Extend the classroom experience between class sessions
To increase student learning, increase the time students are spending with your course materials. Homework and outside class assignments are on target; here are some strategies to encourage students to concentrate on your course.
Strategies
Create assignments
Assigning homework is traditional and can be time-consuming for both faculty and students. Create focused assignments that can be uploaded to your course Webster for better record-keeping and accountability. Some materials can be graded automatically. Increase the quality of writing assignments using peer-review. Consider requiring contributions to discussion boards, blogs or wikis within the course website. Require group projects. Encourage student engagement by incorporating web materials into your course by assigning students to review wikipedia entries, or comment on public blogs on your subject. Clearly communicate your expectations while facilitating grading by using a rubric.
Require students to reflect on the course materials
An important component of learning is thinking about learning. To encourage your students to think about what they are learning, require periodic reflective blog entries on your course Webster. Or, require that they contribute to an online discussion. Encourage quality entries by giving clear directions, guidelines and examples, and providing credit for student contributions.
Communicate with students outside of class
Make office hours more convenient using Blackboard’s communication features to hold online office hours. Use email, the discussion board and/or announcements in Blackboard to remind students of concepts, correct misconceptions and encourage students.
Assign group projects
Create assignments where students work together to fulfill your course goals. Follow these four principles for assigning effective student group work: 1) use managed, heterogeneous groups, 2) hold individual students accountable for group work, 3) assignments must promote learning and require group cooperation, and 4) frequent and timely feedback. Facilitate student collaboration with online tools (use Blackboard's wiki, or Duke’s wiki or Google docs and spreadsheets) and clear rubrics for grading.
Examples
Martha Reeves used the Blackboard discussion board to obtain student feedback about their learning in the class and for student engagement.
Anathea Portier-Young in the Duke Divinity School used wikis for communication and collaborative writing in her class.
Queen Utley-Smith in the School of Nursing used blogs in her large class to keep students engaged.
Tools
Blackboard has several features to facilitate student assignments. Assignments can be automatically graded, copied from one course to another, and maintained in the gradebook. In addition, students may be required to contribute to discussion boards, wikis or blogs within the course website.
Create rubrics to 1) clearly communicate your expectations to the students and 2) speed grading of student assignments. Rubistar and Rcampus are two online sources for rubrics.
Collaboration tools include Duke University wiki, pbwiki, wikispaces and Google docs and spreadsheets.
Peer review of student work can be structured via Calibrated Peer Review. Alternatives include SWoRD and Expertiza 
Resources
Chickering, A. W. and Gamson, Z. F. (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in UndergraduateEducation. AAHE Bulletin, 1987, 39(7), 3–7
Chickering, A. W. and Ehrmann, S. C. (1996) Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever AAHE Bulletin, October, pp. 3-6
Felder, Richard Active and Cooperative Learning
Michaelsen. L.K. Getting Started with Team-based Learning
Millis, Barbara Managing—and Motivating!—Distance Learning Group Activities
Oakley, B., Felder, R.M., Brent, R. and Elhajj, I. (2004) Turning Student Groups into Effective Teams.
J. Student Centered Learning, 2(1), 9–34 . Techniques for avoiding dysfunctional teams, dealing with them when they arise, and helping students acquire the skills they will need to form high-performance teams.
