A message from Stuart Hepplestone (senior lecturer digital capability)
This update is to inform you of the new features introduced in Blackboard for the 2019/20 academic year and information for managing your Blackboard site(s) at the start of teaching.
Blackboard module site home page channels
In addition to the channels added to 2019/20 Blackboard module site home pages earlier in the summer, we have launched two further channels that display information about that module directly from data held within the Student and Curriculum Data System, SITS, to both staff and students. Module Information shows details about the Module Leader and External Examiner, while Assessment Schedule presents summative assessment information for the module. Please check that the information is accurate. Channels shown to staff contain details of how to report and request changes to incorrect information.
Course Grades Overview
Course Grades Overview collates and provides a read-only view of all available grade columns (excluding survey, weighted total and total columns) from all Blackboard module sites that an individual student is enrolled on. Academic Advisors can request access and use Course Grades Overview to look up an individual student’s performance over time by seeing their marks across all modules and all years of study in a single view, and use this view to support their students to reflect on their overall performance. Course Grades Overview will be made available to students later in the year enabling them to review their own performance as they progress through their course.
EesySoft Course Reports
Despite its name, the EesySoft Course Report provides module level information on user activity and engagement with content and tools available in each Blackboard module site from the highest level down to a single user over a specified period of time. The report provides general information about student and instructor access during that period and their activity across a number of Tool Groups and sub-segments of these groups (including assessment, collaboration, communication, content, and course management tools, and marks and feedback access).
Collaborate session attendance reporting
If you use Collaborate from a Blackboard site, you can choose to have Collaborate send student attendance about that session to your site’s Attendance page and counted in each student’s average attendance. Based on the criteria you set, Collaborate tracks if a student is present, late, or absent from a session.
Start of semester
The Start of Semester checklist will help you in preparing your Blackboard module site(s) ready for the beginning of teaching, including a reminder to make sure students can access your site(s). 2019/0 module sites will now be listed in the Current Sites tab of the Staff Sites Channel on Blackboard. Previous years’ module sites can be found in the All Sites tab. If there are any sites from previous years that you continue to access regularly, you can move these back to the Current Sites tab.
Acknowledgement
Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to thank colleagues working in the Online Learning Applications team in DTS for their efforts in successfully completing the Blackboard upgrades this summer ahead of schedule, and their commitment in working with us to develop and deliver the Blackboard module site home page channels and Course Grades Overview which we hope will help to enhance your teaching and learning practice and the student experience this academic year.
