Distance Education Services
USING THE COURSE ESSENTIALS TEMPLATE
STEPȱONE LOGȱINȱTOȱBLACKBOARDȱ You can log in to Blackboard through the college website using the MyMCCKC through the Blackboard login page http://bboard.mcckc.edu.
portal or directly
We recommend all MCC Blackboard users bookmark the direct URL for access should the portal log in be unavailable.
1. Enter your employee ID number (capitalize the E) 2. Enter your Blackboard password. By default this is your birth date in YYYYMMDD order 3. Click the Login button STEPȱTWO DOWNLOADȱTHEȱCOURSEȱESSENTIALSȱTEMPLATEȱFILEȱ The Welcome page is the first page you see after logging in. On the Welcome page you will find the Maintaining Continuity with Blackboard section. Download the file. ȱ 1. RightͲclick (PC) or ControlͲclick (Mac) on the ExportFile_Course_Essentials.zip file 2. Choose Save Link As… (Firefox) or Save Target As… (IE) 3. In the Save As File Download dialog box choose to Save the file to your desktop STEPȱTHREEȱ ȱIMPORTȱTHEȱCOURSEȱESSENTIALSȱTEMPLATEȱINTOȱYOURȱCOURSEȱSHELLȱ Courses are listed in the My Courses section on the Welcome page. After downloading and saving the template file, go into the course where you want to use the template. ȱ
Distance Education Services
1. Locate the Control Panel button in the course menu column 2. In the Course Options section of the Control Panel, click Import Package a. Course Selection Ͳ The destination course is the course you are currently in b. Select a Package Ͳ Click Choose to find the ExportFile_Course_Essentials.zip file you previously downloaded and saved c. When you find the file, click on the file name, then click Open
d. Folder for Content Collection Files Ͳ SKIP e. Select Course Materials Ͳ Check Content, Discussion Board, Settings
f. Submit – Click the Submit button g. You will get this message: This action has been successfully queued. An email will be sent when the process is complete. h. After receiving the email you will need to add your materials to the course STEPȱFOURȱ CUSTOMIZEȱTHEȱTEMPLATEȱ Add an Announcement Announcements are displayed on the opening page of the course. You can use them to deliver time sensitive updates and information to your class. You can also have the text of your announcement sent as an email to students’ MCC email account.ȱ
1. Control Panel > Course Tools section > Announcements 2. Click on Add Announcement button on the top of the page 3. Under Announcement Information a. Type a subject (required) b. Type your message 4. Under Options: a. Permanent Announcement i. Check Yes if you want the announcement to be displayed permanently. This will also display the announcement above any dated announcements. b. ORͲ Choose date restrictions i. Check the boxes for Display After and Display Until, and enter dates/times. c. ORͲ If no date is checked the announcement will be displayed for seven days after the posting date. 5. Course Link Ͳ SKIP 6. Email Announcement a. Check the box if you want an email with the text of the announcement to be sent to students’ MCC email accounts 7. Click the Submit button > OK
Distance Education Services Add a Syllabus You can add your syllabus as text or as a file. HTML files work best; students can view them directly in Blackboard. If you use Word files we recommend saving them as rich text (.rtf) and or PDF. Many students cannot easily open Word 2007 (.docx) files. In the upper right corner of the course window is a link that allows you to switch between Edit View and Display View. Select the Edit View link to work in the course. Click Display View to view an approximation of what the student will see.
1. In the Course Menu, click the Syllabus link (make sure Display View is shown, if not, go into the Edit View) 2. Click the Item button 3. Enter a name in the text box a. Text Option Ͳ Type, or paste text in the text box b. File Option Ͳ Upload a file Ͳ Attach local file with the Browse button. c. Find your Syllabus file then click Open 4. Set any release options in Options if desired 5. Click the Submit button > OK Add Course Materials You can use a variety of different file types in your course. HTML (web pages), PDF, and RTF (rich text) are the ones most accessible to students. We do not recommend using Word, especially Word 2007 (.docx). In the upper right corner of the course window is a link that allows you to switch between Edit View and Display View. Select the Edit View link to work in the course. Click Display View to view an approximation of what a student will see.
1. Click the Item button (if you know you want to add one of the other forms of content listed there you can click that link instead) 2. Enter a Name in the text box 3. Enter Text in the text box a. Option Ͳ Upload a file Ͳ Attach local file with the Browse button. Find your file then click Open. b. Set any release options in Options if desired 4. Click the Submit button > OK Use Course Email Email sent through the course is delivered into the students’ MCC email account.
1. In the Course Menu, click the Email link 2. Select who you want the email sent to a. All Student Users goes to the entire class b. Select Users allows you to highlight a single name then click the arrow to move them to the Selected column 3. Enter a Subject 4. Enter a Message 5. Option – Check Return Receipt to confirm delivery (sent to your MCC email account) 6. Option – Add an attachment – Click Attach a File > click Choose for the file to be sent > click Open 7. Click the Submit button > OK
Distance Education Services
Add Grade Columns Instructors use the Grade Center to enter grades for the course. Students can view their personal grades using the My Grades button on the Course Menu. Instructors cannot access My Grades.
1. Control Panel > Assessment section > Grade Center 2. Click Add Grade Column button a. Enter a Column Name b. Choose to have the primary display as Points or Percentage (students do not see the secondary display) c. Enter Points Possible d. Include this column in Grade Center calculations = Yes (this will include the grade in the Total column) e. Show this column in My Grades = Yes 3. Click the Submit button > OK Enter a Grade 1. Control Panel > Assessment section > Grade Center 2. Click in the cell where you want to enter a grade 3. Type the score (numeric value) in the cell then press the Enter key Make the Course Available By default, your course will not be visible to students. You will see it with the notation unavailable after the course title. When you are ready to open the course to students follow these steps:
1. 2. 3. 4.
Control Panel > Course Options section > Settings Click Course Availability Make Course Available = Yes Click the Submit button > OK
ȱ STEPȱFIVE TRAININGȱANDȱSUPPORTȱ There are a number of support and training options available. In Blackboard, under the Faculty Resources tab you will find: Hot Links – quick answers to the most common questions and contact information Blackboard Faculty Support – a training and support area with Quick Guides, videos, and a wealth of supplementary materials Faculty Resources section – topical support materials based on current issues ȱ
For questions about training call or email Deanna Poudel Ͳ 816 759 4507 To enroll in training or for general Distance Education questions contact Kenneth Peters Ͳ 816 759 4490 MCC email and MyMCCKC (portal) questions can be answered by the TechLine Ͳ 816 759 1212 MCC’s Instructional Designers: x x x
David Curtis Ͳ 816 759 4716 Kathryn Barker Ͳ 816 759 4508 Joel Shaw Ͳ 816 759 4695