There are several ways to use technology outside of class to help you achieve course goals.  One way to expand on information discussed in class is the use of online discussion groups using Blackboard.  Teachers can use these Blackboard groups to disseminate class information or to establish an arena in which students interact with one another about various topics or class activities.  Here are some ideas for online discussions in your class:

• Ask students to post their responses to a selected reading or homework problem.

• Initiate a conversation on a topic not fully covered during class time.

• Have students post potential discussion questions for the next class.

• Ask students to post a quick response to the muddiest point question (see the discussion of this question under Student Feedback).

As with in-class discussions, be sure students know how their contributions will be evaluated and graded.

Another way to deepen and assess student understanding outside of class is to use online quizzes. These quizzes can be created on Blackboard, and questions could address in-class material or outside reading assignments. Making the completion of online quizzes worth points in the class will likely increase class participation, and requiring completion of online quizzes over reading assignments before class will increase the number of students who do the readings prior to class.  Moreover, online quizzes can be set up in such a way that students can take them multiple times, thus gaining practice working with the material and increasing understanding.

For information on how to create online discussions and quizzes using Blackboard, see Instructional Development and Support.