Welcome to Navigating Your Blackboard Vista Online Classroom! My name is Connie Halvorsen and I’ll be your guide throughout this tutorial.To start, I’ll give an overview of the Tabs, Tools, Menu Items, and Home page, then we will explore each of these items more fully. To navigate the tutorial, click on the “Next” button or right arrow key to go to the next slide and “Back” button or left arrow key to go to the previous slide.At the end of the tutorial there will be a link to a short quiz and evaluation we would like you to fill out to help us to continually improve.

Upon completion of this course, teachers/instructors will be able to: 1. Identify the main navigational components (Home page, tabs, tools, menu items) within a Blackboard Vista online classroom. 2. Explain the different tab views (Build, Teach, Student View), their respective tools (Designer, Instructor, My Tools), and the purpose of each view (to build, to teach, to check grades and progress). 3. Identify required content vs. recommended content for the home page (header/footer may be required, header/footer, syllabus, instructor bio, links to learning modules, discussion boards, and Web links are recommended).

When you enter the Blackboard Vista course, you will see a navigation menu on the left-hand side, a square or rectangle area, which is called the Home page or Course Content. This will usually include such things as a link to the syllabus, instructor bio, learning modules, and possibly Web links.   Above the main Menu or navigation buttons, there are three tabs: Build, Teach, and Student View. Each of these tabs provide you with a different view and different tools, i.e., designer vs. instructor, for the Build and Teach tabs.   Of the main navigation Menu items, the ones you and the students will use the most will be the announcements, assessments (depending upon the level of the course), assignments, discussions, and learning modules. As you can tell by the list, there are more than just these tools available, but some of them you may not want to use or use rarely.

Now to explore each of the tabs and tools more fully.   The first tab is called the “Build” tab. This tab is the tab you will want to use when building your course. This tab includes the “Designer Tools” (Manage Course, File Manager, Grading Forms, and Selective Release) located below the main Menu items.   The second tab, or middle tab, is called the “Teach” tab. This is the tab you will spend most of your time on while teaching your course, as it includes the “Instructor Tools” (Manage Course, Assessment Manager, Assignment Manager, Grade Book, Grading Forms, Group Manager, Tracking, Notes, and Selective Release) located below the main Menu items.   The third tab, called “Student View” allows you to see what the student will see, which helps you to maintain accuracy and quality.

Whatever Menu items you have chosen to use and display are available from all views, unless you have hidden some, which then they are visible to you, but they won’t be visible to the student. (Note: You can hide the ones you don’t want to use or turn them off entirely.)   For example, I have chosen to hide “Local Content” and “Media Library.” Although they are still visible to you as the instructor in either the build or teach tab, they show a (H) next to the menu item or button name. If we look at it from the Student View tab, those two buttons aren’t visible.

As the instructor, you can leave the Home page or Course Content area blank, but course design protocol recommends that you provide the students with something that lets them know right away they are in the right class, such as a header with the course and instructor name. Your school or university may also require some type of banner or header. I would recommend a header and a footer be included.   The header should include the Course Name and Course Number, along with the Instructor’s Name and credentials. The footer usually should have information on who the student should contact for technical support, hours technical support is available, and technical support’s phone number and/or email address.   Some instructors use a color background or an image to convey a certain feel to the “classroom” and oftentimes, instructors will include links on the Home page to the syllabus, the instructor bio, learning modules, and discussion boards, along with Web links to various resources.   Some students like to use the main Menu items, others prefer to use the Home page, so it’s good to have the content links in both places so students can access the course material either way.

Click on the link below to watch the video “Navigating Your Blackboard Vista Online Classroom.” (Link will open in a new browser window.) Video Transcript The first screen you see is the Western Michigan University E-Learning portal. As an instructor, you will see all the courses you have taught before, teaching currently, or will be teaching in the future if the course shells are available yet.Click on the link of the course you would like to enter. I am using my Sandbox for this demonstration. As you saw in the screen captures in the previous slides, you will arrive at the home page. On the upper left-hand side are the three tabs, which I will demonstrate shortly, underneath is the main navigational menu, and down below are the tools I mentioned, ie, designer or instructor depending upon which tab you are on. In the middle area of the screen is the Home page area with a header/footer and content links.Now, to show you the different views by tab:First there is the "Build" tab. As you will notice you have all of the main Menu items and beneath the main Menu items are the Designer Tools: Manage Course, File Manager, Grading Forms, and Selective Release. Note: These tools will be demonstrated in future sessions.The second or middle tab is the "Teach" tab. This tab gives you the same main Menu items as the Build tab, but instead of Designer Tools, below the main Menu items there are Instructor Tools: Manage Course, Assessment Manager, Assignment Manager, Grade Book, Grading Forms, Group Manager, Tracking, Notes, and Selective Release. Again, these will be explored further in future sessions.The third and final tab is the "Student View" tab. This tab allows you to view how it looks to the student. Using this tab can ensure that students' are seeing what you need and want them to see. It is a quality checkpoint. Please note that the two "Hidden" buttons that are visible on the Build and Teach tab main Menu, but have an (H) next to the button name are not visible from the Student View. This is what it means to hide a button. Buttons can also be turned off completely so that they aren't visible on the Build and Teach tab also, but we will cover that in future sessions.Now if you look on the home page, you will notice in the upper left-hand side of the Home page area that it says, "Your location: Home Page." This is a quick reference for you to identify where you are within the classroom. If you are on another page or you are working on creating an assignment or an assessment, there will be small links called "Bread Crumbs" at the top which can help you navigate backwards as you need to.As noted in earlier slides, Instructors often put the syllabus, an instructor bio, links to Learning Modules, Discussion Boards, and Web links on the Home page. This keeps everything very visible to the students. They can also be accessed via the main navigational Menu, but many times students prefer to access through the Home page.

This concludes first of five courses in the series called, “Navigating your Blackboard Vista Online Classroom.”   The next tutorial in the series will begin showing you how to build your course.   Please take a few minutes to take the short quiz and fill out the evaluation form (see links below) Note: The links will open up in a new browser window.   Thank you!

Navigating Your Blackboard Vista Online Classroom EDT 6480 Professional Development Project 5b Instructor: Connie L. Halvorsen

Course Objectives Course Objectives Upon completion of this course, teachers/instructors will be able to: Identify the main navigational components (Home page, tabs, tools, menu items) within a Blackboard Vista online classroom. Explain the different tab views (Build, Teach, Student View), their respective tools (Designer, Instructor, My Tools), and the purpose of each view (to build, to teach, to check grades and progress). Identify required content vs. recommended content for the home page (header/footer may be required, header/footer, syllabus, instructor bio, links to learning modules, discussion boards, and Web links are recommended).

Overview Overview

Tabs Tools Tabs

Menu Items Main Menu Items

Home Page Header/Footer Home page editing button Your location, buttons to add files, create folders, and add content links, such as assignments, assessments, etc., which are then displayed on the Home page (see below) Home page

Video Demonstration Click on the link below to watch the video “Navigating Your Blackboard Vista Online Classroom.” (Note: Link will open in a new browser window.) Video Demonstration Video on Navigating Your Blackboard Vista Online Classroom Once video is complete, please click the arrow button on the slide panel or click on the right-arrow key on your computer keyboard to go the final slide.

Conclusion Quiz on Navigating Your Blackboard Vista Online Classroom Quiz Evaluation Evaluation for Navigating Your Blackboard Vista Online Classroom This concludes the course, Navigating Your Blackboard Vista Online Classroom , Course 1 of 5. We hope you have enjoyed this presentation and will proceed to the next course in the series after taking the short quiz and submitting the evaluation (see links below). Note: Links will open in a new browser window. Any questions, please contact the instructor at connie.halvorsen@wmich.edu. Conclusion, Quiz, and Evaluation Conclusion, Quiz, and Evaluation