Blackboard Ultra (Faculty) - Start-of-Semester Activities

Start-of-Semester Activities

1. Check that Your Course is in Blackboard

• Blackboard course shells are automatically created for every course listed in CougarNet/Banner and appear in Blackboard three months before the start of the upcoming semester (ex: October for SP courses). ITS will notify the campus when course shells are ready. Classes added to CougarNet/Banner later will have a corresponding course shell in Blackboard by the following day. 
  
  
• You must be listed as the "Instructor of Record" in CougarNet/Banner to see the course in Blackboard. This ITS KnowledgeBase article explains how to determine the Instructor of Record in CougarNet/Banner and what to do if the teaching faculty is not listed there.

• If you are teaching multiple sections of the same course in an upcoming semester and want them in a single Blackboard shell, you can request that they be merged. Once sections are merged, you will not have access to the original individual shells. Please request that sections be merged before working on them in Blackboard, and if you have already begun working in the original shells, export any existing content from those before requesting a merge.

2. Build Your Course

• If you have never taught the class before and need to build it from scratch, feel free to import this course template into your Blackboard shell, or consider requesting a consultation with an ITS Instructional Designer by using this form or calling 618-650-5500. 
  
  
• Uploading large media files directly to your course can cause playback and content export issues. Be sure to store large media files, such as voiceover PowerPoints, in an external location such as OneDrive. Use YuJa to store and link your videos.
  
  
• If you taught the class previously, you might start by creating an export file from a previous course's shell and then importing it into your new course shell. Please see these instructions for exporting/importing a previous course in Blackboard and contact ITS with any questions.
  
  
• As an alternative to export/import, you can copy specific content from previous course shells that are still available to you into your new shell. 

3. Review Your Course

• After importing a course from a previous semester or copying content in, be sure to:

• • Review the imported Gradebook and:
    • Delete any duplicate columns
    • Remove columns for assessments that will no longer be used
    • Create columns for new assessments
    • Review the Total and/or Weighted Total columns to be sure they are accurate for the new course
      
      
  • Edit all imported Discussions in order to:
    • Associate your name (rather than Anonymous) as the creator of any instructor-created discussion thread prompts
    • Delete Anonymous threads imported from discussion boards where students could create their own threads
      
      
  • Review and update other content and settings, such as:
    • Course syllabi
    • Announcements
    • External links
    • Edit due dates and other content in bulk
    • Teams meetings
    • Release Conditions (formerly Adaptive Release)

• • Verify YuJa Videos:
    • If you inserted videos linked to the grade center, you will need to re-link them. 
    • Follow these instructions for how to deploy a YuJa video quiz.
    • Follow these instructions for deploying a plackback quiz to score the percent watched.
      
      
  • Verify Turnitin Links:
    • Turnitin updated the creation tool. All Turnitin Assignment links should be updated, as the old assignment links will not work in the future. For further instructions, see Create a Turnitin Assignment.
      
      
  • Ensure Accessibility
    • Enhance your content for accessibility with Ally. Files such as Word documents, PDFs, and PowerPoint files will display colorful icons to indicate the file's accessibility level. Click the indicator for more guidance on increasing accessibility.
    • Consider adding this item to your course to help students know how Ally can assist them in learning. Faculty are also encouraged to use the Course Accessibility Checklist to assess the accessibility of their course materials prior to the start of each semester, and to visit the ACCESS Faculty Resources page.
  
  
  •  Activate Student Preview
    • Review your course by proactively activating Student Preview to see it as your students do, test Release Condition rules, and verify Gradebook/Assignment/Quiz/Visibility settings.

4. Make Your Course Available

• All Blackboard courses are set to be "unavailable" at the time of creation. Once your course is developed and ready for students to view, you must make it available.