Blackboard Set-Up Tips

I set up my asynchronous online courses using Blackboard's Learning Modules to organize weekly materials. If you are not familiar with using Blackboard, think of the Learning Module as a file folder that can hold files, video links, discussion board posts and assignments (and probably more) for your students all in one place. Instead of having students go to different areas of the course to find the assignments, I put all relevant materials for each lesson (in my case weekly, but yours may be longer or shorter) in one place. 

I like to limit student access to the course materials in order to streamline their journey through the course. To start, I use the menu bar on the left side of the screen and set the landing page at the "syllabus/getting started" page. (You set the landing page by dragging whatever you want them to land on to the top of the list at left). It usually defaults at "Announcements" as the landing page, and I don't use announcements, so I make that invisible and move it down to the bottom of the list. I create a new section on the left side (use the plus sign at the top to add a new section) that I call "course content" and I put all of my weekly learning modules in there. I add another section called "cool stuff" where I can post information/links/stories on relevant items the students may be interested in but that aren't part of the course materials. For instance, information on live shows (not anymore...) or links relevant to a class conversation, etc.

If you prefer, you could have sections on the left for Readings, Assignments, Discussions, etc, however I find that makes students go in and out of several sections of the course and sometimes students can get lost or have trouble finding things.

Whatever way you choose to organize your course online, consistency between terms used in your syllabus and terms used online is key, so if you refer to something as a "handout" in your syllabus, try not to call it a "reading" online - try to use the same terminology. Remember, your students are about to start navigating several online courses designed by different professors with differing experience levels. Make things as easy as you can to navigate.

A bit of an overview here and then I'll share some images/sample files below:

• I like to guide my students through the work so while I don't enforce a viewing-order of items, I try to keep them accessing materials exclusively through the learning modules, so they can easily find things and return to things. I get comments that my course is well-organized, so it seems to work well. In general this means I don't allow students to see the "assignments" or "discussion" links at left. I only allow them to access materials through the learning module (you can make them visible/invisible to students by clicking a box after the name of the content area). This also means they can't look at the assignment or discussion prompt for week 10 when we are in week 2, which I prefer.
• I start each Module with a "Weekly Plan" that includes a list of items to do that week (in order that I'd like them completed), due dates for any assignments, reminders of anything important coming up more than a week away (big test or paper), a list of "learning objectives" for the week and a list of relevant vocabulary (this is all geared toward the test or assessment, so the students can use these plans as study guides - if the vocab is unfamiliar, they may not do well on the test) and I try to limit the vocabulary to what I really want them to know., instead of including everything in the lesson. If you're using a text book, they are frequently really helpful with laying out objectives and highlighting new terms in each chapter. I simply pull items from the course materials and make sure I include whatever I'm testing them on. 
• Although I list items in order of completion in the Learning Module (matching the aforementioned plan), I do NOT enforce sequential viewing within my learning modules because I feel that I'd like to give students freedom within each lesson. I do stress that the items should be completed in order, so they hopefully don't complete the discussion or assignment at the end of the list before the reading and other assigned material for that unit. The truth is, if they do, I can tell, because everything for that week is geared toward giving them the skills to complete the assignment.
• When possible, I color-code everything (some items won't allow you to change the font color, but most will). There are many ways to do this of course (all quizzes in red, all assignments in blue), but I like to use a different font color for each week's materials. I think it helps a lot because it offers a very quick visual reference. Please keep in mind that in order to serve all students you want to be sure to use a high-contrast color so that the visually-impaired can also read the text easily. Think dark blue/green/purple/red, etc. NOT yellow, pink or any light colors. I've been doing this for thirteen years and after a fast learning curve, I haven't had any complaints, so if you use darker shades, it should work fine.
• I like to include images to break up the monotony of the online environment.  It's also a handy visual reference for students when they looking for information. Blackboard's Learning Module allows you to include text and image. I include an image that relates to the unit (Shakespeare's Globe Theatre for the unit on Elizabethan Theatre) and I also include the title of the unit (matching the syllabus) and the week # and dates of the unit so students can easily find where we are - this all corresponds to the calendar in my syllabus. (Example; "Week 6 - Elizabethan Theatre March 6-10")
• I enforce "adaptive release" in Blackboard, so that I can build sections while they are not visible to students, and I can keep them from being overwhelmed by the materials. In week 2 if you have 10 weeks of materials loaded, it can be daunting, but in Week 9, to see 10 weeks of materials is fine. I set materials to become available during the week before the lesson begins, to give them extra time to look over/access the items. I do not remove items once they are complete because my final exam is cumulative and I expect students will be going back to review/utilize items from earlier in the semester. Give some thought to what will be the best way to manage your materials. Usually at the mid-term point I re-order the learning modules so that the first eight weeks are at the bottom of the list, just so students don't have to scroll so far down to access things (you could also simply choose have new things appear on top).  When I change the order of things I post a note at the top of the page that tells students I am re-arranging items so they don't panic when they don't see something where they expect to find it).
• Make things due at midnight on the date they're due (I use Sunday at the end of the week), to give students some flexibility since we're all working at home. With a larger project, occasionally I extend the due date to midnight Monday of the next week to give them an extra day to work on something. Since I am now building online courses for synchronous classes, I may set the deadline for work at the hour class begins, or an hour before, or it could be midnight the night before... just so that they understand that the assignment is due by the next class, not after the next class, particularly if we will discuss the work in the assignment.
• If it is an important item, like a quiz, test, exam or paper assignment, I place it outside of the Learning Module, so that it is visible without too many steps. I also place the quiz review sheet in the same space so that students have easy access to that as well (my quizzes cover several weeks of work). For assignments due with the weekly materials, I keep them within the Learning Module.

See below for an example of a Weekly Plan and I take you inside my current Asynchronous Online Course using Learning Modules to organize materials. I hope it's helpful, please let me know if I can add anything or if you have questions.

NEW! :

I create a discussion board entitled "Ask Your Instructor" and I post it to the end of materials within each Learning Module - it's just a link to the discussion, so it's the SAME discussion each time, posting it in every learning module simply gives students a handy way to ask questions that come up. It is the first area of the course I check when I log in, to make sure I'm addressing any pressing matters. Often times, students will answer each other's questions here (particularly if it's a BB technical or usage question), or they find that a question they have has already been posted/answered, so encourage your students to use it (they frequently all have the same question at once, and then you're not fielding 20 questions, they have somewhere to go).

RUBRICS:

If you don't use rubrics, you should... I haven't gotten any questions about student grades since I started using them years ago (both in class and online). Using them online makes grading a snap because the points are included. Setting them up takes a little bit of time, but once you have them set, attach them to your assignments (I even make them visible to students in hopes they'll use them as a guide for doing well) and I find grading is much quicker and easier than without it. I even use a generic one for discussions with three areas:

 - spelling/grammar/usage, (2pts)

 - answers the question, (they don't all fully answer the question) (4pts)

 - shows mastery of material (4 pts) 

and then have a range A/B/C within each range. 

Don't forget to include "incomplete" worth 0 points within each category in your rubric, it makes grading easier!