What faculty can expect

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The Blackboard component of the new personalized UT Direct Web sites enables faculty members to use Blackboard's courseware to create Web sites for classes. Instructors can easily post course materials and assignments, set up chat rooms and discussion areas, and even create online quizzes.

The software also facilitates communication and collaboration outside the classroom. Faculty can use Blackboard to have online office hours, for example, or to hold discussions, or to include links to other Internet resources.

To see what a Blackboard course looks like, go to http://courses.utexas.edu. Once logged in, you can see a list of the courses you are teaching. It is updated every 24 to 48 hours. Each shell site offers the capability for chat and e-mail with the students taking the class.

To help you learn more about using Blackboard to add course materials and take advantage of its many features, the Center for Instructional Technologies will be conducting seminars and workshops throughout the year.

If you have an existing site and want it to be linked from within UT Direct, an authorized representative from your department can submit your class URL to the Registrar's Office. Your site should be linked the next day.