next »

[larryc]

Blackboard--some none of us love it, some all of us hate it, but we end up using it all the same. Our institutions are using it, our students get the URL in their registrations and they know the software, we are bogged down like the Americans in Afghanistan.

What do you do to work in Blackboard without insanity? How do you develop your online content so it is not locked behind the BB password wall, so that you can share it more widely? What non-BB tools and strategies do you use, even while using BB as the starting point for your course?

To be clear, I am not looking for complete alternatives to Blackboard, but unconventional and more open ways of teaching from the BB platform.

[larryc]

I'll start to illustrate what I mean.

Even though my course next quarter is on BB, all of my handouts are Google Docs. Rather than upload a syllabus in Word or PDF formats, I create a Google Doc and link to it.  I use the feature in Docs that allows me to publish a document as a webpage, and automatically republishes whenever I make a change.

This has two big advantages. The first is that it is way easier to change the document. In BB if you want to make a change you have to go into the control panel and delete the item, change the Word document on your computer (or is it on the computer in your office--ooops), then save and upload the new document. A dozen steps and a couple dozen clicks before you are done. With Google Docs I never go into BB at all, I just pull up the document and make my change. Saving is automatic, the changed document republishes as a website automatically, and the link on my BB site still works. So simple.

The second advantage is openness. I posted my reading schedule this way last year, readings which included a variety of historical blogs. It had not occurred to me that the bloggers would follow their track backs to my reading list but of course they did and I got an email from one. I ended up bringing him into the discussion with my students--bonus!

Similarly, if I have a Powerpoint it goes on Slideshare and I post a link on BB. That way I can share it with other folks not registered for a class, I can link to it from multiple BB courses without a fresh upload, and I can even set the Powerpoint to show up in Google searches and such if I like.

I have not in the past made videos for my classes beyond the usual "Welcome to class" things, but I a planning on a video to introduce each unit this time. I will put them on YouTube, flor all of the reasons above.

How about you guys? How are you working beyond Blackboard?

[titian]

For videos: around here we are told specifically to not put videos on Bb due to lack of server space.  It is suggested to either set up a link to YouTube or to iTunes.  I've used iTunes, and it seems to work well.

[zharkov]

There are groups and consulting outfits working around the idea of cloud computing for education. (Sometimes called educloud.)  Lots of this has been around Google apps, although I recently heard about students posting to iTunes U -- instead of posting to a discussion thread.   I'd envision an approach where Bb or whatnot stays as a sort of home base, but most of the teaching/learning happening off the platform.

[johnr]

Here's a simple thing that helps a little bit.  Our default class template has most features turned on, even though most instructors use only a fraction of those features. When I set up my class I turn off and hide everything that I'm not using (easier said than done!) and rename the links that I do use so the the name describes exactly what's behind the link.  For example, how would a new student know that she has to click the link marked "TOOLS" to find her grade?  The end result; I'm left with a very lean template, with few links, and every link does something.

[neutralname]

I used Google docs for uploading a video.  It was publicly viewable but I didn't include any words that would make it searchable, and I gave the students a unique URL to view it.  It worked fine. 

I'm gradually getting better at arranging the Discussion Board on Blackboard so that it is easier to use, and I encourage students to change the subject line of their post to reflect the particular point they want to make, so it is easier to sort through.

After years of complaining about Bb, I've grown accustomed to its face. 

[infopri]

I'm so new to Blackboard that I don't hate it yet.

We've been using (pre-Blackboard) WebCT forever and just made the switch to Blackboard this past year, so this spring will be my first experience with it.  I'm setting the course up now and am only now beginning to discover Blackboard's specific limitations and workarounds, so I'll be watching this thread with interest.  Thanks, larryc!

[zuzu_]

Great idea for a thread, larryc. Your google docs stuff sounds great--I think I am going to try to do some of that. Within the actual Bb display, do you just create hyperlinks to these files? (This reminds me of the L.O.R. stuff I liked in ANGEL.)

I've also grown accustomed to Bb, but one thing I hate, hate, hate is the discussion board. It is all so confusing and counter intuitive, and our recent upgrade made it worse since the thread display defaults to reverse chronological order. This means that MY prompts fall to the bottom of students' display, and there is no way to "stick" it to the top. And my classes are heavily based in discussion.

Has anyone found an better way to discuss? Easy grading of discussion is also crucial, since I assign TONS of discussion.

ETA: The one thing I DO like is the Bb gradebook. I'd like to keep using that.

[larryc]

Great idea for a thread, larryc. Your google docs stuff sounds great--I think I am going to try to do some of that. Within the actual Bb display, do you just create hyperlinks to these files?

Yep, just a link. Even if I alter the doc (I often add readings at the last minute--students love it when I do that), the link still leads there, so I don't have to go into BB again unless I delete the doc completely.

I dislike the BB discussion boards as well, but at the end of the semester I love love love being able to pull up all of a given student's discussion posts for the whole semester to review them before assigning a participation grade. Is there an alternate discussion platform where I can do that?

[johnr]

Larry used the word "love" and "BB" in the same sentence.

[larryc]

Larry used the word "love" and "BB" in the same sentence.

Sh!t. And the edit window is closed.

[zuzu_]

Larry used the word "love" and "BB" in the same sentence.

Sh!t. And the edit window is closed.

larryc and Blackboard....sittin' in a tree.....

[polly_mer]

Larry used the word "love" and "BB" in the same sentence.

Sh!t. And the edit window is closed.

larryc and Blackboard....sittin' in a tree.....

Now, we've got blackmail material forever.

Thanks, LarryC, for the idea to link to offsite uploaded documents.

I do a lot of linking to YouTube and other websites in my Blackboard shells.  My biggest workaround is only putting things on Blackboard that I can't put anywhere else. 

For example, I hate the gradebook function of Bb 9.1 with a fiery passion.  Consequently, I don't keep the grades there.  Instead, I keep the grades on my excel worksheet and update the current grades in Bb either every couple of weeks or after recording a grade that makes a major difference to the overall grade (e.g., a test or the project).

[erikjensen]

I am required to use Blackboard, but I minimize its use as you do. I put all course materials (documents, videos, calendars, etc.) on an open website I manage with an html editor and ftp. This has the advantage of speed and openness. Students can see most of the course before they even enroll. Other faculty can see what I'm doing. I do use Blackboard for the discussion, gradebook, tests, and a few other things where FERPA applies.

[zuzu_]

Here is a faster, easier way to collect/grade homework assignments that involve short answer and/or fill-in-the-blank types of prompts.

Instead of using the "Assignment" function (which necessitates much uploading, downloading, and clicking to submit and grade) use the "Test" function.

Benefits:

-You can set the "Test" to be untimed, not to force completion, etc. etc., so it's not really a "test"
-You can use pools and randomization to help prevent unwanted collaboration among students
-You can input "correct" answers for each question so students can see why they lost points and what an excellent answer should look like
-Grading is a CINCH. Use the "Grade Questions" option to view and grade all students' answers on one page. I think this also helps keep grading more fair and consistent since you see everyone's answers right next to each other.
-Students can easily paste their answers into the text boxes