Blackboard 9.1 includes over 30 Course Structure templates to facilitate the organization of the course content via the navigational buttons. While Bb 9.1 course shells will be created by ITS using a very basic template, instructors are encouraged to review the various Course Structure templates and to choose one that truly reflects the structure of their course. In addition to the Course Structure templates, Bb 9.1 also includes over 50 Course Themes that allow instructors to change the color scheme and “wallpaper” in the course.
As instructors build their courses in Blackboard 9.1, they are encouraged to organize their instructional materials through the use of “Folders” or “Learning Units.” A Week One Module folder, for example, would contain all instructional activities for the week within a single folder: Readings, Assignments, Discussion Boards, etc. Using good instructional design principles streamlines the workflow for instructors and consolidates the course resources for student access. the , instructors no longer need to spell out to students through announcements each of the links they must check for the week; and students no longer need to go on a hunting expedition each time they log into Blackboard, clicking through every link to be sure they haven’t missed anything.
To schedule a consultation to discuss instructional design principles in your course, contact the ITS Instructional Design Team at ftc_help@siue.edu.
Note that the course structure links are added to your existing course navigation and do not replace existing menu items and content meaning that there is the potential to have duplicate links for common tools or areas (Planner, My Grades, Groups, etc.). For this reason, you are encouraged to review the options before applying a template. Once a template is chosen, it is still possible to edit the navigational structure to rename, reorder, and/or remove items.
Below is a sample of the navigational structure of several Course Structure Templates. Learn more about Course Structures.
|
|
The templates can include sample content designed to encourage instructional design principles. Content examples include pedagogical information, instructions, and course items. Even if you have experience working in Blackboard Learn, the pedagogical information and content examples can give you ideas about tools or new approaches. Below is the option that will allow you to include sample content in the selected Course Template. Note that the template must be applied before the option to include sample content is available.
|
|
Below are samples of a few of the Course Themes available in Bb 9.1. Themes can be changed to reflect the color of course links, section and page headers, and applies thematic background wallpaper to the course.
To select a Course Theme, click the Change Course Theme (
) icon, scroll through the theme preview box, and select a theme.
 |
|
