By Alex Lehr
Over the Christmas break, updates were applied to Blackboard to give students and professors more tools to enhance their academic experience.
SE Instructional Technology Specialist Ellen Hendrix had overseen the instruction of the new Blackboard 9.1.
The program has aided instructors and students in tracking grades, assignments and information for use in their classes, Hendrix told The Southeastern on Jan. 21.
Hendrix offered workshops for Blackboard last year between Nov. 18 and Dec. 5 for faculty.
The availability of instruction on these updates will be open to anyone needing a refresher. Students with classes that use Blackboard can take the Blackboard Orientation on Blackboard itself.
One update that instructors can access is Retention Center.
The retention center, located on the main Blackboard website, will allow instructors to organize students’ academic information by highlighting student actions and retention facts. This will alert instructors to academic risks and allows them to approach the students about the risks quickly, according to Hendrix.
The Retention Center functions similarly to Early Alert Reporting, comprised of the same information and allowing instructors to obtain the data needed for the distribution of the Early Alert reports, Hendrix explained.
It will also allow instructors to modify rules over submission dates and test times and determine academic standing, according to Hendrix.
Hendrix described other features, such as the Calendar, to be “new and improved,” which includes an institutional calendar that can be updated by instructors.
The updates have also covered testing options in the program, allowing for alterations on different testing aspects.
Hendrix described these options as giving instructors use of the Availability Exceptions tools, allowing test times to be altered based on special circumstances, automatic submission that could be turned on or off, forced completion and availability starting and ending dates.
Quick Links will be for anyone who uses only the keyboards for Blackboard.
They will be able to use a keyboard shortcut (Control+Alt+L) to access a list of sections and headings in the program, allowing for instant access to the section they need.
In addition to this, Hendrix said, “The Blackboard orientation has been updated to the new features,” allowing for exploration specifically aligned to the program’s updates.
Hendrix has been involved in the training of faculty for the new Blackboard’s usage.
Recently, Hendrix was able to participate in the instruction at Rose State College’s Southeastern Aviation Institute, where 21 faculty members of aviation showed up for a course in the program.
“I was amazed,” said Hendrix. “All of these people are working full time and they showed up for this instruction. It was amazing. “
Blackboard is currently hosted by 543 classes from SE, with many of the 9,679 students of SE accessing online classes and offline classes alike from it.
Dr. Aaron Adair is now the head of Blackboard as SE.
For more information on Blackboard updates or any needed assistance, Dr. Adair can be contacted at [email protected].