Distance Education Blog @ Sam Houston State University
An online instructor has many “friends” or tools to help facilitate communication, assessment, collaboration and learning in their online course. In many instances a faculty will chose one tool over the other for obvious reasons. A course blog can cover a number of bases and it is a medium that many of your students will already be familiar for helping to digest information. This blog post (<– see what I did there) will cover just a few ways that a course blog can benefit you and your students.
A Blog Can Keep Your Students Informed and Engaged
It is already a best practice for you to communicate regularly with your students. A blog can help facilitate that practice by helping you to post weekly (or more depending upon your need). Ensure your students have a expectation of having to check the blog regularly and can expect (from you) a post each week.
Part of what you are trying to do here is remind your students of upcoming assignments, readings, or research as well as giving them waypoints or signposts where they should be paying attention.
Use the Blog for Feedback
One of the best ways to utilize your course blog is to make it a feedback mechanism. Letting your students know that you are reading their assignment submissions, discussions and other assessments assures them that you are taking an active part on their learning journey.
For example, use the blog post to sum up student discussion posts or submitted papers for the week giving kudos (by name) to students who are really bringing it home and challenges where the class maybe coming up a little short. You can turn the feedback around and have them comment on a blog post to collect feedback.
The Course Blog Makes Finding Information Easy
Have a course blog means that your students will know where to go to find the out what’s happening in your course. They know that they can use the tool to search for the data they want.
Digging through a syllabus or checking old announcements can be time consuming for some students. The course blog provides a familiar interface that is easy to search for needed information. In many instances, students can search by category, key word or date (week, month etc..). The blog keeps an archive of old posts so your students will know exactly where to look.
Keeping your students informed, engaged and in the loop is key to ensure they have a successful leg in their educational journey. The course blog allows you to let your students know what’s going on, provide feedback and provides an easy way to find all of that information.
*Blackboard Learn provides the added benefit of associating your picture with each post and your students’ pictures with each comment, thereby making the experience more personal and connecting.
Your SHSU Online team will be Live Blogging from Blackboard World in Las Vegas from July 7 – July 12. Members of the SHSU Online team will be posting about the sessions they are attending as well as their overall experience at the conference. Can’t make it to Las Vegas yourself? No Worries! We will keep you informed and up to date with our live blogs during the event.
There are hundreds of different sessions that happen during the conference and the SHSU Online team will try an divide and conquer to soak up as much as we possibly can. Keep your eyes peeled to the Blog, our Twitter Feed and our Facebook page so get links to the SHSU Online Blackboard World Blogs. One of our team members is actually an Official BbWorld2013 Blogger and will gain prime access at Blackboard World Keynotes and events.
Have a twitter account? Jacob Spradlin will be live Tweeting the event as well. Follow his twitter feed @jspradlin for live Tweets from each of his sessions. You can check out what BbWorld attendees from all over the world are doing at Blackboard World by searching the hashtag #BbWorld13.
Be on the lookout for posts from:
Your SHSU Online Team will be live blogging about:
So be on the lookout this July. Prepare to get connected and linked into the latest from Faculty, Technology Experts and more.
In this week’s edition of Best Practice Monday, we examine a best practice when using multimedia in your courses. You can find more Multimedia Best Practices via the Teaching Online Tab when you log into Blackboard @ SHSU.
In a Perfect World, your students would be able to access every bit of your media on any device without any problems. We all know that that world doesn’t exist. Students regularly have technological snafus that interrupt their ability to view your course content. You may also have students with a disability that does not allow them to digest the media in the same way as other. In either case it is a good idea to have an alternative format of our presentation for your students put their digital “hands” on.
Examples of Alternative Methods
By providing secondary links or access you provide a much needed detour when there is Internet construction as well as backup should the SHSU Online Technical team be unavailable.
*Should a student of yours need an accommodation due to a disability, they will work through the office for Students with Disabilities. Your SHSU Online team will then work with you to ensure your course is equipped to work for that student.
If you need assistance in offering alternative methods for multimedia access, contact your college’s Instructional Designer or e-mail delta@shsu.edu.
In this ever connecting world of professional, educational and personal development, building your network has never been more important than it is now. Establishing your connections as you maneuver through your college experience will not only allow you to connect with people within your educational area, it will pre-wire connections for your professional career as well. A well-built Professional Learning Network can go a long way to ensuring success in your post-college endeavors.
With the new social learning tools available for Blackboard Learn, you and your students can discover, connect, and collaborate with others from your school as well as other Blackboard Learn schools. Blackboard has created a global learning network to allow users to learn from each other through social, informal means – complementing the more formal classroom and online course experiences.
Check out this Quick Hit video from Blackboard on the new Tools:
SHSU Online has added how-tos and more information under the Get Connected section of the Teaching Online and Getting Started: Blackboard Student Orientation courses inside Blackboard. Go to Get Connected>Social Learning tools to access the module and find out more!
Last week in this series, we blogged about Column Organization and Feedback within the Grade Center. This week we will look at three other Best Practices for Grade Center usage in Blackboard Learn.
Travel Back in Time with Grade Center History
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The Grade History page acts like a log file that records all of the changes that occur to grades within a course, and displays all the data for grade submissions for the course within a set date range. You can manipulate the view and export the information. Access the Grade History page from the Reports drop-down list on the action bar. Select View Grade History to display the page. |
The following columns appear:
| Column | Description |
|---|---|
| Date | The date you graded the item or changed the grade. |
| Last Edited By | The name of the last user to edit the grade. When clicked, you can view the username and role of the person who edited the grade. If the score appears from an automatically graded test, the name is listed as Automatic. |
| Value | The value of the grade as viewed in the Grade Center as well as the type of value and entry type, such as attempt grade and override grade. If you associated a rubric with the item, you can view it by clicking View Rubric. |
| Comments | Any associated Feedback for User or Grading Notes. |
Note: The Grade Center History is especially useful when there is any question of a student’s grade or when multiple attempts at an assessment have taken place.
Due Dates and the Grade Center
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Assign a Due Date for Each Column Assigning a Due Date for Grade Center columns populates a student’s calendar with the schedule for the course. It also leverages Blackboard’s Notification system to remind the student a week before the item is due via e-mail, the Mobile Learn App and the My Blackboard Dashboard. |
Note: Looking for a quick way to add a due to Grade Center Items you’ve already created? Click your mouse on the contextual menu that shows up when you hover over the column name and select Edit Column Information. You can then add a due date and re-Submit.
Grade Center Column and Display Names
One of the challenges encountered when using the Grade Center is viewing as many graded columns as possible on one screen. Now we’ve already addressed one way to alleviate this with Smart Views. However, there is another way to counter the problem with the use of the Grade Center Display Name.
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Grade Center Display Name When you create a column or edit a previously created column there is a field for Column name and a field for Grade Center Display Name. The Grade Center Display Name allows you to create a shortened title that displays in the grade center so that you can view more grade information across multiple Grade Center views. So, if you created an Assignment called “Assignment 2 – Foundations of Literacy” and realize it is eating up to much space but want to keep the title, just add a Grade Center Display Name of “FOL” to shrink your column width. |
Note: To add or change the Grade Center Display name, click your mouse on the contextual menu that shows up when you hover over the column name and select Edit Column Information. You can then type in a shortened name and re-Submit.
The How-to Sessions for May & June 2013 have been posted. Visit the How-to Sessions page to sign up today. In the next two months and throughout the summer there will be many opportunities to learn technical how-tos as well as strategies for success in different areas.
New offerings for May and June include:
Best Practices for Multimedia in Your Online Course
As with most tools, there are many best practices that revolve around the use of Multimedia in your online course. The practices may different depending upon the type of media you are employing. From images to audio and video these steps can help assure that your students get the most out of their multimedia experience in your course.
Feedback Strategies for Online Courses
Engagement in online courses is key for student success, teacher evaluation and the overall course experience. A great way to promote student engagement in your online course is to work on feedback. Students that receive regular feedback tend to perform better and as a result have good opinions of their time in the course. There are many sound strategies for providing feedback in an online course. This Session will cover a few key feedback strategies.
Spice up Your Blackboard Course
Learn how to make your course more visually appealing while at the same time use best practices that will help ensure your students’ success. Learn how to customize your course and make it more attractive and usable to your students. Begin to set contextual way points in your course so that your students will always know where they are and where they are going. This hour long session will add the “Spice” to course that you want.
Other How-to Sessions:
Sig up today! –
http://distance.shsu.edu/faculty-resources/how-to-sessions.html
One of the most feature rich areas of Blackboard Learn is the Grade Center. From schemas to to grading periods and smart views to column organization the grade center is like the Swiss army knife of of Blackboard. Taking this into account it is easy to see where we may only scratch the surface of what “this baby can do”, or how we can become overwhelmed with all of the data the grade center records. The next few weekly blog posts will be an attempt to highlight some best practices when it comes to getting the most out of your Blackboard Learn Grade Center.
For each area of the Grade Center we cover, we will include a best practice or two to help you along.
COLUMN ORGANIZATION – YOUR NEW BEST FRIEND
The Column Organization page is divided into various tables that control how different Grade Center views are displayed. Rows in these tables represent Columns in the Grade Center views. Rows can be manipulated to customize the different views of the Grade Center. The column organization page allows you to:
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Always Know the Group Name Trying to determine who is in what group can be a real pain when it comes to viewing students in the Grade center. By adding the Group Name column to the “Frozen” Columns you can always tell which groups your students are in. |
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Improve Your Point of View Hide the columns you don’t need so that you can see more of the columns you want when you view the full grade center. A common first step is to hide the User Name, Student ID, Last Access and Availability columns. |
FOR MORE INTELLIGENT VIEWING – USE SMART VIEWS
As you provide and view grades, you are obtaining information on how students are performing in your course. You can tailor your view of student progress by creating smart views. A smart view is a focused look at the Grade Center. It shows only the columns that match a set of criteria, and the view is saved for continued use. When the Grade Center includes a great number of students and columns, you can use smart views to quickly find data.
You have 8 Smart Views by default with 2 of them (Assignments & Tests) marked as Favorites that show up in your Grade Center area of your course’s Control panel. These Smart views are: Assignments, Blogs, Discussion Boards, Final Grade View, Journals, Preview of My Grades, Self & Peer Assessments & Tests. The Smart views are accessed by using the Manage button on your Grade Center’s Action Bar and choosing Smart Views.
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Smart View for Merged Course When you have multiple sections merged in Blackboard, the Grade Center will create a column name called Child Course ID. You can create a smart view based upon the Name within the Child Course ID column. You will use the Create Smart View button on the Smart Views page, give it a Name (Name of the section you want to view) and Description (Optional), then choose the Custom radio button and select Child Course ID as the User Criteria and paste in the ID for the Value. *You will need to copy the ID from your Grade Center before you access this page and paste it. |
GRADE CENTER – MAKE IT PERSONAL…..WITH FEEDBACK!
If you utilize the Grade Center in your Blackboard course, you will find that students check it early and often (all apologies to voting strategies aside). Heck, if you just have a Blackboard shell for your course, your students will expect it! While students appreciate the fact that you post grades regularly, online and indeed face-to-face students want to know why they received a particular grade.
A great way to connect to your student and let them know the reasons for their particular grade is to leave feedback. Even just a quick word of encouragement will go along way toward promoting student engagement in your course.
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Put a face or voice to the name with Audio & Video Feedback One of the largest concerns voiced in the distance learning community is that online students rarely get to see or hear from their instructor. The Grade Center in Blackboard Learn allows you to leave audio or video feedback directly to your students for a particular graded item. You can use the Wimba Voice Authoring tool to add a quick audio message or use the Video Everywhere tool to post some video feedback to your student. |
Tune in next week for our next installment of Grade Center Best Practices.
Possibly the best new thing in Blackboard Learn is the Video Everywhere tool and leverages Youtube so that students can post video in your Blackboard courses. In days of yore, recorded video for students inside a Blackboard course was like searching for that ever elusive Bigfoot in the Adirondacks. Seldom seen and only in the hard to reach (hard to teach) places. Students were relegated to using third party tools and hoping that the embed code they would use worked within the rusty environs of the old text editor.
Now students and faculty can easily present, share and communicate inside blackboard via the Video Everywhere tool. First let me show you a great over view from Blackboard’s own “Quick-Hit” master; Vivek Ramgopal. His videos are a must use resource for faculty and students.
Now we will look at the steps you need to take to record and/or upload a video using the Video Everywhere Tool.
To access the Video Everywhere feature just click the little webcam button on your content editor. Video Everywhere is available anywhere you use a content editor. You can add video to discussions, blogs, tests/quizzes, wikis, journals and feedback conversations with your instructor via the gradebook.
If nothing happens, be sure you have allowed popups.
You will need to sign in to leverage your YouTube account to add video to your course. Signing in is as easy as using the Sign in To YouTube link or button.
In most cases this is your Google account, so if you have Gmail or use Google Docs you are already in luck! If you do not have an account you will be prompted to create one.
*Note: If you sign in and notice that you don’t have the ability to press the Record button to capture your image you will need to close your WebCam Recorder window and click the Video Everywhere button 
again on your content editor and then select Record.
Before you record yourself, be sure that you have your webcam/microphone plugged into your computer (if needed).
You can also add previously recorded YouTube videos from your Video Library!
button on content editor and sign in if you haven’t already.
Yes, that’s right, now you can receive help from 7am – midnight Monday – Saturday* by contacting our Technical Team at the SHSU Online Help Desk.
Our team has added a full-time staff member to expand when we can assist you. We now have three full-time staff members and 5 student assistants to serve you!
