1. Select the GRADE Option in the Discussions. You will be able to see how many posts and the dates for each students. This will make grading much easier.
2. Allow students to modify, remove their posts. Sometimes Blackboard “stutters” and one post becomes seven. Allowing students to remove their own post saves you time.
3. Use the Assignment feature for papers, not email or quiz. You can give feedback, and the paper and your comments stay in the course for documentation.
4. If you give Group Work, be sure to make yourself part of the group, and SUBSCRIBE TO THE DISCUSSIONS.
5. Create a survey at the end of the class for YOU to find out how the class can be improved. The survey should be short, and have mostly open ended question. Your institution probablydoes its own survey, but you should do one also for you. Stress to the students that is in anonymous,but you can see who did it. Award a small amount of points for completion.
6. Be sure to emphasize that students must press SUBMIT when they do an assignment, quiz or survey.
7. Quizzes can be formative, as well as summative. That means you can set up a quiz for student practice. If you do this, be sure to make it multiple-choice, matching, or another form that YOU do not have to go in and grade.
8. Check with your institutions to see what add-ons are available and use them. SmartThinking, TurnItIn, and ProQuest and others can help you manage the class.
9. Don't neglect the libraian at your institution. Librarians are an underutilized resource in online education.
10. Use the Performance Dashboard, accessed through the Control Panel, for a quick snapshot of who is logging into the class.
