Course Preparation

Fall 2024 course shells are available to faculty in Blackboard. Fall 2024 courses will be made available to students system-wide on August 21, 2024 at 12:00 am.

All faculty should be prepared to use Blackboard each term.

Blackboard Base Navigation

On May 15, 2024, Blackboard was updated to incorporate the new Base Navigation, providing a sleek, modern look and feel making it easier to access information. The tabs and modules on the landing page were combined into one navigation menu on the left side. This navigation menu provides users with quick access to courses, organizations, tools, grades, and other valuable information with just one click!

For more information on Base Navigation, visit Base Navigation at A&T or contact ITTD at 336-285-4499. Click here for Blackboard Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). 

Syllabus Templates

Syllabus templates have been made available for faculty to use under the Syllabus Templates section of the Provost’s Faculty Resources page.

Follett Discover (Textbook Adoption and Access)

Faculty and students can access Follett Discover through Blackboard (https://blackboard.ncat.edu). Follett Discover is a suite of adoption and access tools to improve course material delivery. Instructors can use Follett Discover to research, discover and adopt course materials with ease, while students can easily view, procure and access their materials — which helps fuel success in the classroom. Questions related to Follett Discover should be directed to the bookstore.

Steps to Access Follett Discover

eFollet Resources
FAQs:  Aggie Textbook Access Program-FAQs
How to Opt Out | Student Demo: https://vimeo.com/996179769
Submitting Adoptions and Accessing Digital Materials | Faculty Demo: https://vimeo.com/996177337
Accessing Digital Materials | Student Demo: https://vimeo.com/996165639
eFollet Contact:  Willie Williams - wlwilliams@ncat.edu

Fully Online Courses - Master Courses

Master courses are fully developed "consensus courses" managed by master course coordinators and academic programs. They help ensure essential program goals, course content, and curricular requirements are present in online courses. These courses typically require minimal, if any, changes made to the structure, content, and assessments to be ready for fully asynchronous online delivery. Master courses are managed by schools and programs. All master courses are created by faculty experts nominated by their chairs and deans. All sections of a course will use the master course as the general design but customization is possible. If you have questions about your department’s master courses, please contact the department chair and work with the Course Coordinator.

Access to Master Courses   

In spring 2021, a Master Course Portal was launched with master courses developed from spring 2020 and onward. Updates are made each semester. Use the Portal website to:

Access a database of completed master courses you can search for specific master courses.
Request to have a master course copied into your course shell.
Use our Master Course Readiness checklist to see if your master course is ready to go.

Access to Existing Online Course Content

Hundreds of online courses have been previously developed and taught at A&T. If you are scheduled to teach a completely online course for the semester and you are not using master course content, there is likely online course content that can be used for your course. Check with your department chair or the Extended Campus (Dr. Gwen Godard – godardg@ncat.edu) to find out if the course has been previously developed for online delivery. If the course has been previously developed or taught online, you can request a master course copy into your course shell. Course copy requests may take 24-48 hours for completion, so please plan accordingly.  

If you desire content from a previously taught course shell, contact the instructor on record or the department chair to seek approval to use the content. Email that approval, the course ID for the source course, and the course ID for the course you are teaching (as it appears in Blackboard) to the ITTD team. 

Course copy requests can be sent to: 

David Whitehead (dfwhitehead@ncat.edu), Danielle Crosby (dacrosby@ncat.edu), Keia Pannell (kdpannell@ncat.edu), Dr. Bessie Nkonge (bessien@ncat.edu) or Dr. Tracie Lewis (tolewis@ncat.edu).
 

Access to Content from Previous Semesters 

Faculty who taught courses in previous semesters may wish to copy that content into course shells for future terms. Course copies can be performed following a few simple steps: 

  1. Access the source course in Blackboard. (This is the course that has the content you want to copy.)
  2. In the Control Panel, expand Packages and Utilities and click Course Copy. 
  3. Select Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course.
  4. In the Destination Course ID box, click Browse to select your destination course. (Locate and select the course into which the content will be copied.) 
  5. Select the course materials that you want to copy. Select All is recommended. (Be sure to deselect “Announcements” and choose “Include online the forums, with no starter posts” under Discussion Board.) 
  6. In the File Attachments section, select Copy links and copies of the content.
  7. Click Submit.

After the course copy has been completed, some menu items in the destination course may appear at the bottom of the menu. You may need to reorder the menu items in the destination course and remove any extra menu items. For a short video tutorial on copying courses, click here.

If you wish to use content taught by a colleague in a previous semester, contact that colleague for approval to use the content. (If the instructor is no longer available, contact the department chair.) Email that approval, the course ID for the source course, and your course ID (as it appears in Blackboard) to the ITTD team. The course will be copied within 24-48 hours of the request.

Course Templates   

All Blackboard course shells and materials should be organized using a logical, build-upon precept manner. Content folders or learning modules should be used to house related course materials (e.g. chapters, weeks, units, or modules). Course templates (located in Blackboard) can be used as a model and guide as you organize your hybrid courses. The Enhanced Course Template and the Flipped Course Template provide examples of how course materials can be organized, sample activities, instructor resources, and more. For access to a course template, please contact in ITTD team member. ITTD instructional designers can also assist with course design and development. 

More Resources   

To learn more about master courses, access the Online Faculty Commons in Blackboard. Select Distance Education from the course menu and visit the Designing a Course folder.

Student Accessibility
Virtual Labs
Workshops and Resources