Blackboard "Need-to-know" Tips - Vol. 2; 2006 - 2007

Included in this volume of Blackboard "Need-to-Know" tips:
- Blackboard Student Survey Available
- Blackboard content from your textbook publisher
- Using electronic images
- Remove Dropped Students
- Improve Your Teaching

* Student Blackboard Survey Available 11/1-11/22
Please encourage your students to complete the Blackboard survey - Post an announcement on Blackboard and link them to http://wolf.bradley.edu/websurveyor/wsb.dll/brk/Bb_Survey_06.htm.  Each student received an email message with a link to the survey.  The survey gives them an opportunity to tell us how Blackboard is working for them and lets them make suggestions or ask for help.  (If you also received an email message addressed to the students, my apologies!)

* Blackboard Content From Your Textbook Publisher
Blackboard, Inc. has a new site that will help you determine if your textbook has pre-made Blackboard content.  Go to http://www.blackboard.com/company/partners/publishers.htm if you would like to see if content is available.  Note that some course cartridges (publisher's course content) may have a charge for the students, however, most do not.  You may request a cartridge that you or ITAC can load onto Bradley's Blackboard server for you to preview.  The publisher may send you a "cartridge key" that you can forward to ITAC.

* Using Electronic Images
Do you post image files on Blackboard?  Do you scan images for PowerPoint or Blackboard?
There are some things to keep in mind whenever you use images.
- File types: Some file types work well on the web -- others do not.  JPEG (.jpg) and GIF (.giff or .gif) are native file types for the web.  Web browsers are built to be able to display and transfer these files.  JPEG is recommended for photos, and GIF is recommended for line drawings and logos.  Both JPEG and GIF compress the file sizes.
- File size: Images can require a lot of storage space.  When delivering images over the Internet, images should be small.  Images within web pages should be less than 40kb, as these take less time to download.  You can reduce file sizes by: scanning at a low resolution (72 dpi), compressing files in an image-editing application, and cropping images to eliminate un-needed portions of the image using an image-editing application. 
- Image size: Use a photo editing software to crop and re-size your images. We recommend a maximum horizontal and/or vertical dimension of 600 pixels.  Microsoft Word and PowerPoint allow you to visually size images, but these applications do not remove the cropped data from the file and therefore do not reduce file size.  An application like PhotoShop or PhotoShop Elements (lower cost) will allow you to crop images and compress file sizes.

* Do you have extra students on your Blackboard roster?  You can delete them through the course Control Panel "Remove Users" link. 

* Looking for Ways to Improve Your Teaching with Blackboard? 
   Blackboard Guidelines are available to help you make the best use of Blackboard.  These guidelines were created by an interdisciplinary team of Bradley faculty and Blackboard staff to assist faculty in using Blackboard as an effective teaching tool.  The guidelines provide ten research-based principles of effective teaching and examples of how to use these principles in the classroom and with Blackboard.   Please visit the web site at http://blackboard.bradley.edu/faculty/Recommended_Ef_Use_BB/

I hope you find these tips helpful.  Please send your comments or questions to Barb Kerns at brk@bradley.edu or stop in to the Instructional Technology Assistance Center in the Library, Room 20.