Blackboard

Start of Semester Activities

ITS suggests the following start of semester activities involving Blackboard:

Request your course shells online for the new semester as soon as you are listed as the instructor of record for them course in Banner: http://www.siue.edu/its/bb/.
- Course shells may be requested as soon as an instructor knows the course ID (i.e. ENG), number, and section number, and that information is listed in Banner. Please allow 3 to 5 business days (excluding weekends and holidays) from the time a course is requested until the time it is created. Don't wait until the last minute to make your request.
- Blackboard course shells can only be created when there is an actual instructor of record listed in Banner for the course: the instructor cannot be listed as“TBA.” Faculty are advised to check CougarNet before requesting their course shells to make certain they are indeed listed as the instructor of record for the course. Any TBA issues must be addressed and resolved within the department, updating the instructor in Banner, before a course shell can be created.
- Effective Spring 2013, ITS will no longer be copying content from previously taught courses into new course shells. Faculty will be responsible for exporting content from a Fall 2012 course shell and importing it into a new Spring 2013 course shell themselves. See the instructions below.
Build your course by importing content exported from a previously taught Blackboard 9.1 course into your new course shell or by building it anew. Note that last six digits of the course ID provide the key to distinguishing the year and semester during which the course is/was offered. The year comes first, followed by the semester (15 = Spring, 25 = Summer, and 35 = Fall): 201312 = Spring 2013.
Option A: Export and Import Course Materials. If you wish to replicate a previously taught course, follow these instructions to export content from the previously taught course and import it into your new blank course shell. Upon successfully importing materials into the new course shell, you should check the Import Log for any warnings or error, and then you must review and update the new course for the new semester. Be sure to review and update:
- the course syllabus
- the course calendar
- announcements
- external links
- due dates (These appear in "My Grades" and also trigger "Notifications" in the "To Do Module"
- Tool availability (Note that hiding a Tool here makes it unavailable everywhere in the course.)
- Adaptive Release rules
In addition, you should:
- Delete duplicate course navigational items. Note that your copied content will generally appear beneath the default course navigational items that were in your course at the time it was created.
Option B: Build a Course Anew. If you are teaching a course for the first time using Blackboard or have simply decided it is best to start with a clean slate, you will be building your course anew.
1. Open your new course shell by clicking on the link to the new course shell to open it. This will generate the folder for that course in the Course Content folder on the My Content tab.
2. Upload course files to the corresponding Course Content folder on the My Content tab. If you have your course materials organized on your computer, upload those files into the corresponding Course Content folder on the My Content tab. If building your course anew you can still export content collection files from previously taught Blackboard 8 courses and import those into the course specific, Course Content content collection folder in Blackboard 9.1. Use these instructions to help with the content migration. If you did not use the Content Collection in Blackboard 8, instead opting to use "Attach local file," the Copy Files to Collection tool can be used to place a copy of all course files into the Content Collection in Blackboard 8 to expedite moving them all at once into Blackboard 9.1
3. Add your syllabus, contact information, and textbook information under the “About This Course” content area of the course.
4. Organize your instructional materials into folders, learning units or lesson plans by chapter, week, concept, etc., and add them under the “Course Materials” content area of the course. Include links to the appropriate content, assessments, and tools to help your students meet the specified learning objectives. See the following for assistance in choosing the right Blackboard tool: http://www.scribd.com/doc/56245872/Bb9-1ToolGuide.
5. Review the course Tools link and "Hide Links" to those tools you will not be using. Note that hiding a tool here makes it unavailable everywhere in the course so be careful.
Enroll your Test Student in the course. This will allow you to see the course as your students see it, to test Adaptive Release rules, and to verify Grade Center settings.
Manage the My Courses and Course List modules on the My Blackboard and My Courses tabs respectively to hide old courses (e.g. FA 12) and "child" courses (if you requested a shell that includes multiple sections of the same course in a single course shell) from your view.
Make Your Course Available. All Blackboard course are set to be “Unavailable” at the time of their creation. Students cannot see the course when it is “Unavailable.” When your course has been developed and is ready for students to view, you must make the course available.