Preparing your Blackboard Learn Course Sites for Spring 2024

 As you start to work on your spring courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
If you had us increase your course content collection quota in the course you are copying forward, please make sure to reach out to us before starting the course copy. We will need to increase the course content collection quota in the new course first.

To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.
2. In the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
3. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
• If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
• Also, under Discussion Board, select "Include only the forums, with no starter posts" if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
  
  
4. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
5. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu (below Help). You can easily move them up into the appropriate spot in the course menu by dragging/dropping the menu item. 

Uploading your Syllabus

Once your syllabus is ready, please make sure to upload it into your Blackboard course site. 

To upload your syllabus:

1. In your Blackboard Learn course site, click Syllabus and Course Information in the course menu.
2. Click Build Content and then Item.
3. On the Create Item page, enter Name and Text.
4. Click Browse My Computer to upload a file.
5. Select Date and Time Restrictions if needed.
6. Click Submit.

Linking to Your Video Conference Classroom

If you are teaching a video conference class or a class with a video conference component, we highly encourage you to also include a link to your Zoom Meeting Room or Collaborate Session on the course menu or in an announcement so students can easily find and access it. By default, Collaborate is already on the course menu. If you would like to switch that out for Zoom and need assistance, please reach out to us. We would be happy to help.

Opening your Course (Make your Course Available for Students)

When your course shell is ready for students to view, you will need to give them access. All course sites are unavailable to students by default.

To open your courses (when you are done updating it for the new semester):

1. Click Courses to access your class list.
2. Click the More Options icon (…) to the far right of the course title.
3. Select Open course.
4. Confirm by selecting Open to Students.

OR

1. In your Blackboard course, expand the Control Panel, click Customization, and then Properties.
2. Scroll down to the Set Availability section and choose Yes. In the Set Course Duration section, make sure Continuous is selected.  We recommend these settings to ensure that your course site does not become unavailable to students on the last day of classes.  
3. Click Submit to enable students to access your course site.

OR

1. In your Blackboard course, click the red lock icon at the top of your course window to make your course available.

Preparing your Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester

If you have already been using Blackboard Learn for your courses, please check out this handy reference to help you prepare your Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester at https://bit.ly/3a0NjCT.

Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Course Checklist
Once your course has been copied over, please review this checklist at https://bit.ly/3sulKrZ to help you make sure your course site in Blackboard Learn is ready to go for the upcoming semester.

Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty
If you have any questions about using some of the features of Blackboard Learn, we encourage you to check out our Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty at https://sites.google.com/northshore.edu/blackboard-faculty/home. Here we have step-by-step guides to learn how to use the top ten Blackboard Learn features as well as links to some additional resources for faculty and students.

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please do not hesitate to contact me or the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu.

Preparing your Blackboard Learn Course Sites for Fall 2023

 As you start to work on your fall courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
If you had us increase your course content collection quota in the course you are copying forward, please make sure to reach out to us before starting the course copy. We will need to increase the course content collection quota in the new course first.

To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.
2. In the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
3. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
• If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
• Also, under Discussion Board, select "Include only the forums, with no starter posts" if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
  
  
4. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
5. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu (below Help). You can easily move them up into the appropriate spot in the course menu by dragging/dropping the menu item. 

Uploading your Syllabus

Once your syllabus is ready, please make sure to upload it into your Blackboard course site. 

To upload your syllabus:

1. In your Blackboard Learn course site, click Syllabus and Course Information in the course menu.
2. Click Build Content and then Item.
3. On the Create Item page, enter Name and Text.
4. Click Browse My Computer to upload a file.
5. Select Date and Time Restrictions if needed.
6. Click Submit.

Linking to Your Video Conference Classroom

If you are teaching a video conference class or a class with a video conference component, we highly encourage you to also include a link to your Zoom Meeting Room or Collaborate Session on the course menu or in an announcement so students can easily find and access it. By default, Collaborate is already on the course menu. If you would like to switch that out for Zoom and need assistance, please reach out to us. We would be happy to help.

Opening your Course (Make your Course Available for Students)

When your course shell is ready for students to view, you will need to give them access. All course sites are unavailable to students by default.

To open your courses (when you are done updating it for the new semester):

1. Click Courses to access your class list.
2. Click the More Options icon (…) to the far right of the course title.
3. Select Open course.
4. Confirm by selecting Open to Students.

OR

1. In your Blackboard course, expand the Control Panel, click Customization, and then Properties.
2. Scroll down to the Set Availability section and choose Yes. In the Set Course Duration section, make sure Continuous is selected.  We recommend these settings to ensure that your course site does not become unavailable to students on the last day of classes.  
3. Click Submit to enable students to access your course site.

OR

1. In your Blackboard course, click the red lock icon at the top of your course window to make your course available.

Preparing your Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester

If you have already been using Blackboard Learn for your courses, please check out this handy reference to help you prepare your Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester at https://bit.ly/3a0NjCT.

Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Course Checklist
Once your course has been copied over, please review this checklist at https://bit.ly/3sulKrZ to help you make sure your course site in Blackboard Learn is ready to go for the upcoming semester.

Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty
If you have any questions about using some of the features of Blackboard Learn, we encourage you to check out our Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty at https://sites.google.com/northshore.edu/blackboard-faculty/home. Here we have step-by-step guides to learn how to use the top ten Blackboard Learn features as well as links to some additional resources for faculty and students.

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please do not hesitate to contact me or the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu.

Preparing your Blackboard Learn Course Sites for Fall 2022

As you start to work on your fall courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
If you had us increase your course content collection quota in the course you are copying forward, please make sure to reach out to us before starting the course copy. We will need to increase the course content collection quota in the new course first.

To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.
2. On the next screen, in the “Select Copy Type” section, make sure Copy Course Materials into Existing Course is selected in the drop down menu.
3. Now, in the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
4. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
• If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
• Also, under Discussion Board, select "Include only the forums, with no starter posts" if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
  
  
5. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
6. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu (below Help). You can easily move them up into the appropriate spot in the course menu by dragging/dropping the menu item. 

    
  

Starting in the summer, the course template was changed from Course Information to Syllabus and Course Information. The new Syllabus and Course Information area may be blank with your course materials in Course Information towards the bottom of the course menu. To avoid confusion, we encourage you to post your syllabus and any other course information in the Syllabus and Course Information area and either delete or hide the other Course Information content area.

Making your Course Shell Available to Students
When your course shell is ready for students to view, you will need to give them access. All course sites are unavailable to students by default. You can easily make your course sites available from the My Home page using the Qwickly multi-course tool.

If you are in your course site, you should see a lock icon up at the top of your course site (to the left of Edit Mode). If you click that lock icon, it will make the course available to students. If you do not see the lock icon, here are the directions for making it available to your students.

To open your course:

1. In your Blackboard Learn course shell, in the Control Panel, expand the Customization section and click Properties.
2. On the next screen, scroll down to the “Set Availability” section and select Yes to make the course available.
• Note: We recommend that you select Yes and Continuous instead of Use Term Availability and Select Dates. Term Availability is set to the last day of classes and will close your course site that day (even though your students might still need access to finish up the course).
3. Click Submit to enable your students to see and access your course shell.

Preparing your Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester
If you have already been using Blackboard Learn for your courses, please check out this handy reference to help you prepare your Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester at https://bit.ly/3a0NjCT.

Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Course Checklist
Once your course has been copied over, please review this checklist at https://bit.ly/3sulKrZ to help you make sure your course site in Blackboard Learn is ready to go for the upcoming semester.

Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty
If you have any questions about using some of the features of Blackboard Learn, we encourage you to check out our Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty at https://sites.google.com/northshore.edu/blackboard-faculty/home. Here we have step-by-step guides to learn how to use the top ten Blackboard Learn features as well as links to some recorded workshops and additional resources for faculty and students.

If you have any questions or run into any issues, please do not hesitate to contact me or the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu.

Preparing for Spring 2022 Courses in Blackboard Learn

As you start to think about your spring courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
If you had us increase your course content collection quota in the course you are copying forward, please make sure to reach out to us before starting the course copy. We will need to increase the course content collection quota in the new course first.

To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.On the next screen, in the “Select Copy Type” section, make sure Copy Course Materials into Existing Course is selected in the drop down menu.
2. Now, in the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
3. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
1. If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
2. Also, under Discussion Board, select Include only the forums, with no starter posts if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
4. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
5. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu.

Make Your Course Available
All Blackboard Learn course sites are unavailable to students by default. Here are the directions for making the course site available to your students. If you are in your course site, you should see a lock icon up at the top of your course site (to the left of Edit Mode). If you click that lock icon, it will make the course available to students. 

If you do not see the lock icon, here are the directions for making it available to your students.

To open your course:

1. Go into the course site.
2. On the Control Panel, expand the "Customization" section and click Properties.
3. On the next screen, in the "Set Availability" section, select Yes to make the course available.
4. Click Submit.

Preparing a Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester
Please check out this handy reference at http://goo.gl/pZbUZ8 to help you prepare a  Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester.

Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Course Checklist
Once your course has been copied over, please review this checklist at https://goo.gl/18q3r5 to help you make sure your course site in Blackboard Learn is ready to go for the upcoming semester. 

Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty

If you have any questions about using some of the features of Blackboard Learn, we encourage you to check out our Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty at https://sites.google.com/northshore.edu/blackboard-faculty/home. Here we have step-by-step guides to learn how to use the top ten Blackboard Learn features as well as links to some recorded workshops and additional resources for faculty and students.  

Please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu if there are any issues with Blackboard Learn.

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (8/30/2021)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (CTLI).  

  

  
20 Minute Online Professional Development

The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the fall semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of August 30th is How Can Understanding Group Dynamics Lead to Better Group Work? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at https://www.magnapubs.com/product/program/how-can-understanding-group-dynamics-lead-to-better-group-work/. The complete fall schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2021/08/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html.

Looking for transcripts of past Monday Morning Mentor sessions? Please email ctli@northshore.edu with the session title and we can provide you with the transcript and supplementary materials.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Instructor Webinar Series: Teaching with Blackboard from Basics to Advanced. In September, Blackboard is offering a series of free webinars "to help with getting the most out of teaching with Blackboard Learn and Collaborate." More details about the webinars as well as registration information is available at https://go.blackboard.com/Instructor-webinar-series. 

Interesting Articles and Resources

• Live with Judy Klimek: Using Group Exams as a Review Learning Activity (Faculty Focus Live Podcast) “In this episode, we dive into how Judy Klimek uses a group exam review to go over answers from the final, individual exam. From fostering engaging conversations to pinpointing challenging questions, each small group reviews the results from their individual exams and comes to a consensus as to why answers were right or wrong.  As an instructor, Klimek also explains how the group exam review allows her to reassess exam questions in the future and engage one-on-one with students who might need extra assistance.” https://www.facultyfocus.com/faculty-focus-live-podcast/
• Nine Alternatives to Lecturing, https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/teaching-resources/teaching-tips/alternatives-lecturing/active-learning/varying-your-teaching-activities
• 10 Ways to Make Your Fall Classes Better, https://www.insidehighered.com/blogs/higher-ed-gamma/10-ways-make-your-fall-classes-better
• 8 Ways to Keep Your Course Flexible—For Whatever The Next Academic Term Holds, https://tophat.com/blog/flexible-teaching-toolkit/
• 8 Ways to Improve Group Work Online, https://www.insidehighered.com/advice/2020/10/28/advice-how-successfully-guide-students-group-work-online-opinion 
• Facilitating Effective Collaboration in Virtual Student Teams, https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/online-course-design-and-preparation/facilitating-effective-collaboration-in-virtual-student-teams/

Share Your Teaching Resources and Professional Development Opportunities

If you have any teaching resources that you would like to share with other NSCC faculty or know of any other professional development opportunities that NSCC faculty might be interested in, please feel free to send them to ctli@northshore.edu and we will share them in the upcoming issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
CTLI  

Preparing for Fall 2021 Courses in Blackboard Learn

As you start to think about your fall courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.
2. On the next screen, in the “Select Copy Type” section, make sure Copy Course Materials into Existing Course is selected in the drop down menu.
3. Now, in the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
4. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
1. If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
2. Also, under Discussion Board, select Include only the forums, with no starter posts if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
5. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
6. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu.

Make Your Course Available
All Blackboard Learn course sites are unavailable to students by default. Here are the directions for making the course site available to your students. If you are in your course site, you should see a lock icon up at the top of your course site (to the left of Edit Mode). If you click that lock icon, it will make the course available to students. 

If you do not see the lock icon, here are the directions for making it available to your students.

To open your course:

1. Go into the course site.
2. On the Control Panel, expand the "Customization" section and click Properties.
3. On the next screen, in the "Set Availability" section, select Yes to make the course available.
4. Click Submit.

Preparing a Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester
Please check out this handy reference at http://goo.gl/pZbUZ8 to help you prepare a  Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester.

Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Course Checklist
Once your course has been copied over, please review this checklist at https://goo.gl/18q3r5 to help you make sure your course site in Blackboard Learn is ready to go for the upcoming semester. 

Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty

If you have any questions about using some of the features of Blackboard Learn, we encourage you to check out our Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty at https://sites.google.com/northshore.edu/blackboard-faculty/home. Here we have step-by-step guides to learn how to use the top ten Blackboard Learn features as well as links to our recorded workshops and additional resources for faculty and students.  

Please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu if there are any issues with Blackboard Learn.

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (8/23/2021)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (CTLI).  

  

  
20 Minute Online Professional Development

The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the fall semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of August 23rd is How Can I Create a Meaningful Online Learning Experience for Students? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at https://www.magnapubs.com/product/program/how-can-i-create-a-meaningful-online-learning-experience-for-students/. The complete fall schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2021/08/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html.

Looking for transcripts of past Monday Morning Mentor sessions? Please email ctli@northshore.edu with the session title and we can provide you with the transcript and supplementary materials.

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Upcoming CTLI Virtual Workshops. In August, the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation will be hosting a series of virtual workshops around online and hybrid design and teaching best practices as well as the features of Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Collaborate Ultra, and Zoom. The complete schedule of virtual workshop sessions (with descriptions) as well as RSVP information is available at https://forms.gle/VF3fRNjR6wVkaGQk8. If interested in attending a virtual workshop, please make sure to RSVP. A virtual workshop will be cancelled if less than five people sign up for it.
• Instructor Webinar Series: Teaching with Blackboard from Basics to Advanced. In September, Blackboard is offering a series of free webinars "to help with getting the most out of teaching with Blackboard Learn and Collaborate." More details about the webinars as well as registration information is available at https://go.blackboard.com/Instructor-webinar-series. 

Upcoming Webinars of Interest

• Beyond Affordability: How Open Educational Resources Positively Influence Student Success (AAC&U webinar) on Tuesday, August 24th at 3:00pm. More details about the webinar as well as registration information is available at https://secure.aacu.org/iMIS/AACUR/Events/Event_Display.aspx?EventKey=WEB210824.
• How to Use Zoom in the New (Blended) Normal: Models for Student Inclusion and Engagement (Contact North webinar) on Thursday, August 26, 2021 at 11:00am. More details about the webinar as well as registration information is available at https://teachonline.ca/webinar/how-use-zoom-new-blended-normal-models-student-inclusion-and-engagement-0.

Interesting Articles and Resources

• An Essential and Imperative Part of Teaching: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (Faculty Focus Live Podcast) “Diversity and inclusion in higher education…It’s important. It’s imperative. And it’s an essential part of teaching. In this episode, we talk about how you can infuse inclusive teaching strategies into your online classes and your in-person classes. From small scale to large scale incorporations, each inclusive strategy and diversity-related topic matters. Whether you incorporate these strategies into your syllabus, curriculum, or project-based learning activities, you can start to think about how this will improve how your students engage with your course and how you can better establish a classroom culture.” https://www.facultyfocus.com/faculty-focus-live-podcast/

Share Your Teaching Resources and Professional Development Opportunities

If you have any teaching resources that you would like to share with other NSCC faculty or know of any other professional development opportunities that NSCC faculty might be interested in, please feel free to send them to ctli@northshore.edu and we will share them in the upcoming issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
CTLI  

Preparing for Summer 2021 Courses in Blackboard Learn

As you start to think about your summer courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.
2. On the next screen, in the “Select Copy Type” section, make sure Copy Course Materials into Existing Course is selected in the drop down menu.
3. Now, in the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
4. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
1. If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
2. Also, under Discussion Board, select Include only the forums, with no starter posts if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
5. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
6. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu.

Make Your Course Available
All Blackboard Learn course sites are unavailable to students by default. Here are the directions for making the course site available to your students. If you are in your course site, you should see a lock icon up at the top of your course site (to the left of Edit Mode). If you click that lock icon, it will make the course available to students. 

If you do not see the lock icon, here are the directions for making it available to your students.

To open your course:

1. Go into the course site.
2. On the Control Panel, expand the "Customization" section and click Properties.
3. On the next screen, in the "Set Availability" section, select Yes to make the course available.
4. Click Submit.

Preparing a Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester
Please check out this handy reference at http://goo.gl/pZbUZ8 to help you prepare a  Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester.

Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Course Checklist
Once your course has been copied over, please review this checklist at https://goo.gl/18q3r5 to help you make sure your course site in Blackboard Learn is ready to go for the upcoming semester. 

Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty

If you have any questions about using some of the features of Blackboard Learn, we encourage you to check out our Blackboard Learn How-To Guide for Faculty at https://sites.google.com/northshore.edu/blackboard-faculty/home. Here we have step-by-step guides to learn how to use the top ten Blackboard Learn features as well as links to our recorded workshops and additional resources for faculty and students.  

Please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu if there are any issues with Blackboard Learn.

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (4/5/2021)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (CTLI).  

  

  
20 Minute Online Professional Development
The Monday Morning Mentor series will be available over the spring semester to bring you professional development in twenty minute snippets. The topic for the week of April 5th is How Can I Gauge Online Learning Through Engaging Activities and Assignments? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at https://www.magnapubs.com/product/program/how-can-i-gauge-online-learning-through-engaging-activities-and-assignments/. The complete spring 2021 schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2020/12/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html. 

Looking for transcripts of past Monday Morning Mentor sessions? Please email ctli@northshore.edu with the session title and we can provide you with the transcript and supplementary materials. 

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Salem State University Earth Day Events. The Salem State Earth Days Planning Committee has extended an invitation to the NSCC community to participate in their Earth Days events. Their theme this year is “There is No Planet B.” The schedule of free events and registration information is available on the Earth Days webpage at https://www.salemstate.edu/earthday. 
• 45th Forum on Tolerance. This spring, the Forum on Tolerance is focusing on "Black Lives Matter: the U.S. Journey towards Justice and Healing Part 2" and will take place in individual segments that will be broadcast over Zoom Monday, April 12th through Friday, April 16th. A schedule of events as well as the links to register for each segment is available at http://www.northshore.edu/tolerance/.
• Digital Teaching Symposium 2021. Blackboard is sponsoring this free virtual event focusing on best practices for what’s next in digital teaching on Friday, April 16, 2021. More information as well as the registration link is available at https://events.bizzabo.com/DTS2021/home.
• 2021 NSCC Visiting Writer Event. Visiting Writer and North Shore alumnus John R. Nelson will present a slide show and read from his book Flight Calls: Exploring Massachusetts through Birds, described as "somewhere between a personal memoir, a true-life adventure, and a birder's personal journey." This event will take place on Zoom on Tuesday, April 20, 9:30-10:45 AM and Wednesday, April 21, 9:30-10:45 AM. More information will be available soon on the 2021 Arts in April page, https://www.northshore.edu/arts-in-april/index.html.
• 2021 Northeast OER Summit. Registration is now open for the 4th Annual Northeast OER Summit. The Summit is free and will take place Monday, May 24 – Wednesday, May 26, 2021 virtually through University of Massachusetts Amherst Conference Services. If you are interested in attending, you can register at https://umass.irisregistration.com/Site/OER.    
• Dis/Misinformation: Perspectives and Pedagogies for Educators in the Post-Truth Era. Harvard University's Global Studies Outreach Center is offering their 9th annual free summer educator workshop virtually over a two-week period: July 26 - August 6. Participants can join for all or some of the sessions offered over those two weeks. More information is available at https://globalstudiesoutreach.harvard.edu/. 

Upcoming Webinars of Interest

• Learn 10 Social Media Strategies to Connect with Online Students (Contact North webinar) on Tuesday, April 6, 2021 from 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST. ”As COVID-19 continues to upend the normal social connections between students and professors — casual interactions during office hours, pre-class conversation, post-class questions — social media is emerging as a tool to maintain and improve those connections that are vital for student retention, academic development, diversity and inclusion. In this webinar, participants learn how to: 1. Use social media to complement traditional communication, 2. Find the platform of choice, 3. Stay on brand, 4. Recognize we’re all #InItTogether, 5. Target the “whole” student, 6. Use social media to engage students, 7. Cross-promote their institution, 8. Build a discipline co-educational space, 9.Share discipline-specific content, and 10. Share student successes.” (webinar description) More information and registration link available at https://teachonline.ca/webinar/how-use-social-media-retain-and-connect-students-shift-online-education.
• Flipping the Online Classroom (Campus Compact Fusion Webinar) on Thursday, April 8, 2021, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM EST. “This session will focus on designing and implementing courses with high levels of student interaction, engagement, and community-based learning. We will introduce strategies and approaches for enhancing students' skills in leadership, teamwork, and problem solving through supportive learning communities, student-led activities, and student-directed learning. We will discuss strategies for balancing and effectively utilizing both synchronous and asynchronous class time in order to make courses meaningful, relevant, and content-rich. Participants will leave the session with concrete plans and goals to support students' online learning experiences with a "flipped" mindset and approach.” (webinar description) Presented by: Audrey Falk - Merrimack College. More information as well as registration link available at https://events.compact.org/fusion-webinars.
• Open Pedagogy in Practice - Faculty Perspectives (New England Board of Higher Education weibar) on Monday, April 12, 2021 from 10 AM to 11 AM EST. "Open pedagogy, OER-enabled pedagogy, Open educational practices -- you may have heard these terms in passing or maybe you’ve heard a lot about them but still find yourself asking the question, “but what does this actually look like in practice?” Listen to New England college and university open education leaders Dr. Robin DeRosa from New Hampshire, Dr. Jennifer Van Allen from New York, and Dr. Heather Miceli from Rhode Island share what Open pedagogy looks like in their classrooms, lessons learned they’ve learned along the way, and why their praxis is ever-changing." (webinar description) Registration available at https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Vlq4oiSgQZa_NlKmW3MSEw.

Interesting Articles and Resources

• Using Social Media to Retain and Connect with Students in the Shift to Online Education, https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/online-student-engagement/using-social-media-to-retain-and-connect-with-students-in-the-shift-to-online-education/
• Strategies for Antiracist and Decolonized Teaching, https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/equality-inclusion-and-diversity/strategies-for-antiracist-and-decolonized-teaching/
• Teaching Online: STEM in the Time of COVID, https://onlinelearningconsortium.org/read/teaching-online-stem-in-a-time-of-covid/
• Digital Texts in the Time of COVID: Educational Resources in U.S. Higher Education, 2020, https://www.bayviewanalytics.com/reports/digitaltextsinthetimeofcovid.pdf
• 21 Ways to Structure an Online Discussion, Part Two, https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/online-student-engagement/21-ways-to-structure-an-online-discussion-part-two/

Update on Upcoming Maintenance for Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Blackboard has scheduled a maintenance window for the Collaborate Ultra v21.06 update. On Thursday, April 8th between 2:00 AM EST to 6:00 AM EST, Collaborate Ultra users will experience intermittent availability.

Share Your Teaching Resources and Professional Development Opportunities

If you have any teaching resources that you would like to share with other NSCC faculty or know of any other professional development opportunities that NSCC faculty might be interested in, please feel free to send them to ctli@northshore.edu and we will share them in the upcoming issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
CTLI 

Preparing for Spring 2021 Courses in Blackboard Learn

 As you start to think about your spring courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.
2. On the next screen, in the “Select Copy Type” section, make sure Copy Course Materials into Existing Course is selected in the drop down menu.
3. Now, in the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
4. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
1. If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
2. Also, under Discussion Board, select Include only the forums, with no starter posts if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
5. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
6. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu.

Make Your Course Available
All Blackboard Learn course sites are unavailable to students by default. Here are the directions for making the course site available to your students. If you are in your course site, you should see a lock icon up at the top of your course site (to the left of Edit Mode). If you click that lock icon, it will make the course available to students. 

If you do not see the lock icon, here are the directions for making it available to your students.

To open your course:

1. Go into the course site.
2. On the Control Panel, expand the "Customization" section and click Properties.
3. On the next screen, in the "Set Availability" section, select Yes to make the course available.
4. Click Submit.

Preparing a Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester
Please check out this handy reference at http://goo.gl/pZbUZ8 to help you prepare a  Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester.

Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Course Checklist
Once you course has been copied over, please review this checklist at https://goo.gl/18q3r5 to help you make sure your course site in Blackboard Learn is ready to go for the upcoming semester. 

Please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu if there are any issues with Blackboard Learn.

Preparing for Fall 2020 Courses in Blackboard Learn

 As you start to think about your fall courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.
2. On the next screen, in the “Select Copy Type” section, make sure Copy Course Materials into Existing Course is selected in the drop down menu.
3. Now, in the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
4. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
1. If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
2. Also, under Discussion Board, select Include only the forums, with no starter posts if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
5. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
6. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu.

Make Your Course Available
All Blackboard Learn course sites are unavailable to students by default. Here are the directions for making the course site available to your students. If you are in your course site, you should see a lock icon up at the top of your course site (to the left of Edit Mode). If you click that lock icon, it will make the course available to students. 

If you do not see the lock icon, here are the directions for making it available to your students.

To open your course:

1. Go into the course site.
2. On the Control Panel, expand the "Customization" section and click Properties.
3. On the next screen, in the "Set Availability" section, select Yes to make the course available.
4. Click Submit.

Preparing a Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester
Please check out this handy reference at http://goo.gl/pZbUZ8 to help you prepare a  Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester.

Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Course Checklist
Once you course has been copied over, please review this checklist at https://goo.gl/18q3r5 to help you make sure your course site in Blackboard Learn is ready to go for the upcoming semester. 

Please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu if there are any issues with Blackboard Learn.

Preparing for Spring 2020 Courses in Blackboard Learn

As you start to think about your spring courses, we wanted to share with you the following important information that will help you prepare your course site in Blackboard Learn.

Copying a Course
To copy a previous course site into a new one in Blackboard Learn:

1. Go into the course site that has the content to copy. In the Control Panel, expand the "Packages and Utilities" section and click Course Copy.
2. On the next screen, in the “Select Copy Type” section, make sure Copy Course Materials into Existing Course is selected in the drop down menu.
3. Now, in the “Select Copy Options” section, next to the Destination Course ID field, click Browse. Then, find and select the Course ID for the new course (the one you want to put the content into). Click Submit.
4. Select the Course Materials that you want to copy over to the new course. Usually, Select All is the best choice, although you might not want to copy announcements.
1. If Select All is not used, make sure to include Grade Center Columns and Settings if Assignments and/or Tests are being copied.
2. Also, under Discussion Board, select Include only the forums, with no starter posts if threads are not created by the instructor for students to respond to. If not, all student threads will copy over as anonymous and they will need to be deleted.
5. In the “File Attachments” section, keep the default settings.
6. Click Submit.

Please note: When a previous course site is copied over into a new course site, any new or changed content areas will be added to the bottom of the course menu.

Make Your Course Available
All Blackboard Learn course sites are unavailable to students by default. Here are the directions for making the course site available to your students. If you are in your course site, you should see a lock icon up at the top of your course site (to the left of Edit Mode). If you click that lock icon, it will make the course available to students. 

If you do not see the lock icon, here are the directions for making it available to your students.

To open your course:

1. Go into the course site.
2. On the Control Panel, expand the "Customization" section and click Properties.
3. On the next screen, in the "Set Availability" section, select Yes to make the course available.
4. Click Submit.

Preparing a Blackboard Learn Course Site for a New Semester
Please check out this handy reference at http://goo.gl/pZbUZ8 to help you prepare a  Blackboard Learn course site for a new semester.

Blackboard Learn Pre-Semester Course Checklist
Once you course has been copied over, please review this checklist at https://goo.gl/18q3r5 to help you make sure your course site in Blackboard Learn is ready to go for the upcoming semester. 

Please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk at bbhelp@northshore.edu if there are any issues with Blackboard Learn.

Blackboard Learn Grade Center Checkups for Final Grades

The fall semester is winding down and it will soon be time to enter final grades for your courses. If you are using Blackboard Learn to record and/or calculate student grades, the CTLI is offering Blackboard Learn Grade Center checkup drop-in sessions to help you double check the Blackboard Learn Grade Center in your course sites. 

If you want to make sure the Grade Center is set up correctly to calculate a final grade, please feel free to stop by the CTLI offices in Danvers DB387 and Lynn LS313. Team members will be available Monday, December 9th through Thursday, December 12th from 9:00am to 3:00pm (please note that on Tuesday, December 10th, staff will be available until 2:00pm).

As a reference, here are the directions to set up the Blackboard Learn Grade Center to calculate a weighted grade. You can use these directions to also check to make sure the weighted grade column is calculating correctly.

Step 1: Create categories
a. Manage > Categories > Create Category (make sure you have one for each of the %s listed in your grade calculation statement)   

Step 2: Assign percentages in Weighted Total column
a. Click on chevron to the right of the Weighted Total column and select Edit Column Information
b. In the Select Columns section (middle of screen), under Categories to Select, select the categories to the left and send them over to the right
c. Once the categories are over to the right under Selected Categories, enter in the appropriate %s

Step 3: Ensure all columns are associated with appropriate categories
a. Manage > Column Organization (make sure all columns are in the correct categories)
b. On the Column Organization page, you can change any of the column categories by checking off the boxes to the left of the column name and selecting a new category in the Change Category to drop down menu

Here is a great article from Virginia Commonwealth University with some tips on troubleshooting weighted totals.

• Troubleshooting Weighted Totals, https://ts.vcu.edu/askit/teaching-and-learning/blackboard-elearning/courseorganization-management-/facultyleader/control-panel/grade-center/create-calculated-column/weighted-column/troubleshooting-weighted-totals/

If you are using the Total column to calculate a grade, you just want to make sure there is a column in the Grade Center for every gradable item that should be included in the grade. To see the number of points that the grade is calculating on, go to  Manage > Column Organization. You will see the Total column listed with the number of possible points over to the right. That number should match what you think the total points at mid-term should be.

Also, it is important to make sure a 0 has been entered into a column if a student did not complete an assignment or assessment. The default setting is to calculate the Weighted Total or Total columns as a running total which means that columns and categories without grades aren't included in the calculations.

If you are unable to stop by and would like us to look at your Grade Center, please feel free to send us an email at ctli@northshore.edu.

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (12/9/2019)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (CTLI).
  

20 Minute Online Professional Development
This is the last of the sessions for the fall Monday Morning Mentor series (professional development in twenty minute snippets.) The topic for the week of December 9th is How Can I Teach Soft Skills to Better Prepare Students for the Workplace? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at https://www.magnapubs.com/online/mentor/how-can-i-teach-soft-skills-to-better-prepare-students-for-the-workplace-15238-1.html.

Looking for transcripts of past Monday Morning Mentor sessions? Please email ctli@northshore.edu with the session title and we can provide you with the transcript and supplementary materials.  

The Monday Morning Mentor series, professional development in twenty minute snippets, will kick off in the spring semester on January 27, 2020 with What is the Best Teaching Advice I Ever Received? More information will be available in an upcoming issue of iDevelop. The complete spring 2020 schedule of Monday Morning Mentor sessions is available at http://nscclets.blogspot.com/2019/12/20-minute-mentor-online-faculty.html. 
  
 Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Faculty Conversations: Small Teaching Online. This fall, the CTLI will host informal faculty conversations around making small changes in your teaching practice that can increase student engagement and learning. The final meeting will be Thursday, December 12th from 2:30pm to 3:30pm. Please save the date in your calendar. An email with additional information about the November session will be sent out in early December.
    

Blackboard Learn Grade Center Checkups for Final Grades
The fall semester is winding down and it will soon be time to enter final grades for your courses. If you are using Blackboard Learn to record and/or calculate student grades, the CTLI is offering Blackboard Learn Grade Center checkup drop-in sessions to help you double check the Blackboard Learn Grade Center in your course sites. If you want to make sure the Grade Center is set up correctly to calculate a final grade, please feel free to stop by the CTLI offices in Danvers DB387 and Lynn LS313. Team members will be available Monday, December 9th through Thursday, December 12th from 9:00am to 3:00pm (please note that on Tuesday, December 10th, staff will be available until 2:00pm).

Share Your Teaching Resources and Professional Development OpportunitiesIf you have any teaching resources that you would like to share with other NSCC faculty or know of any other professional development opportunities that NSCC faculty might be interested in, please feel free to send them to ctli@northshore.edu and we will share them in the upcoming issues of iDevelop.

This will be the last issue of iDevelop for the fall semester. We will publish the first one for the spring semester on January 13, 2020. We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
CTLI

iDevelop – NSCC’s Faculty Professional Development eNewsletter (9/23/2019)

Welcome to iDevelop, a weekly eNewsletter providing faculty with information about professional development opportunities at NSCC. The intent of this eNewsletter is to spotlight the various professional development events for faculty in one convenient location as well as share best practices, resources and tips related to the teaching practice. iDevelop is being brought to you by the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation (CTLI).
  

20 Minute Online Professional Development
The topic for the week of September 23rd is How Can I Increase Student Completion Rates in Online Learning? The presentation is available Monday at 10:00am and is accessible through Sunday of that week. For information on accessing the presentation and supplemental materials, please view the Bulletin or the email version of iDevelop.

More information about this session (including description, topics, and learning goals) is available at https://www.magnapubs.com/online/mentor/how-can-i-increase-student-completion-rates-in-online-learning-15206-1.html.

Looking for transcripts of past Monday Morning Mentor sessions? Please email ctli@northshore.edu with the session title and we can provide you with the transcript and supplementary materials.   

Other Professional Development Opportunities

• Faculty Conversations: Small Teaching Online. This fall, the CTLI will host informal faculty conversations around making small changes in your teaching practice that can increase student engagement and learning. The first meeting is Thursday, September 26th from 2:30pm to 3:30pm in the Danvers CTLI Conference Room, DB301. More information is available in the email invitation (sent September 13th). Please RSVP at https://forms.gle/GnJ5kodGukP9MFub6 to let us know you are coming. 

     
Upcoming Webinars of Interest

• How Successful Students Take Advantage of Classroom Technology [Blackboard Innovative Teaching Series (BITS)] on Thursday, September 26th at 11:00am EST. "Students today expect technology-enhanced learning experiences. Whether it’s how they view grades, assignments, communicate with the instructor or fellow students. This session highlights how Blackboard can partner with faculty and more importantly the student during their class." Presenter: Letitia Davis, University of Texas at Dallas. Register at https://go.blackboard.com/bits-webinars.    
    

Resources

• Teaching Online Pedagogical Repository, https://topr.online.ucf.edu/ 
• Ensuring Student Success in Online Courses, https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/ensuring-student-success-online-courses/
• Strategies for Creating a Successful Online Classroom, https://www.facultyfocus.com/articles/online-education/strategies-for-creating-a-successful-online-classroom/
• Successful design strategies for online courses, https://www.pearsoned.com/successful-design-strategies-for-online-courses/
• Using Student Feedback to Create Effective Online Learning Experiences, https://edservices.wiley.com/how-student-feedback-creates-better-online-learning/
     

Share Your Teaching Resources and Professional Development Opportunities

If you have any teaching resources that you would like to share with other NSCC faculty or know of any other professional development opportunities that NSCC faculty might be interested in, please feel free to send them to ctli@northshore.edu and we will share them in the upcoming issues of iDevelop.

We hope you have enjoyed this weekly eNewsletter and would love your input. Please let us know if you have any feedback on the format, content, and resources or if there is anything else you would like to see in the eNewsletter.

Thank you,
CTLI