Tip #78: Naming Files for Blackboard

Tip: You can reduce the number of error messages you and students receive when opening files by appropriately naming files uploaded to Blackboard.

How to do it:

There are several file name characters that may lead to error messages when instructors or students upload or download files. To reduce the occurrence of those errors, follow these naming conventions:

• Use only letters, numbers, underscores, and hyphens in file names
• Use hyphens or underscores in place of spaces in file names
• Do not use periods in a file name, except before the file extension (e.g. “Name_test1.doc”)
• Do not use spaces, commas, pound signs (#), question marks, equal signs, ampersands (&), asterisks (*), or any other special characters in file names
• Keep file names under 30 characters in length

NOTE: You may recommend to students that they follow these same naming conventions. Suggest that they make their filenames as short, descriptive, and unique as possible. Having them use their last name along with the assignment name is a useful strategy. This is helpful when you are downloading multiple students’ files at once (e.g. downloading students’ completed assignments).

Online Tools for Groups

Blackboard Organizations and Web 2.0 Tools Qlubb & Wiggio
Groups can move into the online world with Blackboard and web 2.0 tools Qlubb and Wiggio. Groups can benefit with shared calendars, file storage, event invites & rsvps, photo sharing, polls, and more. Any kind of group from professional organizations, campus clubs, or hobby groups can use these tools to enhance communication and make organizing easier.

Working within the TWU Community

• Blackboard offers organizations for group use. Department faculty & staff groups, campus organizations, or specific majors within departments can use this online resource to share announcements, forms, discussion boards and more. Some organizations use this feature to do training or offer policies and procedures, such as Risk Management. Organizations can even be structured so that users can enroll themselves, to minimize administrative functions. Information in organizations can be set up to request acknowledgement of receipt by users for documentation purposes. To request an organization, fill out an organization request form.

Working outside TWU

• Qlubb offers event calendaring, sign up sheets, photo sharing, member rosters, file sharing, task reminder service, group invites and RSVPs, and bulletin boards.
  
  
• Wiggio offers file sharing and editing, group calendars, polling, posting of links, conference calls, chatting online, mass texting, as well as voice and email messages to the group. Each member can determine their communication preferences.

Thank you to Professor Patricia Nunn, Department Chair, Dental Hygiene Program for this question.

Web 2.0 tools are available to anyone with internet access. Each Web 2.0 tool website offers information about that tool including support options, if available.

Tip #79: Freezing Grade Center Columns

Tip: In Blackboard 9’s Grade Center, you can freeze the leftmost columns in place so they do not move while horizontally scrolling through the Grade Center. For example, the columns containing the students’ first and last names are frozen by default.

Here’s how to Freeze Columns:

1. Log into your course and ensure Edit Mode is ON.


2. Click on the Grade Center area of the Control Panel then select Full Grade Center in the expanded menu.


3. On the Grade Center page, click on the Manage button and then select Column Organization from the dropdown menu.


4. Drag the row related to the column you would like to freeze above the dark grey bar that states “Everything above this bar is a frozen column”.


5. Click Submit.

Here’s how to Unfreeze Columns:

1. Log into your course and ensure Edit Mode is ON.


2. Drag the row related to the column you would like to unfreeze below the dark grey bar that states “Everything above this bar is a frozen column”.


3. Click Submit.
   

Tip of the Week: Organizing Team Projects

Web 2.0 Tools: Central Desktop, Comindwork, or AceProject
Projects can include sharing files, timelines, charts, graphs, discussions, meetings, and more. Projects may be faculty research, staff office projects, departmental accreditation, or even group projects within classes. There are many Web 2.0 tools that offer helpful tools to work within teams both inside the TWU community and with those outside the university.

What’s the difference?

• Comindwork offers member management, invites, project blogs, wikis, milestones, time logging, file sharing, cases/issues, history, search, and reports. The free account offers 1 active project, unlimited users, and 20 MB file storage. All accounts offer the following:
  
  Collaboration: to-do lists, milestones, discussions, tickets, time tracking, RSS, reminders, notifications
  
  Knowledge management: enterprise wiki, documents, blog, files storage, tagging, linking, versions
  
  Tools: charts, reports, reply and upload by email, rich editor, video reply, semantic search, export/import
  

• Ace Project includes projects, tasks, documents, calendars, statistics, forums, time reports, task reports, time approval, notes and Gantt charts. The free account offers up to 5 users, 5 projects, 50 MB of storage space.
  

• Central Desktop offers wikis, databases, project blogs, and user forums. The free account offers 2 workspaces, up to 5 members per workspace, 25 MB of space, as well as audio conferencing and SSL (256 bit encryption).

Thank you to Jacqueline Folsom, Program Coordinator, Associate Provost Office for this question.

Tip #78: Blackboard 9 Grade Center's Smart Views

Tip: In Blackboard 9, you can create different views of your Grade Center which allow you to filter which students you view, the columns you view, or a combination of both which you can then switch to using the Current View dropdown.

Smart Views are useful for sorting groups of students. For example, if you have assigned individual graders specific students, you can create a different Smart View for each grader. If you have combined multiple sections into one Blackboard shell, you can create a Smart View for each section.

Here's how to create a Grade Center Smart View:

1. Log into your course and ensure Edit Mode is ON.
   
   
2. Click on the Evaluation area of the Control Panel then select Grade Center in the expanded menu.
   
   
3. On the Grade Center page, click on the Manage button and then select Smart Views from the dropdown menu.
   
   
4. On the Smart Views page, click on the Add Smart View button.
   
   
5. On the Create Smart View page, enter a name (required) and description (optional) then select a Type of View from one of the following:
   
   • Group (select individual groups)
   • Benchmark (select users based on performance criteria)
   • Focus (select individual users)
   • Investigate (a combination of the first three)
     
     
6. Select the criteria you would like to use to limit users.
   • NOTE: If you would like to create a view that only limits which columns you view but includes all students, select Benchmark for your view type and then make the criteria "Grade on Total Greater than or Equal to" 0.
     
     
7. Use Filter Results to choose which columns you would like to view.
   
   
8. Click Submit then OK. Your new Smart View will now be an option on the Current View dropdown located on the the light blue filter bar.
   
   • NOTE: If you do not see the Current View dropdown, click on the Filter button on the bottom right of the Grade Center header field.
     
     
   • NOTE: You can make your commonly-used Smart Views favorites by clicking on the star in the Add as Favorite column so that it is green rather than grey. It will then appear in the Grade Center dropdown of the Control Panel.

Tip of the Week: Managing Multiple Schedules

Applications: Outlook Web 2.0 Tools: Tungle & Doodle
Scheduling a meeting with multiple people can be challenging. Finding a time that works for everyone is the first step. To manage multiple schedules, there are several technology tools available.

Within the TWU Community
Microsoft Outlook calendars offer schedule availability options. Each faculty and staff member can designate times as busy, free, tentative, or out of the office.
To schedule a meeting in Outlook:

1. Click on the calendar tab in the navigation pane
2. Select the date for the meeting
3. Right-click to open the dialog box and choose an option such as New Appointment, New All Day Event, New Meeting Request, etc.
4. A new dialog box will open. Select options for title, location, length of meeting, reminders, importance, etc.

When inviting others to a meeting with a meeting request, they are given the option to accept, decline, or mark tentative. The meeting request then keeps track for you of who has responded and how.

Outside the TWU Community
When working with a group of people from outside the campus, there are Web 2.0 tools available to use in scheduling. Tungle and Doodle are web based applications that have free account options.

Tungle synchronizes several calendars of different types including Google apps and Microsoft Office Outlook. Tungle can be accessed using accounts you may already have including Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. Tungle also offers an app for smartphone users.

Doodle synchronizes calendars of different types including Google, Microsoft Office Outlook, ICal, Yahoo, and Live. Registration is optional. Doodle also offers an app for smartphone users.

Thank you to Matt Moustakas, Director of Environmental, Safety & Health, Facilities Management & Construction for sharing these tools!

Tip #77: Copying Course Materials by Exporting and Importing

Tip: You can copy materials into a Blackboard 9 course from previous courses by Exporting and Importing (from BB7 to BB9 and from BB9 to BB9).

• NOTE: This process does not overwrite your Blackboard 9 course entirely but rather add the material you are importing into it. You may need to rearrange or remove some items after the import process has fully completed.

Here’s how to Export and Import:

Part I Export

1. Log into the source course from which you will be copying the material.


2. Go to Export/Archive page.
   
   • Blackboard 7: Click on Control Panel then on Export Course under the Course Options section
   
   
   • Blackboard 9: Click on the Packages and Utilities section of the Control Panel and then on Export/Archive Course
     


3. Click on the Export button and select all Course Materials that you would like to export.
   
   • NOTE: Do not select Settings as this will cause some parts of your Blackboard 9 course to be disabled.
   
   
   • NOTE: If you select any Assessments, Assignments, or graded Discussions, then you must also select Gradebook Items (Grade Center Columns in BB9).
     
     Likewise, if you select Gradebook Items (Grade Center Columns in BB9), then you must select Assessments, Assignments, and Discussions.


4. Click Submit. At this point, you should receive a message that states “This action has been successfully queued. An email will be sent when the process is complete.”
   
• NOTE: You should receive this email within 2-3 hours. If that does not happen, please contact Blackboard Support (blackboard@twu.edu).


5. Once you receive the confirmation email, return to the Export/Archive page then right-click and save the new Export file to a location where you can easily find it such as your desktop.

Part II Import

1. Log into the destination course.


2. Click on the Packages and Utilities section of the Control Panel and then on Import Package/View Logs.


3. Click on the Import Package button.


4. Under Select a Package, click on the Browse button, browse to where you saved the Export file on your computer, select the file, and click on Open.


5. Select all Course Materials that you would like to import.
   
   • NOTE: Do not select Settings as this will cause some parts of your Blackboard 9 course to be disabled.
   
   
   • NOTE: If you select any Assessments, Assignments, or graded Discussions, then you must also select Gradebook Items (Grade Center Columns in BB9).
     
     Likewise, if you select Gradebook Items (Grade Center Columns in BB9), then you must select Assessments, Assignments, and Discussions.


6. Click Submit. At this point, you should receive a message that states “Success: This action has been queued. An email will be sent when the process is complete.”
   
   • NOTE: You should receive this email within 2-3 hours. After you receive this email, it could take up to another 8 hours for the new content to fully display. If either part does not happen, please contact Blackboard Support (blackboard@twu.edu).

Tip #76: Enrolling and Removing Students from a Course

Tip: You can enroll students, remove students, and limit a dropped student’s access

• NOTE: Official university student rosters can be obtained from WebAdvisor and compared with Blackboard rosters.

Enrolling a student:
You can enroll students who are on the official university student rosters but not on the Blackboard roster.

1. Access your course


2. Click on the Users and Groups area of the Control Panel and select Users


3. Click on Enroll Users


4. On the Add Enrollments page, enter the student’s username and click on Submit

Removing students from a course:
You can remove students who are not enrolled in the course per your WebAdvisor roster. Keep in mind that all student data will be removed including grades, assignment submissions, and course statistics. If a student has dropped the course, consider limiting their access so that you may retain their student data.

1. Access your course


2. Click on the Users and Groups area of the Control Panel and select Users


3. Select the students you would like to remove from your course


4. Click on Remove Users from Course

Limiting a student’s access and retaining student information:
If a student has dropped the course, you can limit their access to the course while retaining all student data, including grades, for that student.

1. Access your course


2. Click on the Users and Groups area of the Control Panel and select Users


3. Click on the action link next to the student’s username and select Change User’s Availability in Course


4. Select No from the dropdown next to Available (this course only)


5. Click on Submit