What is a Module?

 

A ‘module’ is a functional unit that organizes content. It is similar to a section in a textbook. Whether you are teaching geology, mathematics, American short stories, epistemology, accounting or another other topic, it is best to "chunk" the content into digestible pieces (or modules) to give it:

• Structure.
• Consistency
• Form.

This is particularly true for online delivery to students.  Often you can get inspiration from viewing a textbook or the Course Description or Proposal for getting clues on how to best sequence the course content. Ideally, a course should contain 4-7 modules to conform to principles of cognitive load theory. Likewise, a module should cover more than a week of material to ensure that discussion sections have plenty (ideally 2 or more weeks) of time for students to develop a post and then foster meaningful discussions.

Once you determine the 4-7 modules for your course, the module will be most effective if it fits a uniform practice. Each module will cover a particular topic or aspect of study within the overall scope of the course and is titled accordingly. Ideally, threaded activities tie the modules together and give cohesion to the course. In general, the structure of a module contains:

• An overview or “At a Glance” section that offers insight to learning objectives and offers a module roadmap for the student.
• Content Guides: offer a section where key content can be accessed.  It should do more than refer to textbook readings.  Instead, think of them as offering a space for:

• Short lectures on content necessary for meeting the modules objectives written by the faculty developer or instructor (around one page).
• Links to key readings or source material
• OER content that will prepare students for the learning activities
• Learning activities that make the student meet the modules learning objectives. These activities should be engaging and are not necessarily graded.  Some activities may include: virtual fieldtrips, simulations, group learning activity or role-play exercises.
• Assessments, while not necessary for each module, should be constructed to demonstrate that the student can complete the modules learning outcomes. These could be non-graded, such as self-tests, or graded exercises that could include: written assignments, case studies, pro/con debate, group projects, discussion forum with an open-ended question or set of questions.
• Online Resources that can be from the library, or elsewhere, that augment the student learning.  This section should not be overwhelming, but designed to assist the student without distracting them. This section may be optional, and can be deleted if there the resources do not assist students.

If you follow these rules and break down the course into a set of 4-7 functional units, i.e., modules, that have informative titles, the course will be reinforcing an understanding of the course content though the students’ passive perception and time spent in the course.  Further, by adopting a uniform and proven module format, the students will spend less cognitive time on navigating the course and more time on learning.  This will contribute to their success.

Recorded Webinars - Instructional Design

With lockdowns increasing and all courses going back to virtual learning during a second wave of this pandemic, there is no better time to work on improving your online content delivery and knowledge of instructional design.  Unfortunately, most instructors are at their wits end to find time.  Luckily there are plenty of recorded sessions that are available on various topics (from Accessibility to Working with Groups Online). Having access of the recorded webinars (25-40 minutes) allows educators to view them on their own time.  

The following presentation below has links to various webinars to help assist educators, from beginners to experienced online teachers:

Advice:  Selecting Fullscreen allows for better viewing (see far right corner).  You can also download this presentation in PDF format.  Be sure to select the links to launch the recorded webinar.

Missing Menus in Blackboard

You sign into Blackboard and you discover that the menu is missing.  You can only see the homepage.  All your content seems to be missing.  

Don't panic. 

The menu is only hidden.  In Blackboard, if you mouse-over the divider line separating the content and the menu, you will see an arrow.  This hides the menu to offer more space to show the content. You can unhide the menu, by mousing-over the side of the window and selecting the expand arrow.  In two shakes of a lamb’s tail, the menu re-appears. 

The hidden menu occasionally occurs in Windows 10, but can occur in other operating systems, and is sometimes browser dependent.  

Tip:  If an embedded video does not play, sometimes it requires more screen real estate for the play function to trigger.  Try hiding the menu, and then try the playing the embedded video.

Helping Students Sign on to Blackboard

Often students, as well as faculty, are new to the online tools of a college and logging onto the learning management system (LMS) can be intimidating.  The latter a student enters the class often contributes to the student not having enough time to complete course assignments or even knowing about the assignments.  Needless to say, it is critical for student success to get the students familiar with the online learning environment quickly so that they can focus on learning.  Sharing the video below as well as the PDF (downloadable below too) either from an email attachment or course hand out during the first day of class procatively addresses this issue and should increase your student success rate.

How do we get started?

You want to use the My SCCC Portal. You can get there, and then to Blackboard, by performing the following:

1. Go to the SCCC website (http://sunysccc.edu)
2. Select (click on) the MySCCC button in the top right corner. (it is the orange one)
3. Sign in using your email username and password to the SCCC Portal. If you do not know these, please contact the SCCC Help Desk at: (518) 381-1487
4. Look to the left column and notice the “Launchpad”
5. Scroll down and select (click on) the “BlackBoard” link

That is it. You are now in Blackboard. You should take a look at the institution page and notice your courses are on the top right corner as well as on the “courses” tab.

Now that you are in Blackboard, you can get started on completing your course work and getting your degree.

Below is a PDF you can download or print out to distribute to your students.

Course Information Documents

Whether you are teaching a fully online course or a traditional course, students will benefit from you including a set of course information documents in the Learning Management System for them to access.  The documents take advantage of the everywhere/anytime nature of the web as well as afford student with quick answers to the college and course questions.
 
There are several benefits to using a consistent set of Course Information Documents, including:

• Uniform interface across classes helps students focus on the content that is important and not navigating the content.
• A uniform set of course information documents can help dismiss anxiety created from having several different styles and in some cases, no common style at all.
• These offer Another location to access information to assist with the students’ success
• They also supply a space the students can access the syllabus whenever they want, regardless of the time of day.

The following File (Course Information Documents) offers several boilerplate pages for you to use. They include:

1. The Instructor's Contact Information – let the students know how to contact you and a little bit about you.  You personalize this page, and add an image of you or something appropriate for the course (By the way, did you know that students are significantly more likely to give instructors a positive review if they have an introduction page with a short video introduction.)
2. Course Description and Policies – this is where you can remind students of the prerequisites and course policies (such as a late policy)
3. We have two excellent e-books that you will not have to edit at all:

1.  College Policies
2. Academic and Technical Support, offer:
• Updated information  about the college,
• Help desk numbers,
• Crisis hotlines,
• Student Code of Conduct, including Academic Integrity
• Computer Use and Netiquette rules
• Accessibility help and more
• The can be downloaded as a PDF.

4. Course Goals and Grading – let the students see it in a plain in a simple spot. You will want to edit this.  Here is a tip – if you create a chart in WORD, and copy the entire chart, it pastes with perfect formatting into Blackboard!
5. Syllabus & Schedule – simply remove the present files and upload new ones, It is best to upload these as PDFs as they are viewable inline while still offering a download option.

An added benefit to the boilerplate files is that that this upload will include a special playlist feature that will offer students access to a video playlist to assist them in Blackboard.

So please take a few minutes and import the course information documents into your class.  You can then edit them with the information that will customize the documents to reflect your course. Having a centralized set of information documents with a common interface for students and where they can access a printable syllabus helps everyone succeed.

Differentiating Sections

Many instructors teach two or more separate sessions of a course.  If you log in and see identical courses on your Institution page without a way to telling which section they will be in - don't panic.

To better identify the courses you select the course module settings and select “group by term” as well as select the section numbers.  This should at least display the course numbers to differentiate the courses on your institution page. We coverd this in Finding Your Courses.

However once you are in the course, it is difficult to identify the section when you look at the menu. Just the course name appears on the top of the menu. 

Here are some solutions to help you identify the section you are in when you enter the course:

Themes

First, you can choose a different theme for each section.  Students will not see the difference since they are in only one section.  Nevertheless you can associate the different color with the each section. For example one section could be the default theme and the other could be a more colorful theme.  Remember, try to choose that them that best meets ADA standards.

This solution allows you to recognize the section by color. However, it does not allow students to see the actual section nor does it tell you the exact secction you are in. It will give you a quick way to associate the sections and avoid errors.

Subheading

A second option is to use subheadings, You can do this if you go to the menu and select the “+” sign, or edit feature. You can create a subheading and label it the section name, number or possibly indicate the days that you meet.  Choose whatever helps you and is informative to students.

Now move the sub-heading to the top of the menu.

This allows you display section a specific marker under the course name.

Using both you can have a method to help you differentiate your sections.

Editing the "Home Page" Title

A third quick way to identify your course is to rename the homepage moniker.  You can do this one of two ways.

1. The title of the Home Page. Go to the home page and selec the chevron next to the title "Home" near the banner.  If you select edit, you will be able to change the name to something more specific, such as the section number. This option will not show if other menu options are selected. 
2.  The "Home Page" on the Menu. Choose to rename the "Home Page" link on the menu by selecting the chevron to the right of the button and selecting "rename". Select a name to identify the section.  Like the subheading feature, this will remain whatever menu option you select. 

I have to give credit to Paul for inspiring these options.

Finding Your Courses

You are assigned your courses and you want to start early – good idea.  Now let’s look at your courses in Blackboard.

As you enter into blackboard, you will see the institution page with a login module.  We have single sign in, so the same username and password for your email and portal will work here. Once you have signed in, you will see your courses on the right module conspicuously named “My Courses”.

At first you may panic, as there may not seem any order or you will not see a listing of your current semester courses.   Remember, “Do Not Panic.”  This does not require Sherlock Holmes or any great deal of sleuthing.

The default on Blackboard is set to not display this information.  If you follow these simply steps, you can arrange your course listing to be easier search and you can tailor it to meet your needs.   While we will be working with this module on the institution page, you will be able to do this on the “Courses” page as well.

First, move the mouse over to the module called My Courses and you will see a gear or sprocket on the top right of the box.  This tool allow you to edit or personalize the settings of the module.  Click on it with the mouse.

Now simply select the “Group by Term” option and the courses will be presented to you by term.

If you scroll down you will see other options.  Feel free to select whichever selections you wish to see and sort by.

Remember to select the submit button.

Now you can view your courses by term, as well, as include many other features, such as Course ID.

If you have any questions, you can contact your Teaching and Learning Specialist to help.  Call me at 518-381-1408

Navigation and Online Courses

Navigation is a vital part of the online learning experience and a poor navigation structure can impede students’ success as they get lost in the chaos of several pages and nested folders.  This gets exacerbated when there is no obvious route back or when the student does not immediately know what to look for or what to expect.   Some simple steps to improving a course’s navigation include:

1. Consistent naming systems that allow students to have a grasp of where they are. For example, consider naming all items in the first module with the prefix “M01”. This reminds the students where they are relative to the course.  Naturally, if the pages in the module get scrambled in a conversion, it makes putting them back together that much easier.
2. Having a detailed labelling system.  Instead of nesting an exam inside a folder with the generic name of "Exam”, consider adopting a consistent naming system. Descriptively title the test within Module 3 as “M03 Psychobotony Exam” and let the students know exactly what it is.
3. Allow for quick access of content. Try making the paths to any given page no more than 3 clicks away from the home page. Content isn’t a treasure hunt, it is there to be learned.
4. Ensure consistency of design.   Courses that have a consistent look allow students to focus on learning and not navigating.
5. Use headings and concise design elements. Subjects were 42% more likely to remember content when web pages had: concise text, headings, bullets, lists, text boxes, or relevant graphics (Nielsen and Morkes, 1997)
6. Module-at-a-Glance:  Having a roadmap for the course and at the beginning of any module (folder of content) helps students discern what they need to do to learn more effectively.   
7. Keep only material that is necessary to fulfil courses goals and objectives. Having optional readings is great, but having too much content available makes it difficult for the student to discern the relevant content. Sometimes, like an old closet, it is good to clean out your course and get rid of things you do not use.

Adopting these strategies now may help you develop a course with instructional design best practices that will carry over when the course is in Blackboard.  In fact, using these principles will help develop a strong course in any LMS.

Nielsen, J and J Morkes (1997), "Concise, SCANNABLE, and Objective: How to Write for the Web", Nielson Norman Group, Available: https://www.nngroup.com/articles/concise-scannable-and-objective-how-to-write-for-the-web/  (Accessed: 2016 February 28)