Tech’ top tips – #57. Go home – Blackboard Home!

This tip is provided by the Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology (CELT). The images in this post will expand when clicked.

The Blackboard Home pageThe Blackboard Home page provides links to services and help for students and staff at DMU. As well as the Module shells that we are enrolled on we can use the Add Resource button to add and remove widgets from this page. For example, the Organisation Catalogue widget enables us to find open shells that cover topics we may be interested in.

Along the top of the page, the StaffGuide and UserGuide links provide access to staff and student help for using the learning technologies that are provided by the university and the Information panel includes quick links to popular help guides.

Beneath the information panel, the My Communities panel is where we access shells that we have found in the Organisation Catalogue.

 

Tech’ top tips – #48. Introducing you to Blackboard

This tip is provided by the Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology (CELT). The images in this post will expand when clicked.

Blackboard is DMU’s Virtual Learning Environment and every module should have an area or ‘shell’ that students can use to engage with their studies online.

There is a Blackboard module shell policy and as a minimum students can expect to see the following sections within each shell.Blackboard Content Areas

Announcements is where any important announcements about the module will appear. All announcements will also be delivered to students via email to their studentid@my365.dmu.ac.uk address

Staff contacts – this section will tell students who is teaching/working on the module along with their contact details and working hours

The Module information section holds information such as the module handbook and a summary of the timetabled sessions

Learning Materials. This is where students will access lecture notes, lab sheets, DMU Replay recordings and any other online materials that support the module

Assessment will provide details of the assessment activities, the mark descriptors and any marking grids that may be used

Turnitin is where links to the online submission tool ‘TurnItIn’ can be found. All written work is submitted through TurnItIn and it can be used to submit other file types, size permitting

In the picture there is also a Discussion Board section. This is not a standard section but colleagues are encouraged to use the collaborative and other tools in Blackboard and place links etc. in an intuitive manner. Students should speak to their module leader about specific tools that might be used in Blackboard alongside the required sections that have been described here.

Colleagues can brush up on the Blackboard module shell policy via the LLS pages of DMUconnect (login required).

Tech’ top tips – #46. Help – I need somebody

This tip is provided by the Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology (CELT). The images in this post will expand when clicked.

Have you checked out the UserGuide and StaffGuide links in Blackboard?

For colleagues, the StaffGuide link will take you to the CELT Hub where you can read about all the important things you need to do in Blackboard as well as how to create content and collaborative tools. Use this information in conjunction with the Blackboard Module Shell policy to ensure your shell is accessible and consistent with other shells that your students will engage with.

For students, the UserGuide link will take you to the student help pages where you can get help with using the following technologies:

  • Blackboard;
  • DMU Replay;
  • TurnItIn;
  • Social Media tools;
  • Blackboard Collaborate; and
  • The DMU Commons.

Accessing help in Blackboard

Tech’ top tips – #45. Continue to success

This tip is provided by the Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology (CELT). The images in this post will expand when clicked.

Have you noticed the Continue page when logging in to Blackboard? If not, it’s worth pausing on this page as it provides a wealth of information and links to important tools.

The Continue pageAlong with the permanent link to Out Of Hours support information, other important information will appear here as and when appropriate.
This might include details of planned maintenance or downtime to enable you to plan.

Clicking either the Browser Checker or Browser Support link will take you to a page where you can use different tools. Use the Check your browser tool to make sure your browser is set up correctly to deliver the best experience when using Blackboard.
Of course, once you have used the tools, please ‘continue’ to Blackboard by clicking the Continue button.

Tech’ top tips – #44. Techtoptips roundup

This tip is provided by the Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology (CELT). The images in this post will expand when clicked.

After a busy 2018/19 academic year, the new year will shortly be upon us. Techtoptips will continue to provide all of the latest and relevant hints and tips for students and staff members in 2019/20 – in the meantime, here’s a roundup of the topics covered so far.

From the importance of the Continue page to ensuring Blackboard remains accessible for your needs; Techtoptips has covered a raft of Blackboard related subjects. The Blackboard logo
Getting the most from the student viewing experience and making your own recordings using the system are just two of the DMU Replay related subjects that have been blogged about. The Panopto logo
TurnItIn has been the subject of a few blog posts. From emphasising the importance of the digital receipt to viewing and downloading your feedback. The TurnItIn logo

Categorising TechtoptipsAnd did you know… Techtoptips can be sorted by tags so you can find that all important post quickly and easily. From the main home page click on Categories; all of the Techtoptips posts are tagged with ‘CELT’ and ‘Techtoptips’ along with the technology that they relate to.

Tech’ top tips – #42. Time to browse for a new Browser

This tip is provided by the Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology (CELT). The images in this post will expand when clicked.

The Blackboard logoFollowing the recent Blackboard upgrade staff and students may find that some areas of Blackboard no longer display correctly in Internet Explorer.

This is a known position and Blackboard have published guidance on supported web browsers here https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Administrator/Hosting/Release_Notes/Browser_Support

Internet Explorer crossed throughInternet Explorer is listed as ‘Unsupported’ and therefore there is little that can be done other than use an alternative web browser. On DMU computers; Edge, Chrome and Firefox are available for use – it is recommended that one of these browsers is used when in Blackboard.

Tech’ top tips – #37. High contrast in Blackboard

This tip is provided by the Centre for Enhancing Learning through Technology (CELT). The images in this post will expand when clicked.

After a long weekend in the sun I’ve been inspired to write about high contrast and Blackboard today.

As described in the previous Tech’ Top Tip #12 – Making the Computer Work for You; by applying themes and high contrast modes in Windows can help provide a tailored experience where required.

But how do we make sure Blackboard remains accessible?

As Blackboard is accessed over the Internet the web browser (Chrome, Firefox, Edge etc.) that we use should respect and apply any themes or high contrast mode that we have set in Windows. However, should you find that Blackboard is not being displayed in accordance with your preferences you can tell Blackboard to use the Operating System (Windows) styles by clicking on your name in the top right-hand corner of the screen and selecting Settings.

In here you will see a ‘High Contrast Setting’ link. Clicking this enables us to set Blackboard to ‘Yes, I will use Operating System styles to overwrite Blackboard styles’.

Select this and click the Submit button and Blackboard will then apply the theme or high contrast mode rather than its own style.