What
do my students need to access my course?
- What
do my students need to access my course?
Students
need a username and password to access your course from the main
page. Your students' username for the Blackboard would
be the same as their tiger or royalmail username and password
will be ssn followed by two-digit day of birth. (Note: Your students
will be able to change their password later.)
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- Can
I enter letter grades in the grade book spreadsheet?
Yes.
You can create an entry for that item by choosing "Add Entry"
from the grade book spreadsheet. Do not enter possible points
for the entry. After the entry has been created, you can enter
any type of grades you wish.
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- How
can I upload an HTML file that contains graphics to Blackboard?
In
the "Optional File Upload" area, browse to the HTML file then
click "Submit." When prompted for the location of the individual
graphic files, browse your local disk, specify the location, and
then click "Submit."
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- How
do I make a link from Blackboard to other sites?
There
are two methods for you to do this.
- To
create the link in any other sections of Blackboard (e.g. Course
Information, Course Documents, Assignments, etc.) type the URL
right in the text box and choose "Plain Text" before you click
"Submit." Example: Type "The University of Scranton Home
Page - http://www.scranton.edu
" will allow you to create a link to the University Home Page.
- Click
on "External Links" in the control panel and create a link to
your Scranton web site by filling in the description and URL.
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- What
do I need to use Blackboard?
All
you need to use Blackboard is a computer that is connected to
the Internet. This can be a on campus or off campus using modem/dsl
connection through an Internet Service Provider. The computers
in the public labs are configured to give you all the applications
and plug-ins you need to participate in a Blackboard course.
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- What
browser do I need to use Blackboard?
Blackboard
requires that you have a Java-enabled Web browser. Version 4.0
or higher of either Netscape or Microsoft Internet Explorer will
work. You can download the latest version of Netscape by going
to the Netscape Download Site and following the on-screen instructions.
If you have trouble downloading a new browser or need help determining
if your browser is Java-enabled, call the Help Desk.
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- Do
I need to change my browser settings?
For
Blackboard's features to work correctly, your browser should be
"Java-enabled," and you should make sure you are always looking
at the latest version of the Blackboard page. Follow the instructions
below to check your browser settings:
From
Netscape (4.0 or greater):
- Click
on the EDIT menu and choose PREFERENCES
- Under
the Category panel on the left, click on ADVANCED
- Place
a checkmark in front of ENABLE JAVA and ENABLE JavaScript
- Under
the Category panel, under Advanced, click on CACHE
- Under
"Document in cache is compared to document on network:" choose
EVERY TIME
From
Internet Explorer (4.0 or greater):
- Click
on the VIEW menu and choose INTERNET OPTIONS...then choose GENERAL
- In
the section titled 'Temporary Files', press the SETTINGS button
- Under
"Check for newer versions of stored pages:" check EVERY VISIT
TO THE PAGE
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- I'm
using America Online (AOL) with Windows 95/98. The built-in AOL
browser does not work with certain Blackboard components. Can
I use Netscape as my browser when I'm connecting through AOL?
Yes.
Follow these steps to set this up:
- Go
to the Netscape Homepage
- In
the left panel, under Download Information, click on TECHNICAL
SUPPORT.
- Scroll
down to CONFIGURATION
- Click
on USING AOL 3.0, Windows 95, and NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR TOGETHER
- You
can print the instructions to make them easier to follow
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- Do
I have to receive my Blackboard e-mail at my royalmail e-mail
address?
No.
When your Blackboard account is created, the default e-mail address
is your royalmail e-mail address if you have one. If necessary,
make sure to change this to a valid e-mail address where you wish
to receive your e-mail. To change the e-mail address where you
receive Blackboard e-mail, click the STUDENT TOOLS button, click
CHANGE YOUR INFORMATION, type in your new e-mail address, then
click UPDATE USER INFORMATION.
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- People
have sent me e-mail from inside Blackboard, but I don't seem to
be receiving it. What happened?
Check
the e-mail address you have entered in Blackboard. To do this,
click on STUDENT TOOLS, click on CHANGE YOUR INFORMATION. Scroll
to the e-mail address field. Does it show the same e-mail address
where you are logging in to get your mail? If not, make corrections,
and then click UPDATE USER INFORMATION. Test the address by sending
a message to yourself from Blackboard. Also, make sure the e-mail
address is an active account.
Top
First,
create your online course by following the instructions in creating
a Blackboard course site at the top of this page. You'll receive
a confirmation of your course creation. Any time you need to add
content after the initial setup you can simply go to the Main
Page and login.; you'll need to know your Blackboard user
name and password. After logging in your courses will be shown
and simply click on the course you wish to edit. Click on
the desired course, you'll then notice a green button on the bottom
left called "Control Panel." Press it, then choose the aspect
of the course you want to change. If you have problems getting
into your course, call the Help Desk. When you're adding material
in a text box, you can type the information or cut and paste from
a word Processor. If you want to make a whole word processor document
available, you can also upload it intact to the blackboard server.
Once you've added material, you can go back and change or remove
it. Changes take effect as soon as you click the "submit" button
for the information you are updating.
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- How
can I have an announcement that is always displayed, regardless
of how the student filters the announcements?
When
you post your new announcement, you will see a group of radio
buttons to the right of the "Submit" button. Simply make sure
that the "Yes" radio button next to the "Always Show" label is
selected before you submit the announcement. The announcement
will always be shown regardless of how the student filters the
display. Want to change an existing announcement to always be
displayed? No problem - just choose to modify it in the Control
Panel and set the "Always Show" to "Yes", then submit it.
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- How
do I incorporate several graphics within the same document?
The
"Add Document" link in Control Panel page editors allows you to
add a single image with associated text to a folder (specify the
GIF or JPEG image under "Optional File Upload" and select a "special
action" of "display this file within the page"). The easiest way
to incorporate multiple graphics within a single document is to
create an HTML formatted document with the graphics embedded (linked)
in it. You can then upload that HTML file with the graphics.
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- How
do I put HTML into my pages?
If
you want to just include a bit of markup in the text of an item
in a folder, you can type the HTML codes into the box in the page
editor. Click "add document" then include the HTML markup in the
"Enter Information Below" area, and check "HTML" button. That's
good only for very simple things like boldface, and you have to
be careful not to foul up the page (e.g. by having a beginning
tag but no ending tag. If you don't know HTML, you can copy the
tags from your HTML editor. In some HTML editors (FrontPage) when
you use the COPY command (command-C) it stores the codes on the
clipboard.
- In
the Control Panel for your Blackboard course, choose Course
Documents. (You could put information into the Course Information
or Announcements pages in the same manner by choosing those
areas from the Control Panel.), and click the "Add Document"
button.
- Give
the new document title and perhaps a bit of descriptive information
in the "Enter information" box.
- In
the "Select Options->Optional File Upload" area, use the
Browse button to find the HTML page on your PC or Mac.
- In
the "Name of Link" field, enter the text for the link that students
would click on to view this document.
- In
the "Special Actions" field, select "Do Nothing Special" or
"Create a link to this file".
- Click
the "Submit" button to send the information to the Blackboard
server.
- Blackboard
will send a receipt to confirm the process and will ask you
to locate (on your hard disk) and upload any images (IMG tags)
that are used in your HTML file.
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It's
a single compressed file that contains several files inside it.
You need a program to create and unpack such files. For unpacking
ZIP archives, Aladdin Expander works great. For creating them,
we recommend the free Winzip for Windows users; Mac users can
use the free MacZip.
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- How
do I put a PowerPoint presentation on my course site?
The
best way is to save your PowerPoint presentation using the "save
as HTML" option. This creates a large set of html documents that
you can package as a ZIP file and transfer as above. Zip the files
from PowerPoint into one zipped (compressed) file and upload the
zipped file to Blackboard. When you're asked to choose an entry
point for the presentation, you'll probably want to choose either
"index.htm" or "sld001.htm"
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- What
about students with "Directory Access Restricted"?
You
need to ensure that other people can't obtain information about
such students from your Course Site. Until one "enrolls in the
course, he/she can't see most of the Course Site, and in particular
can't see the Communication or Student Tools sections. You can
and should use Control Panel->Course Options to turn on "security"
for Course Documents and Assignments, since you probably don't
want random visitors from other institutions seeing those materials.
For "directory restricted" students, you should also use Control
Panel->Modify User to change a particular user and mark his/her
as not "available". When you do so, then even other people in
the course won't see his/her name on the student roster or the
list of individual email addresses. However, if she posts a message
to a discussion board, that message will show up as being sent
by his/her, and will show his/her name and email address. Although
she can change his/her name in the account information (using
Student Tools->Change your Information) that means that you
the instructor will also see the changed information, not his/her
real name.
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- My
browser hangs for a long time and does not load the navigation
buttons on the left.
A
problem has occurred where even after waiting a long time, the
buttons on the left may not appear. The image for Blackboard's
"Search" button is not being found. Hit the "Stop" button on your
browser and the other images should be displayed. This will not
inhibit functionality.
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- I
can't get into Blackboard from work/home. What can I do?
You
may be behind a firewall at work or at home which may not allow
you to connect to the nonstandard port: 80 which is used by Blackboard.
You may wish to speak to the Help
Desk or your Internet Service Provider to resolve this issue
until the Blackboard Administrators find a workaround.
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- How
can I get training for Blackboard?
For
instructors, we have seminars on using Blackboard for online instruction
in our regular seminar series. These training sessions will be
advertised and flyers distributed throughout the month.
You
are also welcome to request a 30-minute introductory session for
your students by the IR
Training Coordinator.
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- What
happens to my Blackboard site at the end of the semester?
We
archive your course after the final grades are due. Your
students will be un-enrolled the day following the archival.
The course documents will be archived (albeit without any of the
student information, discussion board messages etc.). Blackboard
sites can easily be reused for later terms by simply filling out
the Rollover Form.
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- My
students are having problems. Can you help?
The
Blackboard administrators provide support to faculty and developers
working on Blackboard. Students should direct their questions
to their instructors/TAs or Help
Desk, who may contact the Blackboard administrators if they
cannot solve the problem themselves. Problems of a general nature
not directly related to Blackboard, such as dial-up issues, web
browser problems etc., should be directed to the Help
Desk.
That
includes all of the following:
- Any
error messages they got. Literally!
- What
browser they were using, what version, and what operating system.
- How
they were accessing the Internet (what ISP, and is it behind
a firewall).
- What
exactly they were trying to do when the error occurred.
- When
exactly this occurred.
- Any
other clues related to their problem
- Most
frequent cause for problems is the use of old browsers, such
as the AOL internal browser. Students should use a modern browser
with AOL.
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- How
do I remove students from my course site?
From
the beginning of your semester using Blackboard, you are responsible
for removing students if they drop your course. Go to Control
Panel, User Management, and Remove User. You'll see a list of
all enrolled students with checkboxes to the left of each name.
Click in the checkbox next to any student you want to remove and
then click the Remove Selected Users button.
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- How
do I change my password?
Go
to Control Panel, User Management, and Modify User. Find your
name in the list and click on your userid. Type your new password
in the password fields (you'll need to enter it twice), then click
the Submit button for the new password to take effect. At this
point, Blackboard may prompt you to log in to your site again
using the new password.
Top
- What
if I forget my password?
You
can contact the Help
Desk. They can easily reset it for you.
Top
- How
can I restrict access so that only those enrolled in the class
can see my site?
By
default, anyone who has an account on the Blackboard system (all
the University students and many faculty and staff members) can
view your course site, except for the Communication and Student
Tools areas. These areas are always restricted to those enrolled
in a particular site. However, individual faculty members have
the option of restricting any or all areas of their sites to only
those enrolled in the course. Go to Control Panel, Site Management,
Course Options, and Change Button Availability. You will see a
listing of all the areas of your course site and radio buttons
to Enable or Disable each area. You will also see a column of
checkboxes for making each area secure. Click the checkboxes for
each area that you want to make secure, then click the Submit
button.
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- Is
there any way I can add formatting (bold, Italics, etc.) to text
that I enter into Blackboard's text boxes?
In
most of Blackboard's text boxes, HTML tags can be used to format
your text. You can include any tags that would appear between
the <body> tags of a standard HTML document. A list of commonly
used HTML tags can be found in HTML tutorials on the net.
Top
- How
do I perform document and folder management? In particular, I
created some documents, and then realized that I wanted to put
them into folders.
This
is a limitation in Blackboard. You can re-order documents at the
top level of a particular section (Course Documents, Course Information,
etc.) as well as within a particular folder that you have created
in advance, but you cannot move documents from one folder to another
or from one section of the site to another (without deleting and
re-adding). This is why it's important to map out your organizational
structure in advance.
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- I
would like to put some of my documents into HTML format so those
students don't have to launch extra software (e.g., MS Word, WordPerfect)
to open my files. What are my options?
Recent
office software suites (MS Office, Corel Office) now include the
option to save as HTML. While this is an easy way to convert your
documents, it doesn't always yield perfect results. Some formatting
may be lost, spacing may be altered, etc. Some trial and error
will probably be necessary.
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- When
I save my MS Word files as HTML, it works okay for simple documents,
but much of my formatting is lost. What if I have something more
complex, e.g., equations or non-Roman character sets?
One
alternative is to obtain Adobe Acrobat software and save your
documents as PDF (portable document format) files. Saving in this
format keeps all of your formatting and special characters intact.
The Acrobat Reader software, which is required to open PDF files,
is free and comes pre-installed with most recent web browsers.
Inquire with your departmental regarding availability of the Acrobat
writer software necessary for creating PDF files (it is not free).
PDF files can be loaded into Blackboard just like any other file
type.
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- I
would like to include graphs made from Excel spreadsheets in my
course site. Is there any way other than uploading the files in
native Excel format?
An
alternative is to use Excel's add-in that allows you to Save as
HTML and create web images of your graphs (these instructions
refer to Excel 97. If this feature is activated in your copy of
Excel, your File menu will have an option called Save as HTML.
If this option is not present, check the Tools menu, Add-Ins.
If you have a choice called Internet publishing, select it and
then check the File menu again. If you still don't see a Save
as HTML option, you may need to install additional options from
your Excel media or your version may not support it. Contact the
Help
Desk for assistance. When you select the Save as HTML option,
Excel's web publishing wizard will walk you through saving your
spreadsheet or graph in web-ready format. An HTML file is created
containing a GIF image of the graph. When Excel saves the HTML
file it also saves the GIF image file separately. The HTML wizard
will prompt you to name your HTML file, and will automatically
save any embedded graphs with a similar file name. For example,
any embedded graphs from the file chart.html would be called chart1.gif,
chart2.gif, etc. and be saved in the same directory as the HTML
file. When you upload the HTML file in Blackboard, it recognizes
that this file should contain a GIF image and prompts you to browse
for it. The advantage of using this method rather than uploading
the file in native Excel format is that no special software, other
than a web browser is required to view the file. You don't have
to worry that your students might not have Excel installed on
their machines.
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- When
uploading a document, I have tried using the "Display this file
within the page" option listed under Special Action. It always
reverts back to "Create a link to this file." Why won't my file
display in the page?
The
"Display this file within the page" option is meant for uploading
images (gif or jpg files), audio, video, or other multimedia files.
It won't work with HTML files, word-processing documents, or other
non-media file formats. However, there is another way to achieve
the same effect for HTML files. View the source (HTML code) of
your HTML document and copy everything between and including the
BODY tags. In Blackboard's Add Document window, paste the source
into the text box, click the "HTML" option underneath the text
box, and then click Submit as usual.
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- What
file types are supported in Blackboard?
A
variety of file type are supported within Blackboard. If
you are uploading a file, the only thing to keep in mind is the
user and the software he/she has on their computers. If
you upload a Word Document (.doc) that student in order to view
your file must have Microsoft Word or a plug-in viewer to view
it. For more information on Plug-Ins click here.
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- How
do I add a description to my course?
Go
to Control Panel, Site Management, and Course Options. Scroll
down towards the bottom of the window and you'll see an area called
Change Course Information. Enter your description in the text
box and click the Submit button.
Top
- Is
there any way to export discussion board messages into a text
file?
At
this time no, but individual postings can be copied and pasted
into other applications.
Top
- How
can I divide the class into groups?
Go
to Control Panel, User Management, and Create Group. Here you
can name the group, give a description, and select which students
should be included. Each group has its own communication tools
and area for sharing files. The group area is available in the
Communication section of your course site (not in the Control
Panel). Click the Group Pages icon to see a listing of all groups.
Each group name is an active link that you can click to enter
the area for that particular group.
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- I
have sorted my students into groups. I want to add myself to each
group so that I will get all the e-mail that goes between them.
How do I do this?
Instructors
do not appear as possible users who can be added to a group. A
workaround is to create a separate "student" account for you and
then add your student account to each group.
Top
- Is
there a quick way for me to log on and check if students have
left any files for me to read in the group pages, or do I have
to check the file transfer drop box in each group individually?
Unfortunately,
there is currently no mechanism that will flag you when you have
new documents waiting, but we have routed this feature request
to Blackboard's developers.
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- Is
there an easy way to manage a class that has a lecture section,
lab sections, and problem sections?
One
alternative is to use the group tools. Once all students have
been added to the lecture section, they could then be divided
into groups for each of the lab and problem set sections. Each
section could be monitored by the appropriate instructors or T.A.s.
Another approach would be to create a folder for each lab and
problem set section in the Course Documents or other section of
the course site. Each instructor could then post announcements,
problem sets, etc. in their respective folders. A final option
would be to have multiple course sites. A template course could
be created containing all content relating to the lecture section
and then copied for use by all the section instructors. Any later
changes to the lecture portion would then need to be updated in
each copied course site individually.
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- I
modified one of my quizzes and then realized that any grades I
had in the grade book for that quiz were gone. What happened?
In
order to modify a quiz, you must use the Assessment Manager to
make it "unavailable" (Control Panel, Assessment, Assessment Manager).
Making it unavailable will automatically clear all associated
grades from the grade book. Blackboard sees the modified quiz
as a new quiz and resets that item in the grade book. This eliminates
any discrepancies for students who took the quiz before it was
modified versus those who take it after.
Top
- How
can I see responses for each survey question?
To
view a breakdown of responses for each question, go to the Online
Grade book and click on Report by Item. Choose the name of your
survey from the dropdown list and click the Go! Button. On the
right, you'll see a button called "View Item Analysis". Click
here to see a percentage breakdown for each question.
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- Some
of my students are reporting that their answers are not being
recorded when taking my quizzes. Why is this happening?
Students
using older browser software are likely to encounter problems
with quizzes. For best results, your students should be using
Netscape or Internet Explorer 4.0 or better.
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- In
order to use Blackboard's on-line grade book, do I have to type
in all the student names or is there a way to copy this from the
roster?
You
don't have to enter any names. As soon as you add an entry in
the grade book, all of the names will be populated. It's easiest
to add an entry working in spreadsheet view. You'll see a button
called Add Entry. As soon as you add your first assignment, the
students' names will appear in a table.
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- Is
there a convenient way to save my site as a whole so that I could
call it up in a web browser and show it to others without having
to log into the Bradley Blackboard site to do so?
At
this time there is no easy way to save your course site and open
it outside of the Blackboard framework. However, your site can
be exported and then imported onto another server where Blackboard
is running. If you have any further questions about this
please contact the site administrators.
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- Why
do instructors and teaching assistants have the ability to create
student web pages but these pages don't show up anywhere on the
site?
The
Blackboard developers are aware of this inconsistency and are
working to resolve it.
Top
- What
will I, as a University faculty member, be able to do after my
course is created?
Without
any knowledge of HTML, blackboard will allow you to:
- Post
your own syllabus and course information Post course documents
(Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other files)
- Post
class announcements
- Create
online quiz and practice sets
- Create
and manage your own online discussion group
- Offer
online grading
- Make
your entire site publicly accessible or password protects areas
that you want only your students to access
- Monitor
traffic on your site
- Post
hotlinks to any website/web-based course resource
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- I'm
having a hard time retaining my documents formatting when I'm
cutting and pasting parts of it into Blackboard.
To
solve this problem:
- In
Word, highlight the text you would like to have copied onto
Blackboard.
- Save
the document as. Html by selecting the "save as html" option
from the "file" menu
- From
the "view" menu select "html source"
- Highlight
all the source code and select "copy" from the "edit" menu
- Copy
the code into the text box in Blackboard and select the "contains
html" radio button.
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- I've
given my students a quiz with Blackboard. It appears that some
students have taken it, but when I access their results there
isn't any data.
Your
students have started to take the assessment, and then backed
out of the page using the back button of their browser. So, although
they have seen the test, they haven't taken yet and they have
not submitted answers to you. If you don't care if students take
a test multiple times or if you want to allow students to look
at an assessment and come back at a later time to do the assessment,
you can allow for multiple attempts when you create the quiz.
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- I'm
an instructor and want to know if I can re-use my web site next
semester and not have to start from scratch?
We
can copy all your course material into a new course that you can
use for the next semester. You'll need to fill out the Course
Rollover Form to make this happen.
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- Can
I make a test unavailable to my students after a certain period
of time without going to the assessment area to set the option
to "unavailable" so I can still keep all the records and grades
for that test?
Yes.
You can remove the announcement, which has the link to the quiz
from the announcement area. Also, go into the area where you have
the link to the test created (Assignments, Course Information,
or Course Documents) and make that link unavailable. In this case,
your students won't have access to the quiz and you can keep the
quiz available and the grades.
Top
- How
do I remove a quiz, but not remove the grades for that quiz?
- Log
in as the instructor.
- Go
to the Control Panel.
- Go
to the area where you posted the quiz (Course Info, Course Documents
and Assignments).
- Click
on the Quiz folder.
- Find
the quiz in question.
- Click
on the Remove button. The quiz is gone but the grades remain.
Top
- How
do I remove a quiz without losing grades and regenerate it at
another time?
- Log
into your course as the instructor.
- Go
to the Control Panel.
- Go
to the area where you posted the quiz (Course Info, Course Documents,
and Assignments).
- Click
on the Quiz folder.
- Find
the quiz in question.
- Click
on the Modify button.
- In
the large text box, you will see some html.
- Copy
the html and paste it into another document (e.g. a Word document
or a Notepad document) where you can save it.
- Use
your browser button to return to the previous screen.
- Find
the quiz again and click on the Remove button. The quiz is removed
but the grades remain.
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- How
do I regenerate the quiz at another time?
- Log
into your course as the instructor.
- Go
to the Control Panel.
- Go
to the Assignment area (or the area where you had the quiz posted
before)
- Click
on the "Quizzes" folder.
- Click
on Add Document.
- Put
in your title.
- In
the text box, paste in the html you saved before (in a Word
or Notepad document - you may want to open and copy the html
before you begin)
- Click
on the Submit button.
- Your
quiz should be restored to the way it was before you removed
it.
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- Why
don't I receive my student's email?
The
students might be using their browser (Netscape or Internet Explorer)
mail server for e-mail instead of sending e-mail through the "Communication"
tools by clicking the "Send Email" icon. If your students are
using the instructor's email link under "Staff Information", it
requires the students to have their browser (Netscape or Internet
Explorer) mail server and identity set up. If they want to use
their browser mail and need help doing this they can contact the
Help Desk.
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