What is a course shell? Creating Course Shells allow instructors to design their courses earlier than the date when the system auto creates the official courses in Blackboard.  Keep in mind that course shells are not the official courses so once the instructor completed designing the course, it is recommended to copy the entire course content  (How to copy course content: https://onestop.vcsu.edu/support/solutions/articles/10000031485) to the official course once available.  The system automatically creates the official courses 90 days before the official start of the semester.    How to request a course shell?  Submit a ticket to Service Desk (https://onestop.vcsu.edu/support/tickets/new) or send an email to tsticket@vcsu.edu.  What to include in the request?  Name of the course and/or course ID:     What to expect?  Once the course shell has been created, you will be notified via email.  To view the course shell, go to Courses, then choose the “VCSU1 Development” from the list. Here’s a sample screenshot to help you navigate:   Additional Blackboard Learn Help Resources: Blackboard Learn Help for Instructors – Original Course View - FAQs Blackboard Learn Help for Instructors – Ultra Course View - FAQs Blackboard Learn Help YouTube Channel for Instructors Having technical issues? Don't hesitate to contact VCSU Service Desk by creating a ticket here: https://onestop.vcsu.edu/support/tickets/new Or send us an email at tsticket@vcsu.edu. 

Did you know that you can read feedback and comments that your instructor provides on your assignments/tests? It is just as easy as viewing your grades! To View Feedback Log into Blackboard at bb.vcsu.edu with your VCSU email and password. Click on Courses in the left menu, then click the Course Name. Select My Grades in the left menu bar. If My Grades is not showing, click Tools first then look for My Grades.  OR 3.1 Another method: from the navigation pane, select Grades, look for your course and click the course name. Your grades will appear on the page. Click on the comment bubble next to the assignment grade. Your comments will appear in a box on the screen. To close the comment click the X at the top right of the box. Note: Sometimes certain assignments, such as SafeAssign papers, will have comments but will not have a comment bubble next to the grade. To View Comments Select the assignment title. The comments will appear in the document as blue comments.  Hover over the comments to view them. Additional Blackboard Learn Help Resources:  Blackboard Learn Help for Students – Original Course View - FAQs Blackboard Learn Help YouTube Channel for Students   Have additional questions or technical issues?  Don't hesitate to contact VCSU Service Desk by sending a chat or creating a ticket here: https://onestop.vcsu.edu/support/tickets/new Or send us an email at tsticket@vcsu.edu. 

Blackboard Ultra Course View - Chalk Line  Content Management In Blackboard, there are two Content Collection locations: the Tools menu and the course site. In Tools, Content Collection, My Content you can create folders representing your course sites or perhaps collections of files to be used throughout your courses. Storing files this way makes it convenient to organize and find files, and to reuse files from one course to the next. When uploading files directly to the course site, they become part of the Content Collection for that course only and cannot be organized. While it is possible to search for your course within Tools, Content Collection, you’ll have to search through more than 4,000 course sites to find the Content Collection for that specific course. Best Practices Organizing Files Files that generally do not change from one semester to the next such as collections of PowerPoint files and case studies, are ideal for storing Under Tools, Content Collection. To start, create folders representing course sites or file collections. Example: “BADM 202 Fall 2023,” or “Sample Article Collection for Econ.” In this content collection, files can be organized by folders and subfolders. If changes to documents are needed, they can be overwritten. Documents, like syllabi, that do change from one semester to the next, can be uploaded directly to the course site. Adding Files from Tools, Content Collection to the Course Site From the main course page, select the “+” symbol and choose Content Collection. Select Browse Content Collection Hover over Browse and select My Content Select the folder for the corresponding course and choose files you wish to add to the course site. Source: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Instructor/Ultra/Course_Content/Content_Collection Additional Blackboard Learn Help Resources: Blackboard Learn Help for Instructors – Original Course View - FAQs Blackboard Learn Help for Instructors – Ultra Course View - FAQs Blackboard Learn Help YouTube Channel for Instructors   Have additional questions or technical issues? Don't hesitate to contact VCSU Service Desk by sending a chat or creating a ticket here: https://onestop.vcsu.edu/support/tickets/new Or send us an email at tsticket@vcsu.edu. 

Blackboard Ultra Course View - Chalk Line Conversations – NEW! In the Ultra Course View, Blackboard supports Conversations, whereby students can discuss the content with you and their classmates. They can ask for clarification, share information, or answer questions others have. Conversations can be enabled in the course, and then for individual content items. Conversations don’t appear on the discussion page. Enable Conversations in the Course Select the item's Settings icon to open the panel with the item's details and information. Select Allow class conversations. Access Conversations When someone contributes to a conversation, an icon appears next to the item's title on the Course Content page. Open the item's menu and select Conversation to open the conversation in a new layer. Or, select the Open class conversation icon in the upper-right corner of an item's page or submissions page. A purple circle appears with the icon to indicate new activity. Source: https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Instructor/Ultra/Interact/Ultra_Conversations Additional Blackboard Learn Help Resources: Blackboard Learn Help for Instructors – Original Course View - FAQs Blackboard Learn Help for Instructors – Ultra Course View - FAQs Blackboard Learn Help YouTube Channel for Instructors   Have additional questions or experiencing technical issues?  Don't hesitate to contact VCSU Service Desk by sending a chat or submit a OneStop ticket  Or send us an email at tsticket@vcsu.edu. 

Are you having issues with GoReact? We recommend to contact GoReact technical support to resolve them right away!  Check the following GoReact help resources: GoReact Support Hours - https://help.goreact.com/hc/en-us/articles/360004389431 For Students, submit a support ticket here: https://help.goreact.com/hc/en-us/requests/new For Instructors, submit a support ticket here: https://help.goreact.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?instructor=true OR call at Voice: 801-717-3499; VP: 801-762-8273 

How to import rubrics from Original Course View to Ultra Course View in Blackboard?  Make sure you have the exported ZIP file of the rubrics you with to import.  Follow the steps below on how to export rubrics from the Original Course:   Open your Original course.  Go to Control Panel.  Course Tools.  Rubrics.  Select the check box next to the rubric's title and then select Export. Save/Download to your computer.  Click the Download button. Source: Import and Export Rubrics (for Original Course View) Now that you have the rubrics file, it's time to add the exported rubrics to your Ultra Course. It's pretty easy! Follow the steps below on how to import rubrics to the Ultra Course:  Open your Ultra course.  In the Course Content, click the ellipsis button.  Click Import Content. A new side tab will open. Choose the first option: Import Course Content.  It will open your File Manager/Local Folder. Select the ZIP file that was exported/downloaded earlier.  After selecting the file, you will see the status/level percentage of the upload.  Once completed, you will be back to the Content screen and will see a message: "Importing course content".  (This message will not go away so proceed to the next steps. If you wish to wait, Blackboard will send you an email once the imported file is ready for access.) To verify:  Go to Gradebook. Click the gear/settings icon. A new side tab will show up. Scroll down until you find the rubrics area. You should see all the rubrics you have downloaded/exported from the Original course.  Troubleshooting:  Make sure to wait for the upload to finish.  Once done, refresh your Blackboard page and go back to Gradebook to see the rubrics.  If there's an error message, take a screenshot. Close your browser, and try to sign back in.  If same issue occur, please contact VCSU Service Desk: Submit a OneStop ticket, or send an email at tsticket@vcsu.edu  

Building a curriculum? No need to start from scratch. Creating content for your courses takes time and thoughtful planning. If you teach multiple courses that use similar content, you may want to copy content items and folders between courses to help save time. In the Ultra Course View, you can copy content from other courses you teach so you don't have to start with a blank slate. You can quickly build your list of content to copy from another course. You can choose to copy multiple pieces of content across your courses, including all content in your courses. Get started from the Course Content page. Note: You can check whether the features or content types you teach are supported by Full Course Conversion, or whether they can be copied when performing a Granular Content copy from other courses you teach. Read more: Blackboard Ultra Conversion: Supported Content Types (link will open in a new tab). Select content to copy You can copy all the content or select individual items from the other courses you teach. On the Course Content page, select the plus sign to open the menu and select Copy Content. Or, open the menu on the right side above the content list. Select Copy Content. The Copy Content panel opens. Attendance data isn't included when you copy a course into a new or existing course.     > More on attendance and copying content (link opens a new tab) In the Copy Content panel, all your courses appear in the Your Courses and Organizations list. If you teach many courses, you can search to find courses by name or course ID. Build your list of content to copy: Select a course's check box to copy all of its content into the current course. Select a course's name to explore its content and select the check boxes next to the folders and items you want to copy. Do both! You can copy all content from one course and a few items from another. Use the Copy Content option to copy content from more than one course at a time. In the Selected Items section at the bottom of the panel, select View All to review your selections and clear the check boxes next to any items you don't want to copy. To return to the list of courses and organizations, select the X next to Selected Items in the black bar at the top of the panel. Check boxes appear differently when you select entire courses or one or more items in a course. A check mark shows you've selected the entire course for copy. A dash shows you've selected some pieces of content in a course. When you view the items in a course, select the book icon to open a menu to navigate back to your courses and organizations list. Ready to copy? After you finalize your selections, select Copy selected content and the copy action begins. Status indicators on the Course Content page show the progress. A success message appears when the action completes. The copied content is added to the end of the content list. Issues and exceptions copying content If the system encounters problems with a content copy, an error report appears at the top of the Course Content page. Select View Details to learn more about why the content failed to copy. On the Copy Details panel, you can see if the problems are related to your server connectivity or the content itself. Select an entry to see why the item wasn't successfully copied. Visibility settings in content copy When you copy an entire course's content, the visibility settings are preserved when the content is added to the new course. For example, hidden content in the copied course is hidden in the course you copied it to. Content is set to Hidden from students if you copy individual items into your course. IMPORTANT: Review all copied items to be sure students can see the content you want to show. <span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span> Source: Copy Content from Other Courses (link opens a new tab)

Full Course Conversion is a process that enables the complete conversion of all course items, whereas Granular Course Copy allows users to selectively copy chosen items, rather than copying all items at once.  Supported content types You can check whether the features or content types you teach are supported by Full Course Conversion, or whether they can be copied when performing a Granular Content copy from other courses you teach.   FEATURE OR CONTENT TYPE Full Course Conversion Copies when doing a Granular Content copy Learning Module YES YES Content Package (SCORM) YES YES Content Folder YES YES Item YES YES File YES YES Audio YES YES Image YES YES Video YES YES Web Link YES YES Tests YES YES Assignments YES YES Discussions YES YES Groups YES NO Users YES NO Announcements YES YES Attendance YES NO Goals YES YES Journals YES YES Rubrics YES YES Safe Assign YES YES Pools YES NO Gradebook YES YES (Links will open in a new tab) Source: Copy Content from Other Courses How to copy content from Original to Ultra?  Questions or having issues? Submit a support ticket here.

How to update your Overall Grade calculation in Blackboard Ultra? Edit the 'Overall Grade': In Grid View: Right-click on the 'Overall Grade' column header and select 'Edit'. In List View: Hover your mouse over the right side of the 'Overall Grade' row, click the ellipsis (three dots) button, and then select 'Edit'. Grading Method:  2.1. Select your preferred grading method from the options: points, weighted, or advanced (custom calculation). 2.2. After choosing the Calculation Type, proceed to update the formula in the center section. Important Note: Please expand and review each item to verify that all the gradable items you intend to include or exclude are accurately calculated. Overall Grade Display:  Adjust how the overall grade is displayed by selecting from the drop-down box. It's currently set to 'CC Final Grade (SUS)', but you can change it to percentage, points, or letter grade by scrolling down. After making changes, click the 'Save' button at the bottom right to apply. Additional Blackboard Learn Help Resources: Blackboard Ultra Gradebook Blackboard Learn Ultra Gradebook YouTube Video Overview:  <span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span><span class="fr-mk" style="display: none;"> </span>   Do you have questions or experiencing technical issues?  Contact VCSU Technology Services by submitting a OneStop ticket  Or send us an email at tsticket@vcsu.edu. 

Blackboard Collaborate does not currently have built-in live captioning. However, you can enable Google Chrome’s captioning tool to see captions for both live and recorded Collaborate sessions. Important Note: Google has stated that captions are processed locally on the device and are not retained by the company. How to Enable Live Captions in Google Chrome (If you don’t have Chrome, you can download it here: https://www.google.com/intl/en_us/chrome/) On your computer, open Google Chrome browser: At the top right, select the ellipsis button > Settings > Accessibility. Turn Live Caption on or off. If you want to get Live Captions in a language other than English: Next to 'Manage languages', select Add languages. This will automatically download language packs. Next to 'Preferred caption language', select the Down arrow Down arrow and then your preferred language. (Optional) Click Caption preferences to customize how the captions appear, including color and transparency. Restart Chrome for the changes to take effect. Open Blackboard Collaborate in Chrome and join your session. Captions should now appear automatically. Additional Notes: You can move the caption box by clicking and dragging it to a different position on your screen. Captions may misinterpret similar-sounding words but will attempt to correct themselves. Always verify accuracy if using captions for assignments. The captioning tool does not differentiate between speakers, so keeping the Attendees Panel open in Collaborate can help identify who is speaking. Resources: Google Chrome Installer Google Article: Manage captions and translations in Chrome Google Article: Live Caption: Caption media & calls on your device YouTube: Enable automated captions for Blackboard Collaborate using Google Chrome Do you have technical questions or concerns? You can now submit a ticket to VCSU Technology Services Help Desk through any of the following options: ✓ MyVCSU app or web portal at https://my.vcsu.edu/ ✓ Direct link to submit a new ticket: https://onestop.vcsu.edu/support/tickets/new ✓ Email tsticket@vcsu.edu to automatically create a ticket. ✓ You can also give us a call at 1-701-845-7340. VCSU Technology Services Office Hours: 7:45 am – 4:30 pm CST Monday through Friday (Fall and Spring semesters, closed on holidays) 7:30 am – 4:00 pm CST Monday through Friday (Summer semester) After Hours: Please submit a One Stop ticket or contact the NDUS Help Desk 24/7 support for assistance.