Blackboard

 

What is Blackboard?
Blackboard is a new web-based tool for teaching. It's easy to use both for faculty building an on-line course and for students. Blackboard is an online tool that can organize your class by hosting assignments, grades, discussion tools, course documents, and more.

What specific functions does Blackboard offer?
Instructors using a Blackboard course site can choose from among a variety of functions. For communication, begin with the announcements page. Most faculty also choose to have students use online discussion forums to discuss readings or post questions. If you use small groups or group projects, in your course site you can provide each group with the e-mail, discussion forums, the ability to share documents and also a "chat" room. Online assessments - true/false, multiple choice, short answer - can be graded and posted automatically into the online gradebook. Students can receive instant feedback. Use this feature for test preparation, to informally assess student learning, for class-wide surveys, or quizzes.

Must I use all the functions Blackboard provides?
Faculty using Blackboard may disable many of the functions Blackboard provides. As you begin using a web site, like Blackboard, you may choose to use only two or three functions - syllabus, assignments and the discussion forum, for example. As you become more comfortable with Blackboard and with using a course web site, you may choose to add more functions in the future. Starting small and doing it well is preferred over doing everything and confusing your students.

Why do I have to login every time?
You are required to login every time you access Blackboard because information in Blackboard is personal such as your grades, your courses, and customized portal page.

How do I logout of my Blackboard?
To keep your personal information confidential, please remember to click on the button, found at the top of the Blackboard window or close your web browser when you are finished using Blackboard.

What does it mean if it says "Unavailable" next to my course?
The "unavailable" next to a course means you haven’t given access to the course. You can make it available by going to Control Panel > Course Settings > Course Availability, and set availability to Yes. This will make is accessible to your students. If you don't make it available, it won't show up for your students.

How can I reuse material from a previous Blackboard Course?
You can copy course material from one Blackboard coursesite to another by contacting the Helpdesk (x7800). Please assist them by having your course title(s) and course ID(s) ready.

I tried to login, but it's not working. What can I do?
Please remember that your password is case sensitive (so "ICanType" and "icantype" are different passwords). You can get additional assistance, particularly with account problems (problems logging in or system down) by contacting the Help Desk (x7800). For faculty questions about Blackboard "how-to," contact Dr. Chad Kjorlien in the Office of Instructional Technology (x1573 or 800-635-5987, ext. 1573).

How do I create an account?
To create your account, you'll need your username and email address. On your web browser, navigate to http://blackboard.smumn.edu. From here, simply click on the button labeled "Create Account," and fill in the relevant information.

Blackboard doesn't work on my home computer, but does on other computers. What is the problem?
To access Blackboard, you need to use Netscape 4.0 or higher or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher. You can use either a Mac or Windows PC. You must have cookies, JavaScript, and Java enabled.

How do students enroll in a Blackboard class?
After logging into Blackboard, look under the "My Courses" heading. If the class is not on this list, go back to the Blackboard home page, choose "Course Catalog", and find your course in the list of all blackboard courses). If it has an "Enroll" button, then you can click that button; if not, you'll need to contact the instructor.

How do I use Blackboard's gradebook?
Blackboard does not have a grade-import feature. You can use it for online gradekeeping, but you have to enter all grades manually (add a column via the "Add Entry" option in spreadsheet view). Grades for online quizzes are kept automatically by Blackboard. Even if you don't offer online quizzes with Blackboard, you should consider maintaining all other student grades in Blackboard's online gradebook. Students like being able to securely check their grades online. Blackboard can export your online grades to a comma-delimited file, readable by all spreadsheet programs, for statistical analysis, reordering or further processing in a spreadsheet or statistical application. There is not a way to re-import those files into Blackboard.

If I choose to repost a quiz, how do I retain students' scores who have already taken the quiz?
Unfortunately, when you repost an exam you have to make it unavailable first, thereby losing all the scores of the students who have already taken it. To work around this, print the existing quiz scores. Create a new grade book item and manually enter the scores. Make the quiz unavailable (thereby, losing grade book quizzes). Make changes to permit others to take the quiz. Record grades in new grade book item when finished. Make quiz unavailable. For future tests, create a folder in which to place each quiz. You can control the availability of the folder.

How do I change a test answer that is keyed wrong?
Go to the Control Panel > Assessment Manager and click the Modify button to the right of the assessment. When it loads the test, locate the questions that you wish to change and click the Modify button to the right of the question. IMPORTANT NOTE: This can only be done when the test is NOT AVAILABLE. If you have made the quiz available and students have taken it, you'll lose the scores recorded in the gradebook.

When I tried to print my syllabus in Blackboard, only the buttons printed... Why?
Blackboard uses frames and a database to display course pages... The buttons are in one frame, the content in another. If the buttons were the last item that you clicked on, that is considered the active frame and will be printed. To correct the situation, click anywhere in the document to be printed (making it the active frame) and then print. Note: If you are using Netscape for your browser, you can verify your print selection by going to File > Print Preview. If you are using Internet Explorer, you can go to File > Print and select/verify the frames you want to print in the print window that pops up.

Why don't I see the "Preview" button when viewing my course in the Course Catalog?
If you are logged into Blackboard, Preview buttons are not displayed. Logout by clicking the Logout button at the top right of screen. From the Login page, click on Course Catalog. Click Preview on the next screen that comes up and locate the course(s) you wish to preview. Note: Preview permits guests to see ONLY the syllabus and faculty information and nothing else.

My student received the following error: "Your system is configured to deny access to this URL."
The user's firewall is preventing access. Solution is to take the quiz on a computer in the computer labs, home, or somewhere that doesn't have a firewall.

What do I do if the Blackboard system is down?
If the system is down and not responding, without hesitation, please contact the SMU Help Desk (x7800 or 800-635-5987, ext. 7800), note any specific error messages you might receive.

What if I have problems logging in or forgot my password?
For login and account issues, contact the SMU Help Desk (x7800 or 800-635-5987, ext. 7800). If you have forgotten your password, the Help Desk can assist you by resetting your password.

Where can I receive more help with Blackboard?
For technical problems with the Blackboard system (i.e., login issues, system down, system availability) contact the SMU Help Desk (x7800). For assistance with using the system and "how-to" contact Dr. Chad Kjorlien in the Office of Instructional Technology (x1573 or 800-635-5987, ext. 1573).