BRIAN'S CORNER

Eight Pieces of Information that every DL Course Should Have

Research undertaken by the State University of New York identified eight pieces of information that were crucial to the success of an online course. The table below shows each piece of information and outlines one way that Blackboard tools could be used to provide students with this critical information.
 

1	Welcome message	Use the Announcements tool to create a welcome announcement that pops up when students enter the course for the first time.
2	Contact information	Use the Syllabus tool to create a custom item that includes your contact information.
3	Course schedule	Use the Calendar tool to create entries for all course-related activities. You can create entries that link to assessments, assignments, chat rooms, discussion topics, files, media library collections, and web links.
4	Description of activities	Use the lesson item in the Syllabus tool to describe your course schedule. Each lesson item includes fields for date, objectives, topics, assignments, and readings. Alternatively, you could create a custom item.
5	How to begin the course	Use the Calendar tool to create an entry that links to a file containing Getting Started information.
6	Expectations of participation	Use the Course Requirements item in the Syllabus tool, or alternatively create a custom item.
7	Course overview and objectives	Use the Course Requirements item in the Syllabus tool. (or include this in your uploaded Syllabus)
8	How assignments are evaluated	Use the Course Requirements item in the Syllabus tool. (or include this in your uploaded Syllabus)