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Preview Week

What is Preview Week?

Preview Week is the 7 days before a semester begins when students who have enrolled in a course are able to see Blackboard or Moodle courses. If you have requested a Moodle or Blackboard course before it begins, the course will be administratively opened for students. This allows students to get information about the course and develop a sense of what the semester might look like for them.

When is Preview Week?

Preview week begins 7 days before the semester. At the start of preview week, any Moodle or Blackboard course that has been requested will be administratively opened to students. If you request a Moodle course in SPIRE after that date, you can make the course available to students once you are ready. Blackboard courses requested after the start of Preview Week will be available to students immediately. 

How Do I Prepare?

The goal of preview week is to give students a sense of what the class will be, so we typically recommend that a course have 1) an up-to-date syllabus, and 2) a week of content. This will allow students to see the typical flow of content, as well as see major dates and requirements of the course.

In addition to a syllabus and week of content, we strongly encourage instructors to create a welcome or introduction that introduces yourself and the course. This can include:

  • A brief welcome video
  • Highlights of the syllabus (how attendance is handled, what books/resources are needed first, etc…)
  • A list of strategies for successfully completing the course
  • Practice or example quizzes
  • A survey of students (preferred names, previous classes, learning styles, access to technology)

While these are not required, they will help orient students to the course and materials. We also recommend including a note that Preview Week may not be representative of the final course and that changes can still occur at the instructor’s discretion. 

You can always hide content in Moodle or Blackboard that are not ready from students to limit their viewing of materials. 

How Do I Opt Out of Preview Week?

If you are using Moodle, after preview week has begun you can Make Your Moodle Course Unavailable to Students. 

If you are using Blackboard, please reach out to instruct@umass.edu and request that your course be hidden from students until the start of the semester.

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