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Course Shell Request & Course Copy
In response to faculty concerns, Extended Education has implemented a more efficient method for the Blackboard (Bb) course shell creation process. The changes were evaluated by a pilot group of faculty members whose feedback was useful in refining the released process now in place. Faculty began using the new method in the summer of 2009, and it has proven effective at decreasing the overall turnaround time for processing course shell requests. Faculty also have the ability to manage their content more efficiently through the use of the Course Copy function in Blackboard, allowing a user to copy material from one course shell to another.
This new process for requests and content management is mandatory.
Part of this new process is the use of "templates" for your courses that utilize Bb. A template holds all of your course goodies – set up as you desire – ready to be copied to your Course Shell (see below). For any course(s) you use with Bb, you will be given a template. You‘ll have continuing access to your templates, so you can work in them at your convenience.
As a new semester approaches, requests for course shells will and must be made through a new feature in BearPAWS. This feature, called Blackboard Course Shell Request, allows you to select from your list of courses and request Bb course shells – single or combined as you wish. The requests are usually completed by the end of the next business day. The ability to request for course evaluations will soon be available, too.
When the requests have been processed and completed, you can copy your course content from your template(s) to your corresponding course shell(s). A feature in Bb, called Course Copy, will allow you to efficiently make copies of all or part of your template(s).
Some definitions:
Template
A repository for your course material. Faculty will have one template per course. You can configure a template to include material for time-shortened and full-semester courses, or request individual templates for the various configurations.
Course Shell
This is the shell with the CRN and term included – generated following your request via BearPAWS. For example: 70241_COMM321.01A_sneebj_SUMMER09. Course shells are empty, waiting for you to add material or copy content from your Template(s).
Course Copy
In your Control Panel you will see a new tool labeled Course Copy that will allow you to copy all or part of your course content from the shell you are in (called the “source”) to another of your choice (called the “destination”). For example, you can copy content from your Template to your Course shell – all of it, or just selected content areas.
Blackboard Course Shell Request
A request form in BearPAWS that allows the user to select which courses he/she desires Bb shells for. Single shells can be requested, or multiple sections/subjects can be combined into one course shell. For example, I may request one course shell for Introduction to Biology, section 001, but then request that all three lab sections be combined into one Bb shell (rather than three separate shells).
As templates are established based on your Bb usage, please let me know if you need access to previous versions of your course(s) in order to copy past content to your new template(s).
You can export/archive (create a backup) your template(s) or course shell(s) at any time. It is recommended that you download your grades (from the Grade Center) occasionally, too, perhaps once each week.
Students will be automatically enrolled starting two weeks prior to the beginning of a semester/session. Updates will be conducted daily through the Add/Drop period. Cross-registered students are not automatically enrolled and should contact the Help Desk for assistance.