With the release of Blackboard Learn 9.1 Service Pack 10, the “Enterprise Surveys and Course Evaluations” tool adds a robust and flexible set of new capabilities tightly integrated within Blackboard for conducting surveys and course evaluations on a wide scale. This session at BbWorld13 shared Northern Illinois University’s recent experiences exploring the new features and developing a roadmap for institution-wide implementation. Slides are available here.
Blackboard 2013 Catalyst Award Poster: Cross-Platform Strategy for Staff Development
My colleagues and I from Northern Illinois University Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center are honored to have been selected to receive two Blackboard Catalyst Awards this year, one for staff development and the other for teaching and learning. Both awards are in recognition of NIU’s first online teaching effectiveness institute that our center offered in 2013, the first of what we hope will be many such online professional development opportunities offered for NIU faculty and teaching staff in the future.
The poster below was shared during the welcome reception poster session at BbWorld 2013. Click here to enlarge.
The online course developed for this initiative, initially only available for NIU faculty and teaching staff, is now available on CourseSites here for anyone to self-enroll and view. The course is also shared as an open educational resource and may be downloaded as a Blackboard Package or Common Cartridge 1.1 Package.
Additional related resources shared regarding mobile teaching using Blackboard include:
- 2013 Teaching Effectiveness Institute Tour on iPad [YouTube]
- Best Practices for Mobile-Friendly Blackboard Courses [PDF]
- 2013 Teaching Effectiveness Institute Tour on iPhone [YouTube]
- Designing a Mobile-Friendly Blackboard Course [YouTube]
- Offering Mobile-Friendly Online Lectures Using Blackboard Collaborate [YouTube]
My BbWorld13 Presentation Schedule
I’m fortunate to be able to attend BbWorld for the second straight year. In additional to presenting, I’ll be leading a pre-conference workshop. I’m also honored to be able to accept a Blackboard Catalyst Award on behalf the NIU Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center.
Here’s a list of the presentations I’ll either be giving or be a part of at BbWorld…
Scheduled Presentations
Offering Online Professional Development for Faculty Using a Cross-Platform Strategy
For the very first time, Northern Illinois University offered a fully-online teaching effectiveness institute utilizing a combination of Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Collaborate, and Blackboard Mobile platforms. This cross-platform approach has proven to be very successful and provides a model for faculty to incorporate an integrated approach for implementing all three platforms in their teaching. In this session we will share NIU’s cross-platform strategy, practices, and lessons learned that can be applied to any online professional development initiative. Bring your own questions and experiences to join in the discussion!
Date/Time/Location: Tue, 7/9/13, 2:00PM-2:55PM, Venetian I
Presenter(s): Jason Rhode, Stephanie Richter
Enterprise Surveys and Course Evaluations: Features and Considerations for Institutional Adoption
With the release of Blackboard Learn 9.1 Service Pack 10, the new “Enterprise Surveys and Course Evaluations” tool adds a robust and flexible set of new capabilities tightly integrated within Blackboard for conducting surveys and course evaluations on a wide scale. This session will share Northern Illinois University’s recent experiences exploring the new features and developing a roadmap for institution-wide implementation.
Date/Time/Location: Wed, 7/10/13, 2:00PM-2:55PM, Venetian I
Presenter: Jason Rhode
Lessons from Tacos and Pizza: The Importance of 24/7 Access for Students
Forget the famous saying about Las Vegas; what happens inside your classroom should NOT stay inside your classroom. For students, the learning experience beyond lecture hour is just as important as what happens during class. Thanks to modern technology, it is now easier than ever to make academic resources available 24/7, and use them to enhance teaching practices and the learning experience.
Date/Time/Location: Wed, 7/10/13, 3:10PM-4:05PM, Titian 2303
Presenter(s): Jason Rhode, Stephanie Richter
It will be a busy week, but one in which I am looking forward to! Let the presentation preparation begin.
If you’ll be at BbWorld, look me up! I’ll be tweeting @jrhode and will share my presentation slides and other resources here on my blog. I will try to also blog my experiences at BbWorld.
Looking for Presentations Slides/Handouts?
I will be posting the slides and accompanying resources from my BbWorld presenters here on my blog along with any other BbWorld-related reflections. Enjoy!
Honored to Accept 2012 Blackboard Catalyst Award on Behalf of My NIU Colleagues at BbWorld 2012
One of the many highlights for me from BbWorld 2012 was to accept on behalf of all the colleagues I work with at NIU, the 2012 Blackboard Catalyst Award for Community Collaboration. This award recognizes leaders within the Blackboard user community who encourage collaboration, and share advice, insight, content, and effective practices with fellow educators outside their own institutions.
Accepting the 2012 Blackboard Catalyst Award from Ray Henderson, President and Chief Technology Office, Blackboard
Our center was recognized for its long history of collaborating with others in the support of teaching with technology, sharing advice, insight, and best practices. This was the second year in a row our Center was recognized with a Blackboard Catalyst Award, with last year’s award being for excellence in professional development.
I am indeed blessed to work with an amazing team of colleagues at NIU and look forward to the future as we together we continue to make every effort at being “catalysts” in support of the the teaching mission of NIU.
