Teaching and Learning Tools
Adding Course Content
Assignments
Course Options
In Blackboard, users may choose not to display courses from previous semesters on their My Eclass page. Here’s how to navigate to the Customize My Courses page and edit your display options.
The My Eclass page will appear when you first log in.
- In the My Courses section on the My Eclass page, click the Edit button in the upper right corner.
- On the Customize My Courses page, in the Display Course column, a checked box means the course will be displayed. An UNchecked box means the course will not be displayed.
NOTE: You can also choose to not display Announcements on the My Eclass page by clicking the selection boxes in the third column, Display Announcements.
- Click the Submit button in the bottom right corner to finish editing your displayed courses.
By default, a course is UNavailable to students until the instructor sets it to Available. To make a course Available or UNavailable to students, choose Control Panel > Settings > Course Availability.
If students report to you that they are having difficulty logging in to Eclass, advise them to log in to the Portal (my.pointloma.edu) and select the Forgot Password link. Have them change their password; this will synchronize their password for WebMail and Eclass. If they still cannot log in to Eclass after completing that process, ask them go to the Ryan Computer Labs and speak to a Student LabTech or call the Student Help Desk at 619.849.7378 for assistance.
The first page that appears once a student logs in to Eclass is the Announcement page. This is a great place to post a welcome message and communicate important information or dates for the course. To add an Announcement, choose Control Panel > Announcements > Add Announcement button.
Select the box in Option 4 of the 'Add Announcement' page to automatically e-mail enrolled students when a new announcement has been posted or an existing one has been updated:
Each time you add a new announcement, Eclass automatically includes the posting date. Sometimes that date conflicts with the content of the announcement and can cause confusion for your students.
For example, if you post a reminder for an upcoming test before the day of the test, the date Eclass includes on the announcement is the date you posted the announcement--which is different than the date of the test.
To remove the posted date from an announcement,
- Go to Control Panel > Announcements
- Click the Modify button to the right of that announcement
- Scroll down to the #2 Options area
- UNcheck the Display After box (where Eclass has added its own check mark)
- Click Submit
How should I make my contact information available to my students?
Eclass provides an area for the instructor(s) and other support staff to display contact information; Blackboard calls this a profile. To add a profile, choose Control Panel > Staff Information. On the gray toolbar at the top, click to Add a Profile.
PLNU encourages all instructors to post their syllabus in the Course Information area. This creates consistency so students always know where to locate a syllabus for any course on Eclass. Use MS Word or create a .pdf file of your syllabus and save it to your computer or a flash drive where it can be easily accessed. To upload the syllabus to Eclass, choose Control Panel > Course Information > Add an Item.
If you upload PowerPoint files into your Eclass courses, compressing pictures will reduce file size without affecting the display.
(1) Open a PowerPoint file and click any picture in the presentation. If the Picture toolbar is not visible, choose View > Toolbars > Picture or right-click the picture > Show Picture Toolbar.
- On the Picture toolbar, click the Compress Pictures button
- On the Compress Pictures dialog box, select these options and then click OK
(If the Compress Pictures message appears, click Apply.)
(2) Save the PowerPoint file and upload to Eclass.
How do I make 'My Grades' available to students?
By default, the My Grades link is not set to Available for students. Before your students can view grades from the Eclass Gradebook, you will need to change that setting in each course:
- Go to Control Panel > Manage Course Menu
- Click Modify next to 'Tools'
- Select Available for 'My Grades'
- Click Submit
Yes. Eclass allows you and your students to send e-mail from within an Eclass course. These e-mail messages will be received in Outlook, so please stress to your students that they are responsible for accessing their PLNU e-mail every day. An e-mail you send from within Eclass will appear in a student’s Outlook (WebMail) Inbox and your Sent Items folder in Outlook. To send an e-mail from Eclass, go to Control Panel > Send Email.
Yes. The Discussion Board feature in Eclass provides opportunities for asynchronous communication between instructors and students and between students. Communication takes the form of a threaded discussion allowing students to respond to questions and comments and follow the development of an idea.
Discussion boards consist of forums and threads: a forum is the largest unit of a discussion board and can contain one or more threads. In order for students to be able to post to a discussion board, a forum must be created by an instructor.
The Discussion Board is easily accessible to students once the instructor sets up the forum(s) and makes the link available in a course. Before making the Discussion Board available in a course, make sure you have modified and/or removed current template forums. To modify or remove a forum, choose Control Panel > Discussion Board. To add a new forum, click the +Forum button at the top of the page.
By default, the Discussion Board link is not set to Available for students. Before your students can access a Discussion Board forum, you will need to change that setting in each course:
- Go to Control Panel > Manage Course Menu
- Click Modify next to 'Communication'
- Select Available for 'Discussion Board'
- Click Submit
View a 3-minute video clip demonstrating a student's use of the Discussion Board: http://www.blackboard.com/quicktutorials/discussionboard.swf
View an 8-minute video clip demonstrating instructor setup of a forum: http://www.blackboard.com/viewlets/Bb_Discussion_Board_Overview_viewlet_swf.htm
View a 7-minute video clip demonstrating grading and rating in the Discussion Board: http://www.blackboard.com/viewlets/Bb_Discussion_Board_Grade_Rate_Stats_viewlet_swf.htm
You can encourage and facilitate collaboration among students by setting up groups within your Eclass course. Group members can have their own discussion board, exchange documents, send e-mail, and use a chat feature.
(1) Choose Control Panel > User Management area > Manage Groups:
- Click Add Group button
- Type a name and description for the group (you might want to list names of group members here so they are displayed to all class members)
- Select the features you want to be available
- Check Group Discussion Board Available if you want the group to have its own private discussion board
- Check Group Virtual Classroom Available if you want group members to be able to have real time discussions online
- Check Group File Exchange Available if you want students to be able to exchange documents online
- Check Group E-mail Available if you want students to be able to easily send e-mail to each other
- If you don't want students to have access just yet, click No for 'Group Available'
- Click Submit; click OK
(2) On the 'Manage Groups' page, click Modify for the group you just created:
- Click Add Users to Group
- Click the Search button
- Check the boxes to add users you would like in the group
- Click Submit; click OK
(3) Verify that you have made Groups available to your students: Control Panel > Manage Course Menu > Communication > Group Pages > Available.
What tips about taking an online quiz should I share with students?
Students are strongly encouraged to take online quizzes from a computer on campus--especially from a computer in one of the computer labs.
DOs
- Do finish all questions and SUBMIT the quiz before leaving Eclass (Blackboard).
- Do use the SAVE button to save answers often; this will preserve your answers in case of a lost connection.
- Do wait patiently for the screen to refresh while moving through the quiz; Eclass is saving information and will refresh, though it may take some time.
- Do contact the instructor if you run into difficulty or get 'kicked out' of the quiz.
DON'Ts
- Don't leave the exam before completing all the questions; this is especially true if you will not be allowd to re-enter the quiz to complete it later.
- Don't use the browser's Back or Forward arrows to move through the quiz.
- Don't use the browser's Refresh button to refresh the screen during a quiz; this will force you out of the quiz and you will not be able to finish.
Do you organize your course by topic? Consider creating a threaded discussion, a survey, or a group and associating it with a specific topic.
This feature allows instructors to directly add a link to any of the Communication tools in any content area within a course. This includes direct links to specific discussion board forums.
Here's how you create a tool link to the Discussion Board:
(1) From the content area where you want the forum to appear, choose Discussion Board from the 'Select' drop-down menu; then click Go.
- If you want a link to all the Discussion Board forums, click the Discussion Board Page radio button
- If you want a link to a specific forum, click the Select a Discussion Board forum radio button; then select the forum in the list
- If you have not already created the forum in the Discussion Board, click the Create new forum button
(2) Click Next; a new page appears.
- The Link Name textbox is filled in, but you can change it
- Click the Pick button to open a color map and choose a color for the title text (optional)
- Type a description in the Text textbox (optional)
- Choose to track the number of views and dates of availability under Options (optional)
(3) Click Submit.
Adaptive release allows instructors to release course content based on rules they create; instructors can control what content is made available to which students and under what conditions they are allowed to see it. Rules can be created for individuals or groups based on criteria related to date, time, assessment scores or attempts, and the review status of other items in the course.
Watch Blackboard's short video clip demonstrating Adaptive Release:
http://www.blackboard.com/quicktutorials/adaptiverelease.swf
Why would I use this feature in my course? The adaptive release feature enables you to customize course content based on student progress. For example, you can...
- allow students to view a particular document only after they have attained a minimum score on a quiz
- share different supplementary materials with groups of students working on different projects
- restrict students from joining a discussion forum until they have accessed relevant course materials
When should I use adaptive release? (When you create a content item, folder, quiz, etc., you have the option of making the item 'Available' and/or choosing dates of availability without using adaptive release.) Here's a simplified guide for which tool you should use:
If you want to...
|
you should...
|
Show or hide content manually.
|
Click the Modify button beside the item and check/uncheck the Make content/link available button. |
Make content appear/disappear before or after a certain date or between two dates.
|
Click the Modify button beside the item and set the dates in the Display after and Display before section.
|
|
Show or hide content based on one rule that involves dates/times, group membership, completion/attempt of a quiz/survey, and/or review status. (Examples: make a content item available only to students in one group; make a document available to all students who get less than 60% on a quiz.)
|
Click the Manage button and use the Adaptive Release feature. If you use Adaptive Release, first click the Modify button beside the item and ensure that the item is Available and that you haven’t specified any times or dates (these settings will interfere with the Adaptive Release settings).
|
|
Show or hide content based on more than one rule that involves dates/times, group membership, completion/attempt of a quiz/survey, and/or review status. (Example: students in Group A who have reviewed a document can then take Test A; students in Group B who have reviewed the same document can take Test B.) |
Click the Manage button and use the Adaptive Release: Advanced feature. If you use Advanced Adaptive Release, first click the Modify button beside the item and ensure that the item is Available and that you haven't specified any times or dates (these settings will interfere with the Advanced Adaptive Release settings). |
How does adaptive release work? You can create simple conditions for release of content using a single rule or more complex conditions using multiple rules. To use adaptive release with a single rule,
1) Enter the Control Panel and choose a content area.
2) Click the Manage button next to the item for which you want to specify release criteria.
3) Select Adaptive Release from the list of choices.
4) Fill out the criteria by specifying date, group membership, gradebook item, or review status.
5) Click Submit.
Each criterion you set is added as an AND component to content availability; all criteria must be met before the content becomes available.
For more helpful information, view/print the Adaptive Release section in Blackboard's Instructor Manual located in the Control Panel > Manual (bottom right corner); do a search for 'adaptive release'.
What file types and plug-ins does Eclass support?
Below are supported file types (listed alphabetically by extension):
Extension File Type Associated Programs
.aam Multimedia Authorware Plug-in www.macromedia.com
.aiff Audio Audio program
.asf Multimedia Microsoft Net Show www.microsoft.com
.au Audio Real Audio Player www.realaudio.com
.avi Video Video player (not Macintosh compatible)
.doc Text Microsoft Word or other word processor
.ea Audio Java enabled Web Browser
.ev, .ev2 Video Java enbaled Web Browser
.exe Program --NA--
.gif Image Graphics program or web browser
.html, .htm Web Page HTML editor or web browser
.image Image Graphics program or web browser
.jpg, .jpeg Image Graphics program or web browser
.jif Image Graphics program or web browser
.mpg, .mpeg Image Graphics program or web browser
.mov, .movie Video Movie or Media Player
.pdf Text Adobe Acrobat www.adobe.com
.ppt, .pps Slide Show PowerPoint & PowerPoint Player
.qt Movie Quick Time www.apple.com
.ra Audio Real Audio Player www.realaudio.com
.ram Video Real Audio Movie www.realaudio.com
.swa Audio Shockwave Plug-in www.macromedia.com
.swv Multimedia Shockwave Plug-in www.macromedia.com
.swf Multimedia Shockwave Plug-in www.macromedia.com
.tiff Image Graphics program or web browser
.txt Text Text or HTML editor, word processor
.wav Audio Audio program
.wpd Text WordPerfect or other word processor
.xls Spreadsheet Excel
How do I set my computer so Eclass content links open in new windows?
To change your computer settings so that clicking a link in Eclass will open a file in a new application window, follow these steps:
- Right-click the Start button > Explore; click to select My Computer in the list on the left
OR
Double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop.
- On the menu bar at the top of the My Computer dialog box, choose Tools > Folder Options.
- In the dialog box that opens, select the File Types tab.
- Select each of the following file types—one at a time—and complete #5 and 6 below:
- DOC Microsoft Word Document
- XLS Microsoft Excel Worksheet
- PPT Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation
- Click the Advanced button.
(If you see a ‘Restore’ button instead, click it to change to ‘Advanced’.)
- UNcheck Browse in Same Window check box; click OK.
- Repeat until all needed file types have been reset; click Close.
Click Here for Instructions Handout (pdf)
How do I add an Assignment?
The Assignment Manager allows you to create an assignment that automatically becomes an item in the Gradebook. Students complete this assignment in a separate file and electronically send it back to you through Eclass. You may then download these files from the Gradebook and review them before assigning a grade.
- In the Control Panel, on the top left under Content Areas, select the link to the area you want to add an assignment.
- On the Add menu bar, choose Assignment from the Select drop-down list on the top right, then click the Go button.
- In the Assignment Information section, type a Name, assign the number of Points Possible, and list any Instructions for the Assignment.
- In the Assignment Files section (#2), click the Browse button and locate the file you wish to upload for the assignment. This step is optional if you are not requiring a file for the students to use on this assignment.
- In the Options section (#3), set the options and assign dates if desired.
- Click the Submit button (#4).
The example below shows how the submitted assignment will appear.
|
|
The Assignment Manager allows you to create an assignment that automatically becomes an item in the Gradebook. Students complete this assignment in a separate file and electronically send it back to you through Eclass. You may then download these files from the Gradebook and review them before assigning a grade.
- In the Control Panel, on the right in the Assessment area, select the Gradebook link.
- On the View Spreadsheet page, click on the assignment name at the top of the Gradebook column.
- On the Item Options page, select the Item Download link.
- On the Download Assignments page, select the files to download by clicking on the selection boxes to the left of the student names or by using the Select All or Select Ungraded options. Then click the Submit button.
- On the Download Assignments page, use the Download assignments now link to save the files to your computer. You can unzip the files with Windows XP by right-clicking on the folder > Extract all.
|
|
If you have multiple sections of the same course, or if you wish to copy information from a previous course into a current course, you can use Course Copy to copy information between courses in which you are listed as Instructor.
1. Open the Eclass course from which you want to copy.
2. Click Control Panel > Course Options > Course Copy.
3. Select Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course.
4. In Option 1, select the course to which you want to copy.
- Type a partial Course ID (edu101) to narrow the search
- Click Browse to locate exact Course ID
- Click Search
- Click Select next to the correct course
|
 |
5. In Option 2, click the check box(s) of the area(s) you want to copy.
NOTE: All items in each area will be copied (like Tests, Surveys, and Pools); you may need to remove/delete unwanted items in the destination course when the copy process is complete.
6. In Option 3, you will NOT check this box under most circumstances.
7. In Option 4, click
Submit.
You will receive an email when this copy process is complete (it normally takes just a few moments). In the destination course, you will then find the content you selected to be copied.
You can modify and add to your course menu (displayed in the left panel of your Eclass course).
1. Create a new content area.
- Control Panel > Course Options > Manage Course Menu
- Click the Add Content Area button at the top of the page; a new page appears
- Choose a new name from the drop-down list or type a different name in the textbox provided
- Check the box next to Available for Student/Participant users
- Click Submit
2. To modify an existing Content Area, click the Modify button to the right of that area name.
3. Add a Communication or Tool area.
- Control Panel > Course Options > Manage Course Menu
- Click the Add Tool Link button at the top of the page
- Select the Tool Type from the drop-down menu provided
- If needed, modify the name for the tool in the textbox provided
- Check the box next to Available for Student/Participant users
- Click Submit