Author: ccoburn

Blackboard Ultra Navigation: Tools

Post author By ccoburn
Post date May 23, 2023

In the Ultra experience, most tools appear in these areas:

Tools page in the base navigation
Inside a course

In the list where your name appears, select Tools to access the global functions that are outside a course.

Users only see the tools they have access to.

To learn more visit Tools in Blackboard Ultra.

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.

If you have found an error in this article or if you need assistance incorporating this article in your course, please contact Educational Technology Support.

Blackboard Ultra Navigation: Calendar

Post author By ccoburn
Post date May 23, 2023

The global calendar displays events and dates from multiple courses in one location. All due dates created for a Blackboard course that you are teaching or enrolled in appear automatically on the calendar. You may view your schedule for a day or a month as a whole.

You can add events, course schedules, and office hours from the global calendar. Add personal appointments to keep yourself organized, or associated events with particular courses.

Any events you create from the global calendar filter down to your course when you have a course-specific calendar enabled. When you create an assignment and add a due date, it is automatically added to the course calendar.

To learn more go to Calendar in Blackboard Ultra.

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.

If you have a question about this article or would like assistance incorporating it in your course, please contact Educational Technology Support.

Blackboard Ultra Navigation: Profile

Post author By ccoburn
Post date May 23, 2023

In the Ultra experience, all users have a profile page that appears in the base navigation. Users can customize the profile by adding profile pictures, sharing basic information about themselves including name pronunciation, nicknames, and pronouns, and access the Global Notification Settings.

Instructor profile pictures appear on course content pages, rosters, and in discussions, conversations, and messages next to their activity. Student profile pictures appear in rosters, the gradebook, and next to their activity also.

In the list where your name appears, select your name to access your profile. Your profile appears with some information, and you can’t delete your profile.

To learn more, visit Blackboard Ultra Profile.

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.

If you have found an error in this article or if you need assistance incorporating this article in your course, please contact Educational Technology Support.

Edit a Video in Panopto

Post author By ccoburn
Post date November 3, 2022

1. Open the Video

In your video library, hover over the video you want to edit and click the Edit button

2. Change the Title

You can change the title of your video by clicking on the title bar and updating the text. Click Enter when you’re finished. ( add the red squares here)

3. Timeline

The timeline is at the bottom of the editor.

Note: When you play the video, you will see the red vertical bar move along the timeline

4. Trim the Video

To trim a video, you will select the cut tool.

When you select the cut tool, you will see a dark gray line appear at the beginning and end of the timeline.

Play your video from the beginning and pause it right before you’d like it to start. Select the cut tool and click and drag the gray line to trim out the section of the video. Note: The gray line will snap into position with the red one, this will allow you to be more precise with your cuts.

You perform the same steps to cut out the end of the video, and you can click and drag in the middle of the timeline to trim those sections as well.

Cut sections will always appear in the timeline but will not playback in the Panopto viewer once you publish your changes. That is because Panopto’s editor is non-destructive, and we always want to make sure you are able to re-add those sections back into your video at any time if necessary.

Click Apply when you are done making your changes.

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.

If you have found an error in this article or if you need assistance incorporating this article in your course, please contact Educational Technology Support.

How to Upload Video Files in Panopto

Post author By ccoburn
Post date November 3, 2022

1. Uploading Using the Create Button

Select Browse from the left-hand navigation on your Panopto site, select All Folders or My Folders on the left-hand column, and then locate and select the folder in which you want to record your video.

Select the pushpin icon in the top right corner to keep the Browse menu open. This will pin the menu open on the page and allow you to browse through different folders without opening the Browse menu each time. Once pinned, the pushpin will appear dark grey and filled in. To unpin the menu, simply select it once more.

After choosing your folder, click the + Create option and then select Upload Media.

In the window that appears, drag and drop video or audio files into the box or select the box to locate the audio/video files you want to upload. Note: You can drop multiple files into the video upload window at one time to create multiple sessions.

The uploading process may take a few moments to finish based on the size and amount of files. Note: Once the upload process is complete, you can close the window. The video sessions will be processed for playback in Panopto. After processing, you will be able to edit your videos. You will receive an email notification when the sessions are ready to view or edit. Certain factors, such as bitrate, aspect ratio, file size, and video length, can impact the time it takes for the video to process.

2. Uploading Using Drag and Drop

Open the Panopto folder to which you want to upload files. Drag and drop the files directly from your machine into the Panopto folder. As the video(s) upload, a status window will appear in the lower right-hand corner. When the video(s) are done uploading, a green check will appear next to their title in this window. Note: After uploading your video, your Panopto video will process as it normally would.

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.

If you have found an error in this article or if you need assistance incorporating this article in your course, please contact Educational Technology Support.

Quickly Course Tools – Set Course Availability

Post author By ccoburn
Post date April 4, 2022

How to Set Course Availability using Qwickly Course Tools

Notify all students of important information including assignments, class cancellations, or schedule updates.

From your Blackboard Ultra Navigation page, click Tools from the menu pane and select Qwickly Course Tools.

2. Select Course Availability from the Course Tools list.

3. Click the toggles to make courses available (A) or unavailable to students (B).

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.

If you need assistance incorporating this article in your course, please contact an Educational Technologist.

Qwickly Course Tools – Create An Assignment

Post author By ccoburn
Post date March 31, 2022

How to Create an Assignment in Qwickly Course Tools

With Qwickly Course Tools, Instructors can deploy the same assignment across multiple courses with ease.

From your Blackboard Ultra Navigation page, click Tools from the menu pane and select Qwickly Course Tools.
Select Create Assignment from the Course Tools list.
(A) Select the course(s) you’d like to create an assignment in the left-hand course list. (B) Add a title and corresponding information. (C) Click the checkbox for Select Content Area or Select per Course, and then select the drop-down arrow to view the menu options and choose where you would like the assignment to display. Once completed, click Submit.
Now, to ensure your assignment(s) deployed correctly, go to one of your courses and look in the selected Content Area to confirm the assignment(s) deployed. Also, check the grade book for an associated column to that assignment.

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.

If you need assistance incorporating this article in your course, please contact an Educational Technologist.

Mirror Your iPad To Your PC And Use It As A Whiteboard

Post author By ccoburn
Post date November 24, 2020

Items needed:

PC
iPad
LetsView app. Please install this application on your PC before starting these instructions.
It is available for free download here: https://letsview.com/windows.
EasyTeach app. Please install this application on your iPad by visiting the App Store. It is free for download. The picture below shows what the app will look like in the Apple App Store:

On your PC, open LetsView App by clicking the following icon:
Make sure “Phone Screen Mirroring” is selected. In the picture below, the option is highlighted with a red rectangle.

Now go to your iPad.
Swipe down from the top right corner. The yellow arrow shows the direction you should be swiping.
You should now see some options including “Screen Mirroring” (highlighted with a yellow rectangle in picture). Select “Screen Mirroring”.

You will now see the following screen which shows the option to select “LetsView”. Select that option.

You will now see the following screen. Notice that there is a white check mark indicating that “Screen Mirroring” is currently working.

Tap twice anywhere outside the “Screen Mirroring” box to get your iPad back to the home screen.

Locate the EasyTeach app on your iPad and press on it to open. In the picture below the EasyTeach app has a yellow arrow pointing to it:

The EasyTeach app is open. You will see a white screen with some options on the top.

Go to your PC. You should now see the same EasyTeach whiteboard screen from your iPad on your computer via the LetsView app. What you write on your iPad will be displayed on your iPad as well as your PC.

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.

If you have found an error in this article, or if you need assistance incorporating this article into your course, please contact the Educational Technologist.

Adding VoiceThread to Your Course

Post author By ccoburn
Post date January 23, 2019

VoiceThread is a collaborative Web 2.0 tool allowing users; both the instructor and the students, to post photos, share documents/images, videos, record audio and add multiple interactive elements to a Blackboard course. All these elements can be changed and modified to the instructor’s preference.

Enable Tool Availability

To add VoiceThread to your Blackboard course you first will need the tool inside your course. In the Course Management section, go to Customization, then select Tool Availability.

Scroll down to VoiceThread and make sure it is checked.

Next, add your VoiceThread to an existing content area or create one if an appropriate area is not already available.

Add Content Area

Make sure Edit Mode is toggled to ON.
Click the Add Menu Item icon.
Select Content Area.

Name the Content Area VoiceThread or whatever is relevant to your course content. Make sure to check Available to Users, then click Submit.

Now the VoiceThread Content Area appears in the navigation pane.

The Content Area will refresh, with the VoiceThread link added below.

Further instructions on Adding an Assignment in VoiceThread can be found here.

For more information visit the VoiceThread for Instructors page.

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.

If you need assistance incorporating this article in your course, please contact an Educational Technologist.

Deploying Tests/Surveys in a Blackboard Content Area

Post author By ccoburn
Post date August 8, 2018

After you create a Blackboard test or survey, the next step is to deploy it.

For additional information, view the Create Tests and Surveys Add a test or survey to a content area article.

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This article was created and is maintained by the Office of Academic Technology.

If you have found an error in this article, or if you need assistance incorporating this article into your course, please contact the Faculty Instructional Support Specialist.