That’s the Ticket!

The best tools for saving a personal copy of a course are Export and Import.  Keep in mind that these tools will not store or restore the students and their work, only the course content and structure.  The following are important points to consider:

• Exporting a course creates a downloadable package of the course content (compressed .zip file) that can later be imported into a Blackboard shell

• Because the exported file can be imported as the whole course or as selected parts of the course through Import Package, it’s recommended that you select all areas when exporting a course

• The saved file can only be viewed by being imported into Blackboard

• Importing does not overwrite any existing information in the destination course in the following areas: Content, Discussion Boards, Gradebook Items, Groups, Tests, Surveys, and Pools. Imported information in these areas is added to existing information in the destination course.

• Importing does overwrite Course Settings (if selected) in the destination course (other than the Course ID and Menu Settings).

Course Copy Tool

Although the Course Copy tool doesn’t provide a personal copy of each course, which could later be moved to another Blackboard installation or reimported, it is the most common method for transferring courses from quarter to quarter or section to section.  This wizard based tool won’t overwrite any existing content, so it’s easy to unintentionally duplicate items, unless copying into an empty shell.  Use of the Recycle tool can help clean out excess content when necessary.  To help with this process, here is a short video about how to use the Course Copy tool:

Course Copy Process

Download Gradebook Tool

There is an important distinction to make regarding the separate nature of student enrollments and Blackboard course content.  It’s easy to assume that copying a course also copies the enrolled students and their coursework, however that is not the case.  If the students are no longer registered at Clark, they will fail to reappear when the course is restored, no matter how you save the course.  This is because the enrollment database is in a constant state of flux, with only currently registered students accessible each quarter, while the Blackboard content database is more constant, only changing when faculty make adjustments to their courses.  You could think of course shells as virtual classrooms which you can build, maintain, or change as you see fit.  The students, however, will come and go – just as they do in the face-to-face environment… Your only record of them is what you store or have recorded in IBC.  This is why it’s important to save your Gradebooks from Blackboard using the Download Gradebook tool at the end of each quarter, before I run our snapshot process and the student enrollment files change.  The date that this will occur is posted in our Faculty Blackboard Planner page, as well as my end of term email announcement.

I hope that explains the options available for saving courses… Please feel free to comment or contact me in eLearning for more information.

A Mock Student is a fictitious user with a student role whose login credentials are assigned to an instructor.  This can be useful for an instructor who wants to see exactly what the student sees and experiences.  Once the Mock Student role is in place, it will remain throughout the course.

A Temporary or Generic Student is a temporary account I can set up for wait-listed students, by faculty request.  In this role, students must be instructed by faculty to observe only and not participate, much like a wait-listed student in a face-to-face class.  Several potential students may use this same account to access the course syllabus and view the assignments.  After the wait-listed students have been officially added to the course, with their own accounts and associated ID’s, their class participation may begin and I will then automatically remove these temporary accounts.

The Teacher’s Assistant role has access to many of the same areas as the Instructor role…  Both have full access to the Control Panel, however only the Instructor will be shown under the students’ Courses tab or through Course Search.  Teacher’s Assistants also cannot change the course settings, do a course copy, or modify a course name and description.  If the course is unavailable to students, they may still access the course, just as the Instructor role can.

The Course Builder role has access to most areas of the Course Control Panel, except for student grades and outcomes.  It is intended for those faculty who wish to share course content with each other or for providing cohesion within departments.  Course Builders can copy course content, modify settings, or change the course name and description.  If the course is unavailable to students, they may still access the course.

In Blackboard Organization shells there are corresponding roles available such as Leader (which has similar privileges to the Instructor role), Organization Builder (which is comparable to the Course Builder), and Participant (which is equivalent to the Student role).

Faculty may contact me directly to request specific roles; however, to enter a class taught by someone else, you must have permission from the Course Instructor before I can proceed.  The instructor can provide me with the specific information and permission by email or by phone.

Our version, called “Elluminate Live” and provided free through the State of Washington, includes an audio component, a typed chat area, and an interactive whiteboard for drawing, showing images or displaying PowerPoint presentations.  You can share your desktop or demonstrate something in a software application, use breakout rooms for collaborative learning, or take advantage of the quiz manager or polling feature.  You can also do synchronized web browsing, transfer files, and (for math and science) there’s a graphing calculator and a math symbol library.

Although Elluminate has been well established as a virtual meeting and collaboration tool, some of Clark’s own faculty, such as Willy Cushwa, have been experimenting with its use as an online classroom as well.  It seems to be a hit with his students.  Sally Keely has also remarked on the useful features of this specialty software and her ideas for increasing its usage beyond online office hours.  Although the video feature isn’t always recommended for bandwidth reasons, many of the other features seem to captivate and engage most users.  Generally, the moderator uses a mic or headset and the whiteboard area while the participants listen, observe, and use the chat area, responding to the moderator by typing or raising their “hands” to ask questions.  Though these sessions are conducted synchronously, Elluminate sessions can also be recorded and made available later.  For those students or participants with less technical experience, there is a five minute orientation available on the Elluminate website.

Elluminate is sophisticated, yet straightforward to use.  I encourage all faculty and administrators at Clark to go through the online moderator training and discover this new tool.  As a moderator with audio capabilities, a headset may be required, unless your computer is already equipped with a built-in mic and speakers – contact ITS (x2425) to purchase any necessary equipment.  The links below should help get you going…  After you complete the training, just contact me (scoffie at clark.edu) and I will set you up with your own meeting space or classroom where you may join the ranks of the Elluminati!

Check your computer for technical requirements

Five minute orientation for student participants or meeting attendees

For meeting or classroom moderator training, sign up for the two live training sessions using the link below.  The sessions are:

• “Getting Started with Elluminate Live for Moderators”
• “Next Steps with Elluminate Live for Moderators”

Sign up for free training and select a time you would like to attend

Once you are comfortable with the basics, you may be interested in some of the more robust features:

Additional documents and recordings for advanced training of moderators