What is a Mind Map?

This is part of a regular series of articles exploring some of the terms used in e-learning (view other articles in the series).  We’ll do our best to break down the jargon and explain what things are from a basic perspective. A ‘Mind Map’ is a visual way of representing information which works by drawing…

New in Blackboard: Text editor changes

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 scheduled for 26-28 July 2013. The new version of Blackboard has an improved text editor.  The text editor is the toolbar that provides Word-like editing features in some text areas,…

Introducing Resource Lists Online

There is a new reading list system that you can control and manage.  To reflect the wide range of resource types now recommended this is called Resource Lists Online (RLO).   In response to student feedback we want to ensure that recommended resources are as available and accessible as possible and this new system will enable us…

Pasting text from Word documents into Blackboard

Have you ever copied and pasted text from a Word document into Blackboard? If so you may have encountered problems with formatting, as Word tends to add a lot of extra hidden formatting in their documents that causes issues for Blackboard’s text editor and may mean that changing the font size, colour, etc. has no…

Mobile learning: Information searching during class

This article is the second 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 can use their mobile devices to search for information during taught sessions. Their findings can impact on the direction of the session,…

Update on external links in Blackboard sites

This is a follow-up to the blog post about ensuring your external links open in a new window. The Blackboard admin team has managed to change existing External Links so that they will open in a new window. This means that you don’t need to change all of your previously added External Links, though you…

Be sure information is available on Blackboard as promised

If you tell students to access specific information on Blackboard, be sure to check that students can easily find and access it. For instance: If your site structure is complex, add an Announcement linking directly to the content If you have added new information, ensure it is available (or that it is set to be…