Blackboard Tip of the Week (sent 9/17)

A blog is a personal website that contains content organized like a journal or a diary. Each entry is dated, and the entries are displayed on the web page in reverse chronological order, so that the most recent entry is posted at the top. Readers catch up with blogs by starting at the top and reading down until they encounter material they’re already read.
Typically, blogs contain the work of one individual, however, blogs combining contributions of several people, ‘group blogs’, are also popular.

In the article, Educational Blogging, the author, Stephen Downes discusses the current trend that is sweeping the world of online learning: the use of weblogs to support learning. He goes on to say that when students enter postsecondary education, they, “may have had more experience writing online for an audience than writing with a pen and paper for a teacher. Such students will bring with them a new set of skills and attitudes.”

Ideas for Use in the Classroom:
• Instructor using blogs to post class information such as lists of readings and assignment deadlines. This fosters in the teacher a familiarity with the technology and with students a habit of regularly checking the online resource.
• Have students blog about a current issue, about a specific piece of writing, or some question that comes up in the course.
• Have student blog about a reading assignment, or their status in a large class project.
• Set up a group blog, so that students could discuss a group project. The Blog tool in Blackboard allows you (or students) to attach documents, post photos or images, and embed a video.
• Encourage students to read each other’s Blogs and to comment on them.

Here are the directions for setting up a Blog in your Blackboard site.

Bb Tip of the Week (sent 9/9)

If your students are telling you that they are unable to access items on your Bb site, or they are having issues with a feature of Blackboard, here are some things you can do to help them (and yourself):

• Make sure they are using Firefox as their browser. 99% of the Bb problems we get are solved by having the user switch to the Firefox browser. Firefox can be downloaded for free from: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/
• Make sure you have made the course available to your students. Click here for directions on how to do this.
• Post my Bb student handbook in your Bb course or email it to your students. Included in the manual are all areas of Bb with directions from the student side of Bb. See the website listed below for Bb manuals.
  
• Have them contact the help desk (helpdesk@strose.edu).

Other items of interest:

• I have a Blog of all of my Blackboard Tips of the Week. To view and/or subscribe to it, go to: http://paigestrose.blogspot.com/
• Upcoming Bb Trainings
• Bb Manuals and MediaSites

Bb Tip of the Week (sent 9/1)

How to view a roster of your students (includes their photo – if they got their picture taken for the St.Rose ID card):

1. Log into Blackboard (http://blackboard.strose.edu)
2. Choose the course that you would like to view the roster in
3. Click on the Course Tools in the Control Panel (located in the lower left hand column)
4. Scroll down the menu choices and choose Student Roster
5. The photos can be drag and dropped around if you want to move them into a different order

To get a list of your students:

1. Log into Blackboard
2. Choose the course that you would like to view the class list in
3. In the Control Panel (located in the lower left hand column) – Click on Users and Groups
4. Click on Users
5. In the “search” box – type a % and press Go
6. You will now see the list of students enrolled in your course

Please note that you can also get a student roster through Bannerweb:

1. Go to https://bannerweb.strose.edu/ and choose Login to Secure Area

2. Your user ID is the number on your St.Rose ID card your pin is your birthday by default (mmddyy)

3. Choose Faculty and Advisor Menu

4. Choose Faculty Menu

5. Choose Summary Class List

6. Select the current semester (Fall 2009) and hit submit

7. If you have more than one course you will have to select them one at a time using the dropdown menu – Click Submit

8. You will now see the list of students enrolled in your course

Blackboard Tip of the Week (sent 8/26)

Tip 1: To make your course available to students:

1. · On your Control Panel at the lower left, click Customization.
2. · Click Properties.
3. · In area #3 for Availability, click Yes.
4. · Be sure to Submit (either top or bottom).

Tip 2: If you use Blackboard with your students in class - Turn the Edit Mode OFF. This way the students will not see the arrows and menu choices on the various items you have posted in your Bb site. This is also helpful if you have items “hidden” that you are not ready for students to see. If the Edit Mode is OFF – hidden items will not be visible.

Tech Tuesday Details and Upcoming Bb Workshops: http://www.strose.edu/officesandresources/technology_services/academicsystems