Friday, August 7, 2020

Next Step in Blackboard... Moving Forward Together as a System

If you’ve ever shopped on Amazon, you understand that almost anything you need to purchase is available in one place. Likewise, it’s the same reason that sites like Google and YouTube have become the default web and video search engines on the Internet. When users have to struggle to find what they need, they spend too much time searching, and far too little time actively engaging.

How is this relevant for the School District of Waukesha? In surveying students and families over the past few months, a clear request has been highlighted: “Place everything related to course work in one spot, making it easier to find.” In other words, give us an experience similar to the one we have grown accustomed to everywhere else on the Internet.


In listening to and honoring the feedback of our stakeholders to simplify and streamline access to our online teaching and learning resources, beginning in fall 2020, SDW will standardize the use of Blackboard across our system, 4K-12. 


Simply put, by standardizing on the use of Blackboard, SDW is ensuring that every student, family, and staff member can reliably go to ONE place to access key resources needed to support teaching and learning.


Clarifying Terminology: Course Shells
Successfully addressing this request equates to continual work and development from those of us who need to build resources in Blackboard. While Blackboard has been in our system for quite some time, it’s never been a universally adopted and standardized platform.  That being said, it is important for all of us to speak a universal language around Blackboard terminology.


Let’s start with a key term and its role within the larger vision of SDW: “Shell” or “Course Shell”. Here’s an analogy that may help provide meaning:


If I want to build a home, I have to first outline a vision for what my home looks like in the blueprints. That vision is something that only a small number of people initially involved can imagine.  And then the builders and contractors show up on the worksite. They begin, as a team, to outline the perimeter of the home’s footprint, each contributing their specific, important part a little at a time. While the homeowner and the builders can clearly see the stages of development because they have the larger vision in mind, it is often hard for the neighbors to imagine the final product. They look on with curiosity, as each wall rises from ground level to just a few boards nailed together, then a new room emerges, then a second floor.  Even some of the builders and contractors can become so focused in on their portion of the build that they struggle to see the larger goal, until they step back and see the completion of one wall, of one room, of one floor. And then one day, it is a home. A proud homeowner moves in. The neighbors look on and now understand the vision.


What is a shell?

An online environment where the key resources needed to support teaching and learning are made available digitally for all students, grades 4K-12 -- is the vision we are building; it is the home in our analogy. 


Each of us plays a role in building this environment. Up until this point, SDW has invited staff members to build in Blackboard, but has insufficiently provided the blueprints and vision necessary to create a cohesive and functioning digital platform. This equates to frustrated, discouraged and lost builders and end users. Going forward, SDW is providing a more specific blueprint for our course builders.


We call these Blackboard blueprints “shells” or “course shells”. Shells provide a clear outline of the structure and content to be included in a Blackboard course. They give each course builder some guidance in which to make informed decisions when building.


Just as a home is not built overnight, it will take time to mold Blackboard into the resource we envision. We ask that our staff members accept that this will be an iterative process that takes place over time. This process entails two key phases: 

1) outlining the course structure (the navigational frame of the course), and then 

2) adding content and content-specific resources to it (the content in the course) (This will be built over years -- not weeks or months)


Where are we now?


Generic Course Shells

Beginning with the start of the 2020 school year, all staff 4K-12 are being asked to create and utilize a Blackboard course with their students. To ensure consistency across the system, and to provide a universal navigation experience for every user, we are asking that all course navigation look the same. To provide a blueprint for you to begin with, three “generic” course shells -- one for 4K, 5K-5, and another for 6-12, have been created (DL version is available 4K-5 (see notes below****)).


To clarify, the “generic” course shell does NOT contain course specific content. It DOES contain the navigation labels and structure needed to make sure that your Blackboard course looks like other Blackboard courses in our system.


Both the 4K, 5K-5, and 6-12 generic course shells are available today.  It is the expectation that each staff member utilize the generic course shells to structure their course moving forward. The tutorial for achieving this is available below.


Course-Specific Shells

Over the course of the year and beyond, work will be done within the Teaching and Learning team to develop shells that are more course-specific. This means that the shells will have common syllabi, common learning targets, common assessments, and common curriculum where it applies. 


To be completely transparent, the course-specific shells are not available immediately. They will be built continuously over an extended period of time. However, the development of these shells will not require a complete rebuild of your Blackboard course when they become available. A great feature of Blackboard is that multiple course shells can be “layered” on top of each other in the same Blackboard course. 


Just as a builder cannot put paint and carpets in on day one of construction, they need to plan for it on day one. That is why we are sharing the generic course shell/blueprint with you now.  While we cannot put all of the content in courses today, we are building in a way that will allow you to easily add content to courses once course-specific shells are available (provided you start with and maintain the generic course shell structure). 


Get started today! The following information will take you through the steps to  create your Blackboard class that will be linked to Infinite Campus which will manage your enrollment and sync your sections.  


Some of you may have already completed this process last year during Summer Institute, during PD, or in March during the Virtual Learning Rollout. If you have already completed this first step for classes you teach, there is no need to do it again,(unless the classes/grade level you are teaching have changed), the class can be reused year after year!


Not sure if you have created Blackboard classes via the Intranet Bb Scheduler? Here’s how to check: log into the Intranet, on the left hand navigation select Bb Scheduler, click “show” next to Modify a Blackboard Class. If the class you need is shown here, you can use it to develop your sessions for this school year. If you do not have any classes listed under Modify a Bb Class you will want to create one.


Step 1:

To create a Bb class on the Intranet, go to “Add a Blackboard Class” and click “show”. You will then select your school calendar, your name, and the class you wish to create. 


Elementary staff: Create class using AM Attendance

Secondary staff: Create a class for each content area course you teach. For example, one Physics class and one Chemistry Class. Be sure to check all sections of that class so that all students are enrolled in the same Bb class. The video linked below shows how to create your Bb Class using the scheduler. This process takes place overnight so look for your new class in Bb



Step 2:

Both the elementary and secondary generic shells are available for use. All staff need to import the appropriate Generic Course Shell into the Bb class they have created via the Intranet. The video linked below demonstrates how to log into the SDW website to access the Bb Resources page which currently house the Generic Shell Templates. When Course-Specific Templates are completed, they will be located here as well and will easily integrate into the class you have created using the Generic Class Shell. Secondary Dual Language Course Shells will need to rename the tabs and content folders in both English and Spanish (ex. Unidad 1/Unit 1)



Step 3:

After downloading the Generic Course Template, you are ready to import it into your existing Bb class. The video below explains how to import the Generic Course Template into the class you created using the Intranet Bb Scheduler.



Step 4: (Optional Depending on Previous Use)

Already have existing content in a Bb class you previously created? No problem. You can easily transfer it to your new class if desired.  Directions to Export and Import the content you have already built to your new class is shown in the video linked below. Don’t want to transfer it all to the new class? You have the ability to copy pieces of the class over if that better meets your needs. Dual Language classes that are exported should be revised to ensure that left tabs and content folders are labeled bilingually (ex.Unidad 1/Unit 1)




***Dual Language Tabs for K-5 Social Studies and Science will include items that are organized by trimester 1, 2 and 3.  We will be moving toward a trimester structure in the future.  What I recommend is that you use “Units 1-8” in each of those folders in place of units for now.  I have added Units 1,3,5,7 to Social Studies and 2,4,6,8 to Science-which is helpful to grades 2-5.  K-1 teachers will need to add the rest of the units.


2 comments:

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  2. May we please have the author's full name at the top of each blog?

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