Blackboard Improvements, Learn Now!
By Michelle Blomberg Shivnani

Blackboard is undergoing an upgrade to Bb v8.0 featuring a new Grade Center and the Content System. The upgrade will be completed by June 1. There are a number of workshops available to our Bb instructors through the TED Center to assist faculty in familiarizing themselves with the new features and how to make the most of them.

The Grade Center workshop is especially important to be completed prior to summer for those who will be teaching that semester. Some highlights include:

1. Additional options for adding items to the grade center.
2. Entering grades directly into the grid instead of clicking to a new screen.
3. Adding categories, for example “Quizzes” and the ability to drop the lowest score for a category.
4. The new format locks the student names so it’s easy to scroll to enter grades.

Training on the Content System is crucial for those of you who will be putting together a new course or making big changes to an existing course. Some highlights that will be covered include:

1. How to upload a folder containing multiple files instead of uploading file by file.
2. Modifying files directly in the Content System instead of having to download, modify and upload.
3. Linking material from course content.
4. How to link files and set permissions to access the files from any course.

Reserve your spot now to assure you are ready to utilize these and many more exciting new features!

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