keep track of documents used in courses, similar to the type of file and folder structure that is used on your PC. A new thumb nail view and drag and drop upload applet make it quick and easy to get files into Blackboard and to view the image files." 

UPDATE:  The drag and drop capability to upload multiple files at once into the "My Files" area within Blackboard 9.1 will not be functional as of the May upgrade.  Although this is a feature of 9.1, there is a modification that must be made to the Blackboard server before this will be functional.  That will hopefully be coming soon, so I will keep you updated.  On another note, you can still upload multiple files at once, but you will first need to organize those files into a zipped file (compressed file).  You can then import them as a package into the My Files area.    Multiple File Upload Instructions

Instructional Handout/Guide to File Management within Blackboard 9.1 

• Course Files Tour
• Adding Course Files to Content Items
• Recording of Online Session (Recorded 4/2/12)

Adding Content - Creating Blank Pages, Learning Modules w/Table of Contents, Mash-Ups, Adding Textbook Information ( Getting started with Course Content )

Instructional Handout/Guide to Adding Content within Blackboard 9.1 (Extended Version)
Quick Guide to New Content Types in Blackboard 9.1 

• Creating Blank Pages
• Learning Modules w/Table of Contents
• Creating a Mash-Up
• Adding Textbook Information

Interactive Rubrics: Creating a Grading Rubric, Associating a Rubric with a Gradable Item, Grading with a Rubric


Instructional Handout/Guide to the New Interactive Rubrics Tool

• Creating a Grading Rubric
• Associating a Rubric with a Gradable Item
• Grading with a Rubric
• Recording of Online Session (Recorded 4/9/12)
  
  

Discussion Boards, Journals, Blogs, and Wikis - Special focus on Wikis since this a new option: "Wikis enable active collaboration around course content and group projects. Users collaborate on a document using only a web browser. Educators can see the process and evolution of the work and even participate. Furthermore, educators can see each participant’s contributions and grade accordingly."



Instructional Handout/Guide to Discussion Boards, Wikis, Journals, and Blogs in 9.1 (Extended instructions)

Quick Guide to these Communication Tools

• Creating a Wiki
• Editing a Wiki Page
• Linking Wiki Pages
• Viewing a Wiki Page History
• Grading Wikis
• Grading Discussion Board Threads 
• Communication (Recording  -- Recorded 5/12)

New Options and Features within the Grade Center: Needs Grading View, Anonymous Grading, Grading By Question Attempt, Color Coding

Instructional Handout/Guide to the new Grade Center Features  

• Anonymous Grading
• Grading Assessments Question by Question
• Color Code the Grade Center
• Needs Grading View (This document outlines this view with Blackboard 9.1 service pack 8. We are going to 9.1 service pack 7, but this component is very similar in these versions. This would introduce you to this capability.)

New Options and Features in Blackboard Testing: Setting Test Options, Question Finder, Linking to Questions, Question Sets, Copying Tests

Instructional Handout/Guide to Testing in Blackboard 9.1 
Guide to Using the Question Finder and Question Sets Options 

• Setting Test Options
• Question Finder Feature
• New Testing Features (Recording - Recorded 5/12)
   

Blackboard Collaborate: Integrated within Blackboard -- Provides instructors with a tool to set-up and utilize online meeting rooms.

Blackboard Collaborate Web Conferencing Tool

Instructional Handout/Guide to using Collaborate in Blackboard 9.1
How to Utilize Collaborate (Recording- Recorded 5/12