Teaching Online: How To Plan and Organize Your Course

Content Areas of a Blackboard Site

Let's look at the Blackboard areas where most content is inserted or "uploaded." These are the buttons your students will click on to access the majority of the course content.

Go to the Control Panel (located at the bottom of the left navigation panel), and then to Manage Course Menu, and click Modify for the area in which you wish to add content. You'll see a drop-down menu containing pre-set choices for button names, such as Syllabus and Assignments. You'll also see a textbox in which you can type whatever name you wish. Thus you can name the buttons to reflect your course's organizational sequence, using either major topical areas (for example, Pre-Civil War America), units of material (Module 1, etc.), or timeframes (Week 1, etc.). Devising a logical, consistent naming scheme is critical for creating a well-organized, user-friendly site.

Planning the Course

Blackboard Buttons as Content Organizers

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