What’s New in Blackboard: Spring 2014

1. What’s New in Blackboard: Spring 2014 By Karen Korstad – MiraCosta College

2. Your Workshop Presenter – Karen Korstad Karen Korstad Faculty Technology Specialist & Learning Systems System Administrator E-mail: kkorstad@miracosta.edu Phone: (760) 795-6787 Physical Location Office #1255 Second Floor of the Library Information Hub on the Oceanside Campus Mailing Address: 1 Barnard Drive MS #11 Oceanside, CA 92056

3. What’s New for Spring 2014 • Content Area Updates • Course Menu items now have a new confirmation box when deleting menu items with the ability to back out, and/or hide content. • New screen graphic to help you get started in a blank content area.

4. Updates to the Bb Test Tool • Test Availability Exceptions Test availability exceptions are a set of new settings on the Test Options page, available only after the test is added to a content area. Select one or more groups of students and make a number of exceptions to the already established availability settings. Exceptions can be used to provide an accommodation to a disabled student, or provide accommodations for technology and language differences. Website on all new Bb test features |  Video (5:49) on new test features | PDF on test availability exceptions Exceptions can be created for: Attempts , Timer, Availability, & Force Completion

5. Test Results & Feedback Options • Test Results and Feedback Display Options • Instructors can set the release of progressive feedback to keep test results secure and prevent cheating by setting up rules. Rules occur in the order they appear. • You can select : After Submission, One Time View, on Specific Date, After Due Date, After Attempts are Graded, & After Availability End Date.

6. Test Due Date Options • Test Due Date & Late Submissions A new setting allows the instructor to decide whether to allow a student to take a test after the due date has passed. If students are not allowed to take a test after the due date has passed they will receive an messaging telling them the test cannot be completed because the due date has passed. When late submissions are allowed, they are clearly marked on the Needs Grading page, the View All Attempts page, the Review Test Submission page, and the Grade Details page.

7. Updates to Exporting a Test • • Exporting Test Questions All questions are now retained in exported and imported tests, including questions that originate outside the exported test, such as Question Sets, Random Blocks, and Question Links. When the user exports a test and imports it back into a different course, all questions are now present irrespective of their origin.

8. New Test Access Log • Test Access Log Teachers and proctors can verify student activity or lack of activity during a test using the new Access Log. The Access Log is available from the Attempts page of a test and provides detailed information on student's test attempt interactions. Video (4:22) | Website

9. Date Management • A new tool to easily adjust course activity dates after a course copy. It has never been easier to review move your content dates forward and review them easily.Video (3:46)| Website

10. Updated Group management • Creating and managing groups in Blackboard Learn has never been easier. Group experiences are critical for fostering a more personal and engaging student experience. The group management tool has been updated to save educators time, making it simple to manage large numbers of groups with many students or even just a few small groups.Video (2:45) | Website

11. Updated Group management • The Groups Management Building Block provides the ability to: • Easily see which students are in which groups, including which students are not in any groups. • Easily see and modify group memberships. Avatars are now available to distinguish among users. • Choose and manage membership for group sets with an improved workflow. • Import and export groups and group memberships. • Sort columns, perform bulk actions for deleting groups, and create Grade Center smart views for one or more groups on the All Groups page. • Optionally, manage tool availability for all groups on the All Groups page.

12. Achievements • A brand new feature providing a way to recognize student achievements through badges. Video (2:24) | Website

13. Fall 2013 New Features Review • The following slides are review slides of what was newly available within Blackboard starting in Fall 2013

14. Quick Setup Guide • All courses now have the Quick Setup Guide to help faculty get started. This setup guide appears when you first enter your course.

15. Profile • A new profile feature making Blackboard more friendly, with users able to add an image/avatar that can help create personal identity/presence throughout your Blackboard courses. (video (2:46) | website) 

16. Setting up a Profile

17. Global Navigation Menu • A new global navigation menu and "my Blackboard" consolidating info from all courses into one place and enabling easy course-to-course navigation anytime. (video (3:40) | website)

18. Text Message Alerts – Notification Settings • One way text message or voice message alerts from Blackboard. Students and/or Faculty can opt in to get text or voice messages when specific areas in a Blackboard course change, or activities happen within a course(video 4:14)

19. Qwickly – Instructor Quick Tools • We now have Qwickly Instructor Quick Toolsin Blackboard. • Instructors can : • Course Availability: Make 1 or more courses available quickly • Post Announcements: Post Announcements to 1 or more courses at the same time • Send Email: Send e-mail to students 1 or more courses at the same time • Needs Grading: Quickly View and link to items that need grading in a course.

20. New Content Editor • New Content Editor -handles copied-in HTML code much more effectively. The new editor also better handles copy-and-paste from Microsoft Word, makes it even easier to add/link to multimedia content, and more! (video (3:59) | PDF comparing old and new editors)

21. Video Everywhere – YouTube in Blackboard • add quick webcam recordings or existing YouTube videos easily. • Link your existing YouTube Account to Bb – Then Select them and add them to your content easily from within Bb. No need to capture the embed code and input it within the HTML modeanymore. (video (4:33) | PDF)

22. Discussion Board Tool Upgrade • Significant improvements and new features in the discussion board tool.(video (1:20) | video (8:04) | website) • Student profile images now appear with their posts. • Threaded Messages & Ability to require students to post first BEFORE they can see replies from other students.

23. Inline assignment grading:  • enabling you to view, mark up, and grade student work without downloading and reuploading files. (video (1:53) | video (8:51) | website)

24. Retention Center • A "retention center" making it easy to identify and contact students needing your support. (video (4:30) | website)

25. Calendar • A completely redesigned calendar - (video (1:24) | video (3:12) | website) 

26. Intelecom Online Resources Network • Makes it easy to add online streaming media from the Intelecom library database to Blackboard. • Contact the Librarian – Jennifer Paris (jparis@miracosta.edu) or Richard Ma (rma@miracosta.edu) for more information on library databases. • No need for the additional Library Proxy Login or Password for students to access the videos.

27. Test Question Item Analysis & Fill in Blank Question type Update • 1. "Contains" and pattern-matching capability for fill-in-the-blank test/quiz questions (video (3:16) - covers "contains" but not patterns | website explains pattern-matching) • 2. Item Analysis Item analysis tools to examine the effectiveness of your test questions (video (5:00) |website)

28. New Dynamic ‘Student View’ of My Grades • The My Grades view of the Grade Center has changed on the Student Side. The Student Grade Center view is now dynamic and will change order as items are graded. Current Grade and Calculated Grades appear at the top (if made available in the faculty’s grade center). The rest of the columns appear by date & then alphabetical order with the Upcoming section. As items are graded they will move up to the Graded section. As items are submitted but yet need grading, they will move to the Submitted area. (Video (2:41) • Get your sample student login & password and check it out.  Contact the employee helpdesk at 760-795-6850 if you do not have your student login. Your student login is your MCC login name with a – student (i.e. kkorstad-student)

29. Set Grade Center Due Dates • Set your Grade Center column due dates in 1 place rather than having to go column to column. • Go to Control Panel > Course Tools > Set Grade Center Due Dates

30. Grade Anywhere with Turnitin for iPad Everything you love about grading with Turnitin is now available on iPad. Grading Student writing you receive through the Bb Turnitin Assignment has never been better. ( Video 2:00 ) (Website for Training ) Very impressive app for grading Turnitin Assignments Contact me for more information on how to get started.

31. The End