The 14th Annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference
This year’s annual Durham Blackboard Users’ Conference took place on the 9th and 10th of January at the University of Durham. I don’t know what the attendance numbers were, it looked as if they were down on last year, but there was still a very good turnout from across the UK. In this report I’ve […]
Hot Desk: Enhanced support model
Since November 2012 both Stephen and myself have been available for technical and pedagogical support of Blackboard through our ‘hot desk’ sessions. These were devised and intended as a trial mechanism with which we can gauge the needs and requirements within each department for support, training, and workshops to support an individual, a team, or […]
College Learning & Teaching Forum: March 20th
The second face-to-face meeting of the College Learning & Teaching Forum is scheulded for March 20th, 2014. This session will be hosted by Tracey Dodman (Criminology) and Dr. Phil Wood (Education) and is titled “Using iPads and other mobile technologies to support learning“. Tracey and Phil will recount their different experiences of using iPads and […]
Hot Desk Dates: December 2013
The next hot desk visits from your college Learning Technology Assistants will be at the end of January. We felt that the timing of the December hot desk, a week earlier than normal, would be too soon after the previous visit, and the last week of term before Christmas is not an ideal time either. […]
Case Study – Enhancing Sociology Blackboard sites
Context The administrators in the Department of Sociology felt that that their Blackboard courses looked unattractive, and tired, and that students would require something more inviting if they were to engage with their online environment. The Department of Sociology has 43 courses on Blackboard (28 undergraduate and 15 postgraduate). The Blackboard sites are mainly used to […]
Case Study: Online Marking and Feedback Using Blackboard, Turnitin, and GradeMark
In a collaborative project between the College Learning Technology Assistants (LTAs; David and Stephen), IT Services (ITS; Catherine Leyland), and Academic Practice Services (APS; Nichola Hayes), a series of resources and guides have been developed to support the use of Blackboard, Turnitin and GradeMark for online assignment submission and marking/feedback. These case studies build on […]
Hot Desk Dates: November 2013
To support the departments within the College both Stephen and myself will again be available on our regular ‘hot desk’ . To accommodate room availability and staff absences the dates for hOctober are: Criminology – November 26th Economics – November 26th Education – November 29th Lifelong Learning – November 28th Management – November 29th Media & Communications – November […]
Blackboard Education on Tour, October 2013
On October 22nd Stephen and I attended the ‘Blackboard Education on Tour’ event in London. This was our chance to learn from the experts, speak with the team behind the current Blackboard service, and to speak with the developers on what is being developed and proposed for the Blackboard (Bb) Learn system we use at […]
Hot Desk Dates: October 2013
To support the departments within the College both Stephen and myself will again be available on our regular ‘hot desk’ . To accommodate room availability and staff absences the dates for October are: Criminology – October 29th Economics – October 30th Education – November 1st Lifelong Learning – October 31st Management – Novermber 1st Media […]
Four New Features in Blackboard. Part 1: The Discussion Board
The discussion board has had a major overhaul, with a more up-to-date look, and improved features. Discussion Board Updates The main advantage from the point of view of your teaching is the ‘Post First’ feature, which requires students to contribute before reading the discussion. Threads are now easier to read, and you can see all […]
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