Effective use of Blackboard Stuart Young

Slide 1:Effective use of Blackboard
Stuart YoungMae McSporran
Slide 2:Dr Stuart Young
Creating websites since 1995 PhD Marine Geochemistry University of Edinburgh 1997-98 Online Learning Research Assistant Unitec New Zealand 1999-2004 Lecturer in Internet and Web Development All course taught in class and online Volunteer webmaster of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand 1998-2004, www.greens.org.nz Email: syoung@unitec.ac.nz
Slide 3:Course website usage statistics
Supplied with usage statistics for the Top 100 Unitec Blackboard courses, for Sem 2, 2002: Total logins, # Users, Hits per user, File Size (MB), Total Hits Top 50 BB courses also included access breakdown by course area: % Content, % Communication, % Group, % Tools
As supplied these were ordered by total number of student logins. Table 1: Total student logins for selected Blackboard courses, Semester 2, 2002, with position of course relative to all UNITEC Blackboard courses when sorted by total student logins.
To assess the success of an online course, need to order by hits per user. Table 2: Hits per user for selected Blackboard courses, Semester 2, 2002, with position of course relative to all UNITEC Blackboard courses when sorted by hits per user.
And if we sort by % communication tools. Table 3: % of access to communication tools for selected Blackboard courses, Semester 2, 2002, with position of course relative to all UNITEC Blackboard courses when sorted by % communication tools.
And if we sort by % group tools. Table 4: % of access to group tools for selected Blackboard courses, Semester 2, 2002, with position of course relative to all UNITEC Blackboard courses when sorted by % group tools.
Slide 8:Course website usage statistics summary
So these courses are clearly successful at attracting student usage. Very successful at attracting usage of communication and group tools as opposed to simply access to content.
Slide 9:Introduction
Our strategies include: encouraging student visits to the course website minimising student errors while using the course website increasing usability of the course website employing good pedagogical strategies
Our strategies include: adding (and reusing) scheduled administrative and motivational content � reinforced in a variety of media providing a familiar consistent weekly structure encouraging student leaders within a community of learners
Slide 11:Encouraging student visits
Our strategies include: Lots of useful, up to date, quality content Good quality graphic design Providing a familiar weekly structure Referring to the course website in a variety of media Conducting assessments online
This workshop gives strategies to ensure the success of an online course: Using a restrictive Learning Management System (LMS) While minimising educator's workload
Slide 13:Good Web Design
A Blackboard course website is still a website. In effect we have to compete for student's attention with all the other websites in the world It should follow the rules of good web design so that it is easy to use.
Slide 14:Encourage student visits / reduce student errors
Providing a understandable structure, by chunking information: Organise site how your students expect it A classic information architecture principle is to organize the site according to the�typical users' mental model of how a site should be organized. This is usually accomplished by asking real users to sort cards into categorical piles (e.g. Bernard, 2000).
Providing a understandable structure, by chunking information: Weekly structure very easy to follow and understand for normal semester courses, not so good for irregularly taught courses. Topical structure organise your subject area the same way a librarian would with major topics and sub-topics. Requires your students to actually know what content topic they are studying today!!! Type of document PowerPoints in one folder, practical exercises in another. Easy for students to find the file they want, but they may have to visit multiple folders for the same class.
Providing a understandable structure, by chunking information:
Reduce disorientation or �lost in hypertext� problems: Consistent structure and appearance (e.g. colour coding) Same structure and nomenclature in a variety of media such as: Course notes and handouts Weekly emails Course website "menu" pages Course website scheduled announcements
Slide 18:Standard (weekly) content could include
Introduction You can start each page of content with a brief introduction to that section's topics or activities. Learning Outcomes For a more formal approach you could start each page of content with that section's learning outcomes. Course Readings Links to further reading for your students on this topic, e.g. single articles. Useful Links Links to reference websites on this topic. Featured Tools The best software products or web-based tools for this topic. Featured Text Books The best books for this topic. Assessment Progress Tell your students what their progress should be on their assignments by this week.
Lots of useful, up to date, quality content Very time consuming to assemble and check We are NOT saying use Blackboard as an authoring tool Continue to use Word, HTML or PowerPoint for this Add content to help your student�s use and navigate the course materials written in those formats Can copy relevant content from one Blackboard course to another, e.g. external links
Task: Create some content in your course area, remembering Writing For The Web guidelines.
Easy to read content Users don�t read webpages � they quickly scan them (e.g. Morkes and Nielsen, 1997; Nielsen, 1997) Text on a webpage should be: Very succinct Include only one key idea per paragraph Use headings and sub-headings Use highlighted keywords or phrases, and Use bulleted lists when possible
Slide 22:HTML Basics
HTML is composed of tags, e.g. the <P> tag will add a line of space, the <I> tag will make text italicised and the <B> tag will make text bold. Most HTML tags must be closed. e.g. <I>this text is in italics</I> while <B>this text is in bold</B>. HTML tags can contain attributes which modify the behaviour of the tags. A tag can contain any number of attributes, in any order, separated by spaces. For example <P align="center"> The most common HTML problems are missing out necessary syntax, e.g. " < >
Slide 23:The HTML editing tool in Blackboard 6.1
If you don�t have Blackboard 6.1 at your institution then you may be delighted to discover the HTML editing toolbar that is added to the text box.
Slide 24:The HTML editing tool in Blackboard 6.1
The HTML editing toolbar can be turned off in Tools > Personal Information.
Slide 25:Why you should still learn HTML
It is a good idea to learn some basic HTML so that you can: Add HTML content to your pages when the HTML formatting tools are not available, and Identify and fix problems with the code produced by the HTML formatting tools. Extend or alter the HTML produced by Blackboard.
Slide 26:The HTML You (May) Need to Know
<h1> Heading </h1> <h2> Heading </h2> <h3> Heading </h3> <b> Bold </b> <i> Italics </i> <a href=�http://www.unitec.ac.nz�>Unitec</a> <p> new paragraph <br> line break <ul><li>bulleted list</li> <li>bulleted list</li></ul> <hr> Horizontal Rule Task: Add some HTML formatting (bold, italics, lists) to your content items � highlight key words.
Good quality graphic design: There is plenty of evidence that users of the web expect increasingly sophisticated website visual designs They will leave the site if it doesn't measure up to their expectations We use consistently coloured backgrounds and borders and inline images.
Slide 28:Choosing Colour Schemes
Always use consistent colours each standard content item should always have the same colour scheme. It may be good to utilise the same colours on different courses. Avoid over-saturated colours, e.g. Choose harmonious colours - that go together. Choose a limited set of colours your institution has decided on some colours for the Blackboard interface and that you have chosen some colours for the left-hand menu. Your choice of colours should fit in with these.
Consistently coloured backgrounds and borders. Task: Add some borders and background colours to your content items. What colour would you make each of your standard (weekly) content items?
Slide 30:Using Inline Images in content items
Can use the actual images from the LMS
Slide 31:Inline Images
Many educators using Blackboard will only add a link to a file, in the same manner as adding a word document or PowerPoint file. This is a bad idea for most images: the image opens up in the same window and overwrites the webpage - not possible to look at the image and the text describing it at the same time, not inviting for the students - it is one more link they have to click.
Blackboard also allows you to upload images to display within the page � �Inline images�. The image is displayed to the student along with all the text and the rest of the page, just like a normal website.
Image's path is determined by right-clicking on the image:
Image's path is determined by right-clicking on the image:
Inline Images. Task: Add some images to your content items. What images would you bother including?
Slide 36:Increase Usability
Cross-linking use the possibilities of hyper-linking to allow students to quickly access resources presumably lead to more usage of the course by your students The Blackboard Course Link tool is limited you may like to produce links manually using HTML
Slide 37:Increase Usability
Cross-linking What content would you cross-link between? Task: Set up a Blackboard Course Link or a manual cross-link between some content items.
Slide 38:Scheduled Announcements
administrative and motivational content reinforced in a variety of media recycled and reused across courses and semesters, if appropriate scheduled to appear on the homepage: After each class One week before each assignment due date
Slide 39:Reusing Past Announcements
Recycle posts from previous semesters. Build up an electronic resource of discussion forum posts that you can quickly copy and paste into a "new" posting. To the student it appears as if the lecturer has taken the time to compose a thoughtful posting, giving the illusion of a mentor.
Slide 40:New Announcements
Current Internet news stories. If an important current news story occurs we can copy and paste it into the discussion forums or announcements for multiple online courses. e.g. it may be appropriate for IWD1, IWD2, Internet Applications, and Website Management
Slide 41:Scheduled Announcements
Scheduled announcements. Some announcements can always be used at the same time each semester e.g. assignment due date reminders use the scheduled announcements feature easy to �roll them over� to the new due dates when preparing course schedule
Slide 42:Scheduled announcements in Blackboard
Change these dates to roll announcement over.
Slide 43:Increasing the usability of the course website
Blackboard announcements are "pushed" to students on the student's BB homepage A flaw with thisis that clicking onthe link doesn't take the studentto the course.
Deep-linking Make it easy for the student to visit Flaws with this in Blackboard are that only one link is allowed and that it is very time-consuming to add them. Tip: create an announcement with the deep link once, and then re-use it next semester.
Deep-linking examples Task: Add an announcement that promotes a page in your content area � this must have a deep-link.
Slide 46:Deep - Links
A number of standard administrative instruction announcements can be found in the workbook and website.
Slide 47:Administrative Announcements
To minimise student errors. The assignment due date reminder announcements contain instructions on how to use the LMS tools (e.g. dropbox, forum)
These include the actual images from the LMS
A number of standard administrative instruction announcements can be found in the workbook and website. What tools in Blackboard do your students have problems with? Task: Copy some of the standard announcement code to content items � please no announcements
Conducting assessments online: We compel students to visit the course website by utilising the LMS tools in assignments such as: Reflective journals (in "groups of one") Project group work using Group tools Structured discussions and debates conducted in the forums Self-assessment weekly quizzes
Slide 51:Encouraging a community of learners and student leaders
Save time for the lecturers by encouraging students to help each other. i.e. we encourage student leaders Oliver et al., (1997) suggest that "ways to encourage capable students in the class to spend the time to view postings and submit solutions, and tips and tricks" should be integrated into the online environment.
Slide 52:Encouraging a community of learners and student leaders
Our strategies include: Acknowledge student excellence by highlighting the best student work: Annual student website highlights gallery Examples of class exercises Offer leaders some sort of status or reward e.g. Leaders-only comunications. Developing documents explaining the leadership process
Slide 53:Contacts
Stuart Youngsyoung@unitec.ac.nz Mae McSporran,mmcsporran@unitec.ac.nz PDFs of our papershttp://hyperdisc.unitec.ac.nz/research.htm

Effective use of Blackboard Stuart Young

Effective use of Blackboard Stuart Young

Presentation Transcript

Effective Use of Interpreters

Effective use of Blackboard

Effective Use of Supervision

Effective Use of PowerPoint

Effective Use of Language

Effective use of Technology

Effective Use of Volunteers

Effective Use of Language

EFFECTIVE USE OF HOMEWORK

Supporting Effective Use of Web 2.0 Tools in Blackboard

Effective Use of Volunteers

Effective Use of Color

Blackboard Use and Students’ Performance

Effective Use of Videos

Effective Use of Manipulatives

Effective Use of Time

Effective Use of Graphs

Effective Use of Supervision

Effective Use of Paraprofessionals

Blackboard Use and Students’ Performance

Effective Use of Volunteers

Effective Use of CDN