Blackboard Approaches
Tips:
· Keep video lectures short, ideally to around 10 minutes. This not only keeps the student engaged, but allows the videos to download more quickly and avoid bandwidth issues. Try breaking up your 50 minute lecture into four or five 10 minute lectures.
· Try putting questions into Blackboard between lectures, either for points or just for "participation." This can keep the student engaged and allow you to check that your lecture material is getting through to your students.
· If you plan to re-use your lecture videos, try to avoid mentioning specific dates. You can always make a short video that discusses a specific project, exam, or date, and then you only have to redo that one video for the next semester, rather than re-recording all of the lecture material.
Main Menu
Recommend limiting to 5-7 links on the main menu; then subfolders allow access to additional content within the folder
Common menu items include
· Announcements
· Course Information/Documents – syllabus, course schedule, intro video of professor
· Course Materials/Modules
· Assignments
· Tests/Quizzes
· My Grades
· Other items as required by course: Discussion Board, Groups, Journal, Blogs, etc.
· Folders –
o Folders hold the content in the order in which the course organizer arranges
o Content may include video, documents, assignments, tests/quizzes, links to other activities in Blackboard such as discussion fora, assignments, wikis, external web links including Adobe Connect recordings, etc.
o Explanations and instructions can be added to the folders and content.
o Student users may access the content in any order desired any time that the folder and/or its contents is made available to the students. (Start and End times may be selected.)
Examples
AAS/ENG264-219 Major Black Writers (summer I 2011)
· Modules –
o Chunks or groups content material often identified as units or lessons. Each unit includes all course materials or links to the course material for that unit.
o Keeps the content organized by topics. The items can be sequenced. The sequence can be required in which the students must complete one item prior to moving to the second item.
Examples
ANT431G-229 Cult/Soc SubSahar Africa (Course Units (1-6)/Unit 2 – Images of Africa and Anthropology for Better Understanding) Has Table of Contents for each unit/module with overview for the unit as the first item.
AS300-228 Global Dynamics of Health and Disease (Module II: Globalization and Health (used web videos) Listed as Modules
AST192-229 Stars, Galaxies and the Universe (Course Content/Lesson 2) – mini lecture videos with questions between within each lesson. Listed as lessons with Table of Contents.
· Main Menu Schedule –
Similar to module with the Modules/Units/Lessons identified on the main menu.
Examples
AAS/ENG264-219 Major Black Writers (Winter Session 2011-12)
Created by Hatcher, OLE on 1/9/2012. Last saved by Hatcher, Rovina L on 3/30/2012 1:58 PM.
Location: Z:\ISD\Course Development Info\Tools\Blackboard Approaches.docx