30 Second How-to Video for Adding Users

There’s something about adding other users to a Compass course that poses significant difficulties for faculty and other administrators. Is the problem caused by too many steps in the process? Perhaps there are too many places to click incorrectly? Are users who struggle just rushed? Is there truly a design flaw that makes this process… Continue reading 30 Second How-to Video for Adding Users

User Permissions Error

It feels like at the beginning of every major academic term we get reports of instructors getting permissions errors when trying to enroll other users in the course. This issue has plagued me for years! Recently we found out the steps that cause this to happen.

Organizing the Grade Center with Smart Views

I made this video as part of the final project for an ION course I’m taking on creating accessible videos. It covers a common issue that arises at the start of an academic term: how do large classes organize their grade books by discussion section.  I’m sure I’ll be sharing this widely.  

Attendance Report for Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

As of this writing there is no integration between Blackboard Collaborate Ultra and the Grade Center for attendance taking; however, we are getting more and more questions about how to track who is joining class and for how long. The reports available from within Bb Learn are very helpful for this, and I documented the… Continue reading Attendance Report for Blackboard Collaborate Ultra

Illinois Compass 2g: Online Demonstration of Adaptive Release

Do you want to be able to choose which students have access to certain content, folders, or Assignments in your course? Want to ensure that students read the policy on Academic Honesty before taking an online test? Adaptive Release is a rule-based function that allows instructors to set restrictions to course content based on certain… Continue reading Illinois Compass 2g: Online Demonstration of Adaptive Release

Export Your Course Archive

A necessary, although restrictive customization with our Blackboard Learn isntance is the inability of course owners to export an archive of their course. There is a very good policy reason for this, but it is not well known (even by our first tier staff).  I created some public-facing documentation to inform both our central IT… Continue reading Export Your Course Archive