DL Tip of the Week - Managing the Course List and Making Your Course Unavailable

This week's DL Tip of the Week is about Managing Your Course List and Making Your Course Unavailable. Another step at the end of the semester is to clean up your course list and make your course unavailable.

It is good habit to make courses that have ended unavailable. This will keep students from accessing and completing additional work after you have submitted grades. However, if you have incomplete students, you would not want to make the course unavailable. If you want to disable users, please refer to a prior blog about disabling users. 

Additionally, each semester your courses keep getting added to your course list. There is a way to manage your course list and hide old courses that are not active (and include no incomplete students). This can be accomplished through the Manage Your Course Settings on the portal page in Blackboard.

How-to Video
How-to Instructions on Managing Your Course List
How-to instructions on Making Your Course Unavailable

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance; please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support)

Blackboard Survey on Course Availability

 SURVEY: Course Availability

The Blackboard User Experience team is researching how and why instructors make their course available to students. We are looking for input on how instructors think about access to their course.

·         Who's invited?   Faculty at any Blackboard institution

• Deadline?            The survey will close on Wednesday, February 19^th
• Survey Link        Take the Survey

Get Involved! Thank you for being a part of the BIE and helping make Blackboard the best it can be! If you know someone at your institution who may want to participate in any of these activities, please forward this email to them! If this email was forwarded to you and you'd like to receive BIE communications directly, please register here. Stay in touch @Blackboard.

DL Tip of the Week - End of Semester Checklist

This will be the final DL Tip of the Week for this term. This week's tip is meant to help you end your current term and prepare for the next term.

First is completing the end of semester check list. To end the term in each of your online classes you need to:

1. You need to download your gradebook from the Grade Center
2. Archive your course (and download the archive)*
3. Export your course (and download the export)*
4. Make your course unavailable (Under Control Panel, Click Customization > Properties > Select No on Set Availability, and click Submit). If you have incomplete grades, do not make your course unavailable. If you want to disable users, please refer to a prior blog about disabling users.

*After you download your Archive or Export, please remember to delete the Archive or Export from your course as this will add to your course storage size.

Preparing for next term:
Take the time now to copy or export/import. Refer to the prior blogs below to help you get started.

Course Copy and Export/Import
Set up an Early Bird Welcome 

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.

Remember if you need assistance, please let a member of the DL Team know.

• Brad Roberts, DL Specialist (Faculty/Student Support) – Lees
• Paul Currie, DL Specialist (Faculty Support) – Hazard, Knott, Leslie, Tech
• Wendy Davidson, LoD Program Coordinator (LoD support and Student Support) 

DL Tip of the Week - Setting Your Landing or Entry Page and Making Your Course Available

This week’s tip is about creating Setting Your Landing or Entry Page and Making Your Course Available.  The Landing or Entry Page is the first screen the student will see when entering your course. And Making Your Course Available, is the only way your students will be able to access the course and begin working. Additionally, a link to a handout and video how to are provided below. These are stored behind the Blackboard server, so you will have to type in your username and p@ssword.

Handout
Video How-to

If for any reason the links appear broken, or if you have an idea for a DL Tip of the Week, please email us at HCTC-DL@kctcs.edu.