Blackboard Vista Workshops

Our workshops are scheduled multiple times each semester and are open to all faculty, staff and teaching assistants who use the Vista learning management system for University courses or communities. Workshops are held in our hands-on training room, MLIB 002, unless otherwise noted.

Register for one or more workshops:
Training Calendar | List of all scheduled trainings

Foundation Series

These in-depth hands-on workshops are the core of our learning management system workshops, and are geared toward faculty who are new to Vista or looking to expand their knowledge of the Vista tools. The foundation workshops are usually two hours in length, allowing for discussion of ideas and teaching practices among participants. New to Vista? We recommend you start with the Vista 101, and then take the other Foundation workshops in any order.

Vista 101: Introduction to Vista 4, The Basics

Vista 101 begins the series with the an introduction to how to set up and begin designing a Vista course. Participants will learn what functions are available in Vista as well as what resources are available to faculty using online teaching tools. This course is a prerequisite to other Foundation Modules.

Vista 102: Communicating with Students

Participants will see and learn to use Vista's communication tools including Mail, Announcements, Discussions and Chat. Best practices and pedagogical uses for each tool which be demonstrated. Prerequisite: Vista 101 or familiarity with Vista.

Vista 103: Creating and Managing Content

Participants will learn how instructional content including web pages, PowerPoint files, readings, audio and video can be delivered in Vista. Participants will learn to use the file manager to upload files and then use Vista's folders and learning modules to organize their content. Prerequisite: Vista 101 or familiarity with Vista.

Vista 104: Creating and Managing Assessments & Assignments

Vista offers a variety of ways to assess students. Options include: quizzes, surveys, self-tests and assignments. Vista 104 will introduce you to functionality of these tools and best practices for using them. Prerequisite: Vista 101 or familiarity with Vista.

Vista 105: Vista Grade Book

Vista offers a comprehensive grade book tool which instructors can use to track student information and performance, as well as to post grades securely for students. Vista 105 explores the use of this tool, including how to customize views of the grade book, how to store and calculate student grades, and control which grades are shared with students. Prerequisite: Vista 101 or familiarity with Vista.

Other Vista Workshops

Tune-Up Your Vista Course with the ROI

The ROI is the Rubric for Online Instruction. In this workshop you will learn how to apply the Rubric to your Vista course to identify specific changes you can make to improve your course. Using the Rubric can help you become more effective and efficient in your use of online tools, and can help improve the experience of your students.

Register for one or more workshops:
Training Calendar | List of all scheduled trainings