Blackboard Learning System™ Release 6
Quick Reference Guide - Getting Started

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Requesting a Course

  1. On the Faculty/Staff web page you can find links to Blackboard or click here.
  2. Fill out the online form here then click Submit.
  3. You’ll receive e-mail when the course is ready.

Entering Your Course Site

  • On the My Dickinson tab under the My Courses section, locate your course under the
    Courses you are teaching     list and click on its link. This will put you into the Student
    Course View. To begin populating the course with data, click the Control Panel button
    on the left.

Enrolling Your Students

  1. In the Control Panel, click Enroll User.
  2. Enter a student’s last name and click OK.
  3. When the search results list appears, click the check box to the left of the desired student’s
    name, then click Submit.
  4. Self-enrollment can be set up. Check the On-line Tutorials page for details or click here.
  5. Click here for students steps for enrolling.

Course Areas Explained

  • Announcements –timely information or notices for the students
  • Course Information –syllabus, attendance and grading policies
  • Faculty Info. –background and contact information about the course instructor
  • Course Documents –lecture materials, class handouts, Word or Excel documents,
    PowerPoint presentations, etc.
  • Assignments –descriptions and due dates of assignments, including documents necessary to complete. Points added will fill gradebook.
  • Communication – e-mail, discussion boards, student roster, web pages
  • Discussion Board – topic-driven discussions on a variety of topics
  • External Links – web links to outside resources or other internal Dickinson sites
  • Tools – digital drop box, home page, personal information, course calendar, grades,
    student manual, tasks

Changing Your Password

  1. From the My Dickinson tab, click Personal Information (in the box on the left).
  2. Click Change Password.
  3. Enter new password in both text boxes.
  4. Click Submit.

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If You Forget Your Password

  1. At the Blackboard Login screen, underneath the “Password” text box, click the Forgot your password? link.
  2. On the next screen, enter your First Name, Last Name and User Name in section 1, then
    click Submit.
  3. Click OK on the receipt screen.
  4. Check your Dickinson e-mail. Open the message from the Blackboard Administrator, then
    click the link provided in the message and enter your new password in the boxes provided.

Adding Content Folders

  1. One of the first things you should do within the desired content areas is create folders to organize your information. In the Control Panel, click the link for the content area where you want the folder to appear (i.e., Course Information, Assignments, Announcements, etc.).
  2. On the “Add Content Bar,” click Folder.
  3. Select the folder name from the pre-defined list, or specify your own folder name
  4. Click the Pick button to choose a font color, if desired.
  5. If desired, enter descriptive text explaining the folder contents in the Text box.
  6. Scroll to the bottom and click Submit. The folder will immediately be visible to your students.
    (If you do not want the folder immediately visible, change options in section #2).
  7. Click OK on the receipt screen. Click here for step by step instructions.

Adding Content Attachments

  1. In the Control Panel, select the content area you want to use.
  2. To put content inside a folder, click the folder link, otherwise, on the “Add Content Bar”
    click Item.
  3. Select a Name from the drop-down list, or provide your own.
  4. Click the Pick button to choose a font color, if desired.
  5. If desired, enter descriptive text explaining the folder contents in the Text box.
  6. In section #2, click the Browse button and open the file on your computer that you want to
    upload into your course.
  7. In the Name of Link to File box, enter the text you want the student to click on to activate
    the content.
  8. Leave Special Action set to Create a link to this file; however, if the document is a graphic (JPG or GIF), video (AVI, MPG, MOV or RAM) or sound (AIFF, MPE, RA, SWA or
    WAV) file, change this option to Display media file within the page.
  9. Select any desired options in section #3, then click Submit .

Adding an Extertnal Link

  1. In the Control Panel, click External Links. (You can add an external link to any content area
    using this method.)
  2. On the “Add Content Bar,” click URL.
  3. Enter a name to identify the link.
  4. Enter the web address in the “URL” text box.
  5. Add an optional description, if desired.
  6. Select any desired options in section #2.
  7. Click Submit. Click here for step by step instructions.

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Using the Course Navigation Path

The course navigation path is located in the upper left corner of the Course or Control Panel window.
It might look like this:

COURSES_> Name of Your Course > ASSIGNMENTS> CONTROL PANEL  > 

To quickly return to a given place in the course site, simply click the appropriate link within the
navigation path.

Using the Course Map

Available from the Student View only, click Course Map to open up a quick navigation panel. Click
the plus sign next to a content area to open that area and see what’s listed inside. To jump to a specific content item or course area, just click the associated link in the map.

Creating a Course Link

Course links can be used to direct students to a related or associated content item stored elsewhere
within your course site.

  1. In the Control Panel, select the content area.
  2. On the “Add Content Bar,” click Course Link.
  3. Enter a name to identify the course link.
  4. Add an optional description, if desired.
  5. In section #2, click Browse to pull up the course map. Expand the content area to see items
    in the course. Click the round button to the left to select the item, then click Submit.
  6. Select additional options, then click Submit .

Adding an Announcement

  1. In the Control Panel, click Announcements.
  2. Click Add Announcement.
  3. Enter the Subject of the announcement.
  4. Enter the announcement Message.
  5. In section #3, if you want to make the announcement permanent, select Yes.
  6. If you want to create a course link, click Browse.
  7. Click Submit to save your announcement.

Adding Faculty Information

  • In the Control Panel, click Staff Information.
  • In the “Add Content Bar,” click Profile.
  • In section #1, fill out as much information as you want your students to see.
  • In section #2, if you want to upload a photo of yourself, first make sure that it’s no larger than 150x150 pixels. Click Browse, locate the image (JPG or GIF) and open it.
  • If desired, enter your personal web page address in the Personal Link box.
  • Click Submit.

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Send E-mail to Your Students

Instructors must use the Control Panel to send e-mail to the students. This cannot be done from their Student View. E-mail is sent to the e-mail address stored in the student’s user record.

  1. In the Control Panel, click Send E-mail.
  2. Click All Users to send the message to everyone enrolled in the course, or click Single/Select Users to e-mail specific people in the course.
  3. Enter the message Subject and Message.
  4. Click the check box in the “Message Options” section if you want to send yourself a copy of
    the message.
  5. Click Add if you want to attach a file to the message.
  6. Click Submit to send the message.

Adding Grades to the Gradebook

Even if you don’t use Blackboard’s “Assessments” feature, you may manually add scores to the
online Gradebook.

  1. In the Control Panel, click Gradebook.
  2. In the “Add Content Bar,” click Add Item.
  3. Enter the Item Name.
  4. Select the item Category from the drop-down list.
  5. Add a Description.
  6. Enter the Date the item was administered.
  7. Enter the number of Points Possible.
  8. Select how you want the score to Display As.
  9. In the “Options” section, make any other desired selections.
  10. Click Submit, then click OK on the receipt screen. You’ll now be in the Gradebook view.
  11. To enter individual student grades for this new item, locate the item’s corresponding column,
    then click on the dash shown for a student’s name.
  12. In the Grade text box, enter the number of points the student received, then click Submit .

Accessing Files in the Digital Drop Box

  1. In the Control Panel, click Digital Drop Box or click here for step by step instructions.
  2. If students have sent you electronic files, you will see them listed. To view the file, simply click
    its link. If the document is a Microsoft Office document, simply Open it when prompted.
  3. If you add comments to the document, you must save your own copy and then send that file to
    the specified student using the Send File button. It will show up in the students Drop Box which is found under the Student Tools button. Students help using this function.

Create a Discussion Board Forum

Before you can use Discussion Boards, you must set up at least one “Forum,” or topic for discussion.
You and your students can then begin posting messages to the appropriate Forum area.

  1. In the Control Panel, click Discussion Boards.
  2. Click the Add Forum button.
  3. Enter a forum Title.
  4. Enter a Description of the topic being discussed under this forum.
  5. Check/uncheck the Forum Settings you desire.
  6. Click Submit.

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Accessing the Online Instructor Manual

You can access a Instructor Manual directly from Blackboard. Just go to the Control Panel and click
the Manual link in the lower right-hand corner of the option list. This manual is in PDF format and can be saved to your computer

Creating a Test (Graded)

  1. In the Control Panel, select Test Manager.
  2. Click Add Test. Fill out the basic test information ( Name, Description and Instructions),
    then click Submit.
  3. The “Test Canvas” screen appears. From the Add Question drop-down list, select the type of question you want to ask, then click Go.
  4. In the “Question” section, type in the Question Text and enter a Point Value (required fields).
  5. In the “Answers” section, select the Number of Answers you will accept using the drop-down box. Then, fill in each correct answer in the appropriate boxes below. If you want fewer answers than already shown, click the Remove button to reduce them.
  6. In the “Feedback” section, enter text for correct and incorrect answers, if you would like to
    give students feedback and click Submit.
  7. Repeat steps #4 through #8 until all questions have been added and Click OK
  8. To add a link to the test within your course, in the Control Panel, go to the content area you
    want.
  9. On the “Add Content Bar,” click Test.
  10. Select the desired test from the list and click Submit then click OK on the next screen.
  11. The “Modify Test” screen appears. Click Modify the test options.
  12. Fill out the options in sections #2, #3 and #4, Submit

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Creating a Survey (Ungraded)

  1. In the Control Panel, select Survey Manager.
  2. Click Add Survey.
  3. Fill out the basic test information ( Name, Description and Instructions), then click Submit.
  4. The “Test Canvas” screen appears. From the Add Question drop-down list, select the type of question you want to ask, then click Go.
  5. In the “Question” section, type in the Question Text.
  6. In the “Answers” section (when needed), select the Number of Answers you will accept using the drop-down box. If you want fewer answers than already shown, click the Remove button to reduce them. (Note that some question types do not require answers, such as True/False and click Submit.
  7. Repeat steps #4 through #7 until all questions have been added.
  8. Click OK.
  9. To add a link to the survey within your course, in the Control Panel, go to the content area you want.
  10. To the far right on the “Add Content Bar,” drop down the menu and select Survey and click
    Go    .
  11. Select the desired survey from the list and click Submit, then click OK on the next screen.
  12. The “Modify Survey” screen appears. Click Modify the survey options.
  13. Fill out the options in sections #2, #3 and #4, then click Submit .

Using the Math and Science Notation Tools

Click here for step by step instructions.

Customizing your Course Site

Use the following Control Panel links to customize your course accordingly:

  • Manage Course Menu – determine which buttons appear on the left panel of the Student
    View, and whether these areas are available to guests. Click here for step by step instructions.
  • Manage Tools – enable or disable course areas and tools, such as Announcements,
    Discussion Board    , Drop Box, E-mail, Student Home Page, etc.
  • Settings – change the course title, description, guest access, enrollment options, like
    self-enrolling course entry point, making the course unavailable, ( Announcements , by default), and course design (button design and course banner). Click here for step by step instructions.

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