In light of the current COVID-19 (Coronavirus) emergency, and per the Chancellor’s directive, our entire campus is currently prioritizing support for our students, faculty and staff as the transition to Distance Education is underway.
In order to assist you with the transition, the Information Technology and Educational Technology Departments have been coordinating a comprehensive information, resource and training effort. The goal is to ensure that all of our constituents have access to the necessary technology and support that may be needed.
A single resource website has been set up as the Go-To for all of your transition readiness needs. This website will be updated frequently and we recommend you to bookmark it for easy access.
Go to information on:
Blackboard
Live Online Teaching Through Blackboard
Roadmap to Teaching Innovation
Blackboard Support
Video Tutorials
Tips of the Week
Other online resources, rich media, hardware and softwareBlackboard
Blackboard, CUNY and Hostos’s Learning Management System, allows you to have an online site containing your course content, activities and assessments so that your class can carry on whether it’s in-class, hybrid, fully online, or off-campus because of snow day, make-up for missed class, flu season, or the coronavirus.
If you’ve never used Blackboard before please review the Hostos Blackboard Support tutorials below, including “How to Get to Blackboard.” Once in Blackboard you will see links to your courses on the left side in the My Courses module. You should also see the link to the Roadmap to Teaching Innovation Blackboard training course (description and links below) which contains all the information you need to get your courses up and running in Blackboard. It will be lower down in the My Courses module under Courses in which I’m enrolled: Student.
For more tutorials, visit Blackboard’s YouTube Channel: Blackboard YouTube Channel
The first step is to ensure that your Blackboard course is available to students in order to establish a viable line of communication. With the Edit mode set to On you should:
- Use the Announcement tool to post announcements to students and check the Email Announcement box so that the announcement is sent to students’ emails.
- Upload your syllabus.
- Post your Contact information.
- Upload files (PowerPoint slides, Word documents, PDF, etc.) that are part of your course content.
- Create items and folders to add additional content.
- Post Assignments, Discussion Forums and threads, blogs, journals and wikis to increase student particiption and engagement.
Blackboard Mobile Apps
Blackboard offers two mobile applications and which application one uses depends on whether you are accessing a course as a student or as an instructor. If you are both a student and a faculty member, you will need both apps to fully interact with all of your courses. The apps are free for you to use and are available in the Apple and Android app stores.
Blackboard app – this is the app for students. Watch the video introduction here: Blackboard App
Blackboard Instructor – this is the app for instructors. Watch the video introduction here: Blackboard Instructor App
The CUNY Blackboard support website has a site that provides support for the Mobile apps, including how to set-up your courses to be mobile-friendly: CUNY Blackboard Mobile App site
Live Online Teaching Through Blackboard – Collaborate Ultra and Panopto
As Hostos instructors, you have two tools available to you that allow you to conduct real-time streaming lessons online through Blackboard – Collaborate Ultra and Panopto.
With Collaborate Ultra you can conduct live streaming videoconferencing lesson with your class, and includes breakout rooms, application and document sharing and live chat. This tool allows you to conduct a lesson live.
Watch a video overview on how to use Collaborate Ultra: Collaborate Ultra video
The CUNY Blackboard site has a links to Collaborate tutorials for both faculty and students: CUNY’s Blackboard Collaborate for Students and Faculty
Panopto allows you to record a lecture-capture lesson and also upload videos. To learn more about Panopto, as well as the Panopto Initiative, click on the following link:
Panopto at HostosAll Blackboard courses have these tools available to them. You can access them through the Collaboration Link in the course Navigation Menu:
This section has access to both Collaborate Ultra and Panopto as well as instructions on how to get started. Roadmap to Teaching Innovation covers both Collaborate Ultra and Panopto in detail.
Roadmap to Teaching Innovation
Roadmap to Teaching Innovation is a self-paced online course in Blackboard that covers the important basic and advanced features of Blackboard. Current full-time and adjunct faculty are enrolled in the course and are free to navigate throughout the course and look up specific Blackboard topics.To go directly to the Roadmap course, click on the following link: Roadmap to Teaching Innovation.
If you are a current faculty member and cannot access the course or do not see it in your My Courses module, click on the following link to enroll: Roadmap to Teaching Innovation Self-Enrollment.
To learn more about Roadmap to Teaching Innovation, click on the following link: Roadmap to Teaching Innovation page.
Hostos is a national leader in introducing and facilitating innovative ways of using recording/video streaming applications and smart mobile devices in teaching and learning. Please talk to us about how we can help you in your plans to go online both for your classroom and distance.
Roadmap to Teaching Innovation Contact:
If you have any questions about the Roadmap course please contact:
George Rosa
C559
EDTECH@hostos.cuny.eduHostos Blackboard Support
HOW TO GET TO BLACKBOARDHOW TO GET TO BLACKBOARD
- To get to Blackboard you must have your CUNYfirst ID and password. From the Hostos Community College home page, click on ‘Login To’ > ‘Blackboard’.
- The CUNYfirst login will appear:
- CUNY Login ID:This password expires every three months. Besides CUNYfirst, The CUNY Login ID and password is also used to access Blackboard. When you click on any link to Blackboard, it will take you to the Blackboard login page. Type in your CUNYfirst username followed by @login.cuny.edu, then your CUNYfirst password in the password field. For example, if CUNYfirst username is john.smith22, the username you enter to login to Blackboard must be john.smith22@login.cuny.edu. The username field is already populated with the @login.cuny.edu part, as shown below.
Video Tutorials
Tips of the Week
Using the Attendance ToolWith the Blackboard attendance tool instructors can mark whether a student is present, late, absent, or excused for each class meeting. The attendance records for each student appear in a single column next to other grades. On the Attendance page, profile pictures appear so instructors can easily identify students. Instructors can use attendance as part of calculating grades in the Grade Center.
- In the Control Panel, go to Course Tools > Attendance.
- Instructors mark students Present, Late, or Absent by clicking next to the students in the appropriate column. The arrow points to the Settings button.
- In Settings instructors can determine the grading schema for attendance.
NOTE:Every course in Blackboard has been populated with useful information for your students (e.g. CUNY & HOSTOS attendance, grading, academic integrity policies; information about all support services offered by the college; and much more)
Uploading your syllabus
- Login into Blackboard
- Select the course you want to upload your syllabus from the My Courses module (top-right)
- Make sure Edit Mode is On (top-right)
- Click on the name of the Content Area into which you wish to add the file (e.g. Course Information or Syllabus)
- Hover your mouse over the Build Content Action Link button
- Under the Create section, click on the Item link
- Complete the Content Information field (provide a name)
- (Optional) copy the content from a Word document and paste it in the Content Editor section under text.
- In the Attachment section, click Browse My Computer to locate the file you want to upload. Files can be in the following formats: Word and PDF (we recommend PDF files)
- Click Submit
NOTE: Every course in Blackboard has been populated with useful information for your students (e.g. CUNY & HOSTOS attendance, grading, academic integrity policies; information about all support services offered by the college; and much more)
Making a Course Copy
- Login to Blackboard
- Select your course from the My Courses module (top-right)
- Make sure Edit Mode is On (top-right)
- On the Control Panel, expand the Packages and Utilities section and select Course Copy
- Select the appropriate option: Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course
- In the Destination Course ID field, click Browse to select the destination course.
- Select all the content you want to copy to from the course you are to the course you selected
- Copy Links to Course Files: No copies of linked files are included in the copy. The copied course will have the same set of links and those links will point back to the original location of the link defined in the origin course.
- Copy links and copies of the content: This will make copies of linked files, but ONLY those files that are linked. Files within the course’s home folder that are not linked to any content within the course are not included in the copy (Recommended option).
- Copy links and copies of the content (include entire course home folder): This will make copies of ALL files in the course’s home folder whether those files are linked to course content or not.In the File Attachments section, select the option to copy links to:
- In the Enrollments section, DO NOT select this option because it will copy all enrolled students from the source course to the destination one.
- Click Submit.
Sending Announcements
- Log in to Blackboard
- Select the course you want to send announcement from the My Courses module (top-right)
- Make sure Edit Mode is On (top-right)
- In the course menu (left panel) or from the Control Panel under Course Tools click the Announcements link
- Click Create Announcement button from the Announcement page (top-left)
- Complete the Announcement Information field (provide subject and details)
- Set up additional information
- Click Submit
NOTE: Every course in Blackboard has been populated with useful information for your students (e.g. CUNY & HOSTOS attendance, grading, academic integrity policies; information about all support services offered by the college; and much more)
Creating AssignmentsInstructors can create an Assignment in Blackboard as a way for students to submit coursework. When an Assignment is created, a Grade Column is automatically created for it in the Grade Center. Students can either type the assignment answers directly into the Assignment tool text box
To create an Assignment:
- In the top-bar action menu in the content area where you want to post the Assignment, click on Assessments then select Assignment.
- Enter the Name and Instructions for the Assignment.
- If you want to attach a document for the students to read click on the Browse My Computer button.
- Enter Points Possible for this Assignment.
- Click Submission Details to expand it. Choose if it is an Individual, Group or Portfolio Submission. Specify if it is a Single Attempt, Multiple Attempts or Unlimited Attempts, and if you wish to have it check for plagiarism by using SafeAssign (discussed separately).
You are also given options for Anonymous Grading to prevent bias, and Delegated Grading if the course is taught by multiple instructors or has teaching assist
Click on Display of Grades allows you to set how the grades are displayed in the Grade Center and to the students in their Grades tool.- Set the Due Date for the Assignment.
- Set Availability Dates and Times, then Click Submit.
Grading Assignments
To retrieve and grade Assignments submitted by students:
- One way to access them is to go to the Full Grade Center in the Control Panel.
- Click on the Drop-Down Arrow in the header of the Assignment’s grade column, then click on Grade Attempts.
- This will take you to the Inline Grading Application.
Annotation sessions expire after one hour. You’ll receive a warning message. After the time limit, Annotations may not be saved. Need more time? Select Save Draft to save your work and continue later. Your text and files are saved on the page. When you return, you can resume working.A. View instructions. Expand the Assignment instructions.
B. Add Comments and highlight Text. At the top of the Panel, select Point Annotation Mode to type Comments in any place on the document. Point and drag your cursor to highlight Text, then select Highlight Text. Select Add comment to highlighted text to add a Comment to a highlighted area. To remove a highlighted area, select Highlight text again. You can also zoom in and out, and navigate to other pages in a Student’s file.
C. Remove or Reply to Comments. Select the Delete icon in the right corner of a Comment to remove a Comment. Select a Comment to reply and the Cancel and Post options appear.
D. Provide a Grade and Feedback. In the right panel, Grade the Submission, provide Feedback, attach Files, and add Private ZNotes for yourself. If you associated a Rubric, you can access it in this area. Select the Click to open full content editor icon to access the Editor. You can also override or revert a Grade.
E. Download the Student’s file. Save the original file to your computer.
F. What do Students see? After you grade Assignments, Students can view their scores on their My Grades pages. They can also select the Assignment in the Course to review their Submissions, your Feedback, and their Grades.
- Select the Content Area where you want to create the assignment. (e.g. Course Document)
- On the Action Bar (top-left), point to Assessments to access the drop-down list and select Turnitin Assignment.
- In the Add Turnitin Assignment page, type a title, point value, start date, due date and other options as appropriate.
- Click Submit
Sending emails
- Log in to Blackboard
- Select your course from the My Courses module (top-right)
- In the Control Panel under Course Tools click the Send Email link (towards the bottom of the list)
- Select the group you want to send the email to by clicking on the respective link (e.g. All Student Users)
- Enter the subject and message of your email
- Attach files by clicking on the Attach a file link (optional)
- Click Submit
NOTE: Every course in Blackboard has been populated with useful information for your students (e.g. CUNY & HOSTOS attendance, grading, academic integrity policies; information about all support services offered by the college; and much more)
Creating Tests and adding questions
- Log in to Blackboard
- Select your course from the My Courses module (top-right)
- From the Control Panel, click on Course Tools link, then click on Tests, Surveys and Pools (bottom of Course Tools).
- From the Tests, Surveys and Pools page, Click on the Tests link.
- From the Tests page, click on Build Test (top-right).
- On the Test Information page, provide a name.
- Optionally, type Instructions and a Description. You can use the Text Editor functions to format the text and include files, images, web links, multimedia, and Mashups. Any files uploaded from your computer are saved in Course Files or the Content Collection in the top level folder. Attachments uploaded using the Text Editor can be launched in a new window and can include alternate text to describe the attachment.
- Click Submit
Creating questions. You should change the Question Settings if you want to include images, external links and feedback.
- After the test is created, you can add question by using one of the following methods: Create Question or Reuse Question or Upload Questions you may have in comma delimited text file.
- If adding questions by using the Create Question, select question type from the drop-down list and follow the instructions.
- To add more questions, please repeat step 11.
Making tests available to students: Go to the Content Area in which you would like the test to appear. Select Test from the Create Assessment drop-down list. Select the test you wish to display from the list that appears and click the Submit button.
NOTE: Every course in Blackboard has been populated with useful information for your students (e.g. CUNY & HOSTOS attendance, grading, academic integrity policies; information about all support services offered by the college; and much more)
Creating Test Pools of questions
- Log in to Blackboard
- Select your course from the My Courses module (top-right)
- Make sure Edit Mode is On (top-right)
- In the Control Panel area click Course Tools, and then select Tests, Surveys and Pools
- From the Tests, Surveys and Pools page, click on Pools
- From the Pools page, click Build Pool. Provide a Name for the pool, a brief description and instructions
- Click Submit
Adding questions to the pool
There are three different ways to add questions to a pool.
- By clicking the Create Question button (top-right)
- By clicking the Find Questions button
- By clicking the Upload Questions button
Customizing the Grade Center view
- Log in to Blackboard
- Select your course from the My Courses module (top-right)
- Make sure Edit Mode is On (top-right)
- In the Control Panel area click Grade Center, and then select Full Grade Center
- To hide a column, click on the column dropdown list and select hide column (left of column name)
- To restore the view of a hidden column, click on Manage at the top of the page and select Column Organization.
- Select the column to show by checking the checkbox (left side) in the Shown in All Grade Center View.
- Use the Show/Hide dropdown menu and click Show Selected Columns to show the selected column.
- Click Submit. A success message will appear in the top-left corner of the page.
NOTE: Every course in Blackboard has been populated with useful information for your students (e.g. CUNY & HOSTOS attendance, grading, academic integrity policies; information about all support services offered by the college; and much more)
Adding YouTube Videos
- Log in to Blackboard
- Select your course from the My Courses module (top-right)
- Make sure the Edit Mode is On (top-right)
- Select the Content Area where you want to add the video. (e.g. Course Document, Chapter 1)
- On the Action Bar (top-left), point to Build Content to access the drop-down list and under Mashups select YouTube Video.
- In the Search for a YouTube Video page, type a search criteria.
- (Optional) Select matching pattern and language in which you want to do the search.
- Click Go
- (Optional) Click Preview to watch the content before adding it to your course.
- Click Select to add the content to your course.
- Provide a Name for the content. You can also provide a Description of the video and additional options for the Mashup.
- Click Submit. A success message appears at the top of the page. The Mashup appears a the bottom of the Content area.
NOTE: Every course in Blackboard has been populated with useful information for your students (e.g. CUNY & HOSTOS attendance, grading, academic integrity policies; information about all support services offered by the college; and much more)
Other online resources, rich media, hardware and software
The EdTech Media Center offers powerful software and hardware technology to capture and record lessons, classroom activities and quickly and easily be make them available as streaming media and podcasts.
