Blackboard Learn: Adaptive Release

Introduction

Adaptive Release allows you to upload content to your Blackboard course, but select the times, specific users or specific criteria for users to be able to see the content.

This guide presumes you have created the content for Adaptive Release.

How to do it

Choose the content you wish to Adaptive Release. Click on the drop down menu and select Adaptive Release.

Showing grey chevron drop down menu with adaptive release highlighted

On the menu page choose the option which best suits your purpose.

Adaptive Release Options

Date: When uploading Content, you can use the date function to display it after or before a certain date. Tick either or both boxes and select the dates and times you want the content to display.

N.B. For Assignments: You should set a date restriction for Blackboard Assignments via the Assignment Edit Options/Setup Screen, you can use Adaptive Release for Turnitin Submission Points.

Date category showing the tick boxes and dates to display.

2. Membership: You can select (a) specific users to see the content, or (b) assign groups to be able to see it. This could be used for assessment information or for tutor groups.

Membership category boxes, highlighting a. the individual membership box. b. the groups list to select.

3. Grade: You can select content to display based on a user’s grade in a particular assignment or test. Select the Grade Centre column you wish the content to relate to from the drop down menu.

Using Adaptive Release Grade drop down menu to select grade centre column.

Then select the Condition you wish students to meet. You could release the next part of a test to those who get for example 75% or above. In this example below, we are releasing the content to those with a lower score than 60% so as to help them revise for the next assessment attempt.

Using Adaptive Release Grade Select Condition , highlighting different scoring methods.

4. Review Status: Click Browse and select the item you wish to be reviewed before this item is released. This will appear in a pop-up window, which mirrors the layout of your content menu.

Empty Review Status box

Course content pop-up window

Once selected the content will appear in the box.

Review Status box with selected item

Students will see this button at the bottom of the item they need to review.  When they have completed this content, they can click the button to mark the item reviewed  and the content which you have set to Adaptive Release will be available to them.

When you have set up the criteria you wish the content to Adaptive Release with then click Submit.

Highlighting the Submit Button at the bottom of the page

Adaptive Release: Advanced

To add more than one Adaptive Release setting (criteria) to an item, use the ‘Adaptive Release: Advanced’ option in the contextual menu. Adding multiple criteria will narrow a user’s ability to view a content item. The item will display to users only if all of the criteria are met.

1. Click on ‘Adaptive Release: Advanced’ in the contextual menu to manage existing rules or create new rules. You can review the current status of an item, and any existing rules in the next screen.

2. To create rules for an item, click ‘Create Rule’ in the top left corner. Rules are sets of Adaptive Release criteria.

Adaptive Release: Advanced page, with no rules added.

3. Each new rule requires a name. You may wish to give your rule a name which is easy to identify. The rule’s name will default to ‘Rule [number]’

Add rule screen

4a. Use ‘Create Criteria’ to apply Adaptive Release settings based on Date, Grade or Membership, as described above.

Create Criteria drop-down area

4b. Use ‘Review Status’ to set a Adaptive Release settings based on Review Status, as described above.

Manage Criteria: Review Status option highlighted

5. Once you have added your criteria, they will appear in the ‘Manage Criteria: [Rule Name]’ screen.

New criteria added display in 'Manage criteria' screen

6. You can edit your criteria in this screen, or click ‘OK’ to submit the criteria for your Rule.

Click 'Edit' to change a criteria, or OK to submit the Rule

7a. Your new Rule will display, with its criteria in the ‘Adaptive Release: Advanced’ screen.

New rule with criteria

7b. To change the name of a rule, click ‘Manage’ in the contextual menu, to edit criteria, click ‘Edit Criteria’. To submit your new Rule, and apply the settings to the item, press ‘OK’.

New Rule contextual Menu

Adaptive Release: Advanced with multiple rules

Creating multiple rules will set availability for users based on different sets of criteria.

This item will display to students based on the criteria in Rule 1 (Date and Review Status) or Rule 2 (Date and Group Membership)

Multiple rules applied to one item

To set up a series of similar rules, you can Copy an existing rule, and edit its criteria by selecting ‘Copy’ from the contextual menu, or by ticking the box next to the rule and clicking ‘Copy’ at the top or bottom of the Rules area.

Copy using the contextual menu Copy using the tick box

Page last updated on October 8, 2018 by Sev Raychev