Online Learning at CWU: Faculty Tutorials

Adaptive Release Advanced - Download printable version

To use Adaptive Release you should have basic familiarity with Blackboard. If you are familiar with adding content to Blackboard you remember that in the instructor view next to each piece of content there have been three buttons: Modify, Copy and Remove. In the most recent update they've added a fourth: Manage.

The manage button is used to control several of the new features including Review Status and Adaptive Release.

Adaptive Release allows an instructor to create custom learning paths through course content and activities. Content items, discussions, assessments, assignments, or other activities can be released to students based on a set criteria including:

• date and time
• specific users
• group membership
• institution role
• grades or attempts on a particular test or assignment
• or review status of another item in the course

To create a basic Adaptive Release rule, use the first option: Adaptive Release. This allows for a single rule: Date and/or Membership and/or Gradebook Item and/or Review Status. The important thing to note is that with the simple Adaptive Release the rules you specify from the list above are additive. That means that all the conditions indicated must be met.

You can add criteria to a rule to narrow the ability of users to view a content item. Once rules are established and applied to an item, visibility of that item is restricted to those users who meet the criteria of the rules. You can add multiple rules to a single item and once a user meets all of the rules the content will be available.

During this session you will first see how to use Adaptive Release with multiple criteria (a form of basic Adaptive Release), as well as an example of Adpative Release Advanced. The first example is not Adaptive Release: Advanced because the multiple criteria are still defined under 1 rule.

EXAMPLE 1 - Basic Adaptive Release

An instructor creates a content folder called Module 1 Assignments and makes the item available in Assignments. However, the instructor wants Module 1 Assignments to remain unavailable to students until they have marked the folder in Course Documents called Module 1: The Blackboard Environment: Student Perspective reviewed (Review Status) AND scored a 10 on the Module 1 Assignment #3 quiz.

To implement this the instructor would need to click the Manage button for the folder in Assignments -->Module 1 Assignments: Student Perspective. This is the folder that would become visible after the criteria is met by the student.

1. Locate the Module 1 Assignments: Student Perspective folder in the Edit View and click Manage. Select Adaptive Release from the Manage screen.
   
   
2. Note that the numbered criteria include 1) Date, 2) Membership, 3) Gradebook Item 4) Review Status.
   
   
3. We need to indicate that the students need to have achieved a score of 10 points on the gradebook item, Module 1 Assignments #3 quiz. This option is selectable under item 3) Gradebook Item.
   
   
   
   
4. In addition for the next criteria item, item 4) Review Status the instructor will need to click the Browse button and select the folder located under Course Documents called Module 1: The Blackboard Environment: Student Perspective from the Course map window.
   
   
   
   
5. Click Submit. You will be prompted that "Making this selection will enable Review for the item selected". This indicates that Review Status will be applied to the folder indicated. On the next page click the OK button.
   

EXAMPLE 2: Membership

You may have one or more students who knows they will be unable to take a test during the estabished test time. If you wish to make the test available to only select students you can use Adpative Release (basic rather than advanced) to achieve this.

1. Locate the assessment called Module2, Assignment #2: Blackboard Conventions and Tools within the Assignments area and click the Manage button while in Edit View.
   
   
2. This is the only availability restriction we will be placing on the test, so we will select Adaptive Release.
   
   
3. Scroll down to the option 2 section labeled Membership
   
   
4. In the Username text box click Search to search for the student in your course. Place a check mark next to the students you would like to be included. In this case only one person should do this so I will select demostudent 15.
   
   
   
   
5. Once you have the users selected scroll to the bottom and click Submit and on the next page scroll to the very bottom and click submit again.
   
   

Now only the users/s included in the Membership list will have acces to the test. You will need to go back and remove this rule if you wish to make the test available for the rest of the class.

EXAMPLE 3: Advanced Adaptive Release

Using the scenario in the previous example, Example 2, you could use Advanced Adaptive Release to establish two rules instead of having to manualy make the test available later. The first rule would be to allow the specific users access and the second rule would be a date rule to open the test to the rest of the class.

To demonstrate the next scenario we will need to go back and edit our previous rule set up in Adaptive Release: Advanced. To edit an Adaptive Release Rule you need to do so in the Advanced Adaptive Release option.

1. Click the Adaptive Release: Advanced link.
   
   
   
   
2. Notice the existence of the rule 1. This is a result of the membership criteria we set up in Example 2: Membership.
   
   
   
   
3. Next we will need to add a second rule that will be a date rule to open the test to the rest of the class. Click Add Rule button in the menu at the top.
   
   
4. On the next screen type a name for the rule. Let's call it "Or open for class".
   
   
   
   
5. The next screen will allow us to specify the criteria for the rule we just named. Click the Add Date icon.
   
   
   
   
6. The rule is going to make the test available to all users in the class between two dates that we specify. Choose a date range under item 1 and click Submit.
   
   
   
   
7. The following page with two rules specified should appear:
   
   
   
   

Notice the existence of the word OR in front of the second rule. This means that the criteria are not in addition as with our original simple Adaptive Release rule that allowed multiple criteria. The Adaptive Release: Advanced option allows us to set up rules that may apply to some users and situtations but not to other

This concludes the tutorial on Adaptive Release: Advanced. If you have any questions or comments, please call (509) 963-1224, or email: chinn@cwu.edu.

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