1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,433 Hello and welcome to "Tips for Making your 2 00:00:02,433 --> 00:00:05,200 Blackboard Space More Student-friendly." 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,000 I'm Hope Greenberg from the Center for Teaching and Learning. 4 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:11,433 We at the CTL hear from faculty 5 00:00:11,433 --> 00:00:14,566 that while students can find Blackboard confusing, 6 00:00:14,566 --> 00:00:17,700 they tend not to ask for help in using it. 7 00:00:17,700 --> 00:00:20,733 So, I thought it would be useful to pull together 8 00:00:20,733 --> 00:00:23,466 my favorite tips for organizing Blackboard courses 9 00:00:23,466 --> 00:00:25,500 to make students--and you too-- 10 00:00:25,500 --> 00:00:27,366 feel more comfortable about using it. 11 00:00:27,366 --> 00:00:30,266 First, let's consider why thoughtful design and 12 00:00:30,266 --> 00:00:33,133 and organization are important. 13 00:00:33,133 --> 00:00:37,033 Steve Krug, author of "Don't Make Me Think: 14 00:00:37,033 --> 00:00:39,500 A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability" discusses how 15 00:00:39,500 --> 00:00:42,300 discusses how a poorly designed interface 16 00:00:42,300 --> 00:00:45,133 wastes the viewer's "cognitive energy." 17 00:00:45,133 --> 00:00:48,466 If too much initial time and energy is spent on 18 00:00:48,466 --> 00:00:50,600 trying to figure out how to navigate the site, 19 00:00:50,600 --> 00:00:53,833 or to find an assignment or reading materials, 20 00:00:53,833 --> 00:00:57,266 then students will already be negatively impacted 21 00:00:57,266 --> 00:00:59,733 before they can even begin to work. 22 00:00:59,733 --> 00:01:01,833 I am sure we have all been there. 23 00:01:01,833 --> 00:01:05,166 And as we and our students spend more time online, 24 00:01:05,166 --> 00:01:08,933 we feel less and less able to combat this cognitive drag. 25 00:01:08,933 --> 00:01:13,033 However, there are some simple things you can do 26 00:01:13,033 --> 00:01:16,000 to help make your Blackboard course less of a drag-- 27 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:20,000 uh...a cognitive drag, that is. 28 00:01:20,000 --> 00:01:23,866 Steve Jobs is quoted as saying 29 00:01:23,866 --> 00:01:26,466 "Design is not just how it looks and feels; 30 00:01:26,466 --> 00:01:28,300 design is how it works." 31 00:01:28,300 --> 00:01:32,500 But I like my colleague Inés's quote better: 32 00:01:32,500 --> 00:01:35,833 "Good design improves readability, 33 00:01:35,833 --> 00:01:38,700 find-ability, and credibility." 34 00:01:38,700 --> 00:01:42,333 We want our Blackboard courses to be a staircase that, 35 00:01:42,333 --> 00:01:45,433 while it may have turns, is always leading them 36 00:01:45,433 --> 00:01:47,566 to the course goals. 37 00:01:47,566 --> 00:01:49,366 But too often the students see something 38 00:01:49,366 --> 00:01:51,300 more like the Escher print—it’s fun 39 00:01:51,300 --> 00:01:53,233 but it’s anything but straightforward. 40 00:01:53,233 --> 00:01:56,100 So, what are some design choices? 41 00:01:56,100 --> 00:01:59,466 I'll start with one, a visual one 42 00:01:59,466 --> 00:02:01,733 that is simple yet effective. 43 00:02:01,733 --> 00:02:04,300 At first, it seems like an extra flourish, 44 00:02:04,300 --> 00:02:06,566 a nice touch but not important. 45 00:02:06,566 --> 00:02:08,933 But, consider it this way 46 00:02:08,933 --> 00:02:12,133 Here are screenshots from 3 course home pages. 47 00:02:12,133 --> 00:02:14,366 Which one would you consider most 48 00:02:14,366 --> 00:02:16,566 recognizable at a glance? 49 00:02:16,566 --> 00:02:18,700 I hope you say it's the one with the banner. 50 00:02:18,700 --> 00:02:20,833 I have to squint to tell the, uh, the difference 51 00:02:20,833 --> 00:02:22,100 between the other two. 52 00:02:22,100 --> 00:02:25,800 With a banner, your students will quickly realize 53 00:02:25,800 --> 00:02:28,600 if they've opened the wrong course. 54 00:02:28,600 --> 00:02:33,366 Next, let's consider the Course Menu. 55 00:02:33,366 --> 00:02:36,300 Its organization is a key factor 56 00:02:36,300 --> 00:02:38,600 in preventing confusion. 57 00:02:38,600 --> 00:02:42,400 Blackboard makes it so easy to add things here 58 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:43,566 that it's tempting to do so 59 00:02:43,566 --> 00:02:46,400 without thinking of the overall impact. 60 00:02:46,400 --> 00:02:48,500 Consider these three examples. 61 00:02:48,500 --> 00:02:51,200 The left-most menu has a limited number 62 00:02:51,200 --> 00:02:53,733 of easily differentiated links 63 00:02:53,733 --> 00:02:57,733 and they’re grouped together with the use of horizontal lines. 64 00:02:57,733 --> 00:02:59,866 The center menu isn't too bad 65 00:02:59,866 --> 00:03:02,166 but it takes a bit more visual work to find 66 00:03:02,166 --> 00:03:06,166 a specific link. The third menu is 67 00:03:06,166 --> 00:03:09,066 well, OK, I created this one to make a point 68 00:03:09,066 --> 00:03:10,600 but I have seen courses where 69 00:03:10,600 --> 00:03:11,866 that many links are listed. 70 00:03:11,866 --> 00:03:15,300 The names may mean something to you 71 00:03:15,300 --> 00:03:17,200 but the sheer number will probably 72 00:03:17,200 --> 00:03:19,333 overwhelm your students, even after they 73 00:03:19,333 --> 00:03:20,833 begin to get used to it. 74 00:03:20,833 --> 00:03:25,433 Another place where a small bit of care 75 00:03:25,433 --> 00:03:29,033 will pay big dividends? Naming conventions 76 00:03:29,033 --> 00:03:30,966 Look at the first list. 77 00:03:30,966 --> 00:03:33,766 Are these several different types of items? 78 00:03:33,766 --> 00:03:37,100 Are lecture notes the same as class notes? 79 00:03:37,100 --> 00:03:38,866 And the last two on the list: 80 00:03:38,866 --> 00:03:42,500 "Class Notes 2/23" or "3/2 Notes" 81 00:03:42,500 --> 00:03:43,933 Are they two different things? 82 00:03:43,933 --> 00:03:46,200 or simply a typo in the date. 83 00:03:46,200 --> 00:03:49,966 So, choose one format and stick to it. 84 00:03:49,966 --> 00:03:52,233 Saves your students some confusion 85 00:03:52,233 --> 00:03:55,866 and saves you extra emails to explain it. 86 00:03:55,866 --> 00:04:00,266 The same approach applies to the books, articles, 87 00:04:00,266 --> 00:04:03,233 or web resources you refer to in your course. 88 00:04:03,233 --> 00:04:05,400 I know, and, since you already saw this 89 00:04:05,400 --> 00:04:07,900 this reference earlier, you may guess, that 90 00:04:07,900 --> 00:04:10,333 that "The Krug book" or "That useability book" 91 00:04:10,333 --> 00:04:12,266 or the title "Don't Make me Think" 92 00:04:12,266 --> 00:04:14,066 all refer to the same thing. 93 00:04:14,066 --> 00:04:16,900 But if your student encounters these in a 94 00:04:16,900 --> 00:04:18,500 variety of places in the course, 95 00:04:18,500 --> 00:04:21,166 will they make the same assumption? 96 00:04:21,166 --> 00:04:23,166 Again, would you rather they use time 97 00:04:23,166 --> 00:04:25,733 figuring this out or would you prefer 98 00:04:25,733 --> 00:04:29,333 that they get right to the reading? 99 00:04:29,333 --> 00:04:33,900 Now, take a moment to jot down a few ideas. 100 00:04:33,900 --> 00:04:37,300 How do you typically organize a course? 101 00:04:37,300 --> 00:04:40,433 For example, do you organize it by week? 102 00:04:40,433 --> 00:04:43,233 Or by broad themes? Or themes with 103 00:04:43,233 --> 00:04:44,600 their own assessment. 104 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:46,800 Or, are you are simply using Blackboard to store 105 00:04:46,800 --> 00:04:49,033 some materials like lecture notes or readings 106 00:04:49,033 --> 00:04:52,666 or instructions for assignments? 107 00:04:52,666 --> 00:04:57,400 Blackboard's primary way of organizing material 108 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,066 is as a series of folders that live on what it calls 109 00:05:01,066 --> 00:05:04,066 Content Areas, that is, an empty space 110 00:05:04,066 --> 00:05:06,233 upon which you can place folders. 111 00:05:06,233 --> 00:05:09,900 In Blackboard speak, you create or start with 112 00:05:09,900 --> 00:05:11,833 with an existing Content Area like 113 00:05:11,833 --> 00:05:13,833 the one named "Course Materials" 114 00:05:13,833 --> 00:05:16,966 115 00:05:16,966 --> 00:05:19,533 In this example the folders are named with 116 00:05:19,533 --> 00:05:23,100 with date ranges: May 22nd to 28th, May 29th 117 00:05:23,100 --> 00:05:24,766 to June 4th and so on. 118 00:05:24,766 --> 00:05:27,233 You click in the name of the folder to open it, 119 00:05:27,233 --> 00:05:29,200 but you can add some additional, optional, 120 00:05:29,200 --> 00:05:31,400 information below each folder name 121 00:05:31,400 --> 00:05:33,600 that describes what’s inside the folder. 122 00:05:33,600 --> 00:05:37,600 Now, look at how you described your course. 123 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:40,633 If your course is generally broken into weeks, 124 00:05:40,633 --> 00:05:43,833 then you could make a folder for each week. 125 00:05:43,833 --> 00:05:46,400 If you break it into themes or topics, 126 00:05:46,400 --> 00:05:48,433 each with some form of assessment, 127 00:05:48,433 --> 00:05:50,966 then divide your course up according to those 128 00:05:50,966 --> 00:05:53,400 chunks of content with their assessment. 129 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:56,966 In either case six to fifteen folders is 130 00:05:56,966 --> 00:05:59,600 probably the most you should have just in terms 131 00:05:59,600 --> 00:06:03,533 of scrolling through them. That's not a hard and fast 132 00:06:03,533 --> 00:06:06,466 or technical rule--just a personal preference 133 00:06:06,466 --> 00:06:08,166 that I think many share. 134 00:06:08,166 --> 00:06:10,966 So, what goes in those folders? Well, you can 135 00:06:10,966 --> 00:06:13,500 create sub-folders but most often you 136 00:06:13,500 --> 00:06:16,200 create Items or links to tools. 137 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:21,133 Let me also take a moment to consider a word 138 00:06:21,133 --> 00:06:23,133 that will help make the written areas of 139 00:06:23,133 --> 00:06:26,400 your course easier to read: chunking. 140 00:06:26,400 --> 00:06:28,800 Here we have an image from the 35th 141 00:06:28,800 --> 00:06:31,866 Gutenberg Bible printed in 1454. 142 00:06:31,866 --> 00:06:34,933 The text is very dense but they’ve used color 143 00:06:34,933 --> 00:06:39,533 and a large drop-down letter to specify a new section. 144 00:06:39,533 --> 00:06:44,200 570 years later we still use this same idea, 145 00:06:44,200 --> 00:06:46,700 only in our case we usually use headings and 146 00:06:46,700 --> 00:06:49,466 sub-headings or bullets to break up the text. 147 00:06:49,466 --> 00:06:52,533 It’s all about visual or 148 00:06:52,533 --> 00:06:55,333 machine-readable audio cues 149 00:06:55,333 --> 00:06:58,666 for consistency and pattern recognition. 150 00:06:58,666 --> 00:07:02,900 Blackboard uses Items to hold the text 151 00:07:02,900 --> 00:07:04,300 you write in your course. 152 00:07:04,300 --> 00:07:06,933 The Item itself can be chunked in the same way 153 00:07:06,933 --> 00:07:08,933 that you would break up any print material 154 00:07:08,933 --> 00:07:10,933 to make it more readable. 155 00:07:10,933 --> 00:07:13,833 Items are denoted by the paper icon 156 00:07:13,833 --> 00:07:16,033 in the upper left corner. 157 00:07:16,033 --> 00:07:18,733 This first Item is titled "Overview of the week" 158 00:07:18,733 --> 00:07:21,300 and it's chunked into 4 sections, as a sort of 159 00:07:21,300 --> 00:07:23,033 outline of what is to come. 160 00:07:23,033 --> 00:07:26,633 Overview, Objectives, Required Readings and Viewings 161 00:07:26,633 --> 00:07:29,666 and Assessments. Further down the page, 162 00:07:29,666 --> 00:07:32,133 each of those sections has its own Item. 163 00:07:32,133 --> 00:07:36,933 I use this example for two reasons: 164 00:07:36,933 --> 00:07:38,900 it shows you the best practice of 165 00:07:38,900 --> 00:07:41,133 starting each module with an overview 166 00:07:41,133 --> 00:07:42,866 of what will be covered. 167 00:07:42,866 --> 00:07:45,466 It lists the Objectives for that module, 168 00:07:45,466 --> 00:07:48,200 then provides links to the readings and assignments. 169 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:50,266 Thus, everything the student will need for this 170 00:07:50,266 --> 00:07:53,466 module is both described and then included. 171 00:07:53,466 --> 00:07:56,100 No wandering around the course wasting time. 172 00:07:56,100 --> 00:07:58,933 The second reason is to highlight 173 00:07:58,933 --> 00:08:00,700 the use of Objectives. 174 00:08:00,700 --> 00:08:03,233 Students complain about busy work. 175 00:08:03,233 --> 00:08:06,300 Now, I'm sure you don't start creating a course 176 00:08:06,300 --> 00:08:08,400 by saying "hmmm...where can I add some 177 00:08:08,400 --> 00:08:09,666 useless busywork?" 178 00:08:09,666 --> 00:08:11,533 But students may need some help 179 00:08:11,533 --> 00:08:14,266 in making the connection between your objectives 180 00:08:14,266 --> 00:08:16,600 and what you have asked them to do. 181 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:18,933 This is no time to be mysterious. 182 00:08:18,933 --> 00:08:21,566 The more obvious that connection is 183 00:08:21,566 --> 00:08:24,233 the more likely that students will not see the work 184 00:08:24,233 --> 00:08:27,566 you have asked them to do as busy-work. 185 00:08:27,566 --> 00:08:31,300 By the way, the previous example of an Item 186 00:08:31,300 --> 00:08:33,966 comes from Continuing and Distance Education's 187 00:08:33,966 --> 00:08:37,266 Blackboard Course Shell. The Course Shell provides 188 00:08:37,266 --> 00:08:39,366 a starter structure that can be imported into 189 00:08:39,366 --> 00:08:42,100 into your course and built upon. You can read 190 00:08:42,100 --> 00:08:44,233 more about the Course Shell in UVM's 191 00:08:44,233 --> 00:08:49,333 Knowledge Base at uvm/it/kb. 192 00:08:49,333 --> 00:08:54,133 Blackboard has a host of tools for student work 193 00:08:54,133 --> 00:08:57,866 and assessments: tests, journals, assignment tool, 194 00:08:57,866 --> 00:09:00,500 blogs, discussion board, with ways to use 195 00:09:00,500 --> 00:09:03,666 all of those in group work. All the tools allow for 196 00:09:03,666 --> 00:09:07,300 writing, embedding links, attaching files and images 197 00:09:07,300 --> 00:09:10,500 and for grading...but choosing the right tool 198 00:09:10,500 --> 00:09:13,333 will make things better for you and your students, 199 00:09:13,333 --> 00:09:17,000 so think about details. Will they be graded? 200 00:09:17,000 --> 00:09:19,466 Will you provide feedback? Will these be 201 00:09:19,466 --> 00:09:22,133 individual or group activities? Will students be 202 00:09:22,133 --> 00:09:23,900 commenting on each other’s work? 203 00:09:23,900 --> 00:09:26,933 If there are multiple parts, will each piece get a grade? 204 00:09:26,933 --> 00:09:30,366 Thinking through these kinds of questions will help you, 205 00:09:30,366 --> 00:09:32,366 and help us help you, choose the right tool for the job. 206 00:09:32,366 --> 00:09:38,633 Oh dear, a caveat: one of the maxims for making 207 00:09:38,633 --> 00:09:42,000 your course more user-friendly is to not use 208 00:09:42,000 --> 00:09:45,800 too many tools. So, use the right tools for the job, 209 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:48,366 but don't use all of them [at once]! 210 00:09:48,366 --> 00:09:51,733 In addition to the tools that are built into Blackboard, 211 00:09:51,733 --> 00:09:54,400 we also have access to other applications 212 00:09:54,400 --> 00:09:56,833 and materials. For instance, a Student 213 00:09:56,833 --> 00:10:00,400 Response System like iclicker/Reef--it can collect 214 00:10:00,400 --> 00:10:02,166 student responses then put their grades 215 00:10:02,166 --> 00:10:04,400 directly into Blackboard. There are also 216 00:10:04,400 --> 00:10:06,400 publisher materials that you can connect to 217 00:10:06,400 --> 00:10:09,866 through Blackboard. We have two others that 218 00:10:09,866 --> 00:10:12,500 you may have heard of so I'll mention them here. 219 00:10:12,500 --> 00:10:15,733 Again, these are completely separate programs 220 00:10:15,733 --> 00:10:17,966 with their own way of working, but you can 221 00:10:17,966 --> 00:10:20,433 connect them to Blackboard and pass grades to it. 222 00:10:20,433 --> 00:10:23,833 They are: Perusall, a communal, 223 00:10:23,833 --> 00:10:26,066 collective e-reading and collaborative 224 00:10:26,066 --> 00:10:29,233 annotating program. And Yellowdig, a 225 00:10:29,233 --> 00:10:31,333 Discussion Board alternative for 226 00:10:31,333 --> 00:10:33,600 conversations and sharing. 227 00:10:33,600 --> 00:10:35,933 You don't want to overwhelm students with 228 00:10:35,933 --> 00:10:38,933 too many apps, but if one of these seems to fit 229 00:10:38,933 --> 00:10:41,033 your needs better than the Blackboard tool, 230 00:10:41,033 --> 00:10:44,200 it's definitely worth taking a look at. 231 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:44,266 Then there is Microsoft Teams. 232 00:10:44,266 --> 00:10:46,466 Then there is Microsoft Teams. 233 00:10:46,466 --> 00:10:49,900 It has a robust online meeting tool with 234 00:10:49,900 --> 00:10:52,833 breakout rooms and now with polling. 235 00:10:52,833 --> 00:10:56,833 There’s chat, there’s channels, and collaborative 236 00:10:56,833 --> 00:11:00,433 editing of files. It will no doubt continue to add 237 00:11:00,433 --> 00:11:05,066 features and they will be competing with Blackboard. 238 00:11:05,066 --> 00:11:05,100 239 00:11:05,100 --> 00:11:08,833 So, I will leave you with these 240 00:11:08,833 --> 00:11:11,100 and hope they spark some ideas. 241 00:11:11,100 --> 00:11:13,233 Thank you for your time and attention. 242 00:11:13,233 --> 00:11:15,900 And if you have any favorite tips for making 243 00:11:15,900 --> 00:11:17,733 Blackboard more student-friendly, 244 00:11:17,733 --> 00:11:25,066 please share them with us at ctl@uvm.edu.