Hello,

My name is Samson Wakjira, I participated in the Blended

Learning with Bb Workshop in the Spring of 2015. Here is
my ePortfolio and reflection about my knowledge and understanding as
a Blended Learning Instructor. Please take a look at my
ePortfolio and feel free to ask me any questions you may have.
Thank you
Samson
Blended teaching benefits:
Organizes and simplifies course delivery, diminishes lecture time and facilitates
student centered teaching methods like flipping courses by providing easy access
to a variety of resources at any time.

1. Getting your Bearings: Learning to Successfully Navigate Bb

Reflections: The following Bb navigational tool provides you with quick & easy access to your
course. Generally the few the items on the menu and the few the number of clicks to access
materials is the better for the learner. There are 7 items on the menu and each item is carefully
selected and designed to provide easy access to the materials and information without
compromising the richness of the content necessary for the successful completion of the course
by the learner. The resources that you need can be accessed with 1 or 2 or a maximum of 3 clicks
after entering the course shell. Please click on the Course and faculty info. section to start &
follow a step by step instruction.
Spring 2015, Course number, Section, Course title
Announcements contain the latest & important information.
thinking.

Course and Faculty Info provides a link to the syllabus, faculty contact
information & communication policy.
Learning Plans (Contents) contain a weeks worth of reading materials,
videos, assignments, and quizzes.
MindTap Resources Link allows access to the textbook publishers resources
related to the course.
Q and A forum provides answers and solutions from instructor & classmates.
My Grades shows grades & the status of gradable items in the course.
Bb & Smarthinking Help provide help tools on the Bb & online tutorial.

2.From the Foundation UP: Utilizing Effective Course Design to Build

Reflections: Learning modules are used

instead of files here because they provide
a conducive way to host different kinds of
documents and media. Access can be
chronologically set and can be restricted
when needed. The Learning modules have
table of contents that organize the
presentation of the content. These learning
modules contain such as items, Power
points, Handouts, Videos, Examples, Web
links, Assignments, and Quizzes that the
learner needs for that specific week or unit
in one place.
In the content frame, click a link to access
content, such as a file link or a video or a

Course Navigation Video for Students

(Click on the image or link below for the video)

https://youtu.be/_FB8Tx3kcIk

3 - Staying Connected: Using Bb Communication Tools

3A: Announcement Strategy Writing
Reflections: The announcement section is to post timely
information critical to course success. The learner will be
responsible for any announcements and instructions posted on the
Blackboard(Bb). Check this section whenever you log into the
course for time-sensitive material including:
Due dates for assignments and projects.
Changes to your syllabus.
Corrections/Clarifications of materials.
Information about upcoming week course contents.
Information related to grading of course activities
Extra credit activities.

3 - Staying Connected: Using Bb Communication Tools

3B: Faculty Profile Page with Communication Statement (Policy)
Reflections: Faculty profile and communication policy are important ways to outline the expectation of the
instructor, and how to reach and communicate with the faculty member. An example is used to illustrate the
importance of this section below:
Samson Wakjira [e-mail: swakjira@msjc.edu]
Division of Business and Technology, Room # 1254B
Contact information: Please contact your faculty Mentor through the MSJC email message system found on your Bb,
learner site, rather than by your personal email account.
The best learner contact method is e-mail. Therefore, for all correspondences related to this course use the above
email address. You will receive a reply within a 24-hour to 48-hour period. You may reach the faculty Mentor by phone;
however, the best method of contact is the MSJC email messaging system.
All e-mails sent to the instructor for this course should contain the following in the subject line: Course Name and
Section, Your Name, Short Description of your question.
Please do not use e-mails to submit class activities or any course work. Class activities will be submitted during
class meetings in class & all other activities have to be submitted on the Bb.
If you do not perform as expected in the first session of class and do not contact me, you may be dropped from
the class involuntarily.
Office Hours : Monday: 08:00 a.m. - 09:30 a.m. (Office)
Tuesday: 06:00 p.m. - 07:00 p.m. ( Office)
Wednesday: 08:00 a.m. - 09:30 a.m. (Office
Thursday: 10:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. (Virtual/Online using CCCConfer.com)
Other days by appointment.
Telephone: 951-487-3754 (If you leave a message in the voice mail, please leave the number and the best time to return
your call)

3 - Staying Connected: Using Bb Communication Tools

3C: Communication Activity
Welcome to Macroeconomics
Hello Everyone
It is really a pleasure and a privilege to welcome you to the course. Class for this course starts
on Wednesday, January 21, 2015 and ends on May 27, 2015. It is important that we have to be
on the same page as to the course requirements before the course starts. The requirement of
this course include:
- Reading and understanding the course syllabus. Your syllabus is posted in the "Course and
Faculty Info" section from the blue menu on the left and you can print out for easy reference;
- Reading the text book and other supplementary materials posted on the Blackboard for the
course;
- You will get access to the course syllabus and other materials from the Blackboard. Click on
the link Course and Faculty Info to get all the information that you need for the course and faculty
communication policy.
Thank you again for enrolling in this exciting course. I hope we will have a vibrant semester
ahead of us.
Samson Wakjira
Economics Faculty
Mt. San Jacinto College

4 - Moving Beyond Paper & Pencil: Assessing Learners Digitally

4A. Annotated Assignment Screenshot

4. Moving Beyond Paper & Pencil: Assessing Learners Digitally

4B. Syllabus Quiz

5. Monitoring Student Success: Delving Deeper into the Grade Center

Screenshot of Grade Center with Reflection

Explanation of the columns

in the Grade book: Name of
Student, Readiness Quiz on
the syllabus, Problem sets
Ch1 &2, Quiz on Ch1 & Ch2,
Sum Total Points and Grade
in Progress columns. (Color
Black indicates non
submission).

6. Making Data-Driven Decisions: Using Bb Performance Monitoring

6A. Performance Dashboard

Reflections: The Performance Dashboard provides the instructor with a view into all types
of user activity in the course or organization. All users enrolled in the course are listed,
including instructors, students, teaching assistants, graders, observers, and guests, with
pertinent information about each users progress and activity as shown below with self
explanatory captions:

6. Making Data-Driven Decisions: Using Bb Performance Monitoring

6B. Retention Center
Reflections: The Retention Center provides an easy way for instructors to discover which
students in the course are at risk. Based on the rules created, students engagement and
participation are visually displayed, quickly alerting us potential risk. From the Retention
Center, one can communicate with struggling students that need help. For example, to
show students with Last access more than 8 day(s) and Grade in Progress [up to 1124]
is 69.5% or below is shown to alert the instructor.