1. Blackboard Discussion, Groups, Grading Tools and More…
Nancy Rubin, Alison Marcoff & Sarah Cline
Instructional Designers
Instructional Technology Support Services

2. Online Discussion Strategies
Adapted from &

3. What is an online discussion board?
Allows participants to pose and reply to topically organized questions and issues
Can involve a number of participants, such as a team of students or an entire class.
All messages stay posted in the discussion board for participants to read at any time.
A discussion can last for a week or longer.

4. Discussion Board Vocabulary (for Blackboard)
Forums= high level topics which the instructor creates (like folders)
Threads= subjects inside of forums
Messages= replies to threads

5. Purpose of online discussions
Share knowledge
Reflect on ideas
Improve critical thinking (compare, contrast, analyze, synthesize, evaluate)
What do you want to accomplish in your online discussion?

6. Benefits of online discussion
Messages are archived and available for review (separate from your )
Increased student involvement (give “voice” to shy students)
More thoughtful, articulate responses because of increased time for reflection
Supports peer learning

7. General Strategies Communicate expectations clearly
Syllabus
Rubric (grading criteria)
Minimum # of posts
Due dates
When/how often will you respond?
Success depends on participation!

8. Discussion Board Grading Rubric
Category 1 2 3 4
Promptness and Initiative
Does not respond to most postings; rarely participates freely
Responds to most postings several days after initial discussion; limited initiative
Responds to most postings within a 24 hour period; requires occasional prompting to post
Consistently responds to postings in less than 24 hours; demonstrates good self-initiative
Delivery of Post
Utilizes poor spelling and grammar in most posts; posts appear “hasty”
Errors in spelling and grammar evidenced in several posts
Few grammatical or spelling errors are noted in posts
Consistently uses grammatically correct posts with rare misspellings
Relevance of Post
Posts topics which do not relate to the discussion content; makes short or irrelevant remarks
Occasionally posts off topic; most posts are short in length and offer no further insight into the topic
Frequently posts topics that are related to discussion content; prompts further discussion of topic
Consistently posts topics related to discussion topic; cites additional references related to topic
Expression within the post
Does not express opinions or ideas clearly; no connection to topic
Unclear connection to topic evidenced in minimal expression of opinions or ideas
Opinions and ideas are stately clearly with occasional lack of connection to topic
Expresses opinions and ideas in a clear and concise manner with obvious connection to topic
Contribution to the Learning Community
Does not make effort to participate in learning community as it develops; seems indifferent
Occasionally makes meaningful reflection on group’s efforts; marginal effort to become involved with group
Frequently attempts to direct the discussion and to present relevant viewpoints for consideration by group; interacts freely
Aware of needs of community; frequently attempts to motivate the group discussion; presents creative approaches to topic
From California State University at Hayward: Assessing Effectiveness of Student Participation in Online Discussions (

9. Sample schedule
Students must submit first post within two days of start time.
Students must post two replies between the second and fourth days.

10. General Strategies Limit instructor participation (10-20% rule)
Make the tone conversational
Encourage proper “netiquette”
Ask follow-up questions as needed
Structure your discussion as a series of written assignments

11. Discussion Question Guidelines
Avoid asking…
yes/no questions.
questions that call for purely factual answers.
Ask Questions that…
call for reflection, interpretation, analysis, and/or problem solving.
solicit relevant personal opinion and/or personal experience.
encourage students to engage with other students in the class.
require students to draw connections between past and present course material.
prompt students to generate lists of information/data as a class.

12. Tips & Tricks Provide “training” (ice-breaker)
Create a “sample” discussion
Organize forums around topics, units, assignments, etc…
Create a “virtual café” forum
Create an “FAQ” forum

13. Ideas…
How would you use the discussion board in your class?

14. Ideas… Break the ice Form groups or teams Case studies
Brainstorming sessions
Presentations or reports
Weekly summaries/critiques (reaction papers)
Supplemental readings
Debates
Peer reviews

15. Group Tools in Blackboard
Tips & Tricks from ITSS

16. Why Use Groups?
Collaborative learning experiences engage the learners in an interactive approach to processing information. This results in greater retention of subject matter, improved motivation, and enhanced interpersonal relationships among the group members.

17. Let's Start Meeting Like This
Virtual teams supplant face-to-face interaction
..."The researchers found that success depends on which technologies are used. , while essential in today's workplace, quickly overwhelms team members, as multiple chains bounce back and forth. Videoconferencing is not quite ready for prime time; according to the study, desktop versions have too little bandwidth, and remote locations require too much travel. But online team rooms, also known as virtual work spaces, received top marks from successful virtual teams. These networked, file-sharing spaces provide a place for team members to access the latest versions of files at any time, carry on asynchronous discussions (without getting sidetracked into multiple conversations), and keep track of deadlines and time lines. In sum, they collect all relevant information into one place."
"A second technology given a thumbs-up by successful virtual teams was instant messaging. The teams found IM's spontaneity useful. Interestingly, the teams tended to install IM themselves if no enterprisewide version was in use. The researchers recommend that companies now suppressing IM settle on standards instead. It's often pointed out that nonverbal cues are an important dimension of face-to-face meetings. For virtual teams, the absence of body language and facial expressions is actually a boon to productivity, the researchers said. Virtual meetings are more democratic than face-to-face discussions; participants don't feel the effect of hierarchy as much. "
July CIO

18. Guidelines for Effective Group Activities
Make sure group activities further the course objectives
Explain the nature and value of the activity
Give clear and explicit directions
Keep the group size manageable (3-5 members)
Allow time for team building
Use appropriate assessment techniques to determine student progress
Monitor group processing and encourage groups to self-monitor
Encourage positive team skills
Structure activities to promote interdependence
Promote individual accountability
Establish a clear, non-competitive grading criteria
Anticipate problems and be supportive

19. Sample Guidelines from an Undergraduate Course in Organizational Behavior
Each team will designate/elect/appoint a team coordinator/leader
The leader will remain the same throughout the course unless replaced by a majority vote of the team or by the professor
The team leader may make a decision unless overruled by a majority
Any project assigned to the team will receive a grade that applies to every member of that group
The team leader will have the final authority to modify any team member’s grade up or down (except for his/her own)
The instructor will have the final say in all cases where the team cannot reach a decision Building Learning Communities in Cyberspace Effective Strategies for the Online Classroom Rena Palloff and Keith Pratt

20. Types of Group Activities:
Group activities can range from informal small group discussions to a highly structured project.
Students can collaborate on assignments, create projects, conduct brainstorming sessions, discuss readings, work on case studies, critique each other's work, or just about any activity which may be enhanced by exchanging ideas among peers, collaboration or debate.
By providing guidelines for evaluating their end product, you can help students establish a framework for judging their own work. This will help your students know how to proceed toward a successful assignment.

21. Ideas…
How would you use groups in your class?

22. Group Tools in Blackboard

23. Groups for a Student Portfolio

24. Have you heard of Blogs?
Visit

25. What is a Blog (Weblog)? A weblog is a web site organized by time.
The hype around weblogs makes them both more and less than they are. Weblogs do not represent something brand new in human communication. Diaries closely resemble weblogs and be traced back as far as ancient Greece. 

26. Format for Blog Projects
Title: Give a name to what you're doing. That way people can refer to it.
Summary: Put a 2-3 sentence summary of what this is all about.
Duration: Is this a 1 week project? 1 month? Or is it an ongoing environment into which you'll plug shorter term projects?
Goals: What do you hope people will learn or communicate through the use of your system? To the extent that your goals are instructional, specify what standards you'll be addressing.
Process: What needs to happen before participants begin to interact with your system? What will you do first, second, third... etc. to make it happen.
Resources: What readings, web sites, other sources of information will you need to line up for this project to work?
Policies: What do you say to your users/learners about acceptable behavior?
Evaluation: How will you know that this was effective? How will you evaluate learning and other outcomes? Adapted from

27. Blogs in Blackboard Course Journals Teams Sites Backpacks for Students
is a blogging tool available as a course document within Blackboard. Instructors can use Journal LX to assign students, either individually or as a group, the task of keeping a course journal.
Teams Sites
permit groups of students to collaborate on problem-based learning exercises by building a gradable web site.
Backpacks for Students
is a dynamic personal web site builder and blog tool that allows students and instructors to create their own home page, showcase their work, and create an online journal.

28. How to Use Teams Sites
Teams allows both instructors and students to collaboratively build a shared knowledge base associated with a course within Blackboard.
By authoring content, linking to external sites and resources, sharing opinions and analysis, and constantly reworking and reorganizing existing content, students and instructors can build a relevant, up-to-date and living knowledge resource to accompany their course.

29. How To:

31. Course Blog

32. Assignment Manager
Tips & Tricks from ITSS

33. Creating an Assignment
Provide clear and concise descriptions/instructions
Where to find the link
What file format
Choose a file naming convention and stick with it (no exceptions)
Set deadlines

34. Grading Assignments Use Word’s Track Changes tool
Turn off access to the Digital Drop Box to avoid confusion
Create assignment folders on your computer to download to and save work offline regularly

35. TurnItIn Integration
Submitted documents are automatically checked for plagiarism by Turnitin, and instructors can easily access the customized Originality Reports for each submitted paper via either the Blackboard environment or the Turnitin website.

36. How does it work?
Instructors add a Turnitin Assignment from the Control Panel in Blackboard

37. Assignment Details

38. Student View

39. Instructor View