Intro to Blackboard Classroom Courseware at Blackboard.com
What is Blackboard?
Blackboard is a classroom software tool for publishing course materials on the
Internet. Blackboard is similar to WebCT, but is offered through another company.
Both programs are essentially “shells” or “portals” which contain classroom tools to
build and manage online courses.
The program is a means of simplifying the construction of online course information.
It may be used for very basic text information such as a syllabus and instructor
contact info, or it can contain all the materials and resources for an entire course.
Blackboard course material may be text only, or it may contain other files such as
Word documents, PDF files, images, sound files, HTML pages, or Flash modules.
Why are we talking about Blackboard instead of WebCT?
î
Blackboard is more scalable than WebCT and will be able to handle the
expected number of accounts as ERAU gears up to 100,000 students
projected in the 2010 plan.
î
Blackboard uses a less vulnerable commercial portal, offering resource
allocation and maintenance advantages over WebCT.
î
Blackboard’s interface is easier to use than WebCT.
Embry-Riddle is currently continuing the license for WebCT, but is in the process of
setting up Blackboard as the preferred online courseware tool. Although WebCT
and ftp accounts may still be used for online courses, instructors designing new
online course materials are encouraged to use Blackboard to publish their courses.
When will Blackboard be available?
The IT department is in the process of setting up the server that will host the
Blackboard portal. We expect that the basic Blackboard course tools will be available
in fall 2001 for faculty to begin creating course materials. Blackboard will first be
integrated with the existing ERAU online portal. We will then migrate to the new
portal over the next year or so.
Until our Blackboard server is ready, any faculty wishing to set up an online course
may create a course at Blackboard’s website: http://coursesites.blackboard.com.
You may set up a course at coursesites.blackboard.com in the same way as you would
on the Embry-Riddle site. The course can be transferred to the ERAU blackboard
server when it is available.
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Why should I use Blackboard ?
An important aspect of learning is access to information and class materials.
Creating an online course allows access to course information at any time of day,
from any location with internet access. Materials can also be updated and distributed
at any time without the need to wait for the next class meeting.
Blackboard allows an instructor to create online course materials with little
background in Web design or knowledge of HTML While instructors are still
welcome to create their own web pages, Blackboard allows for easier development of
online materials.
Tools
The tools available in Blackboard include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Personal information management tools
Course content management tools
Course communication and collaboration tools
Assessment tools
Academic Web resources
Course management tools
System management tools
Tools can be customized by label and/or access. For example, you can change the
names of buttons for your course navigation. Also, if you do not wish to offer features
like “chat areas” with your course, most can be turned off and made unavailable to
the student.
How do I create a course in Blackboard?
Until the ERAU Blackboard server is available, you can log in to
http://coursesites.blackboard.com and create a course site.
You must first create an account in Blackboard, then you can create your course
site(s) and access them from your Blackboard account.
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How to Create a New Account in Blackboard
If you have already created an account, go to the next section to create a
new course.
1. Go to the Welcome page at
http://coursesites.blackboard.com
and click on the “Create Account” button.
Ø Do NOT sign in at http://blackboard.com,
which uses an older version of the portal.
2. Enter the required information in the form, next to the fields marked
with a red asterisk in sections 1 and 2.
Section 3 is optional.
Click on the “Submit” button
to create the new account.
3. You should see a message
confirming the account
creation.
Click on the “OK” button to
continue.
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How to Create a Course in Blackboard
After creating your account, you should see the Blackboard.com CourseSites
welcome screen.
This page contains information about your account, courses you are enrolled in, and
courses you have created.
1. To create a new course, find the
“Create a CourseSite!” box near
the lower right of the welcome
screen.
2. Click on the “Create a course”
link to complete the course
information form.
3. Enter the requested information in the “Create a CourseSite” fields. You will
need an ERAU course ID number and a brief description of the course.
You can copy and paste the course description from the online catalog at:
http://www.db.erau.edu/catalog
Ø Do not use spaces in the course ID number.
Ø Consider prefacing your course title with “ERAU” and use the ERAU
course name to make it easier to find in a search of the Blackboard.com
site.
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4. You can choose from several button styles for your course layout. Click on a
name in the button style list to view a button style, or click the link next to the
list to browse all of the buttons at once. You can change this later if you wish.
5. Select the options for your “course.
“Subject area”
Select the subject area and discipline that match most closely to your course.
“Guests”
If you allow guests to visit your course, anyone may view the course material.
If you do not allow guests to visit, only enrolled students may view the site.
“Available”
While you are developing the course, you may prevent others from accessing
it by making it unavailable (check “no” after available). When you are ready
for students to use your course site, you need to check “yes” in this section.
“Select Course Category”
This option is not yet available.
“Course Cartridge”
This option refers to course materials which may be purchased and added to
your course site.
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6. Click “Submit” to submit the course request and description.
7. You should now see a screen with set of navigation
buttons along the left of the page and an announcements
banner across the top.
Look at the top left of the page. The name of your new
course should be just to the right of a link that will take
you back to your account entry page. You can always refer
to the top left of the page to identify the current page
displayed on the screen.
You can click on the different navigation buttons to get a
sense of the layout.
If you are not able to access your site, contact Ed Tech for
assistance.
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8. To develop your site, click on the “Control Panel” button at the bottom left to
access the course settings.
The Control Panels allow you to enter text and upload files to the site. The
information at the site can be very simple text information, or it can contain
nearly any type of document, image, or file that can be displayed on the Web.
Control Panels
The Content Areas control panels allows customization for each course. In this
area, instructors can set default options, turn features on and off, and designate the
look and feel for the course.
The Course Tools area hosts all course components involved in instructor and
student communications. Instructors come here to send course members e-mail,
post topics to the discussion board, create calendar events, and exchange files using
a digital drop-box.
The Course Options area contains the enrollment and featured course options for
each course. In this area, instructors can change enrollment restrictions, upgrade a
course, and select a category for their course.
The User Management features are specifically for enrollment and organization of
course participants. Instructors can enroll students and designate working groups
for projects.
The Assessment area contains all the tools necessary to create and manage quizzes
and surveys. This area also provides the instructor access to view and edit student
grades in the grade book and monitor course related statistics.
The Assistance area in the control panel provides a "one stop" solution to all
instructor concerns, including online technical support and downloadable
documentation.
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