Engaging Welcome Pages in Blackboard

Remember, you are only asked to provide the syllabus during this time. The following information is only for you to include or integrate into your course at the beginning of the course, if you choose to do so. 

Creating an engaging welcome to your course

As the old advertising slogan goes, you never get a second chance to make a first impression. True for your students, true for you, and certainly true for your Blackboard course shell. 

Designing a Syllabus Quiz, Discussion Board or Hypothes.is Assignment

Many faculty are adopting formative assessments to verify that students are reading the syllabus. Faculty are creating Blackboard quizzes with questions only answerable if the syllabus has been reviewed. Beyond the traditional Question and Answer discussion board, creating a question where students need to affirm they have read the syllabus gives them the opportunity to introduce them to course topics and themes. 

Tips for creating an effective Welcome page

In the STCC template, there is an effective menu structure tool and features usage at STCC, as well as best practices for online instruction. This template is adjusted based on the course modality for which you are teaching. The Welcome link is intended to create a welcoming space for your students as they enter the course. 

Getting Started 

If you are a faculty member who provides an initial checklist or preparation materials for students to review in the first week of classes, consider making this available during the preview period. It gives students more time to digest the content, and allows you to give non-academic preparation materials its own time and space.

Sneak Peeks

Give them an article, a sample of a typical assignment, or a preview of a typical lecture video. A non-grade example of the type of assignment to familiarize themselves with your language style, and expectations. If your course is quiz heavy, a sample of common terms of the course for practice, both exposing them to the terms and the tool. This way, they encounter their first test in a non high-stakes situation.