Course Design Checklist

Some simple and practical ways you can help students navigate and engage with your Blackboard courses.
This checklist is designed to help you work through several things which should be considered for inclusion in all courses to meet the needs of students, whether they are on campus, at home or abroad. If you have any questions or would like any help with this process, please contact your Faculty Learning Designer.

Welcome students to the course

  • Choose a welcoming and useful entry point for the course, as this is the first page your students will see.
  • Add a banner image and welcome page for the course.
  • Include standard student support information.

​Set up the course structure to be student focused

  • Structure the main course menu into core sections, with sub-headings like: Key Course Info, Course Material, Assessment, Student Support
  • Within course content areas, develop a logical grouping and flow for your content
  • Ensure a course schedule summary is provided showing all key dates and activities throughout the course

Consider accessibility and design

Establish clear and active communication

  • Actively use announcements to communicate updates to students
  • Use Blackboard discussion forums, blogs or journals to facilitate two-way or group communication
  • Consider using Zoom and/or other online tools to engage students as a cohort when teaching online or in large classrooms
  • Ensure there are clear instructions as to what students are expected to do online and how information will be communicated

Provide access to media, readings and textbooks

  • Ensure readings in Talis are linked into the course, and your students have access to textbooks
  • If providing links to external media check that the links work and are relevant and appropriate
  • Consider embedding videos instead of linking to them

Use video to engage students

Set up assessments for success

  • Provide clear instructions, expectations and context for each piece of assessment
  • Learn more about online assessment: Blackboard tests/quizzes, assignments, discussion boards, blogs, wikis and journals, Turnitin assignments and Vstream video assignments
  • Explore options for online grading and the use of rubrics
  • Consider scaffolding assessment items, so that assessments build upon previous work, and provide feedback to students about future work
  • Aim for a balanced schedule of assessment, and communicate that to students clearly

Make the Grade Centre do the work for you

  • Ensure total and weighted columns have the correct settings, there is only one of each, and they are hidden from students
  • Review your Grade Center column organisation, and check column and grade visibility
  • Understand how to grade and manage submissions in Grade Center
  • If interested, learn more about the Full Grade Center

Review all the content each time a course is run

  • Check and update all dates, availability, and review relevancy of content
  • Use the student view to check what is visible to students
  • Make sure Grade Center is tidy and up to date with current assignments and columns
  • Test all links, including Talis
  • Check all assessment items are set up and updated
  • Check which staff have access to your course and what roles and permissions they have

Warnings

  • Don’t delete any columns in the grade center during the Trimester
  • Don’t assume your students will know what you intend if you haven’t told them
  • Don’t think of Blackboard as a file repository system. Students need to be able to follow through the course as if it were a story or classroom