Creating an Assignment Link in Blackboard

An instructor asked me how to create a place in Blackboard where learners can electronically upload their assignments. When an Assignment link is used, the instructor can retrieve the assignment through the Grade Center, provide feedback, and return the paper and the rubric to the learner, also through the Grade Center. Considering the organizational value of the feature, I thought the question deserved a public answer.

Step 1: From your course site, click the Assignment link on the left hand side of the page.

Step 2: Click “Edit View” at the top right hand side of the page

Step 3: Find the drop down menu next to the word “Select”, choose “Assignment”, and click “Go”

Step 4: Type in the desired attributes of the assignment. You can title the assignment, indicate the total point value, and provide and assignment description and due date. After entering this data, scroll to the bottom of the page and click “Submit”

This will automatically create (1) a link for learners under Assignments and (2) a column in your Grade Center for this specific Assignment. When learners submit it, you will see an exclamation point (!) in their row of the Grade Center.

For a printable version of these instructions, click here. The screen shots are much clearer in the Word format that is linked here.

Faculty Reception - A Debriefing

Last Thursday we held a reception in thanks of our adjunct faculty. After addresses by Dr. Joanne Cote-Bonnano and Dr. Deirdre Letson, my opening statement to the group was this: “We at faculty services want to do this more: get together, thank you for your hard work, tell you what’s new, and hear what is on your mind.” Not particularly profound, I know, but absolutely true.

Adjunct instructing does have some inherent drive-by qualities, but it should not be an anonymous or disjointed experience. Adjuncts are a crucial part of the College. For that reason, it was particularly nice to have adjuncts and faculty development staff in a room together, leisurely talking and sharing ideas.

We truly appreciated the questions that were raised and the input that was provided. I think two crucial channels of communication were opened further at the event: (1) adjunct-to-faculty services and (2) adjunct-to-adjunct. The more of that, the better.

I thought it might be helpful to recap, here, some of the updates that were provided:

First off, five goals have been established for faculty development:

1. Promote a learning-centered approach to instruction in both the online and face-to-face formats

2. Enhance adjunct understanding of College policy, procedure, and teaching resources.

3. Support the use of classroom technology in creating and delivering varied content.

4. Professionally develop adjunct faculty through the collection, analysis, and communication of assessment and evaluation data.

5. Foster a sense of community and support for adjunct faculty through an advising and mentoring program.

A variety of initiatives are in place or in the planning stage which align with these objectives. Below are some that were mentioned:

The APP Faculty Lounge: Shelly Nice is building a wonderfully informational, virtual place for adjunct resources. Currently, you can find there the syllabi for all of the eight-week, four credit courses plus the accompanying instructor manual and threaded discussion questions. This location also will house a calendar of events, teaching and learning resources, contact information, and policy and procedure. If there is specific information that you would like to see in the lounge, please let us know.

Adjunct Faculty Guide: Dr. Letson has compiled a “guidebook” for adjunct faculty members. The streamlined guidebook covers essential policies and procedures impacting adjunct performance. The guide currently is under review and will be made available soon. Stay tuned! In the meantime you might check out this Instructor Cheat Sheet.

Feedback: The End-of-Course survey program has returned. At the end of each course, the cohort Program Advisor will provide you with a packet of surveys to distribute to your class. The data is aggregated by an outside company and then reviewed by our evaluation expert, Dan Lane. Dan will summarize the results in narrative form and provide you with a hard copy.

In addition, Shelley Kurland continues to expertly run the Observation program, where each instructor is observed in the classroom at least once per year. After each observation you will have an opportunity to speak with the observer and receive written notes.

To best use that feedback, I welcome the opportunity to sit down with you, review the observation and/or survey notes, and think about how you can incorporate that information into your professional development plan.

Workshops: New instructors are required to take two workshops (1) Instructional Techniques I – a face-to-face, three hour workshop facilitated by Shelley Kurland (this workshop always receives positive feedback), and (2) Online Introduction – an online, three-week workshop covering topics such as adult learning theory, student-centered learning, team management, facilitation, and feedback. If you are interested in participating in either workshop (it is not limited to new instructors), please let me know.

Blog: You already know about the blog…because you are reading it right now. I envision this as a place to discuss important teaching and learning ideas, keep you abreast of College happenings, and highlight the good work that adjuncts are doing. Please feel free to comment on entries that strike your interest (just click “comment” at the end of the post and type away) and enroll as a “follower” of the blog.

Mentoring: We are designing a program that would pair adjuncts with a mentor who teaches in the same subject area. This program likely will start with accounting and math, and hopefully grow from there. More details to follow in the near future.

Thanks again to all who attended the reception. As always, please let us know if you have any ideas or comments as to where we can head, together, as a community of adjunct instructors.

Jim Samuel Hosts a Virtual Business Meeting

Last week, an adjunct instructor asked me a good question: If I were teaching a swimming class, would I prefer as my workspace a dry classroom or a wet pool?

The questioner was Jim Samuel (left), a Centenary adjunct who teaches, among other courses, Global Business, and we were discussing Jim’s use of technology in his class. As Jim points out, mastering global business requires more than memorizing culturally appropriate greetings and time zones. Global business coordination requires technological command and fluency in the virtual environment.

Jim easily could have taught his students about the virtual business environment in classroom Room 8 on the Parsippany campus. Or, perhaps, he could broach the topic while functioning, appropriately enough, in the virtual environment. Jim chose the latter. You see, he would teach swimming in a pool.

For his lesson on the virtual environment, Jim coordinated and ran an entire class, virtually, with all participants remote. How he did it is worth considering because it was an exemplar of careful planning and authentic learning.

The class first was provided with substantive content on virtual business communication. Teams were formed and charged with critiquing the content and creating a PowerPoint that communicated their views. One rub: to simulate the remote teamwork that is characteristic of global business, team members could not collaborate face-to-face. Instead, they “met” using a blog and other electronic means. Final presentations were to be made virtually, during a real-time, web conference with the entire class.

To organize logistics for the “conference,” Jim used an open-source tool called Meeting Wizard. This tool is useful in determining a mutually convenient time slot for meetings and sending confirmations and reminders.

As a platform for the web conference, Jim used an open-source application called DimDim. DimDim allows the meeting organizer to send an email invite for a live but private web conference. The online meeting site has public chat, private chat, and a whiteboard. In addition, users can “share their desktop,” allowing others to see what is on their computer screen (it seems to me that this setup is ideal for providing online learners with extra help, but that's another post in itself). For voice he arranged a separate conference call. (Others I know have successfully used www.freeconference.com – but be careful; it is not “free” under all circumstances).

On the day of class, Jim and the learners logged into DimDim and dialed into the conference call. The teams were afforded an opportunity to display their PowerPoint, present the information verbally, and field questions through the conference call and the chat feature of DimDim. As should be done in any meeting, Jim ensured that each member was acknowledged and provided an opportunity to participate. The overall dynamic mimicked a global meeting where a corporate team presented information in real time to geographically scattered recipients.

And all the while, Jim craftily was modeling how to manage all the details before, during, and after a virtual business meeting.

Going back to our original analogy, I think Jim’s assignment, all told, was the equivalent of discussing swim strokes, jumping into the pool to demonstrate, and then inviting the learners in for a dip of their own, with a reassuring, “Come on in, the water’s just fine.” Teaching about the virtual business environment from the virtual business environment. Nice touch.