The Learning & Teaching Office

Figure 3 (Click image to enlarge): Creating questions and editing answer sets.

Enter the question, including all variables in square brackets. Blackboard will replace the variables with numbers, according to the range specified in the next dialog box. Then, enter the formula in the formula window and click Next. In second dialog box, calculate the range of answers you want to include, and also specify the range of tolerance (Figure 3).

This example shows a curve of print dot sizes in Photoshop and asks the student to identify the amount of dot gain at a point between 20-80%. The formula for dot gain was calculated in Excel, by entering some sample data, plotting a chart, and specifying the chart options to show the 2nd-order formula for dot gain. This formula, in turn, was entered into the Blackboard formula window. Figure 4 shows the instructor's view of the question on the left and student's view on the right.

Figure 4 (Click image to enlarge): Instructor and student view of a calculated formula question.

Figure 5 (Click image to enlarge): Respondus is a Windows program that emulates Blackboard's test-creation interface and can also create tests from Word documents.

Respondus is a Windows program for creating tests and exams that are uploaded to Blackboard (Figure 5). The program has a test-creation interface similar to Blackboard's but enables uploading an entire test or exam in Microsoft Word or text format (including answers). Mac users can run Respondus using the Windows emulation software, Parallels Desktop. Download the program from my.ryerson.ca > Blackboard 101 > Respondus.

To help students have fun learning terms, create crossword puzzles in a program like Crossword Forge. To create the puzzle, enter hints and words, publish the puzzle in HTML format, and copy the HTML file into the Content Information section of a Blackboard item (Figure 6).

Figure 6 (Click image to enlarge): Adding HTML crossword puzzles to Blackboard is an interesting way for students to learn and review technical terms or vocabulary words. (Screen capture courtesy of Martin Habekost.)

6. Keep Organized with a Weekly Schedule

An HTML-formatted table is easy to create in Blackboard 9. Use the "HTML view" (<> tool) to toggle in and out of HTML and text views. If you have some HTML skills or can use Adobe Dreamweaver, you can post your course content in an easy-to-read table that includes one column each for the week number and date, the lecture, and the lab (Figure 7). Upload materials, including PDFs of PowerPoint slides, interactive exercises, and white papers, to the Content Collection, then link them to entries in the table by selecting them and using the Link tool (globe icon).

Figure 7 (Click image to enlarge): An alternative to the "KISS" principle of simple, weekly folder layouts, an HTML-formatted table can be used to group lecture notes, handouts, exercises and other links by weekly lectures and labs.

7. Add movies to Blackboard

You can add educational movies to Blackboard by copying the HTML link to a Backboard item. For example, in YouTube: Click the "Embed" button, copy the resulting HTML code, and paste it into the Content Information section with the Visual Editor turned off. If you have your own video, you can use Ryecast to host your content, and use the Ryecast embed code in your Blackboard course. Please contact the DMP for support in using Ryecast.

8. Add Gradable Discussion Forms

You can grade students' participation in Discussion Forms by creating a graded forum. In the Discussion Board section, select Create New Forum > Forum Settings > Grade Forum, and enter the points possible. The control panel lists the number of posts that each student makes, which can be used as the basis of grading. To tie the Discussion Forum to lecture, ask students to bring a sample to lecture, and then discuss it on a Forum.

9. Section-by-Section Grade Centre Views

The Grade Centre in Blackboard 9 can have custom-made views to organize students by section. Grade Centre > Manage > Smart Views > Create Smart View > Investigate > Section Number > Equal to > include section number and check "All Columns."

10. Store Files Conveniently in the Content Collection

The Content Collection (tab at top of Blackboard) provides a convenient place to store uploaded files. To link to items in the Content Collection (e.g., to create downloadable links in an HTML weekly schedule), right-click the item in your browser and select "Copy link location." If you copy the content from another term, be sure to check Permissions (Menu options > Permissions) to make sure it's accessible to your current year's students.

11. Discussion Boards

You can use Discussion Boards to answer FAQs and reduce individual emails from students (Figure 8). Before the semester starts, consider creating one Discussion Forum, "Problems with Blackboard or Course Information." To answer the inevitable question, "What will be on the exam?" create a Discussion Forum with FAQs about the exam, such as what will be the format and material to study.

Figure 8 (Click image to enlarge): Discussion Forums help reduce email and are useful for reporting problems with course materials and questions about exams, projects, and course content.

12. Uploaded Assignments

Students can upload written assignments to Blackboard as PDFs, Word and other documents, or compressed .zip archives. You can download and read the assignment directly on your computer with the appropriate software. This is "greener" than paper and also saves having to store or return the assignments, along with the labour involved in returning them confidentially. Assignments can be submitted to Turnitin.com from Blackboard (Assignments > More > Add Turnitin Assignment) for detection of plagiarism.

13. Making PDFs

To create PDFs from Word & Excel, select File > Print and PDF > Save as PDF. When saving PDFs, avoid using illegal characters ($, %, /, -, blank space, etc.) in names because Blackboard runs on a UNIX server. You don't need Adobe Acrobat to create or view PDFs, but if you have Acrobat Professional, you can reduce the file size of PDFs for faster downloads using Document > Reduce File Size. This typically reduces file size to 25% of original, saving download time and server space.

14. Collaboration Through Groups and Discussion Forums

Students can discuss ideas and exchange files using the Groups feature. This is useful for different lab sections or smaller work groups within the sections. A new feature of Blackboard 9 is Self-Enroll Groups, which provide electronic sign-up sheets for students to join groups (Control Panel > Users and Groups > Create Single Group or Create Group Set > Self-Enrollment). The groups can have blogs, collaboration, discussion boards, email, and file exchange, among other tools.

15. Encourage Student Contributions with a Wiki

You could set up a Wiki where students contribute to a topical outline to review for an exam or to outline a class project. Your WikiSpace can be linked to an announcement or item in your Weekly Schedule (Tip #4). Although Ryerson's Blackboard doesn't have a Wiki feature for collaborative recording of ideas, the DMP encourages faculty to consult with them about an appropriate third-party site.

16. Add Buttons for Convenience

Buttons can be added to the left-hand navigation pane (click "+" sign and browse to the desired link). Useful links include contact information for the instructor and TA, librarian contact, reference lists, and helpful information on writing such as the APA Referencing & RefWorks, information on plagiarism and copyright, what to include on a report cover, and how to write an introduction, executive summary, body, and conclusion.

Acknowledgments: The authors thank Restiani Andriati and Stephanie Goetz from the Digital Media Projects Office for reviewing and making suggestions on these ideas.

Top

Since the introduction of Blackboard 9 to Ryerson, the DMP has been compiling support documents addressing frequently encountered problems, as well as highlighting new features that faculty might find useful. The Blackboard FAQ provides answers to the most frequently reported issues with Blackboard 9. In addition, the staff of the DMP have put together the following best practices for using Blackboard. For even more tips, see last year's issue of Best Practices on Using Blackboard.

Adding Library Materials to your Blackboard course

Have a list of Course Readings you want added to your course? You need to ensure you have Copyright permission for the readings. Follow the e-reserve instructions for adding the Library's Course Readings and they can be added conveniently to your course menu. Links to articles, video, digital materials, and more. Even better: the Copyright will also be taken care of!

Blackboard Mobile

Need to quickly post an Announcement or check your course shell from your wireless Apple mobile device? Download and install the Blackboard Mobile application and give it a try.

Emailing Students from the Grade Center

Are your students receiving your emails? When using the 'Send Email' tool in your course shell to email your students, a confirmation email is sent to you as well, without a list of recipients. Next time you send an email try this: go to your course shell Control Panel > Evaluation > Grade Center and select the students from the left or the top checkbox; after selecting the Email option the 'Send Email' page will let you type the Subject and Message as for any regular email. Now the important part: don't forget to select the option 'Include list of recipients' and once the email sent, the copy you receive will also contain the list of recipients' names. Only the instructor receives the Recipients' list.

Sending the emails from Grade Center is also beneficial when the Send Email tool has to be hidden from students' view in the Tools page.

Using 'Hide Dropped Students'

Tired of seeing dropped students in your Grade Center? The DMP have created a "Smart View" to dynamically hide students who have dropped the course, removing the need for you to manually hide or delete students (Control Panel > Evaluation > Grade Center > Current View - select 'Hide Dropped Students'). This method is recommended over deleting students, or using the 'Student Visibility' tool. If you don't have this Smart View in your course, contact the Blackboard Support team to set it up (or follow the instructions in the link above).

Student Groups

Blackboard has different options for creating Groups. You can either create each Group and select each student to be added to it, or have Blackboard work for you and create Group Sets with Self Enroll or Random Enroll. Not only the students can work on their own group projects with their peers but you can also create Assignments that can be submitted and graded based on group work.

Ashley Wetherall, a 4th-year GCM student, summed up the value of Blackboard. "My favourite thing about it is that everything is very organized. It gives you a sense of comfort knowing that all of the documents are located there for every class."

Jenna Fullerton, also a 4th-year GCM student, has some Blackboard suggestions and requests for professors:

1. If you're not using Blackboard, please consider getting a Blackboard shell for your course (my.ryerson.ca > Blackboard Support > Request a my.ryerson course shell). This web portal makes it easy for students to check marks and to download posted course notes and other documents.

2. Customize your Blackboard shell with unique button colours, so it's easy to identify. (From lower-left corner: Control panel > Customization > Style > Button library.)

3. Please post lecture notes or slides on Blackboard. (Save as PDF, then upload to a content area.) This is a big help to students in seeing what's coming and hopefully reading the relevant textbook chapters in advance, not to mention having a chance to catch up after unavoidable absences.

4. Add a "My Grades" button to your left-hand links menu, so students can easily check their marks. (From upper-left corner: "+" button > Create Tool Link > Name "My Grades" > Type "My Grades.")

5. Use Announcements to inform students what to expect in lecture and lab every week. (Control Panel > Course Tools > Announcements > Add Announcement.) Students like announcements that are neatly formatted and updated weekly, with old announcements deleted. Set new announcements to go out as emails.

6. Include a "Contact Information" tab with information about how to contact you and your TA (if applicable) and your office hours. (From upper-left corner: "+" button > Create Content Area > "Instructor Contact" or similar label.)

7. Practice exams and quizzes are a big hit with students. The quiz can be set up to display the correct answers after completion. (Control Panel > Tests, Surveys, and Pools > Build Test.)