This short manual provides options and advice for the development of effective Blackboard courses at UQ.
Introduction to Blackboard
The University of Queensland (UQ) has had a co-ordinated central approach to supporting e-Learning with 3 integrated systems:
mySI-net is the web interface for SI-net a core business application of the University that supports student related activities across all campuses including admissions, enrolments, examinations, calculation and charging of fees and degree progression checking. mySI-net is designed to empower students to manage their own enrolments, and to self-extract information about their progress. mySI-net is also used by staff to manage aspects of Student Administration such as electronic class signon, the downloading of class lists and uploading of examination results.
The electronic course profile system (ECP) is an integrated and distributed web-based system for developing, delivering and archiving all course profiles at the University of Queensland. Once the ECP is completed it will automatically be posted to on the relevant Blackboard site and published publicly on the UQ website.
Blackboard Academic Suite is UQ’s official Learning Management Systems (LMS). Basically, Blackboard software provides interactive course and community websites that can be tailored to suit teaching and learning needs. Sites can be designed to provide a customised or standardised look depending on your preference. Each course site contains a Grade Centre which allows you to keep track of assignments and marking as well as many features bundled together, such as announcements, email, discussion board, quiz and survey tools, learning units and resources, assessments online, web links, wikis and blogs. UQ has extended the capacity of Blackboard with “Building Blocks” including:
- Turnitin, an anti-plagiarism tool
- Lectopia, the ability to record and stream your lectures
- Wimba Collaborative Suite, the ability to use Voice Tools including voice announcements and email and Live Classroom where you can teach online to students at their work stations in real time
How do I log on to Blackboard?
All UQ staff and students access the LMS with a UQ user name account and password. Once you have an activated email account, you will be able to log on to Blackboard.
Username: uq then 6 digit staff id [eg uq first initial then first five letters of your last name]
Password: UQ-provided email password
Video Demonstration
Staff and Students can log on to both Blackboard and Electronic Course Profiles through
- the University Student Information system, mySI-net
- at my.UQ
- or using the internet addresses:
- Blackboard: http://www.blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au
- Electronic course profiles at: https://www.courses.uq.edu.au
How do I get a Blackboard site?
All Blackboard sites are automatically created each Semester by mySI-net from the information proved to it by teaching staff each year. It is then stored with the System Administrator, Information Technology Services (ITS). The students are automatically enrolled into each site and removed when the students withdraw. All staff however, need to be enrolled manually by the course coordinator.
Staff can request Blackboard sites in Blackboard by accessing the Staff Tab on the Blackboard Welcome homepage. Details about how to get a Blackboard site are available at this link and you can fill in an online request form. More information and detailed instruction is available to you on the Blackboard Staff Support community site available to all staff on the Blackboard Welcome Page.
Don’t forget to ask first if your School already has bulk ordered all the Blackboard sites. That is, they may have already been ordered and received by an administrator in your office and they will need to know so they can enrol you to access the site.
How do I get started using Blackboard?
Many teachers start by exploring the different features of this website and the Blackboard Support Staff communitysite and by thinking about how this online environment could be used to support students to learn in their subjects.
There are several ways in which people can embark on this initial exploration:
- New staff can attend Staff Induction to gain familiarity with logging on to Blackboard and using Electronic Course Profiles to provide initial information to the students.
- Staff can attend eLearning Training sessions at the beginning of each Semester and on each campus, to gain familiarity with the technical aspects and the set up of the three levels of Blackboard sites and the establishment of Community sites. These sessions are on the Staff Development website in the IT and Systems category and are also listed on the Blackboard eLearning and Welcome Pages.
- Attending the TEDI eLearning courses to explore the pedagogy of eLearning. These are staff development courses that are listed on the Staff Development website.
- Jumping straight in by getting a Blackboard site allocated, and then exploring the many features with the help of the Blackboard Staff Support website and the Blackboard Manual in the control panel.
- Read the Introduction to eLearning at UQ for background and understanding of the essence of eLearning and maybe catch up on skills with the School workshops.
- Asking the Chair of the Teaching & Learning Committee at your school, or colleagues, to share their experiences of online teaching and learning with Blackboard by discussing them with you, or by observing their Blackboard activities by being enrolled in their Blackboard sites as a Guest.
- Conversing with TEDI to generate ways of using eLearning in different subjects for different learning purposes. Contact TEDI staff by viewing their website.
Blackboard Levels of academic involvement and interactivity
From the results of the 2006 survey of students and 2008 survey of staff experience of using Blackboard, it was clear that students and staff had very different expectations about the ways in which eLearning would be used in each subject, and of the degree of involvement of academics in responding or not to interactivity.
As a way of managing these expectations, from December 2008 all UQ Blackboard site courses will be designated as one of the following Levels:
Basic Level 1 – Informative
Course/ subject information and materials only plus un-moderated discussion boardIntermediate Level 2 –Instructive
Level 1 plus moderated discussion board or Blogs, Learning Units, online assessments and use of Grade CentreAdvanced Level 3 – Interactive
Level 2 plus moderated Wikis, voice tools and audio-visual conferencing, Peer & Self-Assessment, problem based-learning, iTunesU and Podcasting.
The Levels have been matched to each of the Blackboard training courses, Basic, Intermediate and Advanced, and also provides a way for Schools to audit their Blackboard courses for quality purposes.
Each level of use is a framework with which staff can build on but the most important function is to communicate to the students on each Blackboard site which level it is so they can anticipate the required involvement.
Detailed information is provided by the Manual of eLearningand the Blackboard Staff Supportsite within Blackboard.
eLearning Workshops
e-Learning workshops and seminars are offered throughout the year. Information and dates are publicised in the eLearning website, the Staff Development website, Staff Notices, via the eLearning email list and as a brochure circulated to all staff. These workshops focus on the practical hands-on use of Blackboard and other tools. The workshops are open to all staff of the university and are free of charge to all staff.
Ask your colleagues
Many people at UQ have been using Blackboard, and before that, Web CT, for several years. Colleagues experienced in the use of online teaching and learning can be valuable sources of ideas as you start out in your use of Blackboard. They will also often be able to answer simple technical questions, and tell you who could answer the questions if they can't. Seek their advice on how you propose to use eLearning, and ask them if they can talk to you about their use.
Who do I contact for advice and help?
If you cannot gain access to Blackboard or are experiencing technical difficulties, contact the Support Centre by phoning the ITS Helpdesk on 336 56000 or staff-help@elearning.uq.edu.au.
