On Demand Training

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The On Demand Training page provides 24/7 access to instructional training content for faculty. Content is included on topics related to the College's minimum presence expectations, Blackboard course development and management, Blackboard grade center, tools within Blackboard, designing accessible course content, and more! 

General Resources
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Beginning of Semester Checklist 

The information provided below will help faculty keep track of the course management and design tasks that should be completed at the beginning of each semester. Prior to the first day of class, you may use the checklist information listed below as a guide to set-up your Blackboard course sites. 

1. Make Sure Courses are Listed in Blackboard

Prior to the beginning of the semester, log into Blackboard to verify the courses you have been assigned in SOS are listed under the Courses tab in Blackboard. If a course is not listed in Blackboard, first contact your department chair to ensure you have been assigned the course in Banner/SOS. If you are the confirmed instructor of record and your Blackboard course site has still not appeared, contact Blackboard Support for additional help.

 

2. Compare Course Rosters

Compare your official course rosters, obtained through SOS, to the list of students in your Blackboard course sites, to be certain all students are correctly enrolled. Contact Blackboard Support if you find any students that are listed on the SOS roster but are not listed in the Blackboard course site.

 

3. Copy your Course Material

If you would like to reuse course materials from a previous semester, you can copy an old course site into the new course shell. Faculty choosing “select all” in the course copy process will transfer both instructor created materials as well as College generated template content including Support Resources, Bb Student Training, SJC Copyright, Versions Button, etc.

To avoid duplication of items, faculty should select to copy only the instructor created items, settings, and buttons that have active materials and content.

For more information on how to complete a course copy, follow the instructions provided below:

 
4. Blackboard Minimum Presence

Blackboard course sites are created for every instructional section offered by San Jacinto College as part of schedule creation. All faculty must maintain a minimum presence in the
Blackboard course site for each class that includes the following

  1. Use the Concourse Syllabus Tool to create and update your course syllabus.
  2. Faculty contact information.
  3. Active use of the Grade Center to make students aware of their course progress. This includes the submission of final grades via the Blackboard system.

Courses that include a general education assignment will have the collection of selected assignments in Blackboard as required for assessment.

Faculty teaching distance learning classes will make additional course content and assignments available as appropriate for the course and delivery method.

 
5. Verify your Course Sites are Available

Blackboard Course Sites are automatically made available on the first day of the semester. You should verify on the first day that your course sites are available. If they have not been made available, you should make them available through the course’s control panel. If you have a course combined shell, verify the combined shell is available, and make the original course sites unavailable. For more information on how to make your course sites available, follow these instructions: 

 
6. Update Deadlines, Dates, and Materials

If you have materials in a Blackboard course site, verify the materials are up to date, links are working properly, and adjust content to match the new semester’s course calendar.

Blackboard Adaptive Release Tools may be helpful to faculty in managing content according to the course calendar. For further support, the following resources are available:

 
7. Setup Grade Center

Setup the course Grade Center before the semester starts and take steps to ensure the categories are accurate, the weighted column matches your syllabus grading formula, the external grade is set, etc. Training content and support is available below or your campus Instructional Designer.

Self-paced trainings via Cornerstone are available, search for the titles below: 

  • BKBD 9084 - Blackboard: Setting Up the GradeCenter
  • BKBD 9095 - Blackboard: Using the GradeCenter
  • BKBD 9096 - Blackboard: Submitting Final Grades

An External Grade must be configured for Blackboard to transfer final grades during the grade submission process to Banner at the end of each semester. Based on the course's grading formula each faculty will decide which column is set as the external grade

Final grades are automatically sent to Banner in the process of submitting final grades through Blackboard. At the end of the semester, a final grade can be submitted following the training materials provided in the link below. 

 
8. Test Technology and Check Settings

Check your technology tools (computer, internet browsers, headphones, microphones, web cameras, etc.) and check your settings, such as audio / video settings and synchronous tools prior to first use. This will allow for time to troubleshoot and resolve issues and to develop a backup plan.

 

9. Need Additional Support

If you need additional training support, the following resources are available:

End of Semester Checklist

The information provided below will help faculty keep track of the course management and design tasks that should be completed at the end of each semester. At the end of the semester, after grades have been submitted, you may use the checklist information provided below as a guide to close out a course site. For questions or design support, please contact your campus instructional designers.

1. Verify Accuracy of Grade Center Calculations

Faculty are encouraged to review and verify the accuracy of the Grade Center calculations prior to finalizing and submitting their end of semester grades. For help in diagnosing and resolving calculation issues, faculty can review the linked webinar below or contact their campus instructional designers.

Webinar: Diagnosing Incorrect Grade Center Calculations, recorded 11/12/2020

 

2. Setting the External Grade

Identifying and setting a Blackboard Grade Center column as an external grade allows the sharing of student's course grade with the institution. An external grade must be configured for Blackboard to transfer final grades to Banner. For more information on setting the external grade, follow the instructions provided below:

 
3. Submit Final Grades to Banner / SOS 

You can access support content for the Final Grade Submission process through the Grade Submission Support link in your navigation menu of your Blackboard course site. For more information on submitting final grades, follow the instructions provided below:

 
4. Download the Grade Center

At the end of the semester you are encouraged to download a copy of your course grade center in order to have an archival copy for yourself.  Blackboard allows for a course’s grade center to be downloaded into an Excel document.  For more information on how to download your grades, follow the instructions provided below:

Note: Simply printing the grade center directly from Blackboard will result in missing content.

 
5. Archive or Export Course

At the end of the semester, it is recommended that you archive your course, including the grade history, and download the archive to a secure file location, such as your SJC OneDrive on Office 365.  An archive serves as an exact copy of your course in case you need to retrieve content or student grades/submissions from that course at a later date.  The downloaded archived file will be in a zip format that only Blackboard can interpret.  If you need to restore an old course archive, please contact Blackboard Support for additional help.

If you wish to keep a clean copy of your content, you may export your course and download the file to a secure file location, such as your SJC OneDrive on Office 365. An export serves as an exact copy of your course content – without the student information, assignments and grades.  The downloaded export file will be in a zip format that only Blackboard can interpret.  If you need to restore a course export, please contact Blackboard Support for additional help.

 
6. Make Course Unavailable if Desired

Your current Blackboard course sites will automatically be made unavailable at the start of the next long semester (Fall, Spring, Summer). For example, a Fall course site will automatically become unavailable on the first day of the Spring semester. If you wish to make your course site unavailable before this time, you may do so. For more information on how to make your course unavailable, follow the instructions provided below:

 
7. Submit End-of-Course Documentation

At the end of the course part-of-term, faculty are required to submit the End-of-Course Documentation Checklist verifying identified course documents are available within the Blackboard course site or Banner / SOS systems. Department Chairs are responsible for the collection, verification, and maintenance of the completed End-of-Course Documentation Checklists for their areas. 

For more information, refer to the Instructional Resources section of the Faculty Handbook.

 
8. Need Additional Support

If you need additional training support, the following resources are available:

THECB Starlink logo

 

The State of Texas Academic Resources link (STARLINK) was established by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) in 1989 to increase access to professional development activities among faculty throughout Texas. The STARLINK network currently provides over 200+ hours of professional development programming annually to 170 member colleges and universities in twenty-four states and Canada. Plus, through the U.S. Military and embassies training is provided n 22 countries around the world.

As an employee of San Jacinto College you have FREE access to this vast online resource. View hundreds of on-demand development seminars, training programs, teaching strategy modules, and other resources from your office. The process to setup an account takes only a few minutes and once complete will allow you to log in anytime to view videos from the STARLINK Showing or Library sections.

Use the link below to access the STARLINK BASICS site for more information on creating your STARLINK account.

STARLINK BASICS and FAQs

In support of Open Books, the College provides access to multiple repositories for faculty to store OER content for simplified access in courses. 

 

  • San Jacinto College YuJa Media Platform provides users access to media content created by SJC faculty and employees. Faculty may develop and link content in YuJa directly from course sites in the Blackboard learning management system. Custom media libraries can be setup by area to allow for the creation, curation, and sharing of content. Information on setting up a media library is available by contacting Instructional Innovation & Support at innovate@sjcd.edu.

 

  • Additional repository solutions may be available to meet specific departmental needs through Microsoft O365 or Blackboard Content Collection. Information for support to set up these resources is available by contacting Instructional Innovation & Support at innovate@sjcd.edu.
Getting Started
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This tutorial below covers how to log into Blackboard in order to view your Blackboard course(s) and/or organization(s) for San Jacinto College. 

During the 2014 Spring Semester, (201420), Instructional Innovation & Support released the first iteration of a Blackboard course template, which was built with the goal of helping faculty meet the minimum presence expectations and Quality Matters (QM) standards. 

In the Spring of 2015 (201520), Instructional Innovation & Support updated this template to meet the updated QM standards. 

The infographic below showcases features provided in the template. You can access/download a PDF copy of this infographic from the following link: 

Blackboard Learn is the course management system used to support all courses at San Jacinto College. You can login to SJC Bb @ http://online.sanjac.edu/.

Minimum Presence Requirements

The Bb Learn system allows faculty to make course content and materials available, conduct online discussions, deliver online exams and much more. At a minimum, all SJC Bb course sites must meet the minimum presence expectations. This includes:

  • faculty contact information, 
  • course syllabus, 
  • collection of general education outcome assignments,
  • and active use of the Bb Grade Center, including final grade submission.

Distance Learning courses modalities must meet the additional requirements as outlined in the distance learning definitions. A course shell is created for all courses to help faculty establish the minimum presence.

Training aligned to meeting the Blackboard minimum presence expectations is available for faculty in the Cornerstone system. This includes:

  • BKBD 9081 - Blackboard: Getting Started 
  • BKBD 9084 - Blackboard: Setting Up the Grade Center
  • BKBD 9086 - Blackboard: Communication Tools
  • BKBD 9095 - Blackboard: Using the Grade Center
  • BKBD 9096 - Blackboard: Submitting Final Grades

Support Resources

For further support documentation, use the content below:

Concourse is an online centralized syllabus management system that integrates with the San Jacinto College Blackboard system. Templates are generated for each course and available with required content included and space provided for faculty to add information specific to their course.

Concourse provides the following benefits:

  • Provides faculty with the ability to easily update their syllabi through their Blackboard course sites.
  • Format is designed to be viewable on computer monitors and mobile devices.
  • Concourse syllabus design is compliant with accessibility standards.
  • Supports faculty ability to migrate content between semesters.
  • Supports compliance with Texas Education Code Section 51.974 requiring internet access to course information.

 

Faculty are encouraged to use the following guide to help them get started with Concourse. 

Concourse Syllabus Tool: Getting Started for SJC Faculty

The tutorials below cover how to make courses available and unavailable in Blackboard, an important step prior to the beginning of each semester. 

Communication

Announcements offer instructors the ability to instantly communicate with students through the use of the announcement feature in Blackboard. Class information can be posted in a Blackboard course(s) and sent to a student's email simultaneously. 

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

 

Using the Email function within a Blackboard Course Site faculty can send users, groups, and/or individuals messages. Additional email functions within the Qwickly tool can be utilized as well.  

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

 

A self-paced training via Cornerstone is available regarding communication tools in Blackboard. Search for the title below: 

  • BKBD 9086: Communications Tools 
Building Your Course

Faculty can add various content to their Blackboard course for students to access such as Word docs, PDF's and more by "Adding an Item". Related files can also be organized by using a "Content Folder", much like organizing in a folder on a computer. 

Faculty can integrate licensed content from Student Lingo or linked from YouTube to support student learning in their courses.

  • Student Lingo is a series of interactive on-demand workshops, action plans, and valuable resources focused on helping students achieve their academic, personal, and career goals. Student Lingo workshops can be incorporated into your course content. 

YouTube Mashup tool in Blackboard is available for faculty to easily embed YouTube videos into Blackboard content areas. This is a simple, yet effective strategy to help create engaging lessons.

Assignment

Blackboard Assignment Tool provides an efficient method to grade assignments, papers, videos, etc. Students can upload their work via Blackboard which instructors can, in turn, provide feedback and grades back to students. Utilize the tutorials below to understand a multitude of ways the Blackboard Assignment Tool can be used. 

Safe Assign is a plagiarism prevention tool embedded within a Blackboard assignment that allows the instructor to check the originality of a submission. SafeAssign automatically conducts the check by comparing a student's assignment against a database of other assignment submissions, websites, and journal publications.

Alignments at San Jacinto College are goals and outcomes for both departmental and institutional assessments. Assignments in Blackboard can be aligned to these departmental and institutional alignment goals and outcomes using Blackboard. Click on the tutorial below to understand the process of adding these alignments in Blackboard. 

Turnitin is a plagiarism software that can be integrated into Turnitin Assignments through a Blackboard Course Site.  

 

Feedback Studio from Turnitin on Vimeo.

 

Assessment

With Blackboard Tests, Surveys and Pools instructors can create tests or surveys to assess student understanding by deploying the assessments into content areas. 

The EAC Visual Data is a Blackboard building block that collects, analyzes, and produces reporting analysis of tests. Faculty can use this data to analyze student comprehension and success to identify areas of improvement. 

A Rubric is an assessment tool listing evaluation criteria for an assignment and provides a means to convey to students your expectations for the quality of completed assignments. Rubrics can help students organize their efforts to meet the requirements of an assignment. Rubrics can help ensure consistent and impartial grading as well. Blackboard allows the creation and use of interactive rubrics. Faculty can easily grade by clicking on criteria and the system will automatically calculate grades, which students, in turn, can view as a reference and guide to how their assignment was graded. 

Asynchronous Collaboration in Blackboard (Discussion Boards, Wikis)

Discussion Forums can engage students in academic conversations over material using the forums created by the instructor in a Blackboard course. 

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

 

 

Using Wikis, students and instructors can collaboratively edit page(s). Edits can be easily tracked within the wiki for efficient and accurate grading.

 For further support documentation, click the links below: 

 

 

Faculty training support for YuJa Media can be accessed from YuJa Media | San Jacinto College.

Student support content can be accessed from Online Student Resources | San Jacinto College

SJC Zoom Classroom

SJC Zoom Classroom allows faculty to host live online sessions with students through their Blackboard course via a desktop computer, smartphone, or tablet. Options are available to make the session interactive and can be recorded to be made available for students following the completed session. 

 For support documentation, click the link below: 

 

Etiquette for Virtual-Class Meetings

The chart provided below will assist faculty in understanding best practices for Internet Etiquette when conducting or participating in virtual-class meetings. 

Etiquette for Virtual Class meetings tips for prior to a session and tips for during a session

Blackboard Groups 

Groups allow faculty to create groups of students in order to facilitate collaboration and group work. 

Designing Accessible Content
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Blackboard Ally is an accessibility checker for files uploaded to Blackboard. Faculty may use this checker as an additional measure for accessibility compliance. 

For further training and support, use the following resources:

 

Instructional Innovation and Support is focused on the support of creating accessible and inclusive course content. To support faculty in their professional growth and understanding of the topics of universal design and accessibility as they relate to course design.

The links below offer resources and support for faculty. Contact your campus Instructional Designer for additional information.

 

Creating PDFs

When creating a PDF for your course, review the PDF for accessibility compliance. There are many considerations for meeting accessibility compliance, per the Adobe Acrobat user Guide the process for creating an Accessible PDF should encompass the practices listed below. 

  1. Complete a full accessibility Check. 
  2. Fix the accessibility issues found.
  3. Identify and fix the tagged content.
  4. Create a sequential tab order.
  5. Ensure that tables are accurately reading in the correct tab order.

Review the drop-down menu labeled "Content using Microsoft Office 365" below for suggested best practices for creating an accessible file based on the practices listed above.

To convert from a Microsoft Office file to a PDF, visit the link below.

Follow the links below to access Accessible Adobe Acrobat Accessibility Cheat Sheets 

 

Using PDFs

If using a PDF found on the web or downloaded from an electronic source, be sure that the PDF is tagged. Tagging the PDF ensures that the files are viewable with a screen reader. For more information and support resources follow the links below.

 

Accessibility Checklist

Faculty are required to ensure video and/or audio content adopted or developed for their courses are captioned. That means confirming captions are available on adopted content and/or adding captions to all created media content.

When using captioned content,

  • Look for the closed captioning icon closed caption on video players
  • Inquire with the publisher about captions for videos

 

Video/Audio Recordings

  • Always speak at a moderate rate to ensure that captions can appear on the screen long enough to be read.
  • If possible create a written script prior to recording for ease in recording and captioning.
  • For high-end, studio production recording visit the Media Production Services page to schedule your session. This team can provide high-quality video services with added features such as the green screen or the light board.
  • For additional context to the media produced a transcription file should be provided. The transcription can provide context and meaning that is not necessarily present in the captioned text. Click the link below for further support regarding accessible video and audio media. 

 

Captioning Best Practices

 

Accessibility Checklist

Accessibility in Blackboard Learn

Blackboard Inc. has made significant efforts to ensure that  Blackboard Learn and affiliated products are accessible. Blackboard products are designed in accordance with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 and section 508 of the Workforce Rehabilitation Act 1973. The system has regular audits and reviews for compliance.

For additional tips, view the resources below: 

 

Accessible Text 

border-style: solid; border-width: 3px; border-left-width: 10px; border-right-width: 10px; border-color: black;

Making accessible text in Blackboard is easy to do using the Blackboard text editor. The text editor menu is built to mimic most word processing software. There are pre-built headings for text as well as, formatting options for numbering/bullets, bold, italics, and etc. located on the rows of the editor tools. See the image below to view the top text editor settings used for creating accessible content. 

 

Accessible Text Box Editor
 

  1. Bold and/or Italics used to define or enlarge text.
  2. Headings used to provide emphasis. 
  3. Font Style/Size customization for readability. 
  4. Bulleted and Numbered list for clarification and readability. 
  5. Hyperlink(s) for outside resources. 

 

Accessible Images

border-style: dashed; border-width: 3px; border-left-width: 10px; border-right-width: 10px; border-color: red;

Blackboard also provides a method for adding Alternative text as an added image description. Alternative text and/or tags are abbreviated as 'ALT text' and/or 'ALT tags'. When instructors add images to content built within Blackboard, they are prompted to add ALT text/tags.  ALT text/tags are used to further identify images that can aid visually impaired users in using screen readers to identify images on the page. Additionally, it's suggested to avoid flashing images and gifs (graphic interchange format) as these can be problematic for many users, and this type of media is not viewable in screen reader software. 

 

Accessible Image
 

Accessible Exams 

Accessible tests can be delivered through Blackboard. Faculty should make accessible design considerations when developing online tests. Follow the list of suggestions below to create an accessible Blackboard test.

  • Provide clear expectations in the test description.
  • Include time requirements in the exam instructions.
  • Provide adequate time for the exam via the timer feature.
  • Consider exam presentation: all at once or one at a time.

Using the following link to set testing accommodations: 

 

Accessibility Checklist

Generally, all files need to meet the same requirements to maintain accessibility compliance. Font size, style, and color need to be viewable in a variety of formats. Additionally, alternative text and descriptions should always be included for images and other graphics. However, in using the cloud-based software of Office 365 the products have already been designed to meet accessibility standards for collaboration, communication, and information. Some key features the Microsoft Office 365 product includes are:

 

Alternative Text (ALT Text) 

Alternative text is required for all important content that provides meaning and context. ALT text may be added to images, SmartArt, shapes, charts and other objects in Microsoft Office.

For additional information, visit the Alternative Text in Microsoft Office webpage.

 

Microsoft PowerPoint 

Standard accessibility guidelines and practices for PowerPoint include: 

  • Provide contextual hyperlinks.
  • Provide Short URLs.
  • Standard font size for online viewing is 14pt for body/paragraph and 18pt for headings. 
  • Standard font size for live presentations is 24pt for body/paragraph and 24pt plus for headings. 

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

 

Accessibility Checklist

 

Microsoft Word

Standard accessibility guidelines and practices for Word include:

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

 

Accessibility Checklist 

 

Microsoft Excel 

Standard accessibility guidelines and practices for Excel include:

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

 

Microsoft Outlook 

  • Provide contextual hyperlinks.
  • Standard font size is 12-14pt for body/paragraph/headings.
  • Avoid bight colors on light backgrounds and dark colors on dark backgrounds.
  • Avoid large images in the body of the email, instead use the add attachment function to include the image to the email. 

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

Designing a course for accessibility includes more than just providing proper alternatives for audio and visual content. Your course and its content should be structured in a way that allows those students with cognitive, motor, or low vision impairments to fully interact with the course.

People with cognitive, motor, or low vision impairments who must use assistive technologies to view the web run into problems when courses have:

  • Complex layouts (all apply)
  • Poor color contrast between text and background (low vision)
  • Too many links or navigation menu items (all apply)
  • Missing or improper headings (cognitive and low vision)
  • Complex data tables (cognitive and low vision)
  • No way to skip to the main content area (motor and low vision)

As you design your course and content consider the following:

  • Users are able to navigate the course completely by keyboard or mouth stick without the use of a mouse.
  • Font, color, size, and spacing do not get in the way of your message or hinder it all together.
  • When using a color-coding system to communicate important information, there are additional means to communicate information such as bold or italics in conjunction with color.

This Course Accessibility checklist is a guide to help ensure that your courses meet the 508 accessibility standards for the web. The checklist includes ways to improve your courses for students who are sensory impaired. We should strive for more than accessible design. We should push for universal design!

 

SJC Course Accessibility Checklist

Universal Design for Learning (or UDL)

UDL is based on research in the cognitive neuroscience domain. Proponents of this framework believe that by building flexible learning environments, all learners have a better chance of learning. UDL researchers think that if instructors provide these flexible learning environments to students, a reduction of physical, cognitive, intellectual, and organizational barriers will occur.

The concept of UDL is not new. The belief that not all students learn the same way has been around for decades. As stated by educational researcher Carl Glickman “Effective teaching is not a set of generic practices, but instead is a set of context-driven decisions about teaching. Effective teachers do not use the same set of practices for every lesson . . . Instead, what effective teachers do is constantly reflect on their work, observe whether students are learning or not, and, then adjust their practice accordingly” (1991, p. 6).

Glickman, C. (1991). Pretending not to know what we know. Educational Leadership, 4-9.

 

Universal Design for Learning Organizations

 The organizations listed below are helpful resources to learn timely best practices regarding Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

  • The Universal Design for Learning Implementation and Research Network (UDL-IRN): The UDL – IRN is a grassroots organization that supports the scaled implementation and research related to Universal Design for Learning.
  • CAST: CAST is a nonprofit education research and development organization that works to expand learning opportunities for all individuals through Universal Design for Learning.

 

Web Link Resources

Click the links below for further support documentation regarding Universal Design for Learning (UDL):

  • UDL Guidelines: This graphic organizer can help you identify certain principles and guidelines to implement into a course
  • UDL and the Learning Brain: Learn how Universal Design for Learning and brain research fit together.

 

Video Resources

Meeting Student Accommodations in Blackboard

If a student has self-identified to Accessibility Services and an accommodations is approved, Accessibility Services will send communication to inform the instructor of the identified method of accommodations. Below is support content to help faculty meet accommodations in Blackboard. Faculty can also reach out to an Instructional Designer for additional Blackboard training and support. 

 

Virtual Class Sessions  - Interpreters and Captioning

 

Blackboard Test Accommodations

 

Captioning Best Practices

 

Accessibility Checklist

Managing Your Course
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Content Collection

The Blackboard Course Content Collection is a file repository that functions as a virtual space within a Blackboard course that is used to store, manage, and share files. Each San Jacinto College’s Blackboard course site has a 1GB storage limit. When a file is added to Content Collection, it can easily be reused and linked to any area of a course site. If a file in a course needs updating, faculty can access their course’s Content Collection, overwrite the existing file with the updated version, and the file is updated in all places linked within the course. Access the Blackboard Course Content Collection Quick Guide below for more information on how to get started using your Course's Content Collection.

 

The Blackboard Institutional Content Collection System is an area within the SJC Blackboard LMS environment, where files are stored and can be shared/linked throughout Blackboard course sites. There are two roles, end-user, and manager. The roles descriptions are provided below. 

  • End-user: The End-User is the primary role given to San Jacinto College Employees. The end-user is given the 'Read' permission/access to a designated Content Collection folder. The 'Read' permission gives the ability to access, review, and link to files in a Content Collection folder. The ability to add, remove, or update Content Collection files is reserved for those with the Manager role. 
  • Manager: The Manager role is typically given to the project manager/lead faculty of the Content Collection folder. The project manager/lead faculty is identified at the beginning of the Content Collection roll-out for each individual course or program. The manager of the Content Collection folder has the ability/responsibility to: 
    • Review (read) files
    • Add (write) files to the folder
    • Delete (remove) files 
    • Replace (overwrite) existing files with new files
    • Manage and organize files/subfolders within the Content Collection folder
    • Alter/give faculty Content Collection read permissions to view the folder materials. 

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

 

Course Copy

The Course Copy function is used every semester by faculty, as every semester new Blackboard course shells are created for all scheduled courses. Instructors then have the option of copying all or portions of their previous courses to new Blackboard course shells. 

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

 

Exporting/Archiving a Course Site

Exporting/Archiving a Course Site allows faculty to keep a record of their course sites. It is recommended that they use the export process in Blackboard that creates a zipped package of the course sites content (content only, no student/user data transferred). Should faculty wish to create a permanent record of a course that includes all course site content and the student/user data, it is recommended that they use the archiving process in Blackboard. 

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

Through Adaptive Release, instructors can control how and when content is released to students. Restrictions can be set according to dates, groups, grades and whether a student reviewed other content. 

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

The Qwickly Attendance and Course tools allow faculty to perform a variety of actions in Blackboard such as document and track attendance, post an announcement, send an email, post content, post a link, create an assignment, and view and grade submissions across multiple courses. 

For further support documentation, click the links below: 

Qwickly Attendance:

Qwickly Course Tools:

Qwickly Webinars and Training Video Library

Setting up the Grade Center

Blackboard offers a grading system titled, Grade Center, in each course site. Instructors can set up their grading schema and assignments to accurately calculate students' course grade allowing them to keep track of their progression. 

Self-paced trainings via Cornerstone are available, search for the titles below: 

  • BKBD 9084 - Blackboard: Setting Up the GradeCenter
  • BKBD 9095 - Blackboard: Using the GradeCenter

 

Submitting Final Grades

An External Grade must be configured for Blackboard to transfer final grades during the grade submission process to Banner at the end of each semester. Based on the course's grading formula each faculty will decide which column is set as the external grade

 

Final grades are automatically sent to Banner in the process of submitting final grades through Blackboard. At the end of the semester, a final grade can be submitted following the training materials provided in the link below. 

Course Reports

Course Reports can provide faculty with key insights into course tools, content usage, and student activity within their Blackboard course sites.

  For further support documentation, click the link below: 

 

Retention Center

The Retention Center provides an easy way for faculty to discover which students in their course are at risk. From the Retention Center, faculty can communicate with struggling students and provide support to them by taking immediate action for improvement. Based on preconfigured rules and rules created, students' engagement and participation are visually displayed to quickly alert potential students at risk. 

 For further support documentation, click the link below: 

A Self-paced training via Cornerstone is available, search for the title listed below: 

  • ETID 1316 - Academic Success and Retention 

 

With Respondus instructors can require students to use Respondus LockDown Browser as a custom browser to lock down the testing environment within a Blackboard test and/or Respondus Monitor in order to use students webcam for monitoring during their assessment in Blackboard. 

Respondus Student Resources

Respondus 4.0