This article is part of a series of articles explaining the new features and changes that will be introduced as part of the Blackboard upgrade coming up 20-21 July. The upgrade will be the next step in transitioning the Blackboard online submission tool from SHU Assignments, a custom Sheffield Hallam tool, to the default Assignment tool Blackboard…
This is part of a regular series of articles exploring some of the terms used in e-learning. We’ll do our best to break down the jargon and explain what things are from a basic perspective. shuplayer is a university website that supports the use of video and audio for teaching and learning. It can be accessed from a link…
This article is the last in a series of six articles about accessibility issues in e-learning. Media files such as video, audio and screencasts can be an interesting and engaging way to learn about things. They provide an alternative to text and allow people to understand things in a different way. However some disabled students have difficulties seeing and/or hearing media files,…
This article is the fifth in a series of six articles about accessibility issues in e-learning. Students have different preferences around font size and colours which allow them to most easily read text. Many staff will have experience in printing out handouts on non-white paper to meet some students’ needs. Transferring that experience, they want to know…
A wiki is a group of web pages which can be edited quickly, and normally without needing to know any web language like HTML. It can be worked on by multiple people collaboratively. The wiki tool in Blackboard allows you to set up wikis which either all your Blackboard site users can access or that…
This article is the fourth in a series of six articles about accessibility issues in e-learning. Sometimes staff have complained about the limitations of formatting text in HTML without the advanced skills that many website designers have. Using the text editor available in Blackboard, you do not have full control over the appearance of the text, though you…
An article in the inaugural issue of the Student Engagement and Experience Journal (SEEJ) describes research into the use of smartphones by students in ACES. Aware of rising levels of smartphone ownership and the impressive capabilities that these provide, the authors wanted to explore whether student use of smartphones might increase student engagement with learning and…
This article is the third in a series of six articles about accessibility issues in e-learning. Adding images to text on your Blackboard site or in a document can be a good way to make it more visually appealing and to break up the long pieces of text. It is worth noting that not everyone will be…
This article is the second in a series of six articles about accessibility issues in e-learning. Blackboard sites can have a lot of information on them. Good organisation of that information becomes essential when this happens, with a clear folder structure and pattern for where to find that information. In an attempt to help students find information…
This article is the fifth in a series of five articles about scenarios for mobile learning. These are linked to an initiative to promote and capture innovation in e-learning. What is it? Students engage in ‘back-channel’ discussion during a presented session by posting short text-based messages from their devices. Comments can be made available on…