Blackboard – Hofstra University EdTech

On-campus to Online: Dr. Rina Hirsch worked with EdTech to design her online Auditing Theory course

On-campus to Online: Dr. Rina Hirsch worked with EdTech to design her online Auditing Theory course

After two semesters of teaching Accounting 233 “Auditing Theory” online, Zarb School of Business professor Dr. Rina Hirsch knows a few things about creating a successful online course. Dr. Hirsch’s main goal when teaching an online course is to build a community around her curriculum. She wants to establish a learning community that fosters a strong online presence, not just for herself, but for her students as well. To introduce herself to her students, Dr. Hirsch created a lively course overview video where she used dynamic hand gestures and facial expressions to build a sense of excitement about the course materials. She also included some background information about her personal and professional experiences to help her students to connect with her. To establish a relationship with each one of her students and allow the students to get to know one another, Dr. Hirsch requires students to post to an “Introductions” Discussion Board Forum. Dr. Hirsch responds to each and every student’s introduction in an effort to foster good rapport with her students. To build student presence in the course, Dr. Hirsch invites students to initiate [...]

Alex Smiros2019-04-18T13:54:36+00:00March 29th, 2019|

Instructors of January and Spring 2019 Courses: Blackboard is moving!

Instructors of January and Spring 2019 Courses: Blackboard is moving!

Dear Faculty Colleagues, We've completed the process of moving to our new cloud-based Blackboard system for Department courses, and courses for January and Spring 2019 terms. We're happy to announce that all faculty now have access to the new system. Visit https://hofstra-spring.blackboard.com to see the new system and give it a try. Below, we've added some additional details that you may find helpful as you prepare for intersession and the spring semester. Finding and Developing Your January and Spring Courses From the MyHofstra Portal, https://my.hofstra.edu, click the waffle/My Apps icon in the top right. Click the Blackboard Icon in My Apps. Choose January/Spring or Older Terms. Fall 2018 and Older Courses Fall and previous semester courses remain for now on the old system. When you click the Blackboard button in My Apps the portal, you will be able to choose between terms; either January/Spring for the new server, or older terms for the old server. Wrapping Up Grading and Moving Your Courses For Fall Courses (201809), finish up using the old system as you have been, Moving your course content to the new server is best done following these three easy steps. Export the content from courses [...]

Tom Jennings2019-03-22T03:14:14+00:00December 18th, 2018|

Blackboard is Moving Before January Session

Blackboard is Moving Before January Session

Great News! We are moving! Blackboard is changing the way Hofstra’s Blackboard system is hosted. In the new system, Hofstra has been promised zero downtime for upgrades and patches as well as constant access to the latest security upgrades and feature updates. To get there, we must move everything that we are using from the current Hofstra Blackboard system to a new cloud-based Blackboard. The new system will look and feel very much like the current system. You will not need to learn to use a new system. We are creating January and Spring 2019 courses on the new server. Access to January and Spring 2019 is now blocked on the current server. Blackboard will migrate all regular courses that have content and student work from the old server to the new server. In cases where the new January and Spring courses do not yet have content or student work, you can Export the material from an old course site (instead of Course Copy) and Import it to the new site. Instructions for Export/Import can be found at http://bit.ly/BBExport. Please do not add any new [...]

Tom Jennings2019-03-22T03:14:04+00:00December 5th, 2018|

Now There’s an Attendance Tool in Blackboard!

Now There’s an Attendance Tool in Blackboard!

A new feature added to Blackboard over the summer is often-requested ability to track student attendance. This can now be turned on in any class from the Course Management section, and the Attendance ties directly back into the Gradebook. To turn it on for your course, find the Attendance option under Course Tools: Course Management > Course Tools > Attendance This new functionality allows for simple tracking of student attendance. You mark students as Present, Late, Absent, or Excused. And by adjusting the settings you can grade by letter, point, or percentage. x x In the Overall section, you can see current and previous sessions, as well as overview statistics. You can add slots for previous sections by clicking on the plus (+) icon that appears when you move the mouse between existing sessions. x If you’re interested in seeing it in action, this quick video will walk you through the process: https://youtu.be/C9FCxq1hfUY For more information, check out Blackboard’s instructor help for Attendance: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Instructor/Grade/Attendance

Alex Smiros2019-03-22T03:13:28+00:00August 25th, 2018|