Want the inside scoop on Blackboard Inc.? Do you consider yourself an expert on Blackboard Learn? Test your knowledge here, and learn a lot more along the way. (Activities are compatible with computers, smartphones and tablets.)
Try the activities at www.studymate.com/sm.do?id=PfMJEdyV. These activities were created with StudyMate, a service available to all Missouri State University faculty and students.
There will be a brief interruption of Blackboard Learn 9.1 at 12:01 AM Tuesday morning, March 6th. The interruption is expected to last less than 10 minutes.
Taking a class that uses Blackboard? Want to get help submitting assignments, using discussion boards, taking tests, or anything else? There is help! During this Student Learning Lounge, knowledgeable help desk student staff will show you how to navigate your way through Blackboard and give lots of tips on managing your courses online.
Stop by the Student Learning Lounge and Let’s Talk Blackboard during any of the following times; no appointment needed!
Tuesdays: 6:00 – 7:00 pm in Library 205
Wednesdays: 9:00 – 10:00 am in Library 205
Thursdays: 1:00 – 2:00 pm in Library 205 [Note: on March 8, 2012, this session will be held in Cheek 100]
Saturdays: 6:00 – 7:00 pm in Cheek 100
If these times don’t work for you, please email CSVTraining@MissouriState.edu or contact the Computer Services Help Desk:
By phone: 417-836-5891
By email: helpdesk@missouristate.edu
By web and Live Chat: http://helpdesk.missouristate.edu
In person: Visit any of the Computer Services Open-Access Labs in Cheek 150, Library 200, Strong 107, and Glass 229
Taking a class that uses Blackboard? Want to get help submitting assignments, using discussion boards, taking tests, or anything else? Stop by during any of the following times; no appointment needed!
Tuesdays: 6:00 – 7:00 pm in Library 205
Wednesdays: 9:00 – 10:00 am in Library 205
Thursdays: 1:00 – 2:00 pm in Library 205 [Note: on March 8, 2012, this session will be held in Cheek 100]
Saturdays: 6:00 – 7:00 pm in Cheek 100
If these times don’t work for you, please email CSVTraining@MissouriState.edu or contact the Computer Services Help Desk:
By phone: 417-836-5891
By email: helpdesk@missouristate.edu
By web and Live Chat: http://helpdesk.missouristate.edu
In person: Visit any of the Computer Services Open-Access Labs in Cheek 150, Library 200, Strong 107, and Glass 229
Respondus will be hosting several new webinars in the next couple of months. Please feel free to join in!
Respondus LockDown Browser: Reduce Cheating During Online Tests
Over 500 institutions use Respondus LockDown Browser to reduce student cheating during online tests. Learn how this custom browser prevents students from printing, copying, going to other URLs, accessing other applications during an online test, or exiting a test before it’s been submitted.
Tuesday, February 21st at 4 pm ET (1 pm PT) – Register
StudyMate: Create Learning Activities in Minutes
With StudyMate, students “master the basics” of course material through learning activities, self-assessments and games. See how StudyMate creates an engaging learning environment AND saves instructors substantial amounts of time. See how to create HTML5 activities for mobile learning, and how to use a new cloud-based publishing feature.
Tuesday, March 13th at 3 pm ET (12 pm PT) – Register
Wednesday, March 21st at 2 pm ET (11 am PT) – Register
Respondus 4.0: Online Assessments Made Easy
Respondus 4.0 is a powerful tool for creating and managing exams that can be published directly to online courses or printed. See a demo of many time-saving features, such as the ability to import exam questions from Word files, or publishing an assessment to your learning system. Respondus integrates with Blackboard, ANGEL, Desire2Learn, eCollege, Instructure, and Moodle.
Thursday, March 22nd at 3 pm ET (12 pm PT) – Register
You can allow your students to submit assignments multiple times, and Blackboard will record each “attempt” for you. To create an assignment that your students can submit in Blackboard, follow the steps at http://experts.missouristate.edu/display/bb9/Creating+an+Assignment. In Step 7, you can set the assignment to accept one attempt, unlimited attempts, or a number of attempts you specify (I like to allow two attempts for my students; it makes them stop to think about what they are submitting, but gives them a chance to correct a submission if, for example, they turned in the wrong file).
You will be able to access each attempt in the Grade Center (for details on grading in Blackboard, please visit http://experts.missouristate.edu/display/bb9/Viewing+Attempts+in+the+Grade+Center).
TIP: By default, the Grade Center will use the grade for the most recent attempt, but you can change this behavior. To do so, go to the course’s Control Panel -> Grade Center -> Full Grade Center and go to the column header; click the “double down arrow” icon that will appear in the header and choose “Edit Column Information”. Look for the “Score attempts using” dropdown and select:
Note that Blackboard requires a grade for each attempt, or for you to “Ignore” an attempt, in order to remove the “Needs Grading” icon. When multiple attempts are submitted, in View Grade Details there is a checkbox to “Ignore this attempt”; checking it will exempt the attempt.
Questions? Contact the Computer Services Help Desk:
By phone: 417-836-5891
By email: helpdesk@missouristate.edu
By web and Live Chat: http://helpdesk.missouristate.edu
In person: Visit any of the Computer Services Open-Access Labs in Cheek 150, Library 200, Strong 107, and Glass 229
Missouri State University upgraded to Blackboard Learn 9.1 on Saturday, May 21, 2011. Faculty members can log in to Blackboard 8.0 to access previous course content until January 31, 2012. If you desire to retain content from Blackboard 8.0 courses you taught previously, you must migrate content from your Blackboard 8.0 courses to Blackboard Learn 9.1. Instructions for completing this process can be found at:
Migrating Content from Blackboard 8.0 to Blackboard Learn 9.1
To make this transition as seamless as possible, Computer Services offers one-on-one assistance during “Blackboard Open Workshop” sessions scheduled every Friday from 1:30 – 5:00 pm in Library 205. No registration is necessary for these workshops; simply attend when convenient.
Questions? Contact the Computer Services Help Desk:
By phone: 417-836-5891
By email: helpdesk@missouristate.edu
By web and Live Chat: http://helpdesk.missouristate.edu
In person: Visit any of the Computer Services Open-Access Labs in Cheek 150, Library 200, Strong 107, and Glass 229
Respondus will be hosting a webinar on using Respondus 4.0 next week. Please feel free to join in!
Webinar: Creating Content with Respondus 4.0 (45 minutes)
Wednesday, January 25th at 2 p.m. ET – Register
Thursday, January 26th at 4 p.m. ET – Register (Repeat Session)
This training will cover the following:
Missouri State University has a campus-wide license of both Respondus 4.0 and StudyMate. As part of this campus-wide license, you can search the Respondus Test Bank Network and request publisher test banks for the textbooks adopted for your courses. Over 25 publishers participate in the Respondus Test Bank Network.
The test banks are free and are already formatted for use with Respondus and StudyMate. This format of the test banks can save hours of prep time creating exams and learning activities for your courses.
Getting Started with the Respondus Test Bank Network.
Questions? Contact the Computer Services Help Desk:
By phone: 417-836-5891
By email: helpdesk@missouristate.edu
By web and Live Chat: http://helpdesk.missouristate.edu
In person: Visit any of the Computer Services Open-Access Labs in Cheek 150, Library 200, Strong 107, and Glass 229
The scheduled maintenance for Blackboard went as planned yesterday; however, some faculty have reported that certain tools are no longer appearing in the Build Content menus of their Blackboard courses. Computer Services is aware of the problem and is working on a solution. Meanwhile, you can restore these tools manually as follows:
1. In your course’s Control Panel, select Customization and then Tool Availability.
2. Check the boxes next to the tools you wish to see in the menus.
3. Click Submit.
Questions? Contact the Computer Services Help Desk:
By phone: 417-836-5891
By email: helpdesk@missouristate.edu
By web and Live Chat: http://helpdesk.missouristate.edu
In person: Visit any of the Computer Services Open-Access Labs in Cheek 150, Library 200, Strong 107, and Glass 229
[UPDATE 8:55 am on 1/9/12] – The tools on the Build Content menus have been re-enabled. Please contact the Help Desk if you continue to see tools missing from the course menus. Thank you!