The Office of Online Education
Spring 2017 Blackboard Announcement: Blackboard Course Essentials and Course Merge
Dear Lehman Faculty! The Office of Online Education would like to take this opportunity to say Welcome Back! We hope you had a chance to rest and regroup in preparation for the upcoming Spring 2017 semester.
We would like remind you of a few basics with regard to Blackboard whether you are teaching a face-to-face course, hybrid or online.
- Course Merge: if you are teaching multiple sections of the same course or a course that is cross-listed, we suggest that you review this Course Merge document.
- Course Availability: make your course AVAILABLE to your students by the first day of the semester. Remember, you may have loaded the content but the students will not see it unless you make it available to your class. To make your course available go to: CONTROL PANEL > CUSTOMIZATION > PROPERTIES > SET AVAILABILITY simply change NO to YES and SUBMIT. See this PDF for step-by-step instructions
- Syllabus: post your Syllabus to the course. Students want to know about the course materials, course policies, textbook, grading formula, your office hours and course assignments.
- Course Materials: if you are teaching a course that is FULLY ONLINE, please make every effort to have at least FOUR weeks of content posted in your class by the first day of the semester.
- Contact Information and Office Hours: please include your contact information and office hours. Students want to know how and when they can see you and speak to you.
- Welcome Message/Announcement: you may wish to include a WELCOME MESSAGE to your class. Students who miss the first class will be able to read the welcome message with important information from the first class.
- Please note that we have shared the Blackboard Sample Course Preview Document with your students.
We are looking forward to a productive, successful semester! Please feel free to contact us with any questions. Please keep an eye on your e-mail, we have a wonderful series of workshops and training sessions planned for the semester.
Stephen Castellano | Online Teaching and Learning Technology Specialist | Blackboard Help
