Quick Start Guide INSTRUCTIONS

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1 A Password-Protected Website without the Hassle Blackboard Learn and similar course management systems are designed to give instructors a secure and easy way to set-up. Instructional Design and Faculty Consulting is here to help you with the mechanics and the best practices of using Blackboard. How can using Blackboard benefit you and your students? Post your syllabus online and it is available for students all the time. Class resources, such as handouts and web links, can also be posted online. Send an to your students quickly without opening . The photo roster is a great way to learn student s names. Let your students know where their grade stands by using the grade center. Instructors are not required to use Blackboard, but we ve found that students appreciate it when important class materials are available with a few mouse clicks. This guide will get you started with Blackboard. FYI: System Schedules All IT systems (including Blackboard Learn and DataVU) may be unavailable during these regular system maintenance periods: 3 a.m. - 7 a.m. Wednesdays 3 a.m. - 7 a.m. Saturdays Additionally, DataVU may be unavailable: 5 a.m p.m. Sundays 5 a.m. - 7 a.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays Also, classes are created in Blackboard on the even hours between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. First Step: Opt-in to Use Blackboard for Your Class To help maximize our resources, we have created an opt-in process to give instructors the ability to choose what courses need to be created in Blackboard. This process takes place OUTSIDE of Blackboard, but only takes a few minutes of your time. 1. Log in to DataVU at 2. Click on the Faculty button to access the Faculty Menu. 3. Click on My Class Schedule. 4. Select the term from the menu. 5. Click on the Submit button. 6. Check the box in the first column for every class that you would like to create a course shell for in Blackboard. 7. Click on the Submit button to add your course to the course creation list. Course creation may take up to 12 hours for your request to be completed. Courses are still created as unavailable in Blackboard. That means that you can build your course without allowing students access until you are ready. Still not clear? Please contact Jodie Reminder Page 1 of 6

2 Meet Blackboard 9: New Options Make Editing Easier The URL for Blackboard is You will use your same login for Blackboard as you did for . Let s take a look at a Course page to learn some basics of editing: A. Edit Mode is available for instructors and when turned on it allows you to perform a lot of the functions that could only be accomplished on the Control Panel page. Once you turn Edit Mode On, it will stay on until you turn it off even if you log off and return later. B. Course Modules are boxes that perform a special. The Home Page in Blackboard is a Course Module page, which means you can place any number of course modules on it. You can delete the module, minimize it, or modify some of the options. Tip: Don t worry about Modules until you have your course set up. They can seem overwhelming at this point and you won t experience them fully until you ve added content. C. Drop-Down Menu Icons are available for elements that have editing options. Simply click on the drop-down menu icon to reveal the available options. It s a lot like using the right mouse key in Windows. D. Course Menu allows you to do all your editing right on the menu when the Edit Mode is on. This is where you can add additional pages and rename or rearrange items that are on the list. E. Control Panel is now on every page as you work. No more editing in the dark! Still not clear? Please contact Jodie Reminder Page 2 of 6

3 Reusing Content: Importing Content from Previous Semesters Since some instructors using this guide may have used Blackboard in the past, we wanted to include some help on importing that content. If you don t have any old content to reuse, no problem just skip to the next section. Before you can import, you need to export the original course from the other version of Blackboard. Make sure the zipped file is in a location that you will remember. 1. In your course in Blackboard Learn, click on Packages and Utilities from the Control Panel menu. 2. Click on Import Package/View Logs. 3. Click on the Import Package button. 4. In Section 2, locate the zipped export file that you have saved. 5. In Section 3, click on all the items that you want to import. 6. Click on Submit. It will take several minutes for the package to be loaded, but you will receive an when the process is complete. Your Course, Your Way: Customize the Course Menu Whether you ve imported an old course or you re starting fresh, the next step you ll want to take is to build the course menu. Take a look at the layout for editing the course menu: A. Create Button allows you to create additional pages and links for the Course Menu. B. View Options include the traditional list view, folder view, etc. C. Drop-down Menu Button allows you to rename the page or link, hide it from the student s view, or delete it completely. D. No Content Graphic shows up next to pages that are blank. You will see them in edit view, but students will not see them. E. Grabber Icon allows you to click, drag and drop a list item into a new place on the course menu. Still not clear? Please contact Jodie Reminder Page 3 of 6

4 If You Build It: Adding Content to Pages When you click on a content page, like the Content or Information pages that are available by default, you will find four types of items you can add to the page: A. Create an Item is most basic content you can add it consists of a title, text area, and the ability to add attached files or links. You are also able to hide content from students and track the number of views. B. Build is the heading for structural items including folders, links, and learning modules. C. Evaluate is the heading for any item that will help you or your students evaluate the course including assignments, tests, and self/peer assessments. BIG CHANGE IN THIS VERSION: Blackboard no longer has the drop-box as an option for file sharing. We recommend using the assignment tool or the file exchange on group pages. D. Collaborate has several tools that can be used for communication, including discussion, chat and the new blog and journal tools. As you build your pages, there are a few editing options you might want to pay attention to: E. Grabber Icon allows you to click, drag and drop a list item into a new place on the page. F. Show/Hide Course Menu Button allows you enlarge the main window by covering the course menu. Click the button a second time to reveal the course menu. G. Drop-down Menu Button allows you to modify, copy and delete the item. Still not clear? Please contact Jodie Reminder Page 4 of 6

5 Syllabi, Handouts, and Links Oh, My: Adding Content Adding content in Blackboard is the same process if you are uploading a syllabus, a handout, or a list of websites. Your blank course starts out with two empty pages: Information or Content. 1. Click the link for the content area of your choice. There will be four buttons in the banner of the content page. 2. Click the Create Item Button. 3. Fill in the blanks and upload your file by clicking the Browse button. 4. If you would like to make the content available or unavailable at a certain time, click the box before the Display After/Until entries and select the correct time. If you are going to use this option, you MUST click the checkboxes and set the time for BOTH times. 5. Click on Submit button. You can upload any file type you would like as long as the students have the program required to open the file. Open for Business: Making the Course Available When you are ready to make the course available to students, you can do so from the Control Panel area. 1. From the Control Panel menu, click on the Customization heading. 2. Click on the Properties link. 3. In section 3, click the Yes option to make the course available. 4. Click on Submit button. The course will immediately available for students. Adding and Removing Users Your students will automatically be enrolled by the registrar s data from DataVU, but many people want to add teaching assistants or guests to their course. Instructors have the ability to manage enrollment from the control panel area: 1. From the Control Panel menu, click on the User and Groups heading. 2. Click on the Users link. 3. Click the Enroll User button. 4. You can add any user who has a active VU account. If you know the person s username, you can type it in the box. Otherwise, click on the Browse button to search for the users 5. Select the appropriate role for the user and click the Submit button to complete the process. Still not clear? Please contact Jodie Reminder Page 5 of 6

6 While students are automatically added to the class, we DO NOT automatically remove students. Once a student is removed from a course, any data associated with the student is lost, so we prefer that instructors make the choice of who to remove On the Users page where you add students, you can also remove a student: 1. In the bar below the Enroll User button, search for the student or select Not blank from the drop-down menu and click Go. 2. Click the check box next to the student you would like to remove. Click the Remove Users from Course button at the top or bottom of the list and the student will be removed. You re On Your Way! Congratulations! You ve made it through the Quick Start introduction to Blackboard. We know that you will have plenty of questions, so please feel free to contact Instructional Design and Faculty Consulting. Still not clear? Please contact Jodie Reminder Page 6 of 6