| January 18, 2006 | Vol 7. No. 10 |
Blackboard Questions
If you are a Blackboard user, you may ask yourself these questions as the beginning of the semester looms:
What should I do with my fall 2005 Bb courses?
In the fall, when you activated your courses, you made it Available, or “live,” for the students who are enrolled. Similarly, at the end of the semester, you should make your course Unavailable…see how
When will I see my spring 2006 courses in Bb?
All spring 2006 courses were set up in Blackboard in December so you can login and add course material at any time. The Bb Checklist and FAQ for Faculty provides a timeline and more information.
What should I do with my spring 2006 Bb courses?
The courses, initially, are set to be Unavailable to anyone but the instructor. When you are ready, you should make your course Available to your students using the Control Panel...see how
What happened to Bb courses I’ve used in the past?
At the end of the academic year, ITS will “hide” your courses to make room for your upcoming courses. However, all Blackboard courses from previous semesters are archived on our server and can be made available for reuse in future semesters. If you would like to copy material from a past course into a course for an upcoming semester, please use the contact information below to make arrangements.
For additional information or to read the “Frequently Asked Questions on Blackboard” go to the Canisius College ITS Web site for Faculty and Staff Services and click on the Blackboard link.
If you’ve ever considered using Blackboard but haven’t had the time to attend one of the ITS Workshops, now is a great time. There will be two introductory workshops offered through the Center for Teaching Excellence on January 20 and 27. They are designed to get you up to speed quickly. Please call Barbara Herrick at Ext. 3720 to register.
For assistance with any of these items, or for further questions, please contact Estelle Siener at Ext. 2443 or Joe Rizzo at Ext. 2455.
Technology Upgrades to Classrooms
This January saw a number of technology improvements in a selection of classrooms here on campus. Old Main 221, 223, 303, 310 and 315 all received new NEC VT670 LCD projectors, which produce a brighter and higher quality image than the former Sanyo projectors previously used in those rooms. Lyons Hall 312 and 313 also now have these LCD projectors. These upgrades were part of the Media Center’s ongoing plan to replace the older Sanyo projectors throughout the campus.
In addition to these new LCD projectors, Old Main 221, 223, 303 and 310 also received brand new SONY DVD players and Horan O’Donnell 107 had a new Extron control panel installed for use with that room’s LCD projector.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns about instructional technology in the classroom, please feel free to contact the Media Center office at Ext. 2950 or check out the Media Center’s Web site at www.canisius.edu/mediacenter.
Do you have questions, comments, or suggestions for articles you would like to see published in the LIS News? Please let us know: lis_comments@canisius.edu