BlackBoard and Beyond Fall 2005 Faculty Workshop LeTourneau University Lauren Bitikofer
Jan 14, 2016
BlackBoard and Beyond
Fall 2005 Faculty Workshop
LeTourneau University
Lauren Bitikofer
BlackBoard usage
• I use BlackBoard in all the classes that I teach to some degree.
• As a minimum I use it to post grades and to communicate with the class.
• At it’s maximum I use it for 98% of the homework
Flight Science 1
• Freshman level class
• 40-50 students
• Unknown abilities as there are no prerequisites
• The course covers a lot of material some of it is just rote knowledge and some requires applied math and physics
• Primarily a text book based course
Flight Science 1
• I needed a way to “force” “encourage” “manipulate” the students to spend time with the book between each class period.
• I want a track record of the student’s progress and discipline.
• When I get the call from Mom or Dad I can easily identify whether “Johnny” is doing the work or not.
• I give a lot of homework.• BlackBoard is the tool.
Flight Science 1
• I have developed question pools for each reading assignment from the text
• Each pool may be 40-60 questions
• I add/modify each semester
• For the 2nd class day they are assigned Chapter 1 to read and take a quiz over the chapter on Bb
• All Bb assignments are open book
Flight Science 1
• The quiz might be randomly selected using about ½ the questions in the pool.
• Would probably force completion during one session so they can’t print it out, then look up the information log back in and complete it.
• Would probably set a time limit to about 1 minute per question to force them to at least go through the chapter to know where to find answers before they start the quiz.
• Every quiz is different due to random selection from a pool.
Flight Science 1
• On class day 2 I cover the really important parts of Chapter 1 or the parts that easily misunderstood.
• If a student has done their homework, they’re ready for the lecture
• I have a record of their effort for the day
Flight Science 1
• All quizzes go off line at 7:00AM on the day they are due.
• I always include the due dates in with the quiz title.
• Chapter 2 (1/14/05)
• I don’t post quizzes ahead and expect them to remember that’s it’s due in a week or two or three.
Flight Science 1
• Day 3– Quiz due over Chapter 2– Quiz due over Chapter 1– Lecture on Chapter 2
• Day 4– Quiz due over chapter 3– Quiz due over chapters 1 & 2 (combined)– Lecture on chapter 3
Flight Science 1
• Bb becomes a drill tool that keep the students engaged between class periods.
• This works well for the rote subject material.• I also quiz the computational material and Bb 6.3
has new features that will make this work even better.
• The last thing I want is for a student to come into a test not knowing whether or not they understand the material.
Flight Science 1
• Over 100 quizzes that counted for grades
• 205 question pools loaded
• Practice area that doesn’t count toward class grade
• Homework done on Bb is counted for 15% of the class grade.
Respondus
• www.respondus.com• Fantastic tool for managing Bb quizzes• Import questions from text files• Write questions• Use previous questions as basis for new
question• Publish to Bb• Print for written test
Respondus
• Easy to add graphics to questions• Has an equation editor• I do not save Bb course quizzes from
semester to semester because– Respondus jumbles the material on Bb in
such a way that’s it’s almost impossible to trace
– I keep changing and tailor what I put up for each class
Respondus
• 30 day free trial
• $79 for single copy
• Can be installed on home computer and office computer
• Great customer service from Respondus