Blackboard Upgrade Underway!
May. 21, 2016—You should have received emails alerting you to Blackboard’s upgrade this weekend, or you may have seen the announcement on the Blackboard log in page. That upgrade period is now underway. We expect Blackboard to be available to users again no later than 8pm on Sunday May 22. Updates about the upgrade status can be...
Campus Invited to Course Management System Vendor Demos in April
Apr. 11, 2016—The Center for Teaching invites Vanderbilt faculty, staff, and students to a series of product demonstrations by the three vendors under consideration for Vanderbilt’s next course management system (CMS). The demonstrations, along with feedback from those who attend them, will inform Vanderbilt’s decision to renew its contract with Blackboard, set to expire in 2017, or...
New Course Availability and Deletion Policy To Be Implemented May 2016
Apr. 5, 2016—The Center for Teaching, as the administrative home for Blackboard, is announcing a new Course Availability and Deletion Policy for Blackboard. This policy, recommended by Vanderbilt’s Blackboard implementation team and approved by the Blackboard Faculty Advisory Committee, is intended to reduce the amount of storage space Vanderbilt purchases annually from Blackboard, while also allowing most...
Saving Course Materials for Future Use
Apr. 5, 2016—Want to know how to back up your Blackboard courses on your own computer or other device? The Blackboard support team at the CFT has resources that can help. There are two primary ways to back up course content. The first way is to back up a course in its entirety, including the layout and course customization...
Considerations for Effectively Creating Educational Videos
Apr. 4, 2016—With the integration of the Kaltura media tool within Blackboard, users of the CMS now have the ability to easily implement streaming video into their course or organization. If users are attempting to create their own educational videos for use in their course, CFT Assistant Director Cynthia Brame has written a teaching guide that outlines three...
Campus encouraged to participate in Blackboard feedback survey
Mar. 30, 2016—The CFT, as the administrative home for Blackboard, Vanderbilt’s primary course management system, is conducting an assessment in March to determine the extent to which Blackboard is meeting the needs of campus users. Results of this needs assessment will inform Vanderbilt’s decision to renew its contract with Blackboard, set to expire in 2017, or to...
Complements to Blackboard: Constructing Effective Multiple Choice Questions
Feb. 8, 2016—Did you know that you can create tests or quizzes in Blackboard and have students take them online? The on-demand resources page of our website includes a guide to creating a test. The testing feature allows instructors to set up different types of questions, several of which are automatically graded. While Blackboard may help streamline the technical side...
Sunday, January 31, 2016 1-5am: Blackboard Maintenance
Jan. 28, 2016—Regular Blackboard Maintenance Window: Early Sunday Morning 1:00-5:00 AM Central Time Between 1-5am early Sunday mornings, Blackboard undergoes weekly mmaintenance. Often, Blackboard continues to be available for users during that time, but occasionally a shut-down and restart of the system is required. Users should not plan on scheduling or taking quizzes, assig nments, or using...
Taking our Blackboard Workshops on the Road!
Jan. 15, 2016—Many of you have visited us for Blackboard trainings and drop-in hours here at the CFT. What you may not know is that we have also taken that support model on the road to various schools, centers, and departments across campus. If you work with a group that you think might benefit from a tailored...
Your textbook may integrate with Blackboard
Jan. 8, 2016—Beginning in the spring 2016 semester, Vanderbilt faculty will be able to integrate online textbook materials and grading with Blackboard. If your textbook includes publisher-provided online content, email us at blackboard@vanderbilt.edu or come see us during our drop-in support hours to find out if your textbook is one of the many that have partnered with Blackboard to...