King's e-Learning Service

1
King's e-Learning Service guide to changes
introduced in Vista 8

• Information Services and Systems
• August 2008

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About this document

• This guide is written primarily for users of the
  Kings e-learning service who have been using
  Blackboard (WebCT) Vista 3 and now need to come
  up to speed about the differences in the newly
  upgraded version, Blackboard Vista 8, available
  from August 2008.
• It is therefore assumed that you will have a
  reasonable knowledge of the main concepts in how
  to use the system from previous use, so this
  guide will concentrate on highlighting the
  similarities/differences and changes in
  terminology rather than provide detailed
  instructions for beginners.
• If you are completely new to using Blackboard
  (WebCT) Vista then it is recommended that you
  book a place on the 'Introduction to the King's
  e-learning service' series of seminars instead.
• This guide is an interim measure to accompany the
  Differences between Vista 3 and Vista 8 - Quick
  reference guide for existing users Word document.

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The bigger picture the service as a whole

• Vista 8 is not radically different from the
  previous version and many of the concepts you
  will be familiar with remain in place
• Some toolbars have been changed or moved around
• There is now more flexibility of how you can
  upload content, including support for drag and
  drop
• There are a number of time-saving enhancements
  and improvements to existing tools
• There are a number of new features, such as
  different ways the discussion tool can be used,
  introduction of Grading Forms. etc
• A series of additional third-party features will
  be added as PowerLinks after the main upgrade has
  taken place successfully, e.g. Turnitin
  plagiarism detection service, Wimba VoiceTools,
  Confluence Wiki, etc.
• Learning context admin, i.e. the annual section
  rollover process and student enrolment will
  be automated via the SITS system again, shortly
  after the main upgrade has taken place
  successfully

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Logging in and the Home Area

• URLs, logins and passwords all remain the same
• The Home Area is largely the same as before with
  only minor changes

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The Home Area
The Content Manager tab is new you can access
your personal My Files area
There is no Home Area text link in Vista 8 so
to refresh this page just click the My
Blackboard tab
My Settings is new you can set things such as
your preferred time zone and choice of fonts here
Vista 3
As you can see, the Home Area is largely
unchanged between versions, with the main Course
List still the main access point to view your
sections
Vista 8
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Student View
This is where the Course Toolbar could be seen in
Vista 3
The Home icon is changed in Vista 8 it is now
called Course Content get used to clicking on
this to go back to the section home page

• The main difference is that the Course Toolbar
  has now
• Moved position to the left
• Is split into two areas
• Course Tools
• My Tools

This is where it is in Vista 8
Vista 3
Vista 8
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Changes in Build Mode
These tools can now be found in the Manage
Course area
Use this button to create or add an existing Bb
Vista component e.g. an Assessment, Assignment,
Learning Module, etc
Use this button to create HTML pages or upload
files such as HTML, Word, PDF, Powerpoint, etc
They were called Organizers in Vista 3, now
they are called Folders this is the button you
use to create them
Vista 3
Click on these buttons and it takes you to the
main page that lists all of the existing examples
of that particular content type e.g.
Assessments you can also create new ones there
too.
Vista 8
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Adding a file to the home page or a folder
To add a file so that a link to it will appear on
your sections home page (or in a folder) click
this button you can either browse for a
previously created one or create a new HTML
format one
In Vista 3 you would have carried out this
procedure using the Add To Home Page menu
Vista 3
Vista 8
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Adding a Bb Vista component
To add a Bb Vista component (e.g. an assessment,
assignment, discussion, learning module, etc)
click this button you can either browse for a
previously created one or create a new one
In Vista 3 you would have carried out this
procedure using the Add To Home Page menu
Vista 3
Vista 8
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Editing existing content
New behaviour tobe aware of
In Vista 8 if you click on the icon or link title
it automatically goes to the main edit screen for
that file or component. Alternatively, note that
there is now an ActionLink button next to the
icon and title if you click on that button
instead you will see the sub-menu and it now
contains additional options such as
showing/hiding an item
Vista 3
In Vista 3 if you clicked on an icon or title
from the home page (or in an organizer) you would
see a sub-menu and you would then have to choose
an action
Its small, but this is an example of an
ActionLink button!
Vista 8
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Customisation of layout and appearance
Vista 3
Vista 8 has better options they can be accessed
by clicking on the Manage Course button
Vista 3 had very limited options for the
customisation of page layout and colour schemes
Vista 8
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Changing colours
In Vista 8 there are a series of templates plus
you can create your own custom scheme colours
can be chosen from a grid or you can type in your
own hexadecimal codes for precise shades in
addition you can apply different colours to a
wider variety of the page elements
Vista 3 had this very limited colour slider
control applicable only to two elements
Vista 3
Vista 8
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Customising headers and page layouts
In Vista 8 you can edit headers and footers by
clicking on the Page options button in Build
Mode. There is also a Customize page Display
option...
Vista 8
The Customize page Display option allows you to
set layout options and background image/colour
for your home page and other Folders. As well as
your own custom settings you can choose from
several pre-defined templates.
Vista 8
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Drag and drop files into Bb Vista
As well as the basic methods of adding files
shown earlier, you can now go to the File Manager
area and use the Open as Web Folder option to
drag and drop multiple files/folders from your
computer straight into your Bb Vista section.
Vista 8
Another new feature in the File Manager you can
filter content to show only specific file types
(e.g. Word, PowerPoint, PDF, etc), making it
easier to locate files
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Easy to access tutorials
Vista 8 has something similar but with the added
bonus that there are direct links to Bb Vista
training materials if you need to refresh your
skills before building a new section
Vista 3
This is the Vista 3 start page you would always
see when you get a new section allocated
Vista 8
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Teach Mode
In Vista 3 the Course Management Tools were
displayed horizontally towards the top of the
page.
In Vista 8 there is an Instructor Tools menu
containing a number of teaching-related tools and
it is now to be found on the left-hand side,
towards the bottom new features include Grading
Forms and Notes.
Vista 3
Vista 8