Blackboard is the hub for all official, formal and essential asynchronous communications about the module / programme.
- Ideally, students should be looking in one place to find things.
- Aim to keep communication channels to a minimum.
- Be clear about which channels you are using to communicate with students in your module
Other forms of communication via different channels (e.g. Teams) should only be used for non-essential communication and within the context of the purpose it is being used. For example, using a Team for student project group work and discussing dynamic aspects of that group’s work within the Team’s channel.
Blackboard announcements and emails
Blackboard is the hub for all official, formal and essential communications about the module / programme. Although information can be posted on module pages, this will not generate a notification to students. Therefore, time-critical communications should be made via a Blackboard announcement and/or direct student email, which could point students directly to a module page holding info.
Examples:
- a change to assessment deadlines.
Blackboard module pages
Students look to module pages for their weekly resources and learning activities, ensure you signpost all content by providing framing text to accompany uploads and activity releases. Make use of the Blackboard text editor to enhance communications such as instructions and framing text, this feature also provides the ability to write notation such as equations.
A record of your announcements can be found also on module pages, meaning you can direct students to a single page as needed when responding to some queries.
Examples:
- learning material posted with accompanying framing text e.g. link to learning objectives or assessment
- instruction or signposting of activities and resources, e.g. sequence and deadline
- display of current and historical course announcements
Blackboard discussion boards
Some course communication might take place on a discussion board.
Examples:
- replying to module Q&A
- community building/engagement I.e. social forum posting
- general topic discussion (as well specific 'learning activities' (link))
Note: Discussion boards can be switched on for specific groups in Blackboard, giving access to only those in the group (note: instructors can also view group forums and make posts).
Live student interaction
The university provides two platforms for live online communication: Microsoft Teams and Blackboard Collaborate.
- When meeting with students 1 2 1 contact via MS Teams.
- For live group interaction that is facilitated by a lecturer, see 'Which webinar platform do I use?' to inform your selection of digital platform.
- For student to student interaction, an open webinar room can be provided through a Blackboard course. This can be set for the whole module to access or can be switched on for access by certain groups only.