myLesley Course Checklist

Modified on Tue, Dec 17, 2024 at 4:01 PM

Getting Ready for the Start of the Semester/Term

This guide will walk you through all the tasks needed to get your course ready for the new semester or term.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Getting Ready for the Start of the Semester/Term
Prepare for Your Course
Teaching on Campus?
Set up Your myLesley Course Site
Teaching in Ultra?
Help and Support

Prepare for Your Course

The following guidelines will help you as you prepare for your course.

Task	Resources
Check to make sure that you can log in to your Lesley accounts.	Log in to Lesley University account management. Set up account recovery information. Set up multi-factor authentication (MFA). Log in to Lesley services with single sign on (SSO).
Order your textbooks.	Login to the Virtual Bookstore to place your textbook adoption.
Utilize your library resources.	Check for relevant books, articles, videos, and more on the Lesley Library website. Email [email protected] with any questions.
Send a welcome announcement to your students.	Create Announcements in myLesley.

Teaching on Campus?

If you will be teaching on campus, make sure to familiarize yourself with the classroom technology and make sure that you can log in to Wi-Fi.

Task	Resources
Familiarize yourself with the technology available in your classroom.	Classroom & computer lab technology. Using the HyFlex classroom technology . Contact [email protected] to request HyFlex training.
Set up Eduroam Wi-Fi access on all the devices you will be using on campus (laptop, tablet, phone).	Eduroam installation and FAQ.

Set up Your myLesley Course Site

Utilize your myLesley course site to organize your course content including your syllabus, readings, videos, student activities, assignments, and more. You may set your course to Private while you are working on it and then make your course Available when you are ready for students to access the content. Refer to the Set Course Availability in myLesley support article for more information.

Task	Original Course View	Ultra Course View
Reusing content from a previous course?	Copy Original Courses. Or fill out the Course Copy Request Form.	Copy Ultra Courses. Or fill out the Course Copy Request Form.
Upload your course syllabus.	Post your Syllabus in myLesley.	Post your Syllabus in myLesley.
Create and manage course content.	Create Course Content in Original. Add and Format Content (Original). Managing Release Dates in Original.	Create Course Content in Ultra. Add and Format Content in Ultra (add links, files, images, and videos). Make Content Available, Unavailable, or Set Release Conditions in Ultra.
Create and manage activities and assignments.	Create Discussion Boards (Original). Create Assignments (Original). Create Blogs and Journals (Original). Create Tests (Original). Create VoiceThread assignments and activities.	Create Ultra Discussions. Create Ultra Assignments. Create Ultra Tests. Create Ultra Journals. Create a Cloud Collaboration. Create VoiceThread assignments and activities.
Check the accessibility of your course content.	Course accessibility report. Use Blackboard Ally to improve file accessibility.	Improve the Usability and Accessibility of your Course Content.
Set up your Grade Center/Gradebook.	New to grading in myLesley? Check out the Grade Center tutorial (Original). Grade Center and Grading (Original).	Navigating the Ultra Gradebook and Assigning Grades.
Manage date/time settings for students with accommodations.	Manage student accommodations (Original).	Set up Accommodations and Exceptions in Ultra Course View.

Converting from Original to Ultra?

If you have converted your course from Original to Ultra, please also check the following:

Utilize the Batch Edit tool to quickly and easily delete course content, adjust visibility, and update due dates.
Review your content and organization. Deeply nested folders may have been flattened and long folder descriptions may have been truncated. You may also wish to Edit, replace, delete, and reorder content to improve workflow and student navigation.
Review and update description text for content items, learning modules, folders, etc. Descriptions in Ultra are limited to 750 characters of plain, unformatted text.
Confirm that your Discussions are visible in the Course Content (within your Learning Modules or folders). You will also need to recreate group discussions and any discussions with starter posts. Check Discussion Forums and Threads Conversion for more details.
Check attachments and file uploads to ensure that they are working properly. You may also set your files to View and Download or to View Only.
Review your video and VoiceThread content. Older embedded content may need to be reinserted via the Ultra Text Editor or by Sharing a VoiceThread in myLesley.
Review and update any instructions that you have written to make sure they reflect the Ultra workflow.

Help and Support

Convert Your Course to Blackboard Ultra

Teach your next course in Ultra! Lesley University is transitioning to Blackboard Ultra, the new and intuitive version of myLesley/Blackboard. Learn more about the advantages of Ultra and how to get started today.

Faculty Online Office Hours

Have questions about myLesley? Need assistance? Join the eLIS staff for our weekly online office hours every Monday and Thursday, 2:00 - 4:00 ET. No appointment necessary: Join eLIS Online Office Hours.

Contact Us

Reach out to eLearning and Instructional Support (eLIS) at [email protected] with any questions or to request a 1:1 or small group training.