Blackboard Mobile Apps Renamed

Posted on by cookel

Image of Bb Instructor app on phoneBlackboard has changed it’s mobile app strategy over the past several years. Starting with Bb Student and followed by Bb Grader Blackboard has begun moving to persona based apps. This summer Blackboard is dropping support for Bb Mobile Learn, their original mobile app. As of August 31st there will be no support for the Mobile Learn product and users should download one of the persona based apps to continue accessing Blackboard on mobile devices.

In addition to the discontinuation of Mobile Learn, the names of the replacement apps will change. Bb Student, which has been available for over a year, will become “Blackboard” and Bb Instructor, which replaces Bb Grader and is due out this month, will become “Blackboard Instructor”. Blackboard believes the renaming will assist users in finding the correct apps for their mobile devices from the app stores.

NOTE: Rumor has it that Apple will remove the Bb Mobile Learn App from the Apple App Store before its release of iOS 11. Blackboard recommends upgrading before that happens.

Bb Instructor expected to release soon. Read an update and check out the preview video.

Bb Instructor has launched! Here’s a link to the datasheet describing what you can do with this new app.

Instructional Techniques for Teaching Engineering Students – Designing your courses to meet ABET criteria

Posted on by fratturar

What is your role as engineering faculty? What steps do you take to ensure your students achieve your course outcomes?  And oh, by the way, what are outcomes…

Creating a course to achieve specific outcomes requires effort in three domains: (Felder and Brent, 2003)

  1. Identifying course content and defining measurable learning objectives
  2. Selecting and implementing methods that will be used to deliver the specified content and facilitate student achievement
  3. Selecting and implementing methods that will be used to determine whether and how well the learning objectives have been achieved

Some of ABETs engineering outcomes may also have little to do with engineering skills, for example: communication and working in team skills.  Some engineering faculty have difficulty with incorporating these skills into their courses because it’s unfamiliar territory to them and they have difficulty measure these outcomes.

Much has been written about engineering outcomes, but little has been written about what must be done to achieve those outcomes.

In the article linked below, you will be introduced to Engineering ABET criteria and the process to design and develop your courses. And best of all what to do to achieve them.

http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/Papers/ABET_Paper_(JEE).pdf

 

Blackboard Upgrade Testing

Posted on by cookel

As I posted earlier in the summer, LIT has been hard at work testing two candidate versions of Blackboard for upgrade in August. We’ve tested the Fall 2016 release and while we found some bugs it is a possible candidate. We are currently testing the Spring 2017 release which is looking more promising than expected. The Spring release fixes some persistent bugs – try moving content or menu items lately – that cropped up in our last upgrade. In addition to bug fixes we look forward to faculty finally getting drag-and-drop file upload abilities in a significant number of places in the LMS.

For students, there is now an assignment submission receipt which is e-mailed to the student’s Wentworth e-mail account, providing evidence that they have successfully submitted their assignment.

Assignment Submission Reciept

 

 

 

 

 

If testing progresses as well as it did in June, we should know by early August which version we’ll upgrade to and provide details of the new features.

 

My Professor just put us into groups –What am I supposed to do?

Posted on by fratturar

One of the best teaching strategies used by professors in higher education is creating student groups.  But, have you noticed that when your students are put into groups, they haven’t a clue on how to interact and work together.  It’s like watching a group of teenagers talking all at once.

So, let’s discuss a formal way on how to set up groups and provide students with a structure from which they can begin collaborating.

Groups can be assembled for at least one class period and may stay together for several weeks working on extended projects. These groups are where students learn and become comfortable applying the different techniques of working together cooperatively. (Johnson, et al., 2006, p.2:2)

Johnson & Johnson (1998) claim that “placing people in the same room, seating them together, telling them that they are a cooperative group, and advising them to ‘cooperate’, does not make them a cooperative group” (p.15). A cooperative learning environment exist if groups are structured in such a way that group members co-ordinate activities to facilitate one another’s learning (Ballantine & Larres, 2007). Use these five stages to engage students in group learning:

  1. First stage is to ensure interdependence. Establish roles for your student.
  2. Second stage is face-to-face interaction. Encourage students to interact verbally with one another on learning tasks (Johnson & Johnson, 2008) exchange opinions, explain things. (Ballantine & Larres, 2007).
  3.  Third stage is accountability. Overall performance of the group is assessed and the results are given back to all group members to compare against a standard of performance.
  4. Forth stage is Interpersonal and social skills.
  5. Fifth stage is element of cooperative learning

See the full article at: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1067527.pdf

Additional resources on empowering groups.

Faculty Drop-Ins for Midterm Support

Posted on by zakrzewskit

LIT is holding drop-in sessions to assist faculty with using Blackboard to send grades to Banner. As always, we are also happy to answer any other pedagogy, Blackboard or instructional technology related questions, as well as meet with faculty individually and visit any department meetings on request.

To get hands-on assistance, visit LIT in one of the drop-in sessions across campus:

  • Mon June 26th – 9am-3pm – Beatty 103
  • Tues June 27th – 9am-3pm – Beatty 103

LIT is also holding a virtual after hours session via GoToMeeting on:

Visit wit.edu/lit to view upcoming events and register.

For those that want to get a head start, we’ve prepared documentation to help you  use the Banner Grade submit tool or to use the Banner Grade Submit tool without using the Grade Center. In addition, here’s a video showing the Banner Grade Submit process.