Blackboard "Need-to-know" Tips - Vol. 3; 2005 - 2006

Included in this volume of Blackboard "Need-to-Know" tips:
- Using Excel for Your Grades
- Customizing Your Navigation Buttons or Links
- Add a Course Banner to Add Life to Your Course Page
- Uses for the Discussion Board

* Using Excel for Your Grades:
You can use Excel to enter your grades.  First go into Blackboard and download your grade book. Open the file from Excel and add grades for your students.  Save the file.  Go back into Blackboard and upload the file.  The software will prompt you for the information you want to pull into your Blackboard grade book.  NOTE: Blackboard will not pull formula calculations.
IMPORTANT: Names that start with "O' " like "O'Connor" are alphabetized differently in Excel than they are in Blackboard and in ACInquire.
 
* Customizing Your Navigation Buttons or Links:
You can change your navigation buttons or links (that appear on the left side of your course).  You can change the name or remove un-used buttons/links.
To change your link/button style, go to the Control Panel and choose Settings in the lower left.  Choose "Course Design", then "Course Design" again. Pick the styles you like, then submit.
To change the text of the links/buttons or to remove or add links/buttons, go back to the Control Panel.  Choose "Manage Course Menu".  NOTE: removing a button/link that has content inside will permanently remove all the content associated with that button/link.  Choose "Modify" to change the text. Choose "Add" (at the top of the page) to add other links/buttons. Choose "Remove" (at the far right) to delete.
 
* Add a Course Banner to Add Life to Your Course Page:
To add an image or banner to your course page, go to the Control Panel and choose Settings in the lower left.  Choose "Course Design", then "Course Banner".  Choose a graphic image that is either JPG or GIF format.  Click the "Browse" button to locate your image file, then submit.  You can remove it later by coming back to this page and checking the "remove this banner" box and submitting.
 
* Uses for the Discussion Board:
- Reflection on class discussion
- Individual research on a topic
- Interaction with others in class
- Give shy or English-challenged students a level playing field for sharing their thoughts
- Give students a chance to apply course concepts to their lives by reflecting and connecting those concepts with their personal experiences
 
* How to get students using the Discussion Board:
Students by nature don't seek out extra work that is not rewarded. In order to have active participation (at least initially) with a discussion you will need to require it as an assignment and provide points.