The Blackboard LMS, better known as Ole at USD, is a website where you can house learning content, create learning activities, and collect assignments.

• Learning content – articles from Copley, weblinks, powerpoints, videos, and more.
• Learning activities – discussion boards, interactive simulations, Voicethreads, publisher labs, and more.
• Learning assignments – dropboxes for Excel/Word documents, dropbox for Student created Video presentations, quizzes, and more.

(for reference materials and instructions, click on the Blackboard category link to the right)

Workshops and Resource Sites

Workshops and resource sites provided are met to support you as the classroom instructor. Each workshop and resource site provides a link (highlighted in blue) directly to the affiliated item.

• Register for Accelerate Your Transition to Remote Instruction workshops.
• View Preparing to scale online teaching and learning during Coronavirus on demand videos.
• View Blackboard How-To articles, click here for the Blackboard Support site.
• View the Blackboard organization LDC-103: Teaching with Technology at USD Resource Center.
• Mobile App Students: Students receive mobile updates about your courses, take assignments and tests, participate in discussions, launch Collaborate sessions, and view grad
• Mobile App Instructor: Blackboard Instructor is a mobile app that enables instructors to view course content, grade assignments, connect with students in discussions, and launch Collaborate sessions.

F2F Classroom and Blackboard Tool Equivalencies

Your experience and knowledge as a classroom instructor are invaluable when you teach online. You can use many of the tools in Blackboard Learn to accomplish the tasks you’re familiar with in the f2f setting.

• In the first few minutes of a f2f classroom, you might take a few minutes to remind students of upcoming events. In Blackboard, you can post messages to accomplish this same task.
• In your f2f classroom, you ask questions to check your students’ understanding of the material. In Blackboard Learn, you can ask questions in discussions, hold a Zoom™ session, or ask them to take a ungraded quiz.
• Expectations must be clear for learners. Make dues dates, grading guidelines (rubrics), and instructions easy to find.
• Show students you care. Students want meaningful, personal exchanges. Timeliness is key, don’t leave students hanging when it comes to communications.

Types of online courses

When we think about online learning, we often think of a fully online course where all content, the activities, and communication happen entirely online.

However, Blackboard Learn is often used to supplement traditional face-to-face courses. In fact, if you’re new to online learning, you can supplement your classroom course with an online syllabus, discussions, and online activities. As you become more comfortable, you can gradually transform your course into a hybrid or fully online course.

Let’s take a look at three types of courses.

Fully online

• Participants don’t meet face-to-face in the classroom but interact entirely online.
• You deliver course materials in the online format.
• You communicate and interact with students with online tools.
• Students interact, communicate, and collaborate online.
• You assess student work online.

Hybrid or blended

• Participants still meet for scheduled class or lab time, but the amount of time is reduced. For example, you teach a course that normally has three classes per week. If you add some online aspects, you might require only two classes each week.
• You design face-to-face and online activities that reinforce, complement, and support the other.
• You can combine the best features of classroom-based and online courses. Students benefit from meeting their instructor on a regular basis, and still enjoy the flexibility of online learning.

Web-enhanced

• Participants meet in the classroom for the scheduled hours of the course, but you add some instructional activities online.
• Supplementary materials, such as a course syllabus, homework assignments, and optional discussions are delivered online. These components are intended to supplement, not replace, face-to-face course work.