Adaptive Release

In the past, instructors had the ability to control when Blackboard content was available to students by specifying dates and times in a particular item's properties.  For example, an instructor could make an assignment to students at 8AM Monday, and make it unavailable at 5PM the following Friday.

Adaptive Release takes this concept further by including four types of availability criteria for Blackboard content:

1. Date and time
2. Username or group membership
3. Score or grade
4. Review status of another piece of content

You can also create multiple rules using any combination of the above criteria.

How can Adaptive Release be used in your class?

1. Make a test available from a certain date/time until a certain date/time.
2. If you split your class into groups, you can post group-specific information and have it only be available to that group.
3. Make the next reading assignment available only to students who received an 80 or above on their last quiz or assignment.
4. Make the next assignment available only to those who have read a specific piece of content.

Below are step-by-step instructions on how to set Adaptive Release rules in your course. If you would like to download illustrated instructions, please click here.

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Setting Date and Time Restrictions

Scenario: You have a folder of content for the first week of class.  You only want your students to have access to it between the dates of October 1 and October 8. 

1. Go to the Control Panel via the link beneath the course menu.
   
   
2. Select the Content Area where your folder is housed.
   
   
3. Select the Manage button to the right of your folder.
   
   
4. Select the Adaptive Release link.
   
   
5. Scroll down to Date.  Check the boxes next to Display After and Display Until.  Select the dates and times from the drop-down menus.
   
   
6. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit.
   
   
7. When you go back to the Content Area where your folder is housed, you will see the following message below it:
   Enabled: Adaptive Release
   
   
8. If the current date is outside of the date range you specified in Step 5, your folder will be hidden from your students.  If it is within the date range, they will be able to access it.  You, as Instructor, can always access it by going through the Control Panel.

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Setting Membership Restrictions

Scenario: You have two different majors enrolled in your class, Biology and Chemistry.  You want to post content that's only applicable to the Biology majors, as well as content that's only applicable to the Chemistry majors.  You can do this by setting membership restrictions.

1. Go to the Control Panel via the link beneath the course menu.
   
   
2. Select the Content Area where your folder is housed.
   
   
3. Select the Manage button to the right of your folder.
   
   
4. Select the Adaptive Release link.
   
   
5. Scroll down to Membership. 
   
   If you've set groups using the Manage Groups option in the Control Panel, follow these instructions:
   
   
1. In the Course Groups box, select the group you want to have access from the Available Course Groups list on the left. 
2. Click the top arrow button to move the group to the Selected Course Groups list on the right.
3. Scroll to the bottom and click Submit. The popup will disappear and you will be brought back to the Adaptive Release page.
   

If you have not set groups using the Manage Groups, you can select students individually using these instructions:

1. Select the Browse button to the right of the Username box.  A popup window will appear.
2. In the Search box, you can either click the Search button to list all students, or enter their last name to search individually.
3. Check the box next to the names of the students you wish to grant access to, then click Submit.  The popup will disappear and you will be brought back to the Adaptive Release page.

6. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit.
   
   
7. When you go back to the Content Area where your folder is housed, you will see the following message below it:
   Enabled: Adaptive Release
   
   
8. In this example, only Biology majors, the students you selected, are able to see this folder.  Chemistry majors cannot see it.  You, as Instructor, can always access it by going through the Control Panel.

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Setting Score or Grade Restrictions

Scenario: You want to offer an extra credit assignment those who scored an 80 or below on a test.  You do not want those who scored higher than 80 to access the extra credit.

1. Go to the Control Panel via the link beneath the course menu.
   
   
2. Select the Content Area where the extra credit item is housed.
   
   
3. Select the Manage button to the right of your folder.
   
   
4. Select the Adaptive Release link.
   
   
5. Scroll down to Gradebook Item.
   
   
6. Select the test from the Select a Gradebook item drop-down menu.
   
   
7. Select the second option, and set your criteria.  For this example, we want the option to say Score Less than or equal to 80.
   
   
8. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit.
   
   
9. When you go back to the Content Area where your assignment is housed, you will see the following message below it:
   
   
10. In this example, only those who scored an 80 or below on the test are able to see this assignment.  Those who scored higher than 80 cannot see it.  You, as Instructor, can always access it by going through the Control Panel.

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Setting Review Status Restrictions

Scenario: You want to make sure that students read a piece of content before proceeding to the test.  You can use Adaptive Release to make that test unavailable to students until they click on the reading.

1. Go to the Control Panel via the link beneath the course menu.
   
   
2. Select the Content Area where the test is housed.
   
   
3. Select the Manage button to the right of your test.
   
   
4. Select the Adaptive Release link.
   
   
5. Scroll down to Review Status.
   
   
6. Click the Browse button next to the Select an item box.
   
   
7. A popup window will appear.  Select the reading from the menu.
   
   
8. The popup window will disappear and the reading's path will appear in the Select an item box.
   
   
9. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Submit.
   
   
10. When you go back to the Content Area where your reading and test are housed, you will see the following messages below them:
    
    
11. In this example, students will only see the link to the reading.  Once they complete the reading, they can click the Mark Reviewed button to make the test show up.  You, as Instructor, can always access the test regardless of review status by going through the Control Panel.

 

If you would like additional information, please contact Teaching, Learning + Technology's Blackboard Support Team at:

blackboard@stonybrook.edu

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