Instructor: J. Sage
Blackboard is a virtual classroom hosted on a dedicated server maintained by the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). When you enroll in one of my classes you are also enrolled in the Blackboard site for that course.
On my web site and in Blackboard you will find most of what you need to participate in this course. The materials on the Sage History web site have not been duplicated in Blackboard, but links from Blackboard back to the web site are provided.
Check Weekly Announcements in Blackboard for continuing course information. Be sure to scroll down through the announcements to be sure you see all of them. They will appear on the opening page when you select yoru course.
The
entry point to access all your Blackboard courses is http://bb7.vccs.edu.
Just click on Login—you will need a logon name and password.
The Student Blackboard Support section of the NVCC web site provides all the information you need to log into Blackboard.
You can also find your email address on the NVCC web site.
So Mary Jones (whose assigned digits are 0234), born February 7, 1980, has a login name of mjones0234 and password 020780.
You can also access your information from the NVCC home page by clicking on Mail & Web.
Quizzes and Exams. Blackboard also enables the instructor to do online testing or to provide practice tests for you to attempt before you do them in class. If you take the practice tests, you get instant feedback and suggestions on how to improve your answers.
Blackboard Forums: All students enrolled in this course are enrolled in the VCCS Blackboard Course Management System, which will be used for Discussions and exams. I will also post announcements about the course in Blackboard, so you should visit it regularly.
Participation in Discussion forums is a required part of the course. You should get into the discussion during the relevant time of the course. There is one forum with several suggested topics for each part of the course. You should participate in all of them, though you do not have to address every suggested topic.
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Click on the button shown at the left to get to the forum area. Click on the name of the forum, read the opening messages, and respond accordingly. You may edit your own messages after posting. Post a Message of your own by clicking on “Start New Thread” relating to the subject of the forum. Read somebody else's message and post a response by clicking on their message and then on “Reply.” |
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Click on one of the questions provided by the instructor and begin an answer. After your message has been posted, click on “reload” or “refresh” to see your new message. To see the whole forum as one long page, click on on the “Show Options” tab, then on “Select All” and then on “Collect.”
Grading a discussion forum is a subjective process. I do not count numbers of words or numbers of entries, nor will I grade individual entries. There are no right or wrong answers as long as they are thoughtful and relevant. At the end of each section of the course, I will assign credit for your participation. Your entries for each section of the course should be substantive and relevant to the material in that section of the course. Responses to entries of your colleagues will count well, as they will indicate that you have read and thought about what your fellow students are saying. Take a look at this message on writing styles and forums.
As long as you approach the discussion forums seriously and put some thought into your responses, you will receive full credit for the forums for each section of the course, which together count for 10% of the course. I will monitor discussions and will respond from time to time if I think it is warranted. I encourage you to disagree respectfully if your opinion differs from that of a colleague. I will not post any “netiquette” rules, as I assume you are all adults and will conduct yourselves accordingly. I will not interfere with your comments or messages as long as they meet the spirit of the course.
History 121 | History 122 | Updated December 3, 2008