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Blackboard Learn Ultra<\/strong> (Blackboard) is the University’s centrally supported Virtual Learning Environment<\/strong>\u00a0(VLE). It is used to support different\u00a0teaching methods<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0modes of delivery<\/strong> across various disciplines at the University, supporting both face-to-face teaching, blended learning and distance learning. It gives staff and students 24\/7 access to all relevant learning materials via the web: Blackboard<\/a> or the Blackboard App<\/a>.<\/p>\n In terms of delivering your module, it provides a practical way for you to:<\/p>\n Each module of study has a corresponding Course on Blackboard which contains relevant information and learning materials, resources, activities, assessments and communications. Blackboard Courses follow a template to help ensure a consistent student experience. Guide: How to use the Course Template.<\/a><\/p>\n Find out how staff and students use Blackboard at the University of Reading.<\/a><\/p>\n Your Blackboard Course is designed to be used as an integral part of delivering your module and as part of your ‘classroom’. It complements your face-to-face teaching, enabling you to share access to resources and activities for both live (synchronous) and self-scheduled (asynchronous) learning.<\/p>\n If you are new to the University and\/or to using Blackboard in your teaching, read: Getting started with TEL<\/a><\/p>\n Your Blackboard Course is part of your classroom and should be integrated into how you deliver your module. It should provide resources and activities to complement, support and extend your face-to-face teaching, and encourage student engagement, collaboration and interaction, providing opportunities for asynchronous learning, whilst creating a sense of community and belonging to promote engagement and success.<\/p>\n Each Blackboard Course follows an institutionally agreed template<\/a> (or agreed slight variations of). The is applied to all courses created in Blackboard to increase consistency across modules, and structures how content is organised for your students.<\/p>\n You can add various types of content to your Course – Ultra Documents (web pages), files, videos, websites, images \u2013 activities and communications.<\/p>\n You can also add and embed multi-media content, including videos from\u00a0Box of Broadcasts\u00a0(an archive of TV and radio programmes from over 65 channels). Guide: Linking to Box of Broadcasts.<\/a><\/p>\n As a Course \u2018Instructor’, you are in control of what content is available to whom at any time. Guide: Release conditions.<\/a><\/p>\n Your Blackboard Ultra Course has options to set up Learning Activities<\/a> for your students:<\/p>\n See Digital Learning Activities and Apps<\/a> for information about other activities and tools.<\/p>\n Your Blackboard Course has two communication features for you to use to keep your students updated about the module:<\/p>\n Find out more about how to use Blackboard’s Announcements and email features<\/a>.<\/p>\n Find out how some of the tools within Blackboard – Assignments, Tests, Discussions, Journals – can be used for both formative and summative assessment activities. <\/a><\/p>\n Your Blackboard Course provides students with access to your teaching and learning videos \u2013 screen-casts and\u00a0recorded lectures\/classroom sessions. See: Learning Capture<\/a>.<\/p>\n As a document frequently accessed by students, an effective, timely and well-annotated reading list can be a valuable pedagogic tool for developing student learning, both for their immediate module and beyond. Adopting online reading lists will connect tutors, students and the Library to foster the achievement of student success.<\/p>\n Engaging with scholarly, lecturer-recommended resources through a dynamic online reading lists system enables you to offer your students further opportunities to \u2018study and learn effectively in technology-rich environments\u2019 in a diverse and constantly changing information landscape.<\/p>\n The University uses a system called\u00a0Talis Aspire<\/strong> to make reading lists available to students online and via the Blackboard Course. For support creating and editing online reading lists, please contact your Liaison Librarian. This guidance may also be helpful:<\/p>\n Students benefit in many ways from working and learning in groups. See CQSD guide: Effective Group Work.<\/a><\/p>\n Your Blackboard Course allows you to create online groups and set collaborative tasks. Guide: Blackboard Groups.<\/a><\/p>\n Your Blackboard Course provides useful analytics and reports<\/a> to help you monitor student engagement and progress, and make decision about interventions and how best to support your students.<\/p>\n It is important and good practice to ensure your Blackboard Course is as accessible as possible to all your students for a fair and equitable experience. Blackboard’s in-built Ally tool enables you to check and improve the accessibility of your content. Guide: What is Blackboard Ally?<\/a> Blackboard contains an AI Design Assistant<\/strong> which can help you quickly generate engaging course content, assessments and digital activities. It is here to support\u2014not replace\u2014your expertise, helping you streamline content. Built into Blackboard, it is designed to assist academic colleagues in creating learning activities and enhanced learning materials based on the content already within your course. The outputs can save you time, encourage authentic assessment, and develop supportive, formative learning experiences for both inside and outside of scheduled teaching.\u00a0See: Blackboard AI Design Assistant<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some tips to help you support and engage students to use the Blackboard Course effectively to develop their learning:<\/p>\n If you are the Module Convenor or the lead academic teaching the module, you will need to prepare your Blackboard Course ready for the new semester. You may wish to coordinate these tasks with other module instructors or teaching assistants who teach on the module. This checklist will help you: Preparing your Blackboard Course for the new semester.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n For guidance on the retention and disposal of Blackboard content in line with the University’s Records Management Policy, see VLE content management, retention and disposal.\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n\n
How do I get access?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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How do I get started?<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Building your Blackboard Course<\/strong><\/h1>\n
Adding Content \u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Learning Activities<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Communication<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Assessment and Feedback<\/strong><\/h2>\n
YuJa – T&L videos<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Online reading lists<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Groups<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Analytics<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Accessibility\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\nIt also offers students a range of formats with which to engage in the course content in ways that best suit their needs and preferences. You might upload a hand-out as a Word document which one of your students might download as an audio file to listen to on their commute home, for example. Student guide: Getting started with Alternative Formats.<\/a><\/p>\nBlackboard AI Design Assistant <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Engaging students<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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\u00a0<\/strong>Preparing your Blackboard Course for the new semester <\/strong><\/h2>\n
Relevant TEL staff development:<\/strong><\/h1>\n
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Blackboard content management, retention and disposal<\/h2>\n
Want to know more?<\/strong><\/h2>\n