Blackboard changes and enhancements coming summer 2007
From Information Resources and Technologies
Summer 2007 will bring exciting changes and enhancements to Blackboard as UST implements the next generation of Blackboard tools. The addition of the Blackboard Content System will enable St. Thomas Blackboard users to more efficiently store, manage and share content from within a central Blackboard content repository.
For faculty, the Content System provides seamless integration and the re-use of course materials across multiple Blackboard course sites. The Content System's ePortfolio tool can be used to facilitate a range of activities from student assessment to professional development and achievement.
In addition to improvements in the way you can manage content within Blackboard and in e-Portfolios, enhancements also will be made to the discussion board in courses and organizations.
New discussion board features will allow you to:
- Receive e-mail notification of new messages posted to the discussion board
- Assign a rating to messages and display the overall rating that the message has received
- Grade student participation and automatically update the grade book
- Automatically enable a small group discussion board when creating groups
Assessments and updates to the grade book will add options for extra credit and self-assessment, as well as tracking and scoring multiple assessment attempts. Content creation will be enhanced through cross-browser, cross-platform support for the WYSIWYG editor. The Journal (blog) and Teams (wiki) tools that are available in course and organization sites also will undergo improvements and feature enhancements.
Look for additional announcements about Blackboard changes and enhancements for summer 2007 in the Bulletin Today and on the IRT Web site.
