In this section of the Designing Engaging Content documentation, we will explore ways to incorporate Office 365 applications into your Blackboard course. Application features will include: using HTML code to embed resources, co-authoring documents, classroom and student workspaces, collaborative workspaces, uploading and sharing videos with closed captioning, and creating interactive content.
Microsoft Forms can be used to create surveys, quizzes, and forms with ease. There are many uses for Microsoft Forms such as creating authentic assessments, gathering feedback from students, collecting a variety of data and much more. This is a list to get you started with adding MS Forms to your Blackboard course.
- Share a form or quiz in your course using a direct link.
Once you have created a form or quiz in Microsoft Forms, return to your blackboard course and create an item or web link in the desired content area to share your form. When using Microsoft Forms for quizzes, you will need to enter the grades manually into the Grade Center.
- Add a form to your course using an embed code.
To embed your form into your course using an HTML code, follow the steps outlined in Adding Web Tools to Your Course from Blackboard Help. Embedding a form into your course will create an interactive live form that students can complete directly in Blackboard.
Microsoft's OneNote Class Notebook connects your Blackboard course to a digital note-taking tool. OneNote Class Notebook's interface provides students with a workspace to take notes, curate information, collaborate with others, and for instructors to distribute class materials and provide real-time feedback to students. OneNote Class Notebook can meet the needs of a variety of learners with its built-in features such as audio note-taking, dictation, sketch-noting and with Microsoft's Immersive Reader for increased accessibility. This is a list to get you started with adding Microsoft's OneNote Class Notebook to your Blackboard course.
- Connect OneNote Class Notebook to your course.
To connect Class Notebook to your course insert the tool into the desired content area. When students click on the tool's link inside the course they will be prompted to log in to their Office 365 for Education account to access the course notebook. Students can interact with the class notebook online or from Microsoft's OneNote desktop application.
- Integrate OneNote Class Notebook into your course.
Once you connect OneNote Class Notebook you can start planning how to integrate the notebook into your course, added course materials to the Content Library and designate what sections students will see.
- Embed live content into your course notebook.
Live content provides instructors with the opportunity to link a variety of resources to their class notebook. Once the content is embedded students can interact with it directly inside the notebook. Office 365 for Education tools, such as Microsoft Forms, can be also be embedded into a course notebook. Explore the tools list and the YouTube playlist to get additional ideas.
Microsoft Sway provides an interactive way to create and share engaging content. This web tool has a simple drag and drop interface with built-in design features to create accessible content such as interactive reports, presentations, digital stories, newsletters, and more. This is a list to get you started adding Microsoft Sway to your Blackboard course.
- Transform a Microsoft Word document into an interactive webpage to add to your course.
Review your course .doc or .docx files that could benefit from a revamp using Microsoft Sway. Transforming the document could increase student engagement and provide a sleek interactive layout that is accessibility from any device. Once you convert your document to Microsoft Sway you can edit and add additional content to increase the interactivity. Share your Sway in the desired content area in your Blackboard course.
- Embed interactive content into your course.
Microsoft Sway can host a variety of embedded content to increase interactivity. Once you have your Microsoft Sway created, choose to copy the embed code from the share options and follow the steps outlined by Blackboard Help to add it to your course.
- Co-author interactive content for lesson planning, projects and more.
Office 365 offers solutions for real-time editing and collaborating to create polished content. Microsoft Sway can be shared with multiple editors by inviting individual people, sharing a hyperlink via email, or allowing anyone with the link to become an editor. Co-authoring provides opportunities for co-teachers to work together to develop interactive lessons or for students to work together to develop content that showcases their learning. Share links to co-authored content in Blackboard groups, inside designated content areas or introduce the idea during a lesson.
Microsoft Stream is an online video streaming service for organizing and storing all of your course videos in one place. Here you can share your videos organization-wide or by connecting with an existing Office 365 Groups. New Office 365 Groups can be set up with permissions to match your needs for providing your students with a secure place to access course videos, upload videos, and share videos with the class. Microsoft Stream has an automated captioning and transcript feature that provides closed captioning for your videos. This is a list to get you started with adding Microsoft Stream to your Blackboard course.
- Organize and store course videos for live streaming.
Upload instructional or other course videos owned by you or your students to Microsoft Stream for live streaming from your Blackboard course. To manage permissions for your videos create a group or connect to an existing Office 365 group to establish who can view the videos. Each time an Office 365 group is created the group is provided with an email address, calendar, shared files and can be connected to a variety of Office 365 applications. You might want to consider if videos can be made public vs private or just creating one group for your course ID and managing the members each semester. Once you have your videos published and are ready to share, insert a direct link or copy the embed code and add it to the desired content area in your course. Be sure to check the permissions to ensure your students have access.
- Create a channel for uploading video projects into your course.
Adding channels is an organizational method that can be done by section number, semester, student groups, units, weeks or any unique naming system that will make it easy to locate. Channels do not have individual permission levels. Permissions can be changed at any time to allow members to contribute to the group or channel to best meet the needs of your course. Viewers can choose to follow a course channel to get updates on new videos much like a subscribing to a YouTube channel. Once you have your videos ready to share, insert a direct link or copy the embed code and add it to the desired content area in your course.
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Create engaging videos for your course by inserting surveys, polls, or a quizzes.
Adding interactive content or assessments in videos can assist viewers in connecting at a deeper level with the information being shared. Microsoft Forms can be added to any video you own and have uploaded into Microsoft Stream. Surveys, polls, and quizzes inserted into your videos using Microsoft Forms will collect viewers responses, grade and score quizzes, and provide a summary of the collected data.
Please Note: Microsoft Stream does not currently have a feature for recording videos. You can use your computer's webcam or another device to record a video and upload it into Microsoft Stream.
Microsoft's OneDrive for Business is a content management tool for creating and sharing resources that are accessible from any device. OneDrive for Business provides access to up-to-date versions of documents, the ability to track version history, and can sync files to your workstation using the desktop application. This is a list to get you started with adding OneDrive for Business documents to your Blackboard course.
- Embed live documents directly into your course.
Live documents provide students with the ability to interact with the document without leaving blackboard. Share PowerPoint, Microsoft Word and Excel documents in your course by copying the embed code and placing it directly into the desired content area in your Blackboard course.
- Share and upload files into your course from "cloud storage".
To add a single file from your OneDrive for Business you can share a direct link to the file or choose to upload it by creating a content item in Blackboard. To locate your file, Browse Cloud Storage and select OneDrive for Business to access the file you wish to share.
- Create collaborative documents for students to share and co-author for course assignments.
Office 365 offers solutions for co-authoring and collaborating on documents in real-time to provide opportunities for students to work together on group projects, participate in peer review activities, get feedback from instructors or meet other objectives outlined by the course. Collaborators can use commenting to ask questions or facilitate a discussion and review version history as needed to track progress. All co-authors must have permission to access and edit the document. To monitor progress instructors should be added as an editor to all shared documents. Instructors can create shared documents ahead of time, insert links into Blackboard or provide students with the necessary instructions to create their own documents. Sharing documents in OneDrive for Business creates a secure setting for productive interactions between students and course instructors.
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