Once the course design is done and your course has begun, how can you help
students be successful? In this module, we will explore tools that are designed to
help you keep your students on track. We will focus on how to release content
using basic and advance adaptive release rules, monitor student progress
through the Performance Dashboard and Retention Center, as well as viewing
Course Statistics.
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Table of Contents
ADAPTIVE RELEASE ..................................................................................................................... 4
Basic & Advance Adaptive Release ...................................................................................... 5
Basic Adapative Release ......................................................................................................... 6
Basic Adapative Release Examples ........................................................................................ 7
TRY IT ................................................................................................................................. 10
Advance Adaptive Release .................................................................................................. 11
Advance Adapative Release Examples .............................................................................. 12
TRY IT ................................................................................................................................. 14
Modifying Adaptive Release Rules ....................................................................................... 15
TRY IT ................................................................................................................................. 16
MONITOR STUDENT PROGRESS ............................................................................................... 17
Enable Review Status .............................................................................................................. 18
Monitor Review Status ............................................................................................................. 19
The Performance Dashboard ................................................................................................ 20
The Retention Center .............................................................................................................. 21
The Retention Center Table ................................................................................................... 22
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TRY IT ................................................................................................................................. 23
VIEW USAGE STATISTICS ........................................................................................................... 24
Course Reports ......................................................................................................................... 25
Overall Summary of User Activity........................................................................................... 26
Read Summary of User Activity Report ................................................................................. 27
Content Statistics Tracking ..................................................................................................... 29
TRY IT ................................................................................................................................. 30
GOING FURTHER ....................................................................................................................... 31
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ADAPTIVE RELEASE
Adaptive release allows you to control when content is shown based on criteria that you set.
By customizing the release of content, you are creating a course that is more interactive and
tailored to the needs of individual students.
NOTE: The item MUST be available. If it is UNAVAILABLE, no matter what criteria you set, it will
never be visible to your students until it is made available.
The four criteria you can set are:
Criteria
Item released only
For example
Date
Choose to display
content on, until, or
between specific
dates/times.
Content is covered in a specific order, and
you want content available only after it has
been discussed in class.
To specific users or
groups of users
You divided your class into four groups and
created different assignments for each
group.
Membership
You have created a midterm exam for your
class, but you want to release it only during
the date and time specified by your school
schedule.
Specific students have requested more
information on a topic.
Grade
If a graded item was
attempted or received
a certain score, for
example, less than,
greater than, equal to,
or between
You have created multiple review
packages. One set for students who
received 70% or over on the midterm exam,
and another set for students who received
69% or less on the midterm exam.
Review
Status
If a content item is
marked as reviewed
You want content to be released only after
students have reviewed a related content
item.
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Basic & Advance Adaptive
Release
There are two type of adaptive release: Basic and Advance.
Basic
Advance
AND
AND or OR
All criteria form AND
statements within one Rule
Criteria within a Rule form
AND statements while two or
more Rules create OR
statements between the rules
One
Unlimited
Up to four, but only one of
each type.
Unlimited
Content is released when...
All criteria in the rule are met.
All criteria in one of the rules
is met. Only one rule must be
satisfied to release content.
Advantages
You can set all four types of
criteria from one page.
You can add multiple
instances of the same type
of criteria to a rule.
Logic
Number of Rules that can be
applied
Number of Criteria for an
Individual Rule
If you choose to add release
criteria later, access your
basic rule from the Adaptive
Release: Advanced page
and build on it.
You can add multiple rules.
Basic and Advance Adaptive Release
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Basic Adapative Release
Key Notes about Basic Adaptive Release Rules:

There can be only one rule created (i.e. no multiple
instances of the same type of criteria).

If multiple criteria is used, all must be satisfied before
the content is release.

The more restrictions you apply, the more items a user
will need to complete to gain access.
Create a Basic Adaptive Release Rule
A. In Edit Mode, click the contextual menu for the item.
B. Click Adaptive Release.
C. Select any of the four types of criteria by filling out the information for each one.
D. Click Submit.
Adaptive Release Criteria
Create a Basic Adaptive Release Rule
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Basic Adaptive Release
Examples
Not sure where to start with Basic Adaptive Release rules? Consider these common
examples:
Release on a Specific Date:
A. Click Display After.
B. Click calendar to
choose a date.
C. Click clock to choose
the time.
Release Based on Grade:
A. Click Select a Grade
Center item from dropdown.
B. Click User has at least
one attempt
C. OR
D. Click Score or Percent,
then modify the
boundary, and supply
the grade.
Release to a Specific Group:
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A. Click the name of the
group from Items to
Select.
B. Click arrow pointing to
right to move.
C. Group should appear
in Selected Items.
Release Based on Review Status:
A. Click Browse to
locate an item.
B. The name will
appear in the Select
an item entry.
C. Student will have to
mark an item as
reviewed.
Release on a specific date but to only those that have a specific grade:
A. Click Display After.
B. Click calendar to
choose a date and
lick clock to choose
the time.
C. Click Select a
Grade Center item
from drop-down.
D. Click User has at
least one attempt
E. OR
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Click Score or
Percent, then
modify the
boundary, and
supply the grade.
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TRY IT
For this activity, use your Practice
Course.
Apply membership criteria: create a rule that release content only to select students.


Click Assignments from the Course Menu. Click the contextual menu for the Extra
Credit Assignment and click Adaptive Release.
Make the assignment available to Javier Perez and Sandra Scott.
Apply date and grade criteria: content will be released between specific dates, if a certain
grade has been achieved.


Click Assessments from the Course Menu. Click the contextual menu for the Unit 5
Quiz and click Adaptive Release.
Make the quiz available between two dates spanning two weeks to students who
received a score of 20 or higher on the Unit 4 Quiz.
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Advance Adaptive Release
Creating Advance Adaptive Release rules are similar to the Basic. You have the same criteria
to choose from, but you can create unlimited rules with unlimited criteria. For example: you
want a user to review two documents before having a quiz released. That would require two
Review criteria to be met, making it an Advance rule.
A. In Edit Mode, click the contextual menu for the item.
B. Click Adaptive Release: Advance.
C. Click Create Rule.
D. After giving the rule a name, you can then add Criteria or Review statuses. Add as
many as needed for the rule. When finished, click OK.
E. You will see your newly created rule.
Adaptive Release Criteria
Create an Advanced Adaptive Release Rule
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Advance Adapative Release
Examples
Let’s explore some common Advance Adaptive Release examples.
NOTE: All of the following steps take place after Adaptive Release: Advance has been
clicked and a New Rule has already been created.
Release on multiple grade columns:
A. Click Create Criteria and
choose Grade Center Item.
B. Choose the item from Select
a Grade Center Item dropdown menu.
C. Click User has at least one
attempt
D. OR
E. Click Score or Percent, then
modify the boundary, and
supply the grade. Click
Submit.
Repeat until all grades have
been entered.
Release based on multiple review status:
A. Click Review Status.
B. Click Browse to locate an
item.
C. The name will appear in the
Select an item entry. Click
Submit.
Repeat until all grades have
been entered.
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Release content using two different ways, using two different rules:
Remember: Only one rule must be met to release the item. This gives the students the choice
to see the material sooner, if they mark a content item as reviewed before the release date.
A. Click Create Criteria and
choose Date.
B. Click Display After.
C. Click calendar to
choose a date and click
clock to choose the
time. Click Submit.
D. Click Review Status.
E. Click Browse to locate
an item.
F. The name will appear in
the Select an item entry.
Click Submit.
There are now two paths.
The student can review a
particular item to see the
content early OR it will
automatically be released
after a certain date.
Examples of Advance Adaptive Release
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TRY IT
For this activity, use your Practice
Course.
Add multiple grade criteria: create a rule that releases a folder only when two grade criteria
have been met.

Click Units from the Course Menu. Click the contextual menu for the Unit 3: Gas
Giants folder. Click Adaptive Release: Advance. Create the following rule:
o
Achieve a score of 20 or higher on the Unit 2 Quiz.
o
AND submitted the Plant Paper assignment.
Add multiple rules: create a rule that releases a folder only when one of the multiple rules
have been met.

Click Units from the Course Menu. Click the contextual menu for the Unit 4: Icy
Pluto folder. Click Adaptive Release: Advance. Create the following rules:
o
After a date in the near future.
o
OR after submission of the Plant Paper assignment.
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Modifying Adaptive Release
Rules
You can edit rules to change or add criteria, and to rename them. You can also copy
Advance Rules.
However, if your students are reporting that the content is not visible, even after meeting all
the criteria check to see that it is set to Available.
Basic Rules
To Edit:
1. Click the content item’s contextual menu and click Adaptive Release.
2. Make your modifications and click Submit.
To Add Criteria:
1. Click the content item’s contextual menu and click Adaptive Release.
2. Make your modifications and click Submit.
To Delete:
1. Click the content item’s contextual menu and click Adaptive Release.
2. Remove all criteria and click Submit.
Advance Rules
To Edit the Name of a Rule:
1. Click the content item’s contextual menu and click Adaptive Release: Advanced.
2. Click rule’s contextual menu, and click Manage.
3. Rename the rule and click Submit.
To Edit or Delete Criteria of an Advance Rule:
1. Click the content item’s contextual menu and click Adaptive Release: Advanced.
2. Click rule’s contextual menu, and click Edit Criteria.
a. To Delete: Click the criteria box to the left of the title and click Delete.
b. To Edit: Click the contextual menu of the criteria and click Edit. Make your
modifications and click Submit.
To Copy an Advance Rule:
1. Click the content item’s contextual menu and click Adaptive Release: Advanced.
2. Click rule’s box to the left of the title and click Copy.
3. A copy of the rule will appear below the original one. Make the modifications as
needed.
Edit an Adaptive Release Rule
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TRY IT
For this activity, use your Practice
Course.
Edit basic rule

Click Assessments from the Course Menu. Click the contextual menu for the Unit 5
Quiz and click Adaptive Release.
o
Extend the date by another week.
Edit advance rule

Click Units from the Course Menu. Click the contextual menu for the Unit 3: Gas
Giants folder. Click Adaptive Release: Advance.
o
Edit the criteria for the Unit 2 Quiz to 30.
Add and then rename advance rules

Click Units from the Course Menu. Click the contextual menu for the Unit 4: Icy
Pluto folder. Click Adaptive Release: Advance.
o
Add a rule that will release the item after they have reviewed Unit 2: Terrestrial
Planets learning module.
o
Rename one of the previous created rules.
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MONITOR STUDENT PROGRESS
This section will focus on three important tools that allow you to monitor your student’s
progress through the course.
Review Status: You can monitor student progress by item, by checking which students can
access a specific item, and who has reviewed it.
Performance Dashboard: monitor progress by student, easily tracking student progress,
participation, and performance in your course.
Retention Center: use the preconfigured rules and rules you create to visually display
students’ engagement and participation, quickly alerting you to potential risk.
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Enable Review Status
When you enable a review status, your students will need to click Review to demonstrate
they have reviewed an item. Think it as a confirmation.
You can enable review status using Adaptive Release (as reviewed earlier). You can also
enable review directly from the contextual menu of an item.
To Enable Review Status (outside Adaptive Release):
A. In Edit Mode, click the contextual menu for the item.
B. Click Set Review Status (Disabled).
C. Click Enable and then Submit.
D. The item will now show Enabled: Review.
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Monitor Review Status
You can check content items to see if students can access them. This is particularly helpful if
you set adaptive release criteria for an item.
If you enabled review status for an item, you can check which students have reviewed the
item.
To Monitor Review Status:
A. In Edit Mode, click the contextual menu for the item.
B. Click User Progress.
C. The User Progress page appears. If there is a blue check mark in the Reviewed
column, it shows it has been reviewed. A gray checkmark means it has not been
reviewed.
a. Open eye in Visibility: item is visible to that user.
b. Eye with a slash: item is not visible to that user.
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The Performance Dashboard
The Performance Dashboard provides you with a view into all types of user activity in your
course. All users enrolled in your course are listed, including instructors, students, teaching
assistants, graders, observers, and guests, with pertinent information about each user’s
progress and activity.
To Access the Performance Dashboard: Click Evaluation and click Performance Dashboard.
Click a column heading to sort the contents.
When to use the Performance Dashboard to monitor students:

Beginning of the semester to determine the have successfully accessed the course.

As the term progresses, monitor how often they are logging in.

If you are concerned about the progress of a particular student, click the adaptive
release icon to verify the visibility of content for the student, or click the View Grades
icon to see recorded grades.

If the Retention Center is enabled, the Customize Retention Center column shows the
number of triggered rules and the number of total rules that may trigger a warning.
Performance Dashboard
Performance Dashboard Overview
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The Retention Center
Monitoring student performance and communicating concerns to students and their
learning partners can be a challenge. The Retention Center provides an easy way for you to
discover which students in your course are at risk. The information in the Retention Center is
for instructors only and is not seen by your students.
Based on preconfigured rules and rules you create, students’ engagement and participation
are visually displayed, quickly alerting you to potential risk. From the Retention Center, you
can communicate with struggling students and help them take immediate action for
improvement.
To Turn the Retention Center On or Off
If you do not see the Retention Center, make sure it’s turn on: Control Panel > Customization
> Tool Availability.
To Access the Retention Center:
A. From My Blackboard, click Retention Center.
B. From Evaluation, click Retention Center.
Retention Center
Retention Center Overview
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The Retention Center Table
A. Students currently at risk bar: displays the number of students who have: missed
deadlines, have low grades, have not contributed, or have not logged in. Click a
section to display more information that statistic.
B. Red Dot: click to reveal the matching risk factor menu.
C. Matching Risk Factors: detailed overview of the matching risk factors. Click Monitor to
add student to Students you are monitoring. Click Notify to send the student, parent,
or student and parent an email.
D. Customize: create new, edit existing, or delete rules.
E. Students you are monitoring: shows all the students you have chosen to monitor.
F. Other information you are monitoring: all rules you include from the risk table appear
here. You can create new rules in Customize.
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TRY IT
For this activity, use your Practice
Course.
Retention Center

Click Retention Center from the Course Menu. Answer the following questions:
o
How many students are currently at risk?
o
How many students have low grades?
o
How many students have not logged in?
Retention Center: monitoring students

Click the red dot for Chris Casper under the Grade Alert column.
o
Click Monitor.
o
His name should now appear in the Students you are monitoring section.
Notes and Notify

Click Henry Wagner’s name.
o
Click Monitor.
o
Add a new note about this student.
o
Notify to send him a note.
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VIEW USAGE STATISTICS
This section will focus on how to view statistics for both your courses and for specific content
items within your course. Viewing statistics can help you meet course and performance
goals.
We will explore the following tools:
Course Reports: eight types of course reports which can help identify areas that need
reorganizing, topics for class discussion, and/or students who need assistance.
Content Statistics Tracking: generate statistics for content items that have been viewed by
your students.
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Course Reports
Statistics for your course can appear in eight types of course reports.
Statistics include how often areas of your course are accessed,
when, and by whom. Below is a list of all the reports and their uses.
All reports can be accessed from Evaluation > Class Reports.
Report
Use
All User Activity inside
Content Areas
 Check to see if students who performed poorly accessed
the related content area.
 Check to see which content areas are accessed and
how often.
TIP: Consider whether the location of the content area within
the course structure affects access.
Course Activity
Overview
 Check which students are accessing the course and how
much time they are spending.
 One-click access to the Student Overview for Single
Course report for each listed student.
Course Coverage
Report
 Gather data on course items that have been aligned to
goals.
Course Performance
 Gather information showing how a single Blackboard
Learn course performs against a selected set of goals.
Overall Summary of
User Activity
 Check which pages are accessed and how often.
Student Overview for
Single Course
 Check an individual student’s course activity. View how
much time they spend in your course and which items
they access.
User Activity in Forums
 Check which discussion forums are most popular.
User Activity in Groups
 Check if all members of a group have accessed their
group homepage.
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 Check course access for specific students.
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Overall Summary of User
Activity
The Overall Summary of User Activity provides a snapshot of your course access. This is used
to display an overview of course access and you can limit the report to specific dates and
users.
To Run the Overall Summary of User Activity Report
1. Click Class Reports from under Evaluation.
2. Click the contextual menu for Summary of User Activity Report and click Run.
3. The Run Reports form will now be visible. Make your Report Specifications and click
Submit.
4. The report process and you will see a Success message. Choose to save the report to
the Content Collection or Download Report.
Report Specifications Explained
A. Select Format: choose the report format: PDF, HTML, Excel, or Word.
B. Select a Start Date: choose the date to begin the report.
C. Select an End Date: choose the date to end the report.
D. Select Users: Choose the users you want to view.

To select the entire list: click the first name, hold down the shift key, and then
click the last name. Everyone will be highlighted.

To select more than one person, not a list: click one name and hold down
the CTRL key (PC users) or COMMAND key (Mac users), and click all the
additional names. Those individuals will be highlighted.
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Read Summary of User
Activity Report
The report is divided into four sections: Access/Application, Access/Date, Access/Hour of
Day, and Access/Day of Week.
Access/Application

What is displayed?
1. Overall number and percentages for hits to course areas or tools.
2. Individual number and percentages for hits to course areas or tools for those
selected.

Ideas on Usage:
o
If you noticed that a certain content or tool is underutilized, send an email or
post an announcement to encourage students to review the item.
o
A student might have done poorly on a test or assignment. Verify how many
times they reviewed the instructional material.
Access/Date


What is displayed?
o
Bar graph displaying all users’ access during the specific date range.
o
Table of all users’ hits during the specific date range.
Ideas on Usage:
o
Identify trends in course access (i.e. do spikes coincide with assignment due
dates?)
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o
Identify how often a specific user accesses the course.
Access/Hour of Day Section

What is displayed?
o

Bar graph and table displaying all users’ number and percentage of hits for
each hour of the day.
Ideas on Usage:
o
Identify the time of day your course receives the most access. This can help you
determine the best time to setup synchronous meeting times.
o
Avoid making any updates at the most popular times.
Access/Hour of Day Section

What is displayed?
o

Bar graph and table displaying all users’ number and percentage of hits for
each day.
Ideas on Usage:
o
Identify the day your course receives the most access. This can help you
determine the best time to setup synchronous meeting times.
o
Avoid making any updates at the most popular days.
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Content Statistics Tracking
You must enable statistics tracking to generate statistics for a content item. You can enable it
at any time, and begin collecting data from the moment you enable it.
To Enable Content Statistics Tracking:
1. In Edit Mode, in the content area, access the item’s contextual menu.
2. Click Statistics Tracking.
3. On the Statistics Tracking page, click Enable.
4. Click Submit.
Verify that the content item states:
Enabled: Statistics Tracking is visible.
To Run Content Statistics Tracking:
A. In Edit Mode, in the content area,
the item’s the contextual menu.
access
B. Click View Statistics Report.
C. On the Course Reports page, access the Content Usage contextual menu.
D. Click Run.
E. On the Run Reports page, modify the Report Specifications.
F. Click Submit.
G. Download Report to view it.
The report will generate the following:

Access/Date: shows who has accessed the material within the specified date range.

Access/Hour of Day: shows overall breakdown of the hour it was accessed.

Access/Day of Week: shows overall breakdown of the day it was accessed.
Course Reports
Create Course Reports
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TRY IT
For this activity, use your Practice
Course.
Run Report




Click Class Reports from under Evaluation.
Click the contextual menu for Overall User Summary of User Activity and click Run.
In the Report Specifications, choose the following:
o
Format: whatever your preferences
o
Start and End date: two week range
o
User: your username
Click Submit and download the report. View your user access.
Statistics Tracking


Click Units. From the contextual menu, turn on Statistics Tracking for all units.
Verify that the Statistics Tracking is Enabled.
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GOING FURTHER
Blackboard Help
To continue learning visit these Blackboard Help topics.
Best Practice: Increase Student Retention
Best Practice: Help Students Succeed
Best Practice: How to Talk about Content Release with Students
Best Practice: Approaches to Adaptive Release
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