Are you interested in saving time preparing your courses for a new term? Do you find yourself continuously uploading documents to Blackboard because you need to change a date or fix an error? Would you like to get more time in your life? If so, continue reading.
As I watch faculty carry out their important task of teaching, I have observed a lot of great but hard work. Some of the work may be unnecessary and a time sink. For example, when a faculty member creates a new course, a lot of content is created and added to a course shell such as a syllabus, handouts, course readings, etc. Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done to minimize this.
When the course is rolled over to a new term, time is saved when a lot of the course material is used for the new course. However, some of the course material must be updated to the new term. This is where I see opportunities to save time and energy.
Each term, I see faculty roll over courses and then have to upload a new syllabus because the dates are changed. This also applies to other documents that have dates in them. Although it is not a difficult process, it does take some time. Here is another option:
Create your content in a Google Document, create a shareable link, and add the link to your Blackboard course. When you need to make a change, you simply make the change to the Google Document. You no longer have to spend time uploading documents. This will be a huge time saver.
Here are the skills you will need and some resources to help you.
- Creating a Google Document
- Google Docs Essential Training – LinkedIn Learning course
- Upload Your Word Files to Google Drive
- Converting a Document from Word to a Google Document (It is possible to do this automatically)
- Converting a PDF to a Google Document
- Sharing a Google Document
- Adding a Link In Blackboard
- Embedding a Document in Blackboard
The Google – Blackboard partnership will open a lot of great teaching and learning opportunities. I am confident that you will find many different ways to enhance your courses as well as save time.
Naturally, if you have questions, please contact me.
Additional Reading
- #SUNYCIT: Yikes: No More Ignoring Google!
- 9 Reasons Why You Should Check Out Google Slides
- Save Time Converting to Google Docs
- How to Easily Save Microsoft Office Documents to Google Drive
Stan is Director of Technology-Enhanced Instruction. He has over 20 years experience working as an instructional technologist and trainer. He has a master’s degree in computing technology in education and a doctorate in education specializing in instructional technology.
