ELearning/Teaching online/Using LMS tools

The particular options are from Blackboard Learn, but tool use is common to all learning management systems, and processes are similar.

Creating announcements

Announcements are a primary communication tool, and a strong indicator of continued instructor presence in the course. Note that announcements can be created in advance (pre-scheduled) and scheduled for later delivery.

Table 1. Announcment parameters
✓	Category	Required	Optional
	Announcement information	Subject Message
	Web announcement options		Duration (not date restricted, date restricted) Date restriction parameters (display after, display until) Send announcement immediately
	Course link		Location (browse)
	Submit	Submit Cancel

Sending messages and email

Depending on administrative configuration, Blackboard can send internal messages (within the course) and external Email to student email accounts. These are separate components, so senders must send the same message twice to reach both internal and external destinations. Both use the same process.

Table 2. Message and Email parameters
✓	Category	Required	Optional
	Send to		All users All groups All teaching assistants All instructors Selected users Selected groups Selected observers
	Email information	Subject Message
	Course link		Location (browse)
	Submit	Submit Cancel

Grading assignments

Assignment grading is highly dependent on how the assignment was setup. Setup options include using a rubric, allowing multiple attempts, assigning groups, and accepting late submissions. A column is added to the Grade Center automatically when they are created.

Table 3. Grading assignments
✓	Category	Required	Optional
	Accessing assignments	Select the Needs grading page Expand the Grade Center section of the Control Panel
	Grade a single assignment	Locate the cell for a student's assignment containing an exclamation mark. Access the cell's contextual menu and select Attempt.	Grading anonymously (student name hidden)
	Grade all submissions for an assignment	Access the assignment column's contextual menu. Select Grade Attempts.	Grading anonymously (student name hidden)
	Viewing the assignment	Online Downloading the file
	Adding feedback, comments (online only)		Directly within the document (using inline annotation tools) Comment area
	Grading (depending on how the assignment was setup)	Assign total points Assign points using a grading form (rubric) Allow additional attempt (when maximum number of submissions exceeded) Score attempts using (last graded attempt, highest grade, lowest grade, first graded attempt, average of graded attempts)	Grades can be edited within the grading tool or directly in the Grade Center

Grading discussions

Grading must be enabled in the Discussion forum setup. From Blackboard: "Student interactions with the discussion board create a permanent record of participation, yet you also need to have reasonable expectations about what can be accomplished in an online discussion. Due to its nature, more time may be needed for well-articulated points to emerge in the online environment. In addition to providing a practical number of course discussion opportunities, students need timely and constructive responses regarding the quality of their contributions. Evaluation not only lets them know how they performed, but shapes the improvement of future interactions."

Depending on the setup, you can assign discussion grades within a forum or thread. You can assign grades based on student participation, on the quality of their posts, or a combination of the two. You can create rubrics and refer to them while grading forums and threads, but you need to create and associate the rubrics during setup.

Table 3. Grading discussions
✓	Category	Required	Optional
	Grading forum participation	Access the discussion and click the Grade Discussion Forum button, which takes you to a list of participants. The number of posts from each student is shown; click the Grade button to grade individual students All posts from the student are displayed; assign a grade by clicking the Edit Grade button. Click Save Grade. Click OK and you are returned to the student list. Repeat the process as necessary	Grades can be assigned by entering a numerical grade, or by using the pre-established rubric. Feedback can be entered for each student. Grades can be edited using the Edit Grade button, or directly in the Grade Center
	Grading thread participation	Access the discussion forum and click the Grade Thread option. Students posts for the discussion are displayed. Those who have submitted the required number of posts are indicated with an exclamation point. A side panel displays thread statistics for the grader's use. Type a number value in the Current Grade Value box, or view the rubric to assign points. Click Save Grade, and you are returned to the participant list. Repeat the process as necessary.	All messages or only those by selected students can be displayed. Viewing options include Filters to screen for meeting the identified criteria, sort by, and order by. Entering feedback and grader notes are optional. Grades can be edited using the Edit Grade button, or directly in the Grade Center Students may be emailed during the grading process

Grading blogs, journals, and wikis

As we would hope, the basic grading process for blogs, journals, and wikis are similar to grading discussions. Rather than repeat them here, we include links for each grading process.

• Grading blogs
• Grading journals
• Grading wiki contributions

See also Building specific components

Conclusion

Although this information can alert you to the processes involved in using an LMS, the only way to really learn them is through practice. Keep in mind that LMS tools are rules driven - meaning we humans are expected to conform to their requirements - at least until you discover shortcuts, tricks, and tips through practice and from your community of users.

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