Blackboard Tip of the Week: Making a class unavailable to individual students

When a student drops or withdraws from a class, instructors can make the course unavailable to that student.

It is recommended that instructors do not remove a user from a course where work is in progress. Removing a student from a course permanently removes all data for that student. If information is needed about a student’s online activity in a class, it cannot be retrieved.

How do I make a course unavailable to individual students?

1. On the Control Panel click Users and Groups.
2. Click Users.
3. Click the drop down by the student’s name and select Change User’s Availability in Course.
4. On the Change User’s Availability in Course page, set Available (this course only) to No using the drop down menu.
5. Click Submit.

A Blackboard Tip of the Week: Dallas Support Information

Blackboard Support Information

There are several options available to faculty and staff for Blackboard support. Options include documentation, tips of the week, videos, helpdesk support, one-on-one or group training sessions. Be sure to investigate these options to make your semester run smoothly!

Blackboard Documentation

Documents are available on a wide variety of topics including the grade center, discussion boards, adding course content, blogs, wikis, journals, and much more! This information is available by visiting the Help tab from within Blackboard or visiting Blackboard Help.

Information Technology Help Desk

The Information Technology Help Desk is available by telephone, email or chat.
Telephone: 940 898 3971
Email: helpdesk@twu.edu
Web Site: Information Technology Help Desk

Dallas Training and Support

For onsite support, one-on-one training, or to schedule group training, please contact Rachel Clarke at RClarke1@twu.edu or 214 689 6653.

A Blackboard Tip of the Week: Houston Training Schedule Spring 2012

Blackboard Training Schedule Spring 2012

Houston faculty and staff are invited to attend our upcoming Blackboard Training opportunities for Spring 2012. These classes include both hands on as well as webinar sessions. Find a time that fits your schedule!

Hands on sessions

Date	Time	Subject	Room
1/20/2012 Friday	1 pm – 2 pm	BB9 Open Lab	4322
2/10/2012 Friday	1 pm – 2 pm	The Grade Center in Blackboard 9	4322
2/24/2012 Friday	1 pm – 2 pm	Creating Assignments and Assessments in Blackboard 9	4322
3/9/2012 Friday	1 pm – 2 pm	Communication Tools in Blackboard 9	4322
3/30/2012 Friday	1 pm – 2 pm	BB9 Open Lab	4322
4/20/2012 Friday	1 pm – 2 pm	The Grade Center in Blackboard 9	4322
5/4/2012 Friday	1 pm – 2 pm	Getting Ready for Next Semester 4322	4322

Webinars

Date	Time	Subject	Room
2/3/2012 Friday	2 pm – 3 pm	The Grade Center in Blackboard 9	Webinar
2/17/2012 Friday	2 pm – 3 pm	Creating Assignments and Assessments in Blackboard 9	Webinar
3/2/2012 Friday	2 pm – 3 pm	Communication Tools in Blackboard 9	Webinar
4/13/2012 Friday	2 pm – 3 pm	The Grade Center in Blackboard 9	Webinar
4/27/2012 Friday	2 pm – 3 pm	Getting Ready for Next Semester	Webinar

Note: All times are subject to change with prior notice. If the above schedule doesn't work for you, please feel free to contact Jeff Brown (jbrown@twu.edu) or Iris Du (jdu@twu.edu) to schedule an individual training.

Webinar is online seminar that you could attend at anywhere with Internet connection.

A Blackboard Tip of the Week: Open Lab

Blackboard Open Lab- Wednesdays 11 am – 2 pm

Blackboard open lab is open to all faculty and staff on the Denton campus every Wednesday from 11 am-2 pm. Meet Blackboard staff in Stoddard Hall 307 to ask questions, discuss innovative ideas, or have some focused work time in the faculty center.

Come and Go as Convenient!

Just show up and we’ll address the topics you need. These are just a few common topics that our Blackboard staff can assist with during open labs:

• Grade discussion boards from within Blackboard?
• Tricks and tips in the grade center?
• How to load content in your courses?
• Setting up blogs, wikis, and journals?
• Use “smart views” in the grade center?
• Troubleshooting problems or issues

Is another time better for your schedule? Contact our Blackboard team to schedule a one-on-one or small group appointment.

A Blackboard Tip of the Week: Start of Semester FAQ’s

This tip will discuss the three most frequently asked faculty questions at the beginning of the semester:

1. How do I make a course available?
2. How do I copy a previous semester's content into a new course shell?
3. How do I combine multiple course sections into one shell?

How do I make a course available?

(click here for video) Blackboard courses are created as unavailable to students by default. This means that students cannot access a course listed in Blackboard until the instructor makes the course available. To make a course available:

1. On the Control Panel, click on Customization and then select Properties
2. Under Set Availability, select Yes to Make Course Available. Click Submit.

How do I copy a previous semester's content into a new course shell?

Instructors can copy materials into a Blackboard 9.1 course from previous courses by using Course Copy. This feature allows instructors to use materials in more than one course, section or semester.

1. Enter the course from which you will be copying the material (the source course).
2. On the Control Panel click Packages and Utilities and then Course Copy.
3. Under Select Copy Options, click Browse next to Destination Course ID. In the Course window that pops, select the destination course, and click Submit.
4. Select the Course Materials to copy.
• If you select content areas with Tests, Assignments, or Discussions, then you must also select Grade Center Columns.
5. Click Submit. At this point, you should receive a message that states "Success: Course copy action queued. An email will be sent when the process is complete."

How do I combine multiple course sections into one shell?

If you are teaching multiple sections of the same course, or a cross-listed course, you may want to combine all students into one Blackboard shell. Instructors can merge multiple course sections into one shell by using the course copy tool.

1. Access the course from which you want to move users
2. On the Control Panel, click Packages and Utilities and select Course Copy
3. From the Select Copy Options dropdown select Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course
• Click Browse. In the pop-up window that appears select the Destination Course. Click Submit in the lower right-hand corner of the pop-up window
• NOTE: The Destination Course is the course to which the enrollments will be copied
4. Place a checkmark next to Tasks
5. Place a checkmark next to Include Enrollments in the Copy
6. Click Submit.

Tip of the Week: Windows 7 Snipping Tool/ Office 2010 Screenshot Tool

Application: Windows 7 / Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Word 2010

Windows 7 offers a Snipping Tool to capture screen shots. This tool can be used to capture any information that appears on screen. Additionally, some of the Microsoft Office 2010 applications offer a screenshot tool from the Insert tab. Both tools offer options to capture an entire screen or a portion of the screen.

Using the Windows 7 Snipping Tool

1. Go to the Start button. In the search box, type Snipping Tool. In the search results, click Snipping Tool.
2. Click the drop down arrow next to the New button to select Free-form Snip, Rectangular Snip, Window Snip, or Full-screen snip.
3. Select the area of the screen to capture.
   The snip is automatically copied to the Snipping Tool clipboard. From the Snipping Tool clipboard, share, save or annotate the snip. When inserting a snip into an Office document, the Picture Tools tab will become available for editing.

Using the Screenshot tool in Microsoft Office

1. Within each application, select the Insert tab.
• In Excel, Outlook, and Word, in the Illustrations group, go to the Insert Screenshot button.
• In PowerPoint, in the Images group, go to the Insert Screenshot button.
2. Choose one of the following:
• To capture the entire screen, click the down arrow below the Insert Screenshot button and select a thumbnail from the Available Windows gallery.
• To capture a portion of the screen, click the down arrow below the Insert Screenshot button and select Screen Clipping. When the pointer turns into a plus sign, select the area of the screen to capture.

When the snip is inserted into the Office document, the Picture Tools tab will become available for editing.

Want to see it in action? Watch this Microsoft Office video about the Snipping Tool.

Tip of the Week: Customizing the Ribbon

Application: Office 2010

The Ribbon first appeared in several Microsoft Office applications in 2007. Office 2010 features the Ribbon in all applications. With Office 2010, the Ribbon can be customized to feature the commands you need readily available. The Ribbon can be customized uniquely in each application.

Customizing the Ribbon

1. Go to the File menu.
2. Navigate to Options. When the Options dialog box opens, select Customize Ribbon.
• To view or hide a tab, check or uncheck the box by the tab name.
• To add a custom tab, click the New Tab button at the bottom of the tabs listing.
• To add a new group to an existing tab, click the New Group button at the bottom of the tabs listing.
• To rename a tab or group, select the tab/ group and then click Rename at the bottom of the tabs listing.
• To change the order of the tabs or groups, use the arrows to the right of the tabs listing.
• To add commands to a tab or group, first select the tab or group, then select the command from the commands list and use the Add button between the commands and tabs listings.
• To remove commands from a tab or group, select the command, and then click the Remove button between the commands and tabs listings.
• To reset the Ribbon back to default, click the down arrow on the Reset button at the end of the tabs listing. Choose Reset only selected Ribbon tab or Reset all customization.

See It in Action

Check out this Microsoft Office Video: Customize the Ribbon

Tip of the Week: Pin a Program to the Task bar

Application: Windows 7

If there are certain documents or programs that you use frequently, consider pinning them to the task bar. This feature eliminates the need to navigate through the Start menu to find an item. Programs and documents can be pinned or unpinned as needed.

Pinning a program to the taskbar

Choose one of the following:

If the program is open, right-click the program button on the taskbar and select Pin this program to the taskbar.

-or-

If the program is not open, click Start, navigate to the program and right-click, then select Pin to Taskbar.

Pinning a document to the taskbar

Select the closed file and drag to the taskbar. The icon for the associated program will appear. Right-click the icon to find the document.

To unpin items from the taskbar, right click and select Unpin this program from taskbar.

Watch it happen in this video: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Pin-a-program-to-the-taskbar