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.

September Blackboard Learn Open Labs

CTLI's Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) team will be hosting a series of Blackboard Learn Open Labs during the first two weeks of the semester.

Faculty are welcome to drop by the open labs if they have any questions/issues or would like to come in to work on your courses and get assistance from CTLI ITD staff. CTLI ITD team members will be available to assist on both the Danvers and Lynn campuses.

Week of September 2nd

• Tuesday, September 3rd from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS314
• Thursday, September 5th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS314
• Friday, September 6th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS314   

Week of September 9th

• Monday, September 9th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS313
• Tuesday, September 10th from 9:00am-2:00pm in DB387 and LS313
• Wednesday, September 11th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS313
• Thursday, September 12th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS313

 
Also, 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 2019 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.

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

January Blackboard Learn Open Labs

CTLI's Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) team will be hosting a series of Blackboard Learn Open Labs during the first two weeks of the semester.

Faculty are welcome to drop by the open labs if they have any questions/issues or would like to come in to work on your courses and get assistance from CTLI ITD staff. CTLI ITD team members will be available to assist on both the Danvers and Lynn campuses.
  
Week of January 14th 

• Tuesday, January 15th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Wednesday, January 16th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Thursday, January 17th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Friday, January 18th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
    

Week of January 21st 

• Tuesday, January 22nd from 9:00am-2:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Wednesday, January 23rd from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Thursday, January 24th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Friday, January 25th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319   

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

September Blackboard Learn Open Labs

CTLI's Instructional Technology and Design (ITD) team will be hosting a series of Blackboard Learn Open Labs during the first two weeks of the semester.

Faculty are welcome to drop by the open labs if they have any questions/issues or would like to come in to work on your courses and get assistance from CTLI ITD staff. CTLI ITD team members will be available to assist on both the Danvers and Lynn campuses.

Week of September 3rd

• Tuesday, September 4th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Thursday, September 6th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Friday, September 7th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319    

Week of September 10th

• Monday, September 10th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Tuesday, September 11th from 9:00am-2:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Wednesday, September 12th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Thursday, September 13th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319 

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

January Blackboard Learn Open Labs

The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation's Instructional Technology and Design team will be holding Blackboard Learn Open Labs in January.

Blackboard Learn Open Labs
Faculty are welcome to drop by the Open Labs if there are any questions or issues in setting up course sites for the spring semester. Team members will be available to assist on both the Danvers and Lynn campuses. 

Week of January 15th  

• Tuesday, January 16th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Wednesday, January 17th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Thursday, January 18th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Friday, January 19th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
    

Week of January 22nd

• Monday, January 22nd from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Tuesday, January 23rd from 9:00am-2:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Wednesday, January 24th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
• Thursday, January 25th from 9:00am-3:00pm in DB387 and LS319
    

Also, 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 Tips

As you begin to record your grades you might to think about using the Blackboard Learn Grade Center. It can be a little complicated but all of us here in Instructional Technology and Design are more than happy to sit down with you and create a Grade Center that will work for you.

1. For those of you that already use the Blackboard Learn Grade Center, I wanted to pass along a tip on how to “hide” information on other students if you want to show a student his/her grades in class. Go to the Grade Center and then to the Full Grade Center in your Course Management area. Look for the name of the student who wants to see his/her grade. If you click the chevron to the right of the student’s last name, you can select the option to “Hide Other Rows". This will display only that student’s grades. To return to the normal view of the Full Grade Center, click on the same chevron and select "Show All Rows" or you can visit another place within the course (e.g. Content) and then return to the Full Grade Center and it will be automatically repopulated with other students.  
   
2. Sometimes I get emails in the Blackboard Learn Helpdesk from students saying that they cannot see a comment from the instructor in a particular assignment. In order for any comments to display in the student's My Grades, an instructor needs to have “graded” that assignment.
3. Another email I get is from instructors who do not know what a particular icon in the Full Grade Center means. It can look like a triangle, an exclamation point, or even a shaded circle. If you notice this, you can click the “icon legend” to the bottom right of the Full Grade Center. All the icons are displayed there with their meanings.
4. If you would like to print your Full Grade Center, go to the “Work Off Line” chevron in the upper right top of the Full Grade Center. Click “Download” and then "Submit" (you do not need to change any settings). This will download your Full Grade Center as a spreadsheet that can be opened in Excel and you should be able to access it wherever you typically have files download to.

I hope this helps as you get familiar with the Blackboard Learn Grade Center and, remember, you can always contact bbhelp@northshore.edu to set up an appointment for assistance.

Keeping an Eye Out for ANGEL Issues

The semester is off to a cold and snowy start but faculty and students seem to be adapting well!  I thought I would address a few issues ANGEL has been experiencing lately.

Probably the most common one is the browser issue.  If you have not been able to type in a discussion content box, it is probably because you are using a browser that is not supported by ANGEL.

ANGEL Supported Browsers:

• Internet Explorer 8, 9, or 10 (Compatibility View must be on. Add ANGEL as a Trusted Site. For Windows 8, use IE10 in Desktop Mode; do not use in Metro Mode.)

• Safari 5 or 6

• Chrome 21, 24, 27, or 28

• Firefox 18, 21, or 22

Be sure to  check the ANGEL homepage and look under the System Check area for information on what browser and version you are using. If you find you are not using a browser that ANGEL supports please check the Browser Info area and the "Set Your Browser to Work with ANGEL" section.

Sometimes, your browser will do automatic updates and update to a version of the browser that ANGEL does not support. You can uncheck the automated updates for your browser.  Just do a Google search (for your browser name and "how to turn off automatic updates") and it should give you directions.

Another issue is that Internet links may appear to not work.  This happens sometimes with mixed content: using ANGEL, which is a secured site, with another website, which is unsecured (that's not to say the site is dangerous, but doesn't require the level of security that ANGEL requires such as an article on Boston.com).  The link may appear as broken links or blank pages. If you are using Firefox, and this occurs, click on the shield icon (left side of the URL address bar) and select "Disable Protection on This Page" from the dropdown menu. If you're using Chrome, click on the shield icon (right side of the URL bar) and click "Load Unsafe Script."

Hopefully, this will address some of the issues that you may be encountering with ANGEL. If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at angel@northshore.edu.