Instructors should provide clear expectations for students.

• Complete syllabus with course objectives
• Grading Scale
• Types of Assessments
• Use Announcements page to provide other expectations as the course progresses

Students:

• If students encounter any problems while using Blackboard they can click on the "?" (Help) icon at the top of the screen.  This will open up the Online Computing Support Center (http://www.fau.edu/helpdesk) which will allow them to search the Knowledge Base for answers to common questions and problems or submit their own help ticket if they don't find the answer that they are looking for.

Faculty:

• Keep a list of student email addresses and phone numbers outside of Blackboard in case you need to contact students when Blackboard is undergoing scheduled maintenance or is down unexpectedly.

• Archive (back up) your course on a regular basis, especially after making any changes.

• Export a hard copy of the gradebook to an Excel spreadsheet on a regular basis.

Instructors should make course content easily accessible for the online environment.

• Learn Blackboard by attending a training class.
• Be aware of bandwidth; do not upload files into Blackboard that are larger than 5 MB. For larger files, create CDs to hand out to students in web-assisted courses or create smaller files (NOTE: Large PowerPoint files can be compressed and streamed in Blackboard by using Impatica). 
• Do not use Blackboard as a repository for long lecture notes.
• Know copyright laws and guidelines for electronic use. http://www.ala.org/washoff/teach.html
• Use technologies such as PowerPoint, Audio and Video to enhance the learning environment.

Instructors should provide clear guidelines for interaction with students.

• Develop policies describing the types of communication that should take place using the various communication tools.  Creating a "Frequently Asked Questions" forum on the discussion board that both students and faculty can access.  This will inhibit email overload.
• The Discussion Board, Email, and Group Pages are Blackboard tools that you can use to design an interactive learning environment and group projects.
• Use active learning techniques. Students should have as many, if not more, opportunities in the online environment as a traditional classroom.

Instructors and students should have the latest virus protection software on their computers.

• Both faculty and students who are doing work from their home or office should have their own anti-virus software installed and updated regularly. Viruses can come from email attachments, documents people put in the electronic drop box, etc.  A virus can be attached to any kind of file that can be uploaded by any method to the server.