Display Dates and Due Dates in Blackboard

Module settings apply to all items within the module. You do not need to edit all settings for all items. Apply Availability and date settings to just a module (as long as the contents are not accessible through a link elsewhere in the course, such as a discussion forum) and all module contents will become available to students according to the settings.

As you learn about Display After/Until dates and Due Dates below, keep these key differences in mind:

• Availability dates set a time range when students can access the tool. Display After dates mark the beginning of visibility and Display Until sets the end.
• Due date is a single date when a submission is due. The due date appears in grade center, on the calendar, and in Bb notifications

Display After

When this setting is applied, content is not viewable until the date and time are reached. Content become viewable automatically when the date and time are reached, as long as they are set to be viewable (see above).

For example, if you want to open your Lesson 3 module at the start of week 3, determine what date that is and use the calendar and clock icons to enter your settings.

Display Until

When this setting is applied, the course item can no longer be accessed by students once the date and time have passed.

For most situations, do not apply a Display Until date. Closing course modules, files, and discussions prevents students from reviewing that content. Display Until dates present barriers to students, which is contradictory to a mission of inclusive, equitable learning.

Due Date

For tests, surveys, and discussions, you will have the option of setting a due date. When you set a due date, you may also see the option to allow students to continue to submit after the due date. This is a great idea if you accept late work. If you set the option to not allow students to submit after a due date, the only way to let students turn in late work is to then edit the settings and make an exception.

 

Adaptive Release

Blackboard also has a tool called Adaptive Release that will let you set conditions for the release of content that can vary based on these conditions:

• Date
• Membership
• Grade
• Review Status

Rules and Criteria

Adapative Release works by assigning a rule to a piece of course content. Each rule must have at least one criteria. You can use two types of adaptive release:

With basic adaptive release, you can apply one rule to a content item. This rule can contain all four types of criteria, but not multiple instances of the same type. All criteria in the rule must be satisfied before the item is released. The more criteria added to a rule, the more restrictions on the release of that item. More criteria make it more difficult for students to gain access.

With advanced adaptive release, you can set more complex release criteria. For example, you can add more criteria to a rule, or you can specify different options for releasing the content. Students must meet all of the criteria of one of the rules to gain access.

For example, one rule allows Group A members with a score above an 85 on a test to view the content item. Another rule for the same item allows Group B members to view the same content item only after a specific date.

More Information:

Adaptive Release can become complicated -- and it can prevent students from viewing your course content. We recommend consulting with one of the instructional designers in Online Learning if you are thinking about adding Adapative Release to your course content.

Learn more about using Adapative Release on the Blackboard Help site:

• More about AR rules
• More about AR rule criteria

Best Practices for Setting Access

The options for releasing your course content are wide-ranging. You can set a series of rules and criteria for every activity, lesson, or assessment. Some courses are like a Jenga game twenty moves in-the release of content balanced on some combination of page reviews, assessment submissions, grade percentages or identity.

Best Practices

Before the term

• Check for and remove any ID or membership-based releases set on tools or modules.
• Determine how you want to make your content available. Availability can be triggered manually by you, by a specific date or by students' completion of an activity.
• Review existing availability and releases. You can quickly see on your lesson page what's available or if there's an adaptive release set (or both).

• Set releases on your content. Remember, any release criteria should be set on the lesson or tool you want to make conditional-not the content or action the condition relies upon.

During Term

• Be diligent in confirming content availability Use Student Preview to see what your students see

After Term

• Remove any ID or membership-based releases set.
• Depending on your student access, hide wk 2-10 lessons.

General Advice

Keep it Simple: For instructors teaching online the first time, starting off with the most simple release criteria works best - manually releasing weekly content helps you establish a pattern and process for reviewing content to ensure it is student-ready. It's like a weekly check-in for what's coming next. Use Action Link/edit for manual availability or date release.

• Allows you to identify date-specific content without clicking.
• Avoids date or criteria mistakes.
• Makes you more likely to review content.