This article is for instructors or administrators who are new to VB Courseware and need to set up a course. Both the article and the video step through how to:
- Create a Courseware instructor or admin account
- Select or add a course to the dashboard
- Edit or add assignments and assessments to a course
- Invite other instructors or teaching assistants, as well as students
Step 1: Create an Account
Instructor and administrator account access is granted by the Visible Body team. If you are at a school with an institutional license or a Courseware adoption and need account access, submit a request. You will receive a link from a VB team member.
- Click on the link provided by the VB team to start your account setup. This link will take you to the Courseware sign-up page.
- Add your name, email address, and password
- Read through the terms and permissions. Once you accept them, you can select the Activate Now option.
Once you've completed these steps, your instructor account will activate. When you sign in, you will be on the main instructor dashboard for Visible Body Courseware.
Step 2: Select or add a course
Most Courseware instructors start using the platform by relying on a premade course. There are four options for courses that you can offer students:
Select one of the three pre-loaded courses displayed on the main dashboard
Instructor and administrator accounts come preloaded with three courses that include assignments and assessments for popular courses: There is:
- An essential concepts in anatomy and physiology course
- A course with anatomy lab activities
- A course with biology lab activities
Selecting one of these courses is the easiest and fastest way to get started because these courses map to popular courses and present the course topics through a series of assignments with:
- Distinct learning objectives
- Instructions for each activity that presents the content related to the learning objectives
- Assessments that map to the assignments learning objectives
To use one of these courses simply (1) Edit the course name, time zone, dates (2) select the assignments to offer, and publish them with the preferred release and due dates. How to do that is explained below.
Add a course from the VB bank of premade courses
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At the top right of the instructor dashboard is a Premade Courses button that takes you to the VB bank of premade courses.
- Browse the catalog of premade courses by the topics available: A&P textbook correlations, A&P core topics, Lab courses, Biology courses, Physiology courses, etc.
- Read the summary descriptions. If the course seems like a good fit, select "Add Course to My Account." This feature lets you access all the folders and assignments of the courses you add.
Selecting one of these courses means a lot of the correlations to course content has been done for you. You will still need to (1) edit the course name, time zone, dates and (2) select the assignments you want to offer (3) add instructions and descriptions to these assignments (4) publish them with your chosen release and due dates. How to do that is explained below.
Ask a fellow Courseware instructor to share their course with you
Here is how to share a course or ask an instructor to share a course:
- Find the course on the instructor dashboard page
- To the right of the course listing open the drop-down menu
- Select Send a Copy.
- Share the URL with any other instructor or administrator with a Courseware subscription
- When the link is clicked on the Courseware platform will add the course to the main dashboard
A shared course offers many premade assignments and assessment content. It is recommended that for a shared course, the following be reviewed and updated as needed: (1) edit the course name, time zone, dates and (2) select the assignments you want to offer (3) edit instructions and descriptions as needed (4) publish them with your chosen release and due dates. How to do that is explained below.
Create a new Courseware course. Then create your own assignments and assessments
Follow these steps to start with a blank slate and create a customized Courseware course:
- At the top right of the instructor dashboard is a Create Course button that takes you to a dashboard that walks you through creating a course outline.
- The steps to setting up the course outline involve entering the following: the course name, your time zone, a course ID (this is optional), and a school or department logo (also optional).
- When those fields are complete, select Create Course.
- Visit the Assignments article for assignment creation information
Step 3: Edit Course Information and Assignment information
Course Information
When you start with a premade course it includes some Course Information data to review and potentially edit. The basic course information includes: the course name, time zone, and start and end dates for the course. Here are the steps to edit:
- Find the course on the instructor dashboard
- To the right of the listing, select the drop-down menu
- Select Edit Course Information
- Change the desired information
Assignment information
The assignment information includes the core data: date the assignment is available, date the assignment is due, and points for each activity. To review and edit these:
- To the right of the assignment listing, find and select the three-dot menu and open it
- Select Edit
- Make the desired edits and select Save. (See the Managing Courses article for additional details on editing assignments.)
Make assignments and assessments viewable to students
Assignments must be published in Courseware in order for students to see them. When an assignment is published, students will see that the assignment is available to them, as well as the due date.
Courseware gives you the option to publish assignments and assessments to students on a schedule or all at once, and to create and manage due dates. See the bulk editing feature to learn about managing assignments in groups.
Step 4: Invite Students and others
Student access through an LMS
If your Visible Body Courseware course is integrated with your school's LMS (Blackboard, D2L, Canvas, Schoology, etc.), students will view and access Courseware assignments and assessments through the course's LMS.
Share this student LMS access information with students if they have questions.
Direct student access
If students are accessing Courseware directly (you are not using an LMS), then students need to use a Courseware Share Link to enroll themselves in the course. Follow these instructions to generate a link for a course.
- On the “My Courses” page, select the course.
- Select “Invite People” from the menu on the left.
- Email or post the course link for students
- Share this Courseware onboarding article with your students.
Share this Student Access article with students if they have questions.
FAQs
Adding instructors or teaching assistants to courses
Any instructor with a Courseware instructor account can gain access using the Invite People feature on the Courseware course dashboard page.
Using Courseware at multiple schools
If you are an instructor who teaches at more than one institution, you will need multiple Courseware instructor accounts. An instructor account is directly linked between the group license of the institution and the instructors teaching at that institution.
My instructor account is restricted
If as an instructor you do not have access to certain Courseware features, request these from your school's Courseware administrator. Our Roles and Permissions article includes a detailed list of permissions available by account type for Courseware.
Student access problems
(1) Check for an active subscription
Students must have an active subscription to access the assignments. Visible Body offers free two-week student trials, student access via school group subscriptions, and individual student purchases.
(2) Check that student is in the correct course
If using an LMS, students must join Courseware using the link inside the LMS. If the school is using Courseware directly (no LMS), students must join Courseware using the course's Invite People link.
You can share this Student Courseware FAQs article with students.