{"id":1409,"date":"2014-12-05T14:19:35","date_gmt":"2014-12-05T18:19:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?p=1409"},"modified":"2014-12-05T17:52:11","modified_gmt":"2014-12-05T21:52:11","slug":"putting-your-courses-to-bed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/2014\/12\/05\/putting-your-courses-to-bed\/","title":{"rendered":"Putting Your Course(s) to Bed"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div id=\"attachment_1411\" style=\"width: 260px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1411\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1411\" src=\"http:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/files\/2014\/12\/sealssleeping.jpg\" alt=\"Seals sleeping\" width=\"250\" height=\"324\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/files\/2014\/12\/sealssleeping.jpg 250w, https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/files\/2014\/12\/sealssleeping-231x300.jpg 231w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 250px) 100vw, 250px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-1411\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo credit: Rick La Mesa<\/p><\/div>You put a lot of work into your Blackboard course space. As we move through each semester there are tasks you can do to protect that work. This checklist can help you wrap up the semester and make the transition to a new semester run more smoothly.<\/p>\n<p>Links throughout this post take you to specific &#8220;How To&#8221; pages at the CTL&#8217;s Blackboard Help site at:<a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/blackboard\" target=\"_blank\"> http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/blackboard<\/a><\/p>\n<h3><em>At the end of the semester<\/em><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Download the final <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/backupgrades.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">Backup of your Grade Center<\/a><\/strong> to store for your records.<\/li>\n<li>Create, download, and store an <strong>Archive<\/strong> of your course. An <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/export-archive.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html#archiving\" target=\"_blank\">Archive<\/a><\/strong> is a compressed file that contains all the information you have built in your course as well as your student grades. It can be used to build a new course and it should be saved as your backup of your grade center and your course materials.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><em>Before the new semester starts<\/em><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/login.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">Log in<\/a><\/strong> to Blackboard and check that your course appears with the correct instructors associated with it. Instructors are added to Blackboard through the Banner system, by departmental staff.<\/li>\n<li><strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/addtas.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">Add TAs<\/a> <\/strong>as soon as possible.<\/li>\n<li>Gather your course materials, plan how you will organize them in your course space, create <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/tests.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">Tests<\/a><\/strong> or<strong> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/tests.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">Surveys<\/a><\/strong>, and plan <strong><a title=\"overview of tools and features\" href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/tools-features-list.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">which tools<\/a> <\/strong>you will use for assignments and course activities. Plan early if you intend to create and incorporate <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/addmedia.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">videos<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>If you are reusing course material from a previous course, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/export-archive.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html#archiving\" target=\"_blank\">Archive<\/a><\/strong> the material from the old course, then <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/importing.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">Import<\/a> <\/strong>it to the new course. Another way is with <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/copyingcourse.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">Course Copy<\/a> <\/strong>command.<\/li>\n<li>Begin planning your <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/gradecenter.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">Grade Center<\/a>.<\/strong> Visit the CTL Dr Is In so our staff can consult with you on strategies for using this tool most effectively and efficiently, especially if you are teaching large enrollment courses. See <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=dr\/index.php\" target=\"_blank\">Dr Is In schedule here<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Post your <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/syllabus.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">Syllabus<\/a><\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Make the course <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/availability.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\">Available<\/a><\/strong> to students when you are ready for them to access it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><em>During the semester<\/em><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Create and download an <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/export-archive.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html#archiving\" target=\"_blank\">Archive<\/a><\/strong> of your course frequently throughout the semester. These will be your backup copies in case you need to restore any deleted material to your course.<\/li>\n<li>Download and store a <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/backupgrades.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\" target=\"_blank\">Backup of your Grade Center<\/a> <\/strong>both before and after adding grades.<\/li>\n<li>Try <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.uvm.edu\/ctl\/?Page=blackboard\/color-coding.php&amp;SM=m_blackboard.html\">Color Coding<\/a><\/strong> in your <strong>Grade Center<\/strong> to easily see students at risk.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You put a lot of work into your Blackboard course space. As we move through each semester there are tasks you can do to protect that work. This checklist can help you wrap up the semester and make the transition &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/2014\/12\/05\/putting-your-courses-to-bed\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46172,6875,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1409","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-blackboard-tips","category-promote-to-ctl-home-page","category-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1409","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1409"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1409\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1417,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1409\/revisions\/1417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1409"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1409"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.uvm.edu\/ctl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1409"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}