[BB] Reminder - Fall 2017 Blackboard Learn Course Setup Assistance

Dear Blackboard Users,

 

We are here to assist you with the tasks that are often done when setting up a Blackboard course site. Let us know if we can do any of these, or anything else, to assist you at the start of this semester. Send email to learningplatforms@miami.edu, call 305-284-3949, or when available fill out the form, to make a request or get assistance.

1.       COURSE SITE AVAILABILITY

When created, course sites are unavailable to students. This way you can set them up before the students access them. Call or email us and we can make them available to your students, or you can follow these easy steps to do it yourself:

·         Article - Instructions for using Qwickly to make course available

·         Video - Instructions for using Qwickly to make course available

 

2.       COURSE SITE MERGE

If you teach multiple sections of a course, or have both graduate and undergraduate students in the same course, it may be easier to combine them into one Blackboard course site, rather than have a separate site for each section. With the merged site, you can post your course material once rather than posting it in each section’s site separately. Tell us what sites you want merged and we will take care of it for you.

·         Request a course merge

Note: Courses should be merged before any student activity takes place in the course sites for the various sections. User records, such as discussion board posts, grades, and assessment attempts, will not show up in the new, merged, site.

3.       COURSE SITE AUGMENT

We can do a course "augment" rather than a course merge if you would like. An augment maintains all of your original course sites and adds one additional master site with all of the students from your various sections. With the course augment option you can use the master site to post course material in one location, and reserve the individual section course sites for assignments or tests specific to each course section.  Fill out the form below or call to request a course augment.

·         Video – Difference between course merges and augments (15 minutes)

·         Form to request a course augment

4.        COURSE SITE COPY

If you have material from a prior semester that you would like to copy into the course site you are setting up, you can call or email us, or fill out the form below, and we will do a course copy for you. You can also follow the steps at the link below to do it yourself:

·         Course Copy instructions

·         Video about course copies (7 minutes)

·         Form to request a course copy

 

Note: You need to be enrolled as an instructor in both the source and destination courses sites in order to perform a Course Copy. User records, such as discussion board posts, grades, and assessment attempts will not be copied. Do NOT copy course enrollments.

 

5.       ADDING TA’S & OTHER ENROLLMENTS TO A COURSE SITE

Teaching assistants are not added automatically to your class, they have to be entered manually. Email or call us and will be happy to do it for you, or you can do it yourself using the instructions at the following link:

·         Article - Instructions for Enrolling Users to Blackboard instructions

·         Video - Instructions for Enrolling Users to Blackboard instructions

 

 

Please feel free to contact us for any requests and issues you might have.  Our phone number is 305-284-3949 or you can email us at learningplatforms@miami.edu.

HOURS:

Monday - Thursday (Excluding University Holidays)

9AM - 9PM

 

Friday

9AM - 6PM

 

Saturday - Sunday

9AM - 2PM

 

Learning Platforms Team

(P): 305-284-3949

[BB] Blackboard has changed the module to access your courses.

Dear Blackboard users,

 

We have updated the module “My Courses” that allows you to access your courses from the Blackboard main page.

We have created a set of instructions to help you get started with it and set it up.

 

• “My Courses” setup instructions
• “My Courses” video instructions

 

If you have questions related to this issue, please contact the UMIT Learning Platforms Help Desk: (305) 284-3949, learningplatforms@miami.edu

 

 

Learning Platforms Team

(P): 305-284-3949

 

[BB] bbtest email sent to all users

 

​ Service Alert    A Blackboard Technician testing the email system inadvertently sent a test message to all accounts for the University of Miami with the subject line "bbtest". We apologize for this error. You may disregard and/or delete the message.   If you have questions related to this issue, please contact the UMIT Blackboard Help Desk: (305) 284-3949, blackboardhelp@miami.edu.     Thank you.

/umiamiit              @umitsupport

 

 

Learning Platforms Team

(P): 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Blackboard homepage change - Update

Dear Blackboard users,

 

After receiving feedback about making a change to Blackboard before grades are due, we are going to postpone the change to Monday, August 14^th 2017 at 2 pm after grades are submitted.

We have created a set of instructions to help you get started with it and set it up.

 

• “My Courses” setup instructions
• “My Courses” video instructions

 

If you have questions related to this issue, please contact the UMIT Learning Platforms Help Desk: (305) 284-3949, blackboardhelp@miami.edu.

 

Learning Platforms Team

(P): 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Blackboard homepage change

Dear Blackboard users,

 

The module to access your courses in the Blackboard main page is going to change today Friday, August 11, 2017 at 2 pm EST.

We have created a set of instructions to help you get started with it and set it up.

 

• “My Courses” setup instructions
• “My Courses” video instructions

 

If you have questions related to this issue, please contact the UMIT Learning Platforms Help Desk: (305) 284-3949, blackboardhelp@miami.edu.

 

Learning Platforms Team

(P): 305-284-3949

 

[BB] What Is VoiceThread and How Might I Use It?

Blackboard users,

I have had trouble figuring out how I might have used VoiceThread in a class. I attended the "VoiceThread for Nursing Educators" webinar and came away with some new ideas. You might enjoy watching the recording of the webinar to learn about this tool, included in our Blackboard system. https://voicethread.com/share/9396571/

It is an hour long recording, so set aside a block of time to watch it and think about how it might apply to your courses.

— Bill —

[BB] New Mobile Apps for Blackboard

Bb using faculty,

Quick note about apps for smartphones and tablets.

• Blackboard — Student app to access Blackboard course sites
• Blackboard Instructor — Instructor app to work on Blackboard course sites
• Blackboard Grader — Instructor app to grade assignments and access the grade center. Will be available until Blackboard Instructor has these capabilities.

The "Blackboard" app replaces the "Mobile Learn" app. Encourage your students to download and use it, please.

The "Blackboard Instructor" app is a new app for you to use to work on your course site. Features are still being added. The major missing feature is access to the grade center for grading assignments and such. But "Blackboard Grader" is still available if you have an iPad. "Blackboard Grader" will remain available until grading is added to Blackboard Instructor.

Here comes fall,

— Bill —

[BB] Fall 2017 Blackboard Learn Course Setup Assistance

Dear Blackboard Users,

 

The previous email was sent with incorrect links. Here is the email again with the corrects one.

 

We are here to assist you with the tasks that are often done when setting up a Blackboard course site. Let us know if we can do any of these, or anything else, to assist you at the start of this semester. Send email to blackboardhelp@miami.edu, call 305-284-3949, or when available fill out the form, to make a request or get assistance.

1.       COURSE SITE AVAILABILITY

When created, course sites are unavailable to students. This way you can set them up before the students access them. Call or email us and we can make them available to your students, or you can follow these easy steps to do it yourself:

·         Article - Instructions for using Qwickly to make course available

·         Video - Instructions for using Qwickly to make course available

 

2.       COURSE SITE MERGE

If you teach multiple sections of a course, or have both graduate and undergraduate students in the same course, it may be easier to combine them into one Blackboard course site, rather than have a separate site for each section. With the merged site, you can post your course material once rather than posting it in each section’s site separately. Tell us what sites you want merged and we will take care of it for you.

·         Request a course merge

Note: Courses should be merged before any student activity takes place in the course sites for the various sections. User records, such as discussion board posts, grades, and assessment attempts, will not show up in the new, merged, site.

3.       COURSE SITE AUGMENT

We can do a course "augment" rather than a course merge if you would like. An augment maintains all of your original course sites and adds one additional master site with all of the students from your various sections. With the course augment option you can use the master site to post course material in one location, and reserve the individual section course sites for assignments or tests specific to each course section.  Fill out the form below or call to request a course augment.

·         Video – Difference between course merges and augments (15 minutes)

·         Form to request a course augment

4.        COURSE SITE COPY

If you have material from a prior semester that you would like to copy into the course site you are setting up, you can call or email us, or fill out the form below, and we will do a course copy for you. You can also follow the steps at the link below to do it yourself:

·         Course Copy instructions

·         Video about course copies (7 minutes)

·         Form to request a course copy

 

Note: You need to be enrolled as an instructor in both the source and destination courses sites in order to perform a Course Copy. User records, such as discussion board posts, grades, and assessment attempts will not be copied. Do NOT copy course enrollments.

 

5.       ADDING TA’S & OTHER ENROLLMENTS TO A COURSE SITE

Teaching assistants are not added automatically to your class, they have to be entered manually. Email or call us and will be happy to do it for you, or you can do it yourself using the instructions at the following link:

·         Article - Instructions for Enrolling Users to Blackboard instructions

·         Video - Instructions for Enrolling Users to Blackboard instructions

 

 

Please feel free to contact us for any requests and issues you might have.  Our phone number is 305-284-3949 or you can email us at blackboardhelp@miami.edu.

HOURS:

Monday - Thursday (Excluding University Holidays)

8AM - 9PM

 

Friday

8AM - 6PM

 

Saturday - Sunday

9AM - 2PM

 

Learning Platforms Team

(P): 305-284-3949

[BB] Fall 2017 Blackboard Learn Course Setup Assistance

Dear Blackboard Users,

 

We are here to assist you with the tasks that are often done when setting up a Blackboard course site. Let us know if we can do any of these, or anything else, to assist you at the start of this semester. Send email to blackboardhelp@miami.edu, call 305-284-3949, or when available fill out the form, to make a request or get assistance.

1.       Course Site Availability

When created, course sites are unavailable to students. This way you can set them up before the students access them. Call or email us and we can make them available to your students, or you can follow these easy steps to do it yourself:

·         instuctions for using Qwickly to make course available

 

2.       Course Site Merge

If you teach multiple sections of a course, or have both graduate and undergraduate students in the same course, it may be easier to combine them into one Blackboard course site, rather than have a separate site for each section. With the merged site, you can post your course material once rather than posting it in each section’s site separately. Tell us what sites you want merged and we will take care of it for you.

·         Form to request a course merge

Note: Courses should be merged before any student activity takes place in the course sites for the various sections. User records, such as discussion board posts, grades, and assessment attempts, will not show up in the new, merged, site.

3.       Course Site Augment

We can do a course "augment" rather than a course merge if you would like. An augment maintains all of your original course sites and adds one additional master site with all of the students from your various sections. With the course augment option you can use the master site to post course material in one location, and reserve the individual section course sites for assignments or tests specific to each course section.  Fill out the form below or call to request a course augment.

·         Video about course merges and augments (15 minutes)

·         Form to request a course augment

 

4.       Course Site Copy

If you have material from a prior semester that you would like to copy into the course site you are setting up, you can call or email us, or fill out the form below, and we will do a course copy for you. You can also follow the steps at the link below to do it yourself:

·         Course Copy instructions

·         Video about course copies (7 minutes)

·         Form to request a course copy

 

Note: You need to be enrolled as an instructor in both the source and destination courses sites in order to perform a Course Copy. User records, such as discussion board posts, grades, and assessment attempts will not be copied. Do NOT copy course enrollments.

 

5.       Teaching Assistant enrollment

Teaching assistants are not added automatically to your class, they have to be entered manually. Email or call us and will be happy to do it for you, or you can do it yourself using the instructions at the following link:

·         instructions for Enrolling Users to Blackboard instructions

 

 

Please feel free to contact us for any requests and issues you might have.  Our phone number is 305-284-3949 or you can email us at blackboardhelp@miami.edu. Our business hours are 7 days a week from 9 am to 9 pm.

 

 

 

Learning Platforms Team

(P): 305-284-3949

 

[BB] Change in Blackboard homepage coming soon

​ Service Alert    Dear Blackboard users,   The module on your Blackboard page that lists all your courses will be changing soon. The new version will allow you to have more control over which courses and terms you view and how they are ordered. We will shortly provide instructions on how to use this module and customize it to your needs.   If you have questions related to this issue, please contact the UMIT Blackboard Help Desk: (305) 284-3949, blackboardhelp@miami.edu.     Thank you.

/umiamiit              @umitsupport

 

 

[BB] Tue, 8/1/17, 10:30-11:30am - Videos for Blackboard

On Tuesday, 8/1/17 (tomorrow!), at 10:30 am, the NBC Learn team will demonstrate how to use their videos in your Blackboard course sites. We have a site license for these short videos. They cover a wide range of interesting topics. Please join us to learn more about this valuable service so you can add it to your course design toolkit.

Register here:  http://tinyurl.com/umnbclearn08012017 

— Bill — 

William Vilberg

Director of Learning Platforms

University of Miami

Re: [BB] NBC Learn Virtual Workshops for UM (Aug 1st or 15th)

Bill--

Attached is index and front matter  for the book.  I tried to download dictate.ms but unsuccessful (so far) in running it with .ppt. 

Regards, 

MEM

 

---

From: UM Blackboard Announcements <BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU> on behalf of Vilberg, Bill <bill.vilberg@MIAMI.EDU>
Sent: Friday, July 21, 2017 9:46:11 AM
To: BB@LISTSERV.MIAMI.EDU
Subject: [BB] NBC Learn Virtual Workshops for UM (Aug 1st or 15th)

 

UM Blackboard users,

Would you like to increase engagement in your course? NBC Learn has videos that may be of use in stimulating thought and discussion. They are short, topical, and can be used in a wide variety of disciplines. Students want to know how their courses relate to their lives. Watching and discussion a video related to a course topic can provide that important link.

Attend a one-hour webinar on Tuesday, August 1, 2017, or August 15, 2017, 10:30-11:30 AM, for a demonstration for UM faculty of this valuable tool. 

• Register for August 1st session: http://tinyurl.com/umnbclearn08012017
• Register for August 15th session: http://tinyurl.com/umnbclearn08152017 

(Both sessions are the same.)

Don't have time to look through all the thousands of short videos available? If you send NBCLearn a copy of your course syllabus at account.management@nbcuni.com, they will look through their collection and suggest videos for the various units, chapters, or topics you cover. This is a free service, so why not give it a try? Turn around is fast, usually in a day or so. Don't have your new syllabus? Send the one from the last time you taught the class. 

Want to see a sample video? Watch "Is Free Speech Dying on College Campuses" to get a taste of the NBC Content delivery technique. (Because the web player uses Flash, you should watch this video in Firefox or Internet Explorer, not in Chrome.)

— Bill — 

(If you save this PDF attachment and then open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader, the links will work correctly.)

William Vilberg

Director, Learning Platforms

University of Miami

305-284-3944

[BB] NBC Learn Virtual Workshops for UM (Aug 1st or 15th)

UM Blackboard users,

Would you like to increase engagement in your course? NBC Learn has videos that may be of use in stimulating thought and discussion. They are short, topical, and can be used in a wide variety of disciplines. Students want to know how their courses relate to their lives. Watching and discussion a video related to a course topic can provide that important link.

Attend a one-hour webinar on Tuesday, August 1, 2017, or August 15, 2017, 10:30-11:30 AM, for a demonstration for UM faculty of this valuable tool. 

• Register for August 1st session: http://tinyurl.com/umnbclearn08012017
• Register for August 15th session: http://tinyurl.com/umnbclearn08152017 

(Both sessions are the same.)

Don't have time to look through all the thousands of short videos available? If you send NBCLearn a copy of your course syllabus at account.management@nbcuni.com, they will look through their collection and suggest videos for the various units, chapters, or topics you cover. This is a free service, so why not give it a try? Turn around is fast, usually in a day or so. Don't have your new syllabus? Send the one from the last time you taught the class. 

Want to see a sample video? Watch "Is Free Speech Dying on College Campuses" to get a taste of the NBC Content delivery technique. (Because the web player uses Flash, you should watch this video in Firefox or Internet Explorer, not in Chrome.)

— Bill — 

(If you save this PDF attachment and then open it in Adobe Acrobat Reader, the links will work correctly.)

William Vilberg

Director, Learning Platforms

University of Miami

305-284-3944

[BB] VoiceThread Workshops

Blackboard users,

VoiceThread is one of the many features available in our Blackboard Learn system. It is a strange feature; until you understand it, it makes no sense, at least to me. Here are some workshops that give you a chance to learn how it works so that you can decide whether it might be something you want to add to your course design.

— Bill — 

No Images? Click here Join us in August for our free workshops! If you are new to VoiceThread or just want some new ideas, we can help you with these interactive and hands-on workshops. See All Workshops   VoiceThread Basics 1 - Upload, Comment, and Share​ August 8 at 2:00pm ET - Register here Participants will learn how to upload media, comment and annotate on that media, and share it with others. This will be a slow paced, step-by-step, hands-on workshop. It is open to both VoiceThread license holders and free members. VoiceThread Basics 2 - Groups and Secure Sharing August 16 at 2:00pm ET - Register here In the Basics 2 session, we will begin to explore the features available to VoiceThreaders with a full license. Participants will learn how to create groups and subgroups, set sharing permissions within those groups, and privately share VoiceThreads with individuals. VoiceThread Basics 3 - Moderating Comments, Private and Threaded Replies, and Copying August 22 at 2:00pm ET - Register here In our third workshop in the series, participants will learn how to use comment moderation to formatively assess student work, give private feedback, use threaded commenting, and copy VoiceThreads for use with multiple groups. VoiceThread Basics 4 - VoiceThread and your LMS August 29 at 2:00pm ET - Register here We will work on integrating VoiceThread into a learning management system. With LMS integration educators can create and share VoiceThreads and grade student work. Participants will learn how to use the assignment builder feature to assess student work during a hands-on segment.   About the Workshops These workshops are completely free. The Basics workshops are led by our instructional designers George Haines and Tanisha Jackson.  George and Tanisha will share their expertise to help you get the most from VoiceThread.

[BB] Amazing PowerPoint add-in does live closed captions

Microsoft has released an amazing add-on that provides live closed captioning during a PowerPoint presentation. I saw it on Monday and it just went live for everyone. Take a look and try it out. For normal speech it is amazing. Don't know how it will handle the technical terms we often use in higher education.

https://venturebeat.com/2017/07/12/microsofts-live-translation-tool-for-powerpoint-is-now-open-to-all/

Sincerely,

- Bill -

[BB] Changing Blackboard SSL certificate on Sunday morning

Blackboard Users,

The SSL certificate for Blackboard is scheduled to be updated on Sunday morning, 6/18/2017, between 2am and 6am. The SSL certificate is used to allow for encryption between your browser and the Bkackboard server. This change should not create any problems or issues, but I wanted to let you know in case you see a warning or request to accept the new certificate.

Please contact the Learning Platforms help desk at blackboardhelp@miami.edu or 305-284-3949 if you need assistance. The help desk is staffed Sat and Sun 9am-2pm, M-Th 9am-9pm, F 9am-6pm,.

-- Bill --

Sent using OWA for iPhone

[BB] Learning Platforms moves to Gables One Tower June 8, 2017

Learning Platforms, the group that manages Blackboard and other learning support systems and UM, will be moving from Richter Library, Room 325, to Gables One Tower, Suite 1050, on June 8, 2017. This will more fully integrate us with UM Information Technology and allow us to improve the value of the systems we manage. Rest assured that we will do our best to continue to meet and exceed your expectations with regard to supporting you in your most important role transforming lives through teaching. 

-- 
Bill Vilberg

[BB] A new teaching tool: VoiceThread on Blackboard

Summer is a great time to think about how to improve the student learning experience in your classes. A series of webinars have been announced in June and July that cover a Blackboard tool called VoiceThread. If you have time, please sign up for one or more of these sessions to learn about this tool and then reflect about how you could incorporate it into your courses. Session topics include "VoiceThread and STEM Classes​,: "VoiceThread and Storytelling," and "VoiceThread for Nursing Educators." 

http://voicethread.createsend1.com/t/y-e-hihhlyy-jditlluya-k/

If you plan to use it in your classes, please let us know so we can help, if needed, and also share your experience with other faculty at the Univerisity of Miami.

-- 
Bill Vilberg

[BB] Blackboard Emergency maintenance

 

 

 

Service Alert    Due to an emergency maintenance, Blackboard will be unavailable from Tuesday, May 16th at 2:00 a.m. through 5 a.m.[   If you have questions related to this issue, please contact the UMIT Blackboard Help Desk: (305) 284-3949 (leave voicemail), blackboardhelp@miami.edu.   Thank you.

/umiamiit              @umitsupport