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Adaptive release – Getting the right content to the right students at the right time
Did you know that content displayed in Blackboard 9.1 does not have to be released to all the students all at once. The ‘Adaptive Release’ and ‘Adaptive Release: Advanced’ tools allow an instructor to customise the release of any content, making its availability determined by a series of criteria, including, date, membership and grade.
By deploying your chosen criteria individually, in simple sets, or through the creation of ‘rules’, controlled access to any content can be simply tailored to meet very basic requirements, such as releasing weekly teaching, right through to exceptionally sophisticated requirements.
An example of a more sophisticated use is the Anatomy and Physiology exam in the PUP1147 Stepping into Nursing module which has been delivered online for many years now. The diverse nature of this Inter-Professional Learning practice module demands that predetermined student groups (based on level, discipline and administration), sit one of two versions of the exam (standard and extended) in a controlled environment at two set times on the same day. This makes for a complex administrative process, which in the previous version of Blackboard (CE8) demanded a high level of attention to detail and many test and mock set-ups for final assurance. However, in Blackboard 9.1 by setting a series of criterion to create ‘rules’ and then ‘subsequent rules’, the same can be achieved in a much less demanding and complex way. Below is an example of the adaptive release criteria for two sittings of the same exam on the same day to selective students.
The following 5 minute video Create Multiple Rules to Release a Content Item from Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Centre, takes you through the process to set up both simple and complex release criteria.
With the ever-increasing adoption of technology enhanced learning, the demand to control the equitable access and release of teaching, learning and assessment contents becomes more and more fundamental. Therefore, the ease of use in the creation of flexible and robust release criterion in Blackboard 9.1, offers a more secure approach which is critical to success, especially in the control of high value summative processes such as exams and assignment submissions.
Additional note: The ‘What’s New’ module (typically displayed on the default Home Page of modules) highlights new content that is made available to the entire course. Adaptive Release Content that becomes available after certain criteria are met is not reported in this module.
If you would like any further information on this, please email [email protected]
Adrian Cain
Learning Technologist
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Staff Reminder: Learning Edge Drop In 23.01.12
Are you working on something new in Learning Edge? Do you want help or ideas?
Staff are invited to visit the LINC Development* room at lunch time on Monday to:
Explore the potential of Learning Edge- Focus on enhancing current practice
- Resolve any queries
These regular open door Drop In sessions have been organised to support staff building and working on courses and are the perfect opportunity to gain additional advice from a Learning Technologist.
No need to book! Please just drop into the LINC Development room and a member of the Learning Technology Development department will be on hand to help and advise.
Drop In Schedule this Term:
12.01.12 – 12 pm – 13 pm, Thursday, LINC Dev
23.01.12 – 13 pm – 14 pm, Monday, LINC Dev
07.02.12 – 12 pm – 13 pm, Tuesday, LINC Dev
23.02.12 – 12 pm – 13 pm, Thursday, LINC Dev
05.03.12 – 13 pm – 14 pm, Monday, LINC Dev
23.03.12 – 12 pm – 13 pm, Friday, LINC Dev
03.04.12 – 12 pm – 13 pm, Tuesday, LINC Dev
16.04.12 – 13 pm – 14 pm, Monday, LINC Dev*Please note: a change from the advertised location of these Drop In sessions printed in a Learning Services Staff Development leaflet. Staff may continue to visit the SOLSTICE Centre for support with Learning Technology, but the LINC Development room has been booked to comfortably accommodate any number of staff during these open door Drop In periods.
Hope to see you there!
The Learning Technology Development Team.
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What’s on your Learning Edge wish list? Extending the functionality of Blackboard with Building Blocks
There are a vast number of tools and features available in Blackboard, but I’m sure you will agree, there are some things you can’t do, at least not yet! The great thing though about Blackboard is that through Building Blocks we can build more functionality into the system.
Perhaps you would like new features which help you manage your course, such as a way to quickly check all web links in a module or a way to maintain an online attendance register. Maybe there are features which you know would help your students, such as a tutorial sign-up sheet or a way for them to send files to their eReader. What other features would appear on your ‘wish list’?
To help you come up with some ideas, let’s talk a little bit more about what Building Blocks are and how they work.
Building Blocks essentially allow third-party developers to create customisations and extensions for Blackboard Learn through open APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) and web services. The types of building block that can be developed are:
- Course Tool
- Course Control
- Group Tool
- System Tool
- User Tool
- Content Type
- Module
There are already a range of third party extensions available through Blackboard Extensions that we can try, including tools developed by other HE institutions. Also, we can now explore the viability of new in-house custom developments too!
One such development I recently started was the ‘Course Availability Per User’ system tool – Edge Hill University’s first Building Block! The aim of this Building Block is to assist administration of Blackboard by detailing a selected user’s course enrolments and respective availability.
Building Blocks can be as simple as querying data or as complex as connectors for synchronising data to externally hosted services e.g. Campus Pack. They are developed using a combination of the JDK (Java Development Kit), Building Block APIs and an IDE (Integrated Development Environment).
Developers use IDEs such as Eclipse and NetBeans to assist with the creation of Dynamic Web Applications. A Building Block is a Dynamic Web Application with the addition of one specific file: bb-manifest.xml. This file sets the properties that determine how the Building Block will behave and interact with the Blackboard 9.1 environment. Once the development of the building block is complete it is exported as a .WAR (Web Archive File) file and uploaded into Blackboard.
Community Resources
Edugarage provides a wealth of developer documentation, sample code/tools and user discussion to assist developers with creating building blocks.
Oscelot Projects is another great resource for open source eLearning solutions, developer related collaboration and code/tools. Take a look at their web pages to see what others are currently developing.
Have your say
So, have you got any ideas? What course tools are missing? What functionality would be really useful for online group work? What could improve your course management or administration?
We’ve already added Building Blocks such as ‘Add Test Student’ and the ‘Paste from Word Mashup’ in response to requests from staff and we’d like to know what you would most value next. Feel free to suggest ideas and leave a comment. We can’t promise to add it all but we can certainly try!
John Langford
Learning Technology Systems Officer
