At a Minimum -- A Document Repository

• Announcements
• Syllabus
• Faculty Contact Info
• E-mail
• video 3 minute video on how to set up a very minimal site

Potential: Customized, Adaptive, Online Course

• Lectures (text, ppt, camtasia, video capture, video taped)

• Paperless Assignments
• Discussion Boards, Online collaboration
• Online Quizzing / Surveys / Respondus
• Online Grade Center

Getting Started

Accounts: @maine.edu userid and password
Every course has Blackboard site

• unavailable by default
• automated student enrollment – 24-48 hours after course is made available

To make your course available:

• Course Control Panel > Customization > Properties
• #3 Set Availability > Make Course Available (Yes)

Default Menu Items

Be sure to remove any links to tools or content areas you will not be using.

Note that students will NOT see empty content areas
Consider how you want to present content.
Break down by function

• Lectures
• Assignments
• Quizzes
• Discussion Board

Or in linear format

• Modules
• Weekly Units
• with all content for each unit in one folder

Deviating from the Default Menu

• Use contextual menus to show/hide, rename, or delete present items
• Use plus sign at the top of the course menu to add a course tool, external URL or content area
• Click and drag arrows to reorder.
  

Manage Tools

Consider making Messages unavailable.

• Control Panel > Customization > Tool Availability
• Use caution when making tools unavailable. If you don't know what it does, don't remove it.
  

Add Content

Text Documents
Accessibility - save documents as .rtf, or at least .doc NOT .docx
Consider posting shorter documents that will need frequent reference inside a folder in content area:

• Go to desired Content Area
  
• Build Content > Content Folder > Add name and submit
• Click on folder name to open >
• Add Item > copy and paste text into text box
• Link original document as well to simplify printing
• Submit
• Pay attention to file naming and attachment guidelines.