Of Course You Can but keep your wits about you

Dr Malcolm MurrayDurham University

Bring portal module into the classroom

Overview

• Why deploy Modules in Courses?

• Exploring the current implementation

• Common “Gotchas”

• Building Blocks the Answer?

• Looking Forward

Origins

Why bring Modules to a Course?

In the beginning

Most Blackboard courses looked like this:

Bb Version Spotter?

6.2.3.6but then you

knew that didn’t you

Other sites are building communities

Blackboard’s Community System

What could Modules do for courses?

What couldn’t Modules do for courses?

What could Modules do for courses?

Increase Engagement

Support dynamic content

Highlight recent changes

Facilitate (and acknowledge) Student contributions

Having a Go

Using the built in Module Types

Modules to deploy in Courses

Not a very exciting set of Modules

But you can also deploy custom models

• Polls• HTML modules• Images• URL

But only a Sys Admin* can do this...

Create Module button is on the Sys Admin tab

* Or a Portal Admin.

Ever met one?

Me neither...

Don’t get tripped up!

Gotchas when deploying modules in Courses

Access all Areas

Two courses:

Fabert Fabien Fabrice

Mary Mungo Midge

Polls on the French Course

Note that the Poll had to be created by a Sys Admin...

Student votes in both polls

Another student votes in one

Polls created in the Scottish Course

So far so good...

Add Scottish poll to French course

Any guesses?

French students can vote too!

Deploy the module on a Portal Tab

Any guesses?(a different

user)

Finally back to either course...

Picking up the Tab

Why do we see this strange module behaviour in courses?

Portal Perspective - Control

• Create a module

• Set access rights and an admin

• Deploy on a tab – possibly as default content

• Move it from the default bottom left position

• User can configure the module (e.g. number of

channel items) using the cog wheel icon

• Admin uses the Module Administrator button

Doesn’t really fit with Course Logic

• Instructors in charge

• Content largely not re-used

• May change frequently

• May want students to edit too

Boxing Clever

Using Building Blocks to do more

Rotating Images Module

This module overcomes two problems:

• Lack of Course/Group information in the Context• Exposing Management within the Course

Editing Options

Space for Pedagogy!

Controlling Student Access

Rotating Images Module

Not perfect:

• Single Instance

• Adding another Module creates a clone

• Can’t change the Title

• Management “challenges” existing UI paradigm

What might be better

• Allow staff (and students?) to create Modules in a Course

• Display an extra button in the module when the current user can edit it

• Allow developers to define custom modules that only appear in Courses/Organisations

Summing Up

Almost there!

Conclusion

Adding a Module Page feature to courses is a great start

Scope to change the way students interact

Existing Module tools drawn from portal paradigm

Can be used with care

Only Sys Admins (Portal Admins) can create modules

Need one custom module for each course or problems result

Course Modules probably shouldn’t be discoverable

Can use building blocks as an interim solution

Worthy of further development!

Please provide feedback for this session by emailing

BbWorldFeedback@blackboard.com.

The title of this session is:

Of Course You Can!

You can contact the author at

malcolm.murray@durham.ac.uk