Organize your course materials

Ordering textbooks

Textbook adoption is facilitated by Barnes & Noble/BU Bookstore. If you have any questions or need additional assistance, please contact Barnes & Noble’s course materials team: textbks@bu.edu.

Use the Faculty Link (www.bu.edu/link) to find the “Instructor’s Tools” subheading, which lists the Barnes & Noble at BU Adoption & Insights Portal. Once in the portal, you will land on the Course List where you can easily research and choose materials for your customized list.

✓ You can re-adopt from a past semester by choosing the previous term and selecting “one-click re-adopt.”

✓ You may also search and discover course materials by selecting the “guide me” option.  With this option, you can view course material history by course and section or search by an ISBN or keyword.

✓ If you do not wish to order textbooks for the class: Select “I’m not using any materials for this class”.  This provides information for students on the bookstore’s website that there are no textbooks needed for the course.

If you are teaching a cross-listed course, please submit your book order for all of the course sections in the cross-list so that all students have visibility to the required materials for the course section in which they are registered.

With thanks to CAS Instructors’ Guide for this information

Placing materials on reserve

✓ Course materials may be placed on reserve through the Boston University Library system.

✓ Videos in a variety of formats may also be placed on reserve at the Geddes Language Center (685 Commonwealth Avenue, CAS Room 537).

✓ Krasker film/video services, in the basement of Mugar Library, offer information on showing videos during class. You may also use this form to place videos from Krasker on reserve at the Geddes Language Center for students to watch out-of-class.

Create your Blackboard site

✓ Create a Blackboard site through Faculty Link or follow instructions to request a Blackboard site for your class through BU’s TechWeb form.

✓ If possible, open your Blackboard site a week before classes to allow time for students to access the site and explore.

Look for support opportunities

✓ CTL offers syllabus-writing support before the start of the semester: check the CTL calendar for more information.

✓ Questions about technology in the classroom are answered by DL&I’s Educational Technology staff on the Charles River Campus and by BUMC Educational Technology staff on the Medical Campus.

Check out your classroom

✓ Take a look at your classroom set-up through the images and technology lists on the BU Classrooms page.

✓ If you are not familiar with the technology in the classroom, consult the training guides provided by Learning & Events Technology Services (LETS).

✓ The LETS team is also available to schedule private one-on-one or group training sessions and support in your classroom.

Connect with your students

Building community with your students can start before classes begin. Consider connecting with your students a week before the semester starts to help them become familiar with the class requirements. Here are some simple ways to make those connections:

✓ Introduce yourself and the course via email or by sending a brief (1-2 min) welcome video (videos may be recorded on Zoom, and links may be shared with students or you may upload your videos on Kaltura through My Media and share the link with the students). 

✓ Send a brief student survey as a way of getting to know your students; it also allows you to ask for any information that will help you understand their learning needs.

✓ Let students know how to access their Bb course.

✓ Share information on course materials. 

✓ Let students know if you would like them to bring a device (laptops/tablets) to class for any digital work.

✓ Review your class list and roster and have it ready (printed or electronic copy) for your first day. The class roster is available through the BU Faculty Link.

More resources

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Last updated: July 12, 2023.