TEACHING RESOURCES

A. No. Blackboard takes a "snapshot" of Banner every day, so as long as you are

assigned a course in Banner, you already have a course site in Blackboard.

A. Blackboard is designed to work cross-platform, so it's  okay to use a Mac computer.

Web Browsers: Windows

Web Browsers: Mac

Firefox 1.5 and 2.0 are not supported for Blackboard Learn. It is recommended that Firefox 1.5 and 2.0 users upgrade to Firefox 3.0 to access the latest security patches and Mozilla support. Mac OS 10.3 is not supported for use with Blackboard Learn. Java Virtual Machine
Java Standard Edition 5, 32-bit (1.5.x) and later is the supported version for all operating systems.

Key to Support Levels

Note that the faster your system is, the better it will perform, especially when the use of multimedia is involved.

A. We recommend using the latest version of Mozilla's Firefox. However, Blackboard will run in Internet Explorer (version 4.0 or higher). For AOL users, there are two main caveats to be considered:

•     AOL may not display all course management system features correctly. Thus instead of viewing your course pages via AOL directly, connect to the Internet using AOL, and then open a new browser window such as  Internet Explorer.

•     When the user’s idle time exceeds the allotted minutes, AOL will automatically disconnect from the server. This could lead to loss of all unsaved work, including answers to your online test  in progress. To avoid this catastrophe, users are advised to access their course management system (Blackboard, WebBoard, etc.) via Internet Explorer. Or open another AOL browser window to another site and click on a link in that window often to maintain the ISP server connection.

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For Internet Explorer, do the following:

• Open your browser.

• From the toolbar at the top of the screen, select TOOLS.

• Click on INTERNET OPTIONS.

• Select the SECURITY tab.

• Click on the CUSTOM LEVEL button.

• Scroll down till you find "Scripting" and ENABLE active scripting.

• Click OK and YES to confirm the changes.

• Click OK in the second window and refresh your current web page.

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Click here to view.

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Click here to view.

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A. Many students have already used Blackboard in their other courses. However, for those who have not, write the preceding directions on the board or create a handout by printing and annotating the Blackboard Entry Page, Log-in Page, My Institution Page, and Course Homepage. Also, direct students to the TOOLS menu so that they can easily find the student manual and update their e-mail address under PERSONAL INFORMATION.

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A. Like your students, you should contact the ISAS system administrators, Umesh Giri (ugiri@howard.edu, 202-806-2834) and Konya Hurt (khurt@howard.edu, 202-806-2690). However, if you've simply forgotten your password, just click the FORGOT YOUR PASSWORD? link on the login page.

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A. Now! Your course is unavailable to students only. Just click the title of the course and begin
     adding content. When you are ready to make your course available, see the FAQs below.

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A. 1.  Click the course title.
     2. Click CUSTOMIZATION on the the Control Panel.
     3. Click SETTINGS.
     4. Click COURSE AVAILABILITY.
     5. Click YES to make the course available.
 
Note: Do not make a course available until you have posted a syllabus under COURSE INFORMATION.

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A. Because of the new Blackboard snapshot process (i.e., Blackboard takes a snapshot of Banner every day), you can no longer add students from one site to another. However, you can copy content so that maintaining separate sites for both sections will be easier:

1. At the beginning of the term, use the COURSE COPY tool on the Control Panel to copy as much content as possible from one site to the other.
2. Then, as you add content during the semester, use the COPY/MOVE button within the content areas (e.g., Course Documents) to copy additional files from one site to the other.

Note: It may be possible to merge sections of the same course. Email ugiri@howard.edu to find out if he can merge them.

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A. Because of the new Blackboard snapshot process (i.e., Blackboard takes a snapshot of Banner every day), you can no longer add students from one site to another. However, you can copy content so that maintaining separate sites for both sections will be easier:

1. At the beginning of the term, use the COURSE COPY tool on the Control Panel to copy as much content as possible from one site to the other.
2. Then, as you add content during the semester, use the COPY/MOVE button within the content areas (e.g., Course Documents) to copy additional files from one site to the other.

Note: It may be possible to merge sections of the same course. Email ugiri@howard.edu to find out if he can merge them.

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A. You can modify the course list on your My Institution page (the "Welcome" page that you see as soon as you log in):

1. Go to the My Institution Page.
2. Find the My Courses box.
3. Click the gear icon in the upper right-hand corner of the box.
4. In the "Display Course" column, UNcheck the courses that you don't want to see.
5. Click SUBMIT.

A. First, go to MY PLACES (at the top of the screen) to check your e-mail address:
    
       1. Click PERSONAL INFORMATION.
       2. Click EDIT PERSONAL INFORMATION.
       3. Check your e-mail address.

     If the address is incorrect, type the new one and click SUBMIT. On the other hand, if the address is correct, just click CANCEL.
 
     Next, go to the Control Panel to access the Instructor’s Manual.

       1. Go to HELP.
       2. Click ONLINE MANUAL.

A. Ask students to go to the TOOLS menu to find the student manual and to MY PLACES to update their e-mail address under PERSONAL INFORMATION. You can even award students homework credit for updating their e-mail addresses before your deadline.

     See the next FAQ to find out how to check their e-mail addresses.
 
Note: Blackboard sometimes generates invalid e-mail addresses for students and faculty (e.g., youremail@howard.edu). Tell students that they must store valid e-mail addresses in Blackboard in order to communicate with one another and the teacher.

A. You can identify enrollees via the Control Panel.

        1. Go to USERS AND GROUPS.
        2. Click USERS.
        3. Then SEARCH for USERS.

TIP: To bring up a class roster with email addresses, select EMAIL on the first drop-down menu, select CONTAINS on the second, type @ in the third search field, and then click GO. If you see only one student record at a time, click the SHOW ALL button at the bottom of the screen. 

A. Because of the new snapshot process, Blackboard automatically adds validated students who have registered for your class and removes those who have dropped the class. Blackboard takes a snapshot at least once a day.

       

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A. In addition to CETLA's Blackboard Resource Center, there are three places where you can get assistance on any aspect of Blackboard.

1. The first and easiest is the online manual found in the CONTROL PANEL of every Blackboard course. On the control panel, choose HELP and then MANUAL.
   

2. Incidentally, if your students have any questions or problems, there is an online student manual located in the TOOLS section that can be reached by clicking on the TOOLS button on the left of the screen. Also, refer students to CETLA's Blackboard FAQ's for Student