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Blackboard workshops.

06 Feb 2008

Invitation to attend training sessions on 26 and 27 February.

Dear colleague

You may be aware that the University has recently upgraded from the WebCT virtual learning environment (VLE) to Blackboard.

The deployment of the new system is now in its third phase and from 1 February all staff with a University user-name and password can log-in to the new VLE and enrol on a course to familiarise themselves with Blackboard.

During phases 1 and 2 of the deployment a significant number of staff received training to help them develop courses that went live to students in either September 2007 or February 2008. That training is now available to all staff who would like to explore the possibilities for using Blackboard, and the first sessions will be run on 26 and 27 February.

The workshops will consist of:

Session 1 - Kickstart Blackboard

This is a short introductory session designed to introduce staff to the power and capabilities of the Blackboard VLE.  Starting from scratch, this course will allow staff to work with some of the most commonly used tools and to identify the main ways in which the tools are added and managed.  The main objective is to give staff the confidence to explore Blackboard independently and to have some knowledge of the toolset available to them.

Duration:  1 hour

Prerequisites:  None

Topics covered:

  • Quick Tour - it's Tabtastic!
  • Content Essentials - Upload, Manage, Release
  • Tools Essentials 1 - What's available?
  • Tools Essentials 2 - Encouraging Interaction

Session 2 - Blackboard Content Manager

This three hour course explores the range of content and template management features available to staff away from the main taught (Section) environment.  Special attention will be paid to the management and storage of shareable content resources within the Blackboard repository, and how such content resources may be used within both Sections and in Templates.  Staff will also be introduced to the creation, management and deployment of Templates.

Duration:  3 hours

Prerequisites:  Staff must be competent and experienced users of Blackboard at the Section level. This course is suitable for learning technologists and academic staff experienced in using Blackboard who would like to go beyond the basics.

Topics covered:

  • Template introduction
  • Creating templates and managing permissions
  • The template build process
  • Putting templates to use (deployment, assignment, reassignment)
  • The Blackboard content repository
  • Managing and sharing content
  • Putting it all together

    • If you would like to attend one of the above, please add your name to the course waiting list by emailing