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Spring Track C – Using the Web for Instruction: Blackboard and Other Tools
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Spring Track General Requirements
This year, FDI is again offering alternative tracks that will meet during the spring semester. By attending the sessions that comprise a spring track, faculty can opt out of participating during the summer months and still meet the participation requirements to receive a computer.
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Track Requirements
(click on title to jump to a description and time listing) |
Total of
Seven 2-hour Spring Short Courses
Required Session #1:
Required Session #2:
Required Session #3:
choose one (or more) of the following panel sessions:
Required Sessions #4 - #7:
choose four (or more) of the following courses:
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Spring Track C Description
This spring track will provide a broad overview of how the web can be utilized to enhance traditional course activities. This track is intended for faculty who are new to or have some experience utilizing Blackboard; however, extensive instructional use of the web is not a pre-requisite. Exemplary course environments will be examined, interactive teaching methods will be discussed, and best practices regarding the use of Blackboard and other tools will be provided. Faculty will gain in-depth, hands-on experience with Blackboard’s question pool manager, enhanced discussion board, and other capabilities. Blackboard’s gradebook, in conjunction with Microsoft Excel, will also be explored. In addition to Blackboard, participants will learn how to use Macromedia Dreamweaver and Adobe Acrobat to create high quality web documents, both of which can be uploaded into Blackboard. Further, participants will be able to select from a list of topics that include emerging technologies and instructional strategies. In addition to this curriculum, this spring iteration of Track C will afford faculty the opportunity to hear from their colleagues as well as students regarding the effectiveness of web-based assignments.
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Spring Track C Requirements Overview
Spring Track C requires participants to attend seven selected spring short courses to receive a computer. The table to the right summarizes these requirements. The table below lists the required short courses with descriptions and dates offered. If you plan to attend a spring alternative track, you must be able to attend required sessions from those listed below. As always, it is possible to sign up for more than the required seven courses.
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Spring Track Course Listing
Required Session #1 - Campus Instructional Resources / Computer Security
choose one (or more) of the following courses: |
1 |
- Monday, January 28
10am -
12pm
- Wednesday, January 30
3pm - 5pm
- Tuesday, February 5
10am - 12pm
- Thursday, February 14
10am - 12pm
- Wednesday, March 26
10am - 12pm
All sessions meet in 1100 Torgersen Hall (Torgersen Hall Lobby). All sessions are both suitable for both Windows and Mac platforms. |
This short course will provide participants with an overview of the services and agencies that are in place at Virginia Tech to support the use of technology with instructional and research activities. Virginia Tech's security group will also present and provide strategies, suggestions, and access to software that will assist participants as they take steps to ensure the safety of the information on their computers and the computer systems at Virginia Tech.
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Required Session #2 – Acrobat 8: Creating PDF Files for Instruction
choose one (or more) of the following courses: |
2 |
- Wednesday, January 30
10am - 12pm
3060 Torgersen Hall
Windows
- Tuesday, February 12
10am - 12pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows
- Thursday, March 21
3pm - 5pm
1120 Torgersen Hall
Macintosh
- Online Course through Element K
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Have you discovered the limitations of HTML web pages and are looking for solutions to those problems? PDF files are completely web-ready and are capable of presenting information in ways that are impossible with traditional HTML. Beyond initial PDF file creation, this short course will also focus on how the functionality of PDF files can be extended by using the Adobe Acrobat Professional (version 8). Topics will include manipulating PDF document property and file size, adding navigation of bookmarks, web links and internal links, securing PDF files with password, and inserting sound and movie. Hands-on activities will be an integral part of this session.
NOTE: Element K online tutorials may be substituted for instructor led sessions. You can take these tutorials at any time (starting now). It is not necessary for you to complete all of the modules of the tutorials, but it is expected that you will spend at least two hours in the tutorial. It is also requested that you complete the tutorial by Friday, April 11.
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Required Session #3 – Panel Discussions
choose one (or more) of the following discussions: |
3 |
"From the Other Side of the Podium": Student Panel Discussion
- Thursday, February 21
3pm - 5pm
1100 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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How do our students learn best? When are they the most motivated and engaged? How might we present our content to enhance student learning? This panel, comprised of both graduate and undergraduate students from a variety of disciplines, serves as an opportunity for faculty members to interact with VT students to discover details about their generational culture, their epistemological perspectives, and their educational values. The panel participants will provide anecdotal evidence regarding what educational methodologies have most (and least!) inspired, motivated, and engaged them to perform, interact, and learn.
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Teaching Using Technology: Faculty Panel Discussion
- Wednesday, March 19
3pm - 5pm
1100 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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This short course provides an opportunity for faculty at Virginia Tech to see how their colleagues have utilized technology to solve pedagogical problems. Our Faculty Panel will include colleagues from a diversity of disciplines who will explain and provide examples of their approaches to using technology in their courses. Their frank discussion concerning the process of developing class activities for face-to-face as well as blended and online class environments will include the following: problems encountered, time investment, pedagogical concerns, copyright issues, changes to the student-professor relationship, and support avenues available on our campus. Uses of technology in and outside of class (with both large and small enrollments) will be highlighted throughout. This panel will provide invaluable, real-life insight from those who have had success applying technology in their courses.
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Technology as Vehicle…
- Wednesday, February 13
10am - 12pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
- Thursday, February 14
3pm - 5pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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When faced with institutional and curricular goals, instructional priorities tend to lean closer toward content management and further away from significant epistemological concerns. This session offers an illustration of various online methodologies, which serve to facilitate content management while upholding the constructivist principles of student agency, a problematized curriculum, and cooperative problem-solving.
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Required Sessions #4 - #7 -- Other Courses
choose four (or more) of the following courses: |
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A Survey of Emerging Web 2.0 Technologies: Engaging Students with Technology to Build a Community of Practice
- Thursday, Feburary 14
10am - 12pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
- Wednesday, March 26
10am - 12pm
1120 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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With the emergence of dozens of compelling Web 2.0 applications in recent months, FDI has had several requests to offer a short course highlighting the most compelling of those that have clear applicability for teaching, research, and outreach. Briefly, Web 2.0 applications are distinctly different from earlier applications of the web in that they don’t simply link information together. They link people together; people who are able to share, trade, and collaborate via the internet. The survey provided by this short course will highlight tools that enable this linking of people. Participants will have time to explore and discuss each tool and will leave the session with a list of tools and resources to apply immediately and explore over time. Social networking, data aggregation, data “mashing”, blogs, wikis, RSS, and more will be discussed during this session.
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Acrobat 8 (Part 2): Enhancing PDF Files with Advanced Features
- Wednesday, February 6
10am - 12pm
3060 Torgersen Hall
Windows
- Tuesday, February 19
10am - 12pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows
- Thursday, February 28
3pm - 5pm
1120 Torgersen Hall
Macintosh
- Online Course through Element K
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Are you a user of the PDF file format and would like to know how to extend the capabilities of these files? In this short course, advanced features of Adobe Acrobat will be explored. Topics to be covered include how to add comments (note tool, text editing tool, stamp tool, highlighting tool), and how to use advanced security features (restrict printing, prevent changes to a document, digital IDs, etc.). In addition, creating forms in pdf with Adobe Acrobat Professional (version 7) will be covered as well. Hands-on activities will be an integral part of this session.
NOTE: Element K online tutorials may be substituted for instructor led sessions. You can take these tutorials at any time (starting now). It is not necessary for you to complete all of the modules of the tutorials, but it is expected that you will spend at least two hours in the tutorial. It is also requested that you complete the tutorial by Friday, April 11.
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Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0: Scanning and Adjusting Images for the Web (for Mac Users)
- Wednesday, January 28
10am - 12pm
1120 Torgersen Hall
Macintosh
- Online Course through Element K
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Are you looking for an image editor that produces high-quality results like Adobe Photoshop CS3 but lacks the complexity of that tool? This short course will provide participants with the skills that are needed to prepare images for the web using Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0. Participants in this session will learn how to make image adjustments (color, luminosity, contrast, etc.), create basic layers, apply filters, and adjust image resolution for optimal quality on the web. A full exploration of Elements' tool bar will also be provided during this session. No prior experience with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements is required. Hands-on activities will be an integral part of this session. Please note that Elements 4.0 is the latest version on the Macintosh while PC users are currently at version 5.0.
NOTE: Element K online tutorials may be substituted for instructor led sessions. You can take these tutorials at any time (starting now). It is not necessary for you to complete all of the modules of the tutorials, but it is expected that you will spend at least two hours in the tutorial. It is also requested that you complete the tutorial by Friday, April 11.
The Elements 4.0 tutorials are not available yet, but completing two hours in the Elements 3.0 tutorials will be acceptable to meet our requirements.
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Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0: Scanning and Adjusting Images for the Web (for PC Users)
- Tuesday, January 29
3pm - 5pm
3060 Torgersen Hall
Windows
- Wednesday, March 12
10am - 12pm
3060 Torgersen Hall
Windows
- Online Course through Element K
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Are you looking for an image editor that produces high-quality results like Adobe Photoshop CS3 but lacks the complexity of that tool? This short course will provide participants with the skills that are needed to prepare images for the web using Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0. Participants in this session will learn how to make image adjustments (color, luminosity, contrast, etc.), create basic layers, apply filters, and adjust image resolution for optimal quality on the web. A full exploration of Elements' tool bar will also be provided during this session. No prior experience with Photoshop or Photoshop Elements is required. Hands-on activities will be an integral part of this session. Please note that Elements 4.0 is the latest version on the Macintosh while PC users are currently at version 5.0.
NOTE: Element K online tutorials may be substituted for instructor led sessions. You can take these tutorials at any time (starting now). It is not necessary for you to complete all of the modules of the tutorials, but it is expected that you will spend at least two hours in the tutorial. It is also requested that you complete the tutorial by Friday, April 11. ^ |
Blackboard 7: Content Management
- Wednesday, February 6
3pm - 4:30pm
3060 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
- Friday, February 22
10am - 11:30am
1120 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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Have you ever wondered how to use Blackboard to share files with your students? Have you wanted to know what kinds of files you can add? Have you wondered how to release items to selective groups or individuals? Or, how to hide a test until a reading or assignment is complete? Have you wondered how you can keep track of student progress through the content of a course? The Blackboard 7: Content Management workshop will review these and other aspects of content management using the Blackboard 7 system. This workshop assumes that you have basic familiarity with Blackboard, but it does not assume any other level of technological expertise. In this course, we will cover all aspects of adding, maintaining, and using content effectively in your Blackboard course sites. This workshop will cover the new “Review Status” and “Adaptive Release” tools, new to Blackboard 7. Plenty of hands-on and time for questions will be allowed.
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Blackboard 7: Communication Tools
- Wednesday, February 13
3pm - 4:30pm
3060 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
- Friday, February 29
10am - 11:30am
1120 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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Are you interested in using Blackboard for more than just posting a syllabus and class assignments? Have you ever wanted to increase student communication in your online or technologically-blended class? Have you thought about including discussion boards or online chats but were not sure how to encourage effective student participation? The Blackboard 7: Communication Tools workshop will review both the “how-to” and the “why” for using these online communication tools. The discussion board interface is completely new in Blackboard 7, with new options and grading possibilities that will be covered in this workshop. While demonstrating how to set up, monitor, and evaluate the use of these tools in class, this workshop will also spend time discussing pedagogical strategies and activities that best suit teaching with these more advanced communication tools. While some working experience with Blackboard is recommended, novice Blackboard users should also be able to get a lot out of this workshop. Plenty of hands-on and time for questions will be allowed.
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Blackboard 7: Assignment and Test Creation
- Wednesday, February 20
3pm - 4:30pm
3060 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
- Friday, March 14
10am - 11:30am
1120 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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Are you interested in using Blackboard for more than just posting a syllabus and class assignments? Would you like to use Blackboard to gather manage student documents? Are you interested in incorporating Blackboard tests and surveys into your course activities? Are you concerned with the security and effectiveness of online testing? The Blackboard 7: Assignments and Testing workshop will cover all aspects of both the Assignment tool and the Testing and Survey interfaces in Blackboard 7. Blackboard 7 has several new test question types and new test-creation options, all of which will be covered in this session. In addition to hands-on training in the tools, discussion will focus on the pedagogical practices that will help you deliver secure and effective online assessments and surveys. Plenty of hands-on and time for questions will be allowed.
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Blackboard 7: Student Performance Assessment (The Gradebook and Performance Dashboard)
- Wednesday, February 27
3pm - 4:30pm
3060 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
- Friday, March 21
10am - 11:30am
1120 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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Many faculty at Virginia Tech know about Blackboard’s ability to deliver a syllabus and assignments to students, but many may not know about Blackboard’s ability to help you assess student performance effectively in your course. Would you like to learn to use the gradebook better? Would you like to be able to track student performance at a glance? Would you like to set up self-assessments or to create learning goals for students to measure their own progress? The Blackboard 7: Student Assessment workshop will cover all of these topics and more. Balancing between hands-on experience with Blackboard and discussion of pedagogical strategies, this workshop will explore effective ways to assess student performance in your course. The gradebook and the performance dashboard, a new tool in Blackboard 7, will be reviewed in detail, while the discussion will center around ways that the information contained in these two tools can help you understand how students are performing on your course activities. ^ |
Blackboard 7: Users’ Group
- Wedneday, March 12
3pm - 5pm
1120 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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Have you ever had a brilliant idea about using Blackboard that you wish you could share with your colleagues? Have you ever struggled with wanting to incorporate Blackboard but not being quite sure how to do so? Have you ever wanted to try some new Blackboard feature but weren’t sure it would be worth your time? Then come to the new Blackboard 7: Users’ Group sessions this fall semester. The goal of this session is to find new and better ways to use this educational tool. The topic of the sessions will be led by the attendees: what interests you? What help do you need? Come share your struggles and successes!
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Dreamweaver 8 (Part One): Web Page Creation Made Easy
- Monday, January 28
10am - 12pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows
- Wednesday, February 20
10am - 12pm
1120 Torgersen Hall
Macintosh
- Tuesday, February 26
10am - 12pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows
- Thursday, March 20
3pm - 5pm
3060 Torgersen Hall
Windows
- Online Course through Element K
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Are you looking for an easy to use method of creating web (HTML) pages? Macromedia Dreamweaver 8 is quite intuitive, creates standard HTML code, and offers numerous tools to create and incorporate the latest technologies (Flash, DHTML, etc.) into HTML web pages. This short course will provide participants with an overview of the process of web site creation, including server information and options on campus. Introductory topics, such as inserting and modifying text, images, tables, and hyperlinks, will be taught. More advanced topics will also be covered, including interactive images, rollover effects, and Flash text. Hands-on activities will be an integral part of this session. Participants are encouraged to bring a zip, floppy disk, or jumpdrive so that they can take their creations with them once this workshop is over.
NOTE: Element K online tutorials may be substituted for instructor led sessions. You can take these tutorials at any time (starting now). It is not necessary for you to complete all of the modules of the tutorials, but it is expected that you will spend at least two hours in the tutorial. It is also requested that you complete the tutorial by Friday, April 11.
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ePortfolio: Virginia Tech's ePortfolio System within Scholar
- Wednesday, February 6
10am - 12pm
1120 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
- Wednesday, February 27
10am - 12pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
- Thursday, April 3
3pm - 5pm
1120 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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Virginia Tech's ePortfolio system is a web-based, interactive tool designed to help students create, organize, reflect on, and share evidence of their educational accomplishments, both in courses and extracurricular activities. ePortfolio is also seen as a tool to assist programs and departments with self-studies, assessment, and accreditation. This short course will explore these and other applications of ePortfolio while focusing on the latest version of the software which has now been incorporated in the Scholar Learning Management System. The pros and cons of traditional applications of portfolios will be outlined as will a generalized model of the portfolio process. The changes enabled by ePortfolio will be highlighted and ePortfolio’s evolution at Virginia Tech will be discussed. The latest version of ePortfolio is quite flexible; however, faculty wishing to use it must make a number of decisions as they design how they would like the system to work. An overview of this designing process will be provided along with documentation and other resources that will aid faculty as they move toward an adoption of ePortfolio. An in depth, hands-on exploration of the latest version of this software will follow the conceptual discussion. Please Note: the earlier version of Virginia Tech’s ePortfolio software, located at http://eportfolio.vt.edu, will not be taught during this session; however, comparisons to it will be made to highlight the latest version’s newest capabilities.
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Leopard: Apple's Latest Version of the Macintosh Operating System
- Tuesday, February 5
10am - 12pm
1120 Torgersen Hall
Macintosh
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In October 2007, Apple released the Leopard operating system for the Macintosh (aka Mac OS 10.5). This short course will provide an overview of the most important new features and detail the ways in which the operating system makes it easier to backup data (Time Machine) and be more productive. Safari, the Finder, and iChat received significant updates and new features like Quick Look and Spaces make it easier than ever to multi-task with your Mac. To learn more about the latest features of Leopard, visit Apple’s Leopard Site. This session will take place in a Macintosh classroom and hands-on activities will be integral to this session.
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Scholar for Instructors
- Tuesday, February 19
3pm - 5pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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Are you looking for new flexible ways to manage your courses? Scholar, a new, web-based learning and collaboration system, is a newly-developed and growing collaboration and learning environment. Based on the Sakai open-source software project, Scholar is born from the philosophical ideal of using a tool created by higher education for higher education. Virginia Tech's implementation of Scholar signals a commitment to innovation within our institution as a member of a larger partnership with other institutions of higher education worldwide. This short course will provide an opportunity for faculty to experience this new system from both the user and designer perspectives via a hands-on overview and demonstration. Scholar offers an array of instructional options that can assist users in time management and organization, and many will be discussed during this short course. Also, integral to this session is a practical, comparative exploration of the features within Blackboard and Scholar, highlighting among other things, the ability to simultaneously upload multiple documents.
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Social Networking and the 21st Century Student
- Wednesday, February 6
10am - 12pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
- Thursday, Februrary 7
3pm - 5pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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You know who they are, walking across campus, stepping lively to the beat of their iPods; sitting beneath a tree or on a bench, fingers flying across their laptops or thumbs worrying the text pads on their cell phones; excusing themselves, red-faced, as their cell phones interrupt your class. They're wireless and connected, always engaged and entertained; they're our students, the Millennials. This workshop considers our undergraduate student culture - their attitudes toward learning, technology, social networking, and the future - and the challenges of meeting our curricular standards in light of this student culture. This discussion-rich session will enable us to share our experiences with and explore the implications of teaching the technologically savvy students of the 21st century.
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Web Design: Building an Effective Web Site
- Thursday, January 31
10am - 12pm
3080 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
- Wednesday, March 19
3:00 - 5:00 PM
1120 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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Are you looking for ways to make your web site more attractive, load more quickly, or garner more "hits"? This short course will provide a survey overview of all of the key issues that are involved with web design. Server issues, aesthetics, visual identity, site organization, navigation, frames, site testing, web accessibility, and web development for instruction are among the topics to be discussed. Numerous "real-life" examples from the web will be shown to further explicate key issues, and Macromedia Dreamweaver will be used to show how these concepts can be practically applied. Hands-on activities will be an integral part of this session.
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What’s New in Blackboard 7?
- Wednesday, January 30
3pm - 4:30pm
3060 Torgersen Hall
Windows/Macintosh
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Have you noticed any changes to your Blackboard courses? In May, Educational Technologies upgraded to Blackboard 7, which includes many new features and improvements of many others. The What's New in Blackboard 7? workshop looks to introduce faculty to the new and improved features in Blackboard 7, including: new items on the Blackboard portal; new course design options; 11 new test question types and new test settings; new ways of releasing and controlling content for your students; a brand new discussion board; and new ways of observing student performance.
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