Blackboard Course Management System: Quicksteps for Students
How to "Hide" a course in your course list that you no longer need to use
- Log on to Blackboard.
- On your welcome page (the first page you see after logging on), click the pencil icon to the right of the words "My Courses".
- Uncheck the "Show Course" checkbox for any courses you do not want to see and click Submit at the bottom of the page. (Please remember that should you ever need to get back into hidden courses, you have to go back into the pencil icon and recheck the "Show Course" box.)
Announcements
The Announcements page is typically the first page of your course. Course announcements may also appear within your course list after you log in. If Announcements do not show up in either of these places, then look for a link elsewhere, such as on the left-hand navigation menu (Course Menu).
Tips
- Many instructors and mentors use it for timely messages: to announce changes in scheduling or to remind students of fast-approaching deadlines.
- You are responsible for any announcement by your instructor, so check the Announcements area at least twice a week.
- As you approach due dates for assignments and exam dates, check your Announcements area more frequently for timely information.
How to ensure a successful test/survey (assessment) attempt
There are a number of things that could be causing trouble. The tips below will help you to prevent or stop the most common problems.
Do
- make sure to click the Submit button after completing your assessment. Clicking Save or Cancel does not submit your answers.
- set your pop-up blocker or firewall program to allow access to Blackboard (http://courses.utmem.edu).
- check your firewall's cookie control method if you can access certain parts of Blackboard but not others (consult your firewall program's documentation or customer service for help if necessary).
- Take assessments on campus if you continuously have problems from home.
Do NOT
- use wireless! If you lose connectivity, which happens more often on wireless than wired, then you lose all of your work.
- double-click to open or submit a test or survey. This could corrupt your attempt and lock you out of the assessment, even if multiple attempts are allowed.
- resize the Blackboard window or the frames within the window after an assessment has been opened. Again, this could corrupt your test attempt.
- wait until the last minute to attempt an assessment.
- go over the assessment time limit (if one is set).
- panic if you have technological problems. Call your instructor and explain the situation.
How to ensure best access to Blackboard from off-campus
Do
- Set your pop-up blocker or firewall program to allow access to Blackboard (http://courses.utmem.edu).
- Check your firewall's cookie control method if you can access certain parts of Blackboard but not others (consult your firewall program's documentation or customer service for help if necessary).
- Check your broswer if you suddenly cannot access Blackboard but could previously. Clear your browser’s cache and set your browser to
update web pages every time you visit them (see steps below). After making these changes, close all browser windows and try accessing Blackboard
again.
- In Internet Explorer (Windows): Go to the Tools menu and choose Internet Options. Click the Delete Files button in the “Temporary Internet Files" section. Then click the Settings button in the same section and choose the “Every visit to the page” option for “Check for newer version of the stored pages.” Close all IE windows in order for the changes to take effect.
- In Safari: Go to the Safari menu and choose Empty Cache. (I have not found a page update option in Safari.)
- In Firefox: Go to the Tools menu and choose Options. In the left frame, choose Privacy, and then highlight the Cache option in the right frame. Click its Clear button. (I have not found a page update option in Firefox.)
Do NOT
- Use the browser that is included with AOL. Instead, log on to AOL to get your internet connection and then use the Internet Explorer or the Netscape Navigator that is installed on the computer separately from AOL. You may have an icon for these programs on your computer's desktop. If so, just double-click the icon, and this will open a browser window for you. If there is no icon for these programs on the desktop and you are on a Windows computer, then check the Start Menu (bottom left corner of screen) or the Programs folder, which is also located on the Start Menu. They may be listed there.
- Store your AOL password. We have seen this cause problems with Blackboard.
Enroll yourself into a course (do this at your instructor’s request ONLY)
For most of your courses, the instructors will take care of enrolling you. If your instructor allows self-enrolling in a course, you can:
- Do a search for the course in the course catalog (located under the Courses tab)
- Click the Enroll button all the way to the right of the course's title
- Click Submit on the next page.
Contact your instructor if there is no Enroll button.
About Assessments: How To Take A Test
Assessments are located within Content Areas in a course or organization. Refer to your instructor's or leader's special directions for taking the test, since assessments can be set up in a myriad of ways.
Warning
It is important that users do not use the Back button in the Browser during an Assessment. This may cause loss of data.
Step 1: Go to the area where a link to the assessment you need to take is posted.
Step 2: Select the link to the test.
Step 3: Click OK to begin.
Step 4: Complete your responses to the questions.
Here is an example assessment:
This example allows you to view all questions at the same time.
Tests can also be set up to only show you one question at a time. Here is the same test as in the example above, but only ONE question is presented at a time:
Use the navigation arrows to go forward or re-visit questions. NOTE: If your instructor or leader has prohibited backtracking, you will not be allowed to return to questions you have already answered. In this case, the "go back" arrows will not appear.
The Questions Completion Status indicator is a tool to provide users with a quick up-to-date look at their progress (complete or incomplete questions) in an assessment at all times. The Save button to the right of each question provides a visual reminder to save your progress periodically.
Step 5: When you are finished, click the Submit button. It is located in the lower right corner of the test window.
Feedback
You may get no, some, or much feedback after submitting the test. Again, what you get depends on the options selected by the Instructor or Leader. For example, you may only get the final score for one Test, while for another Test the final score and correct answers are displayed.
Feedback includes any combination of the following:
- Final score only.
- Your answers, whether they are correct.
- The correct answers to the questions.
- Question feedback.
About Assessments: Saving Tests and Viewing Test Scores
How come I cannot save my test and return to it later?
Force Completion
If the test is set up with Force Completion enabled, you are required to complete the test the first time you launch it. If Force Completion is enabled, it is noted at the top of the Assessment. You may not exit the Assessment and continue working on it at a later date.
The Save button is available to save the Assessment as you work through it, but you may not exit and re-enter the Assessment
Viewing Test Scores
How do I review test feedback, scores, and comments?
You may get some feedback immediately after submitting your test, if there are auto-graded questions and if the instructor or leader chooses to show feedback, correct answers, etc. For auto-graded questions, instructors or leaders assign a set number of points to each question when the Assessment is created.
Essay questions and short-answer questions are not auto-graded, which means these questions must be graded manually. After an Assessment is submitted, the Instructor or Leader reviews these questions and manually enters a score. If an Assessment contains these question types, the total grade for the Assessment is not immediately available after the Assessment is submitted.
Feedback includes any combination of the following:
- Final score only.
- Your answers, whether they are correct.
- The correct answers to the questions.
- Question feedback.
To check the status of your test scores:
Step 1: Go to the area where a link to the assessment you need to take is posted.
Step 2: Select the link to the test.
Step 3: Click OK to begin.
Step 4: Click OK again to review the results.
If the instructor or leader has released the scores and provided any comments, you will see that information. The submission report includes the following information: First Name, Last Name, Course Name, Username, Course/Organization ID, name of the Assessment, and date/time of submission. This may be used as verification by you that you did indeed submit the assessment. Some instructors or leaders may require that you print this as a permanent record of the activity.
Tip
You can also view the overall score for a Test in the My Grades tool.
Assessments: Score
I took my test again and got a worse score. How can I get the better score in My Grades without having to take the test all over again?
When you are allowed to take an Assessment multiple times, the Instructor or Leader has the option to use one of the following grades for the final score:
- Grade of Last Attempt
- Grade of First Attempt
- Highest Grade
- Lowest Grade
- Average of Grades (across all of your attempts on that test)
By default, the Grade of your Last Attempt is recorded as the final score in the Gradebook. Contact your instructor or leader with your concerns and if he or she is willing, can adjust your score.
About Assignments
Your courses may require the use of the Assignments tool for submitting papers and other assignments that instructors can grade, and the grade is automatically transferred to your My Grades area.
NOTE
Some course sites may have an Assignments area in the left navigation (Course Menu). Do not confuse the Assignments area with the Assignments tool. The tool will always be attached to a specific assignment and may be identified with an icon such as:
and
Step 1: Go to the course area where your instructor has posted a link to the assignment you need to submit.
Step 2: Click the link below the Assignment title:
>> View/Complete Assignment: <name>Step 3: Read your instructor's directions carefully.
Directions may include the due date and the file types (e.g., Word, PDF, RTF) you may use to submit your assignment.
Step 4: Enter text in the Comments field - this is a required field.
Step 5: Next to Attach local file, click Browse.
Note: After attaching your file, you will only be able to submit ONE time. You can attach multiple files.
Step 6: When you are sure you are ready to send the assignment to the instructor, click the Submit button. Note: The Save button does not send the assignment to the instructor.
Tips
- Submit all files required for an assignment at one time. Sending files at different times can confuse your instructor or mentor.
- Add meaningful comments to the comment area. If you wouldn't say it to your instructor's face, don't say it here. Excuses about why an assignment is late or incomplete may be easier to "say" online, but that doesn't make them any less insulting or irresponsible if they are not valid.
- Your instructor will contact you after receiving your assignment or will set up procedures for follow-ups. Send inquiries about whether your assignment was received only after the stated time has passed for receiving notice that your assignment was received, graded, etc.
Content: File Naming Practices
Can I use special characters in my file names?
No, we suggest that you use common alphanumeric characters when naming your files. Often errors will occur when special characters are used in the names of files that are attached or uploaded to the online site.
File names of items that are attached or uploaded to the site should only include the following characters:
Letters (upper case or lowercase “A – Z”)
Numbers (“0 – 9”)
Underscore (“_'”)
Content: Text Box Editors
There are two different text box editors: the traditional Simple Text Box Editor and the Visual Text Box Editor. Both editors may include WebEQ, MathML and SpellCheck features. NOTE: The System Administrator may have disabled the Visual editor system wide. If enabled, the Visual editor is available to users running a supported browser, and you will not need to be as dependent on HTML knowledge.
Simple Text Box Editor
Among the options beneath almost every text box are three radio buttons: Smart Text, Plain Text, and HTML. These options determine the way that text that you have entered is displayed. The default option is Smart Text, and you can usually leave it at that.
Smart Text renders HTML tags, but does not require tags for line breaks or paragraph breaks. You can enter line and paragraph breaks as you desire by typing. When using Smart Text, web addresses entered in the URL format are automatically converted to links. For this to function the URL must begin with "http://" and there must be a space before the "http://" to distinguish it from the previous word.
Note: If an image tag, <IMG>, is entered in Smart Text, the system will automatically prompt you to upload the image. (This only works when
the document is first created; it does not work when modifying an existing document.)
Plain Text accepts your text just as you enter it. Plain Text does not render HTML codes; any HTML codes will show as text.
HTML renders all HTML tags. Primarily used if you are cutting and pasting HTML from another source.
Visual Text Box Editor
The Visual Text Box Editor appears throughout courses in standard text boxes. It allows users to modify content in an interface resembling a word processor, and perform basic HTML functions without knowledge of any HTML. It is often referred to as WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get).
The WYSIWYG Text editor allows staff to create and edit HTML-based content as it will appear to users when displayed in their web browser. If you have ever used Microsoft Word (or equivalent), using the WYSIWYG text editor will be comparatively straightforward as they share many features and icons common to word processing in general.
Features include:
- Font, type, size, and coloring
- Bulleted lists
- Hyperlinks
- Tables
- Multimedia support including images, audio, video, Flash and more
- Drag and drop support
- Undo and redo support
When run on Safari, the Visual Text Box Editor Lite Version appears. The Lite Version does not include the button controls for several features because Safari does not yet support those rich-text editing features. Some features that are not accessible from a button in the Lite Version may still be activated using keyboard shortcuts. For example, the cut, copy, and paste functions may still be used through the keyboard shortcuts. Macintosh users may also download and use the free Mozilla Firefox 1.0 (or higher) Web Browser to use all the features of the Text Box Editor.
Firefox users, on all operating systems, must perform an extra step to enable the cut, copy, and paste functions. This is a function of the Firefox browser, and not Blackboard applications. The first time an attempt is made to cut, copy, or paste text in the Visual Text Box Editor, a message from Firefox will appear explaining that the action is not allowed. A link is provided for information on how to enable the cut, copy, and paste functions by editing a Firefox configuration file. The link currently points to http://www.mozilla.org/editor/midasdemo/securityprefs.html. Please check with Firefox for the most up-to date information on using rich-text tools for cut, copy, and paste. Macintosh users may find that this does not fully resolve the problem, particularly because Firefox does not permit pasting text from Microsoft Office files on Mac. To accomplish this task, paste the text into a basic text editor, such as TextEdit or Notepad and then paste the text into the Visual Text Box Editor.
NOTE
Users may turn off the Visual Text Box Editor in Personal Information settings. If the Visual Text Box Editor is off, or if users are not using a compatible browser, the Simple Text Box Editor will be on.
What do all the icons or images in the WYSIWYG (Visual) Text Editor mean?
The complete list of commands, including examples and explanations are contained in this Microsoft Word document.
How do I use the WYSIWYG Text Editor?
The WYSIWYG Text Editor is available upon adding content/communication items.
The Editor is comprised of a 'page' area where the content is created and displayed as it will appear and graphical toolbars containing the commands that can be used to format the text and add common word processing effects.
Toolbars can be minimized, as illustrated below, to increase the size of the 'page' area by selecting the small black arrow at the left of the toolbar:
The uppermost toolbar contains commands found in virtually all word processors, including font size, font face, bold, italic, underscore etc:
The second toolbar contains commands also commonly found in word processors but that are used to manipulate text already entered, such as copying and pasting text, undoing commands, highlighting text etc:
The third toolbar contains multimedia commands, such as inserting files, images, animation/videos and sound. These commands, while found in more complex word processors such as Microsoft Word, are not as commonly used, even when present:
Some content areas only provide access to the first two toolbars, while others include the third toolbar.
The name of each command is revealed as you hover your mouse over the button to make it easy to learn what each button does.
Each command will insert the HTML/CSS code necessary to create the desired effect when the page is displayed in a web browser.
For example, pressing enter/return will create a new paragraph, which uses the HTML <p></p> tag. To insert
a single line break, hold down the SHIFT key when pressing enter/return.
Example: the HTML Icon
With the Editor, the display you see is an impression of how the page will look when viewed in your Course or Organization; the HTML code
used is 'hidden' from you.
You can inspect the HTML code produced and enter additional HTML tags not available in the Editor by selecting
the HTML icon.
To begin, place the cursor in the page area and enter some text. All text formatting is done in one of two ways. You can either enter the text you require and then apply formatting to it, or you can select the formatting to apply and then enter the text .
Example: the Bold Icon
To begin, place the cursor in the page area and enter some text. All text formatting is done in one of two ways. You can either enter the text you require and then apply formatting to
it, or you can select the formatting to apply and then enter the text . For example, to make text bold, either select the bold icon and then enter the text, or enter the text, it,
and then select the bold icon . Be aware that once you have activated a command (selected an icon) it remains active until you deselect it i.e. if you a word and select bold, not
only will the word become bold but any text subsequently typed will be bold until you deselect the bold command.
HTML contains some basic text types which will format text in a predefined manner. These are accessed via the drop down menu which displays 'normal' by default. The types available are Heading 1 through Heading 5 (1 being the largest and most important in the document hierarchy), Address and Formatted.
Formatting functions can, of course, be used in conjunction with one another e.g. bold and italicized text.
In addition to formatting text, you can insert formatting objects, such as bulleted or numbered lists, tables and horizontal lines.
Other features include:
- a spell checker
- a text search (useful in long documents)
- the ability to include scientific notation via the WebEQ and MathML equation editors.
- commands for inserting multimedia objects, such as images, sound and animations.
Once you have completed your content item you can view the way it will look within the Course or Organization by selecting the Preview icon:
Discussion Board: Search the messages posted by a certain person into one view
Notes
- You can use the Collect option to filter and sort messages.
- If you just need to sort the number of threads posted by a particular author, at the Forum level click the caret icon above the Author label to group all threads by author. For example:
The same sorting procedure applies to Date, Thread, Status, Unread Posts, and Total Posts.
The Search option is case-sensitive. For example, if you do not initial cap a person's last name in the Search field, no results are returned. So be sure to enter the correct case.
A Search function appears at the top of the page throughout the Discussion Board. The search includes a keyword field, date restrictions, and options for where to search. The search function starts at the current level and options exist to work up. For example, in a thread, the default search option only searches that thread but options exist to search the entire forum or all forums. From the search function, users can search all forums in the course, including any forums that appear in the user’s groups.
Instructors often award participation points based on a required number of posts. They can use the Search feature (or even the Collect option for that matter) to accomplish this purpose.
Any forum user can search a forum or thread to extract only his or her messages or those of another classmate.
Searching at the Forum level
For example:
Step 1: Fill in the Search string.
Step 2: Choose Current Forum, Current Discussion Board, or All Forums in Course.
Step 3: Optionally choose date parameters.
Step 4. Click the GO button.
Searching at the Thread Level
For example:
Step 1: Fill in the Search string.
Step 2: Choose Current Thread, Current Forum, Current Discussion Board, or All Forums in Course.
Step 3: Optionally choose date parameters.
Step 4. Click the GO button.
All matching results are returned. On the Search Results page, you can filter and search the list to further refine what you need.
For example:
Print: use the Print button to print the compiled messages.
Filter: choose a specific author to see only that person's postings (if you did not enter a specific name in the Search field).
Sort by: sort the messages by Date, Subject (Post:), or Thread name (as well as Author if you did not enter a specific name in the Search field).
Discussion Board: Subscribe to Threads
Users can subscribe to individual Threads within a Discussion Forum, as long as the instructor or creator of the forum has enabled the option to allow users to subscribe to threads. When you subscribe to a thread, you will receive an email alert when a post is updated or a user posts a reply. The notification is sent to the email address stored in your Personal Information. Users will not be able to enter a different email address to which notifications will be sent, so as to prevent spam from being generated from the Discussion Board.
Note
It is not possible to subscribe at the Forum level to get notified each time a new Thread is posted. You are allowed to only subscribe to threads that have already been posted. Also, you can only subscribe to threads that are Published; you cannot subscribe to Hidden threads.
To subscribe to a Thread:
Step 1: Click on the link of the forum containing the thread(s) to which you want to subscribe.
For example:
Step 2: In the list of threads for that forum, click on the thread to which you want to subscribe.
For example:
Step 3: Click the Subscribe button.
For example:
Tip
It does not matter which message in the thread you are viewing when you select Subscribe. You are subscribing to the thread (and all replies), not to individual replies within the thread. To discontinue receiving email notifications for a thread, click the Unsubscribe button.
Note
If you get the following database error after clicking Subscribe or Unsubscribe, don't worry. Even though the message appears, click the OK button at the very bottom and then re-enter that thread. You are subscribed/unsubscribed and will receive (Subscribe) or no longer receive (Unsubscribe) email notification of new posts:
Discussion Board: Comments
This is probably caused by the "What You See Is What You Get" (WYSIWYG) editor used in the online course system. Some computer configurations do not display the WYSIWYG screen. By turning off the WYSIWYG editor you can revert back to the older text editor. To disable the WYSIWYG editor:
1. On the Course Menu in your course, click Course Tools.
2. Click on the Personal Information link.
3. Click on Set Visual Text Box Editor Options and select Unavailable.
4. Click Submit.
You should now be able to use the older editor which should work in the discussion board without any problem.
Digital Drop Box: Problems Deleting
Once you send a file, it is not possible to remove it. You can only remove it if the instructor or leader first removes it from his or her drop box (at this point the Remove button appears for you).
If you need to make changes to a file you have already sent, you will need to upload and re-send it.
Tip
Your instructor or leader may have given you guidelines to follow when re-sending revised files. Refer to those guidelines. If not, save the file with a new name along with a version number to cue the instructor or leader that you are sending an updated file.
For example, your original file is named "Homework1.doc". Save this file as "Homework1_2.doc" to indicate that it is version 2. When sending the file, enter a brief comment that this is a revised file. You may just want to say Version 2. This will let the instructor or leader know to disregard the first submission.
Grades: Finding Grades
Below is the typical method for accessing grades in your course. Your instructor may place links elsewhere in the course to the My Grades tool, and it could be named slightly different.
Step 1: On the Course Menu, select Course Tools.
For example:
Step 2: Select My Grades.
For example:
A example grade sheet is shown below:
Tips
- You see your scores on graded assignments only.
- Only you can access your grades on the View Grades page. If you see a View Comments button by a grade, this means your instructor or TA has given you some feedback on the grade.
- Monitor your progress throughout the course. Check your grades on all assignments, not just exams.
- If you've submitted an assignment through the Digital Drop Box and don't find a grade when you expect to, contact your instructor or mentor immediately.
- If you expect to see any grade and don't find it, contact your instructor or mentor immediately.
Grades: Viewing Completed Assignments
Once an assignment is made unavailable, how do I view the completed assignment and grade?
Go to the My Grades area to view the assignment and grade.
Step 1: On the Course Menu, select Course Tools.
Step 2: Select My Grades.
Step 3: Click on the grade hyperlink for the appropriate assignment.
For example:
Messages and Emails: Messages
Send Email and Messages - What is the difference?
Both tools are used to correspond privately with other users enrolled WITHIN the course only. You cannot send email or messages to users who are not enrolled in the course.
For Send Email, you cannot receive email WITHIN the course. You can only send messages. Email messages are delivered to the recipient's email address specified in their user profile, which is typically a campus email address.
If keeping all email correspondence within the course itself is a concern, use the Messages tool. But recipients do not get notified of new messages sent via the Messages tool. This is the main reason why Send Email is preferred over Messages.
When recipients of a message sent via Send Email reply to that message, the reply is sent to the sender's email address, which is typically a campus email address. In the Messages tool, all replies are sent to the sender's Inbox for that tool. But remember, recipients do not get notified of new messages sent via the Messages tool. So users would have to be diligent to check this tool often.
Depending on which tool they prefer to use for email, instructors can make the other one unavailable via their course Control Panel and Manage Tools link.
Messages and Emails: Send Email
Where do I go to send email to my instructor? To other students?
Below is the typical method for accessing the Send Email tool in your course. Your instructor may place links elsewhere in the course to the Send Email tool, and it could be named slightly different.
Step 1: On the Course Menu, select Communication.
Step 2: Select Send Email.
Step 3: Decide who you want to send email to.
All Users: sends email to all users in the course. All users are listed and you cannot select any users to remove. For that purpose, use the Select Users option.
All Groups: sends email to all groups in the course. The group names are listed and you cannot select any groups to remove. For that purpose, use the Select Groups option. Also, the names of the users in the groups are not listed. To see the members of a group, on the Course Menu, click Communication, then Group Pages, then the group name. You will only be able to see the members of the group or groups to which you have been assigned.
All Student Users: sends email to all users with Student role in the course. All Student users are listed and you cannot select any users to remove. For that purpose, use the Select Users option.
All Teaching Assistant Users: sends email to all users with Teaching Assistant role in the course. All Teaching Assistant users are listed and you cannot select any users to remove. For that purpose, use the Select Users option.
All Instructor Users: sends email to all users with Instructor role in the course. All Instructor users are listed and you cannot select any users to remove. For that purpose, use the Select Users option.
Select Users: allows you to pick a single or multiple users (students, instructors, TAs) to send email to.
Select Groups: allows you to pick a single or multiple groups to send email to. The names of the users in the groups are not listed. To see the members of a group, on the Course Menu, click Communication, then Group Pages, then the group name. You will only be able to see the members of the group or groups to which you have been assigned.
Tips
If the email is intended for a select audience, an interface for selecting users will appear.
For example:
Click on a name in the Available to Select area and then click the right arrow button to move it into the Selected area (this is the recipient list). To remove a user out of the recipient list (the Selected area), click on the left arrow button.
Invert un-highlights highlighted users and those users that are not highlighted will be highlighted.
Step 4: Type your Subject and Message.
Step 5: For Attachments, optionally click Attach a file and Browse to locate a file on your computer to send as an attachment with your email.
After adding the file, a remove link is provided if you decide you don't want to include the attached file.
Step 6: Click Submit to send the email.
A receipt page appears listing all the users that were sent the message. The receipt page does not confirm that users received the message. It only confirms that the message was sent.
Notes
- The email is delivered to each recipient's email address specified in their user profile, which is typically a campus email address.
- If recipients reply to your message, the reply is sent to the email address in your user profile - not to the course. You cannot receive email WITHIN the course.
- Instructors and students can send email to individuals who participate in a particular course or organization from the Send Email page. Emails can be sent to individual users or to groups of users within the course.
- You cannot send email to users who are not enrolled in the course.
- When using the Send Email tool to email multiple users, email addresses are not displayed to each recipient.
