Blackboard Tools > Adaptive Release

What is Adaptive Release?

Adaptive Release of Content provides controls to release content to users based on a set of rules provided by the Instructor. The rules may be related to availability, date and time, individual users and user groups (such as course Groups), scores or attempts on any Gradebook item, or review status of another item in the course.

This feature may be used by all Instructors and course developers. Some Instructors and course developers may choose to take advantage of advanced rule functionality to create sophisticated combinations of release rules on items. Others may utilize the basic rule functionality to release content to specific users or groups and/or to allow users to view content based on their performance on an assignment.

The following options are available:

• Adaptive Release – Create basic rules for an item. Only one rule per item may be created.
• Adaptive Release: Advanced – Create advanced rules for an item. Multiple rules may be created.
• User Progress – View the details on an item for all users in a course. This page includes information on whether the item is visible to the user and whether the user has marked the item as reviewed.

Adaptive Release rules and criteria

An Adaptive Release rule consists of a set of criteria that defines the visibility of a content item to users. Criteria are the parts that make up the rule. For example, date and membership are two types of different criteria. Each content item may have multiple rules, and each rule may consist of multiple criteria. To view an item, a user must meet all of the requirements of the rule. This means that if a rule has multiple criteria, the user must meet all criteria before the item is available.

For example, the Instructor may add an Assignment to a course. One rule for this Assignment may allow all users in Group A to view the Assignment after a specific date. This rule would consist of Membership criteria and Date criteria. Another rule for this Assignment may allow all users in Group B to view the Assignment once they had completed Homework #1. This rule would consist of Membership criteria and Gradebook criteria.

Note: Only one Membership criteria and one Date criteria may be created for each rule. Multiple Gradebook criteria and Review Status criteria may be added to each rule.

Visibility of items with Adaptive Release rules

Once any Adaptive Release rules have been established for an item, visibility of that item is restricted to those users who meet the criteria of those rules.

For example, the Instructor creates a content item called “Introduction” and makes the item available in Course Documents. At this point, all course users would be able to see Introduction. The Instructor then creates a rule restricting the item to Group A users. Now, only members of Group A can see Introduction—all other course users (who are not a member of Group A) do not see Introduction. The Instructor then adds other criteria to this rule, restricting it to Group A members who have received at least an 80 on Test #1. Now, only members of Group A who have also received an 80 or greater on the Test #1 will see Introduction. All other course users, including Group A members who scored less than an 80 on the Pre-Test, will not see Introduction. If no Adaptive Release Rules have been created, the item is available to all users in the course depending on the item availability and date / time availability set on the Add Item page.

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Related FAQ's

Q: What is the difference between basic Adaptive Release and Advanced Adaptive Release?

Advanced Adaptive Release allows users to create multiple rules per item. If a user wants to create different criteria for different users on the same item, the user will need to create more than one rule. For example, if different rules apply for different Groups in a course Advanced Adaptive Release is used. The Instructor may set up a rule for Group A that enabled all users in the Group to view an item once they receive an 85 on a Test. The Instructor may set up a separate rule for Group B that enables them to see the same content item after they receive an 80 on the Test.

Q: How do I add a basic Adaptive Release rule?

The Basic Adaptive Release rule allows the user to add and modify one rule for a single piece of content. This single rule may have multiple criteria. For example, the rule may require the user to meet both date criteria and review status criteria before the content is available.

Follow the steps below to add a basic Adaptive Release rule:

• Open a Content Area from the Control Panel.
• Select Manage next to the content item. The Manage page appears.
• Select Adaptive Release. The Adaptive Release page appears.
• Complete one or more sections of the Adaptive Release page and select Submit.

Q: How do I add an Advanced Adaptive Release rule?

Advanced Adaptive Release allows Instructors to add multiple rules to a single content item. If multiple rules are created, the content is visible to the user if any of the rules are met. Each rule may have multiple criteria. For example, one rule may allow users in Group A with a score above an 85 on a Test to view the content item. Another rule for the same item may allow users in Group B to view the same content item only after a specific date.

Follow the steps below to add an advanced Adaptive Release rule:

• Open a Content Area from the Control Panel.
• Select Manage next to the content item. The Manage page appears.
• Select Adaptive Release: Advanced . The Adaptive Release: Advanced page appears.
• Select Add Rule in the Action Bar. The Add Rule page appears. Enter a name for the rule and click Submit .
• Use the options in the Action Bar on the Manage Criteria page to build the rule. For example, select Add Date to add date criteria to the rule. When that criteria is complete, another option in the Action Bar may be selected to build on the rule. Select OK when the rule is complete.
• Repeat Step 4 thru Step 6 to add multiple criteria to an item.

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