Blackboard 9.1 Basic Instructor Manual 1. Introduction to Blackboard 9.1... 2 1.1 Logging in to Blackboard... 3 2. The Edit Mode on... 3 3. Editing the course menu... 4 3.1 The course menu explained... 4 3.2 Changing the order of menu buttons: use Drag and Drop... 5 3.3 Adding menu buttons... 6 3.4 Managing menu buttons: edit, remove, visible and invisible... 6 4. Course content: Filling your course with content... 7 4.1 Making an announcement... 7 4.2 Building content and uploading files... 8 4.3 The Visual Editor... 11 4.4 Content in menu buttons: order, edit, and delete... 12 5. Managing Course content... 13 5.1 The action bar: Open files and download content... 13 5.2 Search for files... 13 6. Course management... 14 6.1 Add students or instructors... 14 6.2 Search for users, change user role and delete users... 15 6.3 Customization... 16 6.4 Shortening the courses overview... 16 7. Notifications Dashboard... 17 8. Assignments and Grade Center... 17 9. Leaving Blackboard... 17 10. And further: Copyright, Plagiarism, Preservation, Code of Conduct... 18 Do you have any further questions after reading this manual? Please do not hesitate to contact the Blackboard Helpdesk (contact information below) Address Functioneel Beheer E Building Room: 01 Phone: 010-4082256 E-mail: functioneel.beheer@oos.eur.nl 1
1. Introduction to Blackboard 9.1 Blackboard is a virtual learning environment, which can be used to stimulate communication between student and instructor and share information. When Blackboard is used appropriately it can support the learning process. This manual contains basic information about Blackboard 9.1. Next to this manual, the Blackboard Helpdesk provides advanced manuals as well: Assignments, SafeAssignments and Grade Center Test manager Respondus Lockdown Browser (NL) Blackboard 9.1 (sub-version SP5) is compatible with the following web browsers: Internet Explorer 7/8; Firefox 3.5/3.6; Safari 4.0/5.0; Note that Google Chrome and Internet Explorer 6 and 9 are not supported. When using other browsers you might experience some difficulties.
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1.1 Logging in to Blackboard Go to Blackboard and fill in your ERNA username and password. Click on Login to enter Blackboard. You will now be logged in and be directed to the first page in Blackboard (see image below). On the right is a box called My Courses and you will see the courses you manage as instructor. Click on the course name to enter a course. The first page of your course is the Announcements page. This is also the first page students will see when they enter your course. The vertical button bar on the left is made to navigate between the pages of your course. It s called the Course Menu. The frame on the right is where the content of the page is shown. 2. The Edit Mode on The Edit Mode is automatically On. If you want to change or upload course materials, the Edit Mode has to be set to On. You will find the edit Mode in the upper right corner of your screen. With the Edit Mode Off you will have the same view as students.
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3. Editing the course menu 3.1 The course menu explained This following image explains the meaning of the different symbols that will appear. Please note the difference between the Edit Mode on Off and the edit mode settings on On. Empty menu buttons Menu buttons without content ( empty ) will be automatically invisible for students. You can recognize empty buttons by the grey symbol displayed on the left. For students, this provides them with a much clearer course: they will never unnecessarily open empty menu buttons. Hidden menu buttons Besides this it is possible to hide menu buttons that do contain content. You can recognize hidden menu buttons by the grey symbol with a square and a diagonal black line. The Course menu Below you will find an overview of the standard menu buttons and the functions that belong to the buttons. Mentioned furthermore is what a student expects so see after clicking a menu button. Note: The Discussion board button and Collaboration button are automatically invisible for students (because of ).
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The functions of the menu buttons in the Course menu Announcements: This is the place for announcements, welcome messages, notifications and reminders. Often, these are short references to new items elsewhere in the Blackboard Course, notifications about the absence of an instructor or a change in lecture rooms. Course Information: Course Information exists of general information regarding the course such as: course description, teaching objectives, literature information, time schedule and the data and place of the meetings etc. Course Documents: Here, the student will look for documentation and course related information provided by the instructor. Examples of Course Documents are: reading assignments, assignment descriptions, PowerPoint presentations etcetera. Assignments: In Assignments students expect assignments, (digital) tests and surveys. Discussion Board: This is an option for enrolled students and instructors to enter into discussion and contact or consult each other. Collaboration: The Collaboration page can be used to start consultations and discussion by means of a chatroom. Course Tools: Examples of course tools are the Roster, a Calender, My grades, Wikis, Blogs and the option to send emails. Quickstart Blackboard: By clicking this link, students are redirected to our Blackboard Manual for students. 3.2 Changing the order of menu buttons: use Drag and Drop Changing the order of menu buttons can be done quite easily by using the drag and drop function. When you grab the button at the symbol shown left you can easily drag it to the desired location, and drop it in the course menu.
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3.3 Adding menu buttons You can add menu buttons by clicking on the Plus ( ) symbol in the upper left corner of the course menu. A list of options will appear. For explanations about the options, please read below. Both Menu buttons and subheaders or dividers can be moved to the desired place by using drag and drop. Create Content Area This will create a button that contains document, files or other content. A Content Area is an environment such as Course Documents and Course Information, in which you can create content with the usage of the Build Content button. To create a Content Area click the Plus and click on Create Content Area. Fill in the form that appears. Also, check the box to make the menu button available to students. After submitting the form, the button will appear in the menu. Create Blank Page Create an empty page and fill it up with content such as texts and pictures by using the Visual Editor. Create Tool Link A tool link provides access to Tools, for instance: Announcements, Journals or a Discussion Board. Create Course Link A Course Link is a internal link to somewhere in the Blackboard course Create External Link This is a button that contains a link to a website of the world wide web. In the form you have to fill in the URL to the page you want to link to. Create Module Page By creating a Module Page you can insert extra content such as a dictionary or a text editor to the Module Page. Students will be able to use these programs. Create Subheader / Create Divider A subheader or divider will help organize the course menu. 3.4 Managing menu buttons: edit, remove, visible and invisible To display the options for editing a menu button, click on the little double arrows (the chevron ) next to the name of the menu button. Rename Link Use Rename Link to change the name of your button. Hide Link / Show Link Make a menu button visible or invisible for students. Delete Remove a menu button. Attention: By deleting a menu button you will automatically delete all the underlying content this button contains (information, documents)!
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4. Course content: Filling your course with content The difference between Course Content and Course Tools is important. Examples of Course Tools are Announcements and the Discussion Board. Course Content are buttons that lead to pages where you can put files etc. (For example: Course Documents). Depending on your own wishes you can use the standard buttons (Announcements, Course Information, Course Tools, Assignments) or you could (for example) make a design of the course on a weekly base where you use one particular button to put the literature, a PowerPoint and a digital assignment for a specific week. It is important to think about designing your course and which structure suits your course best. After you have decided about the structure you wish to use and after creating the different menu buttons (see chapter 3) you can start inserting content into your course. Note: Before you insert any content, check whether your content meets the copyright regulations. See the final chapter of this manual. 4.1 Making an announcement The first thing you will see on your Blackboard course are the Announcements. When students log into the course, this is also the first thing that they will see. When putting the Edit Mode Off you can view your Announcement page in the same way a student does. To create an Announcement choose Create Announcement and fill in the form. If you have placed multiple Announcements it is possible to order them via drag and drop ( ). Announcements are sorted automatically from new (top) to old (bottom).
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4.2 Building content and uploading files In Course Content Area such as Course Documents, Course Information and Assignments you can build content. When you hover with your mouse over the Build Content button you will get multiple options to build content. 4.2.1 Creating an item or uploading a file In Content Areas such as Course Documents and Course Information you will find the Build Content button. This button gives you a lot of options to fill a page with text, uploaded files, images and more. Item: Create an item with the Visual Editor. For example, write a text and add a picture and/or a file. 1. Click on Item 2. Fill in the Name 3. Fill in the text and use the Visual Editor (see chapter 4.3) to add images, links etc. to your text. 4. If you want to attach a file you can do this at 2. Attachments 5. At 3. Options you can set restrictions to date and time and whether or not users will be allowed to see the item. File: Upload a file from your computer or from inside the course. 1. First select a file from your computer (click on Browse My Computer) or select a file from somewhere in the course. 2. Add a name 3. Make a choice about whether you want the file to open in a new window or not and select yes or no at Open in New Window. 4. At 2. Standard Options you can set restrictions for users. For example, you can set restrictions to date and time and whether or not users will be allowed to see the item.
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4.2.2 Creating other media You can create these by clicking the button of Build Content in a Content Area such as Course Information or Course Documents. Audio Upload an audio file from your computer. To search for your audio file click on Browse my Computer. Image Add a single image. 1. Click on Browse your computer to upload a file from your computer. 2. Add a name and if you like you can fill in the other options. 3. To upload the image click on Submit Video Upload a video from your computer. If you want to post YouTube video we recommend you to use the Visual Editor when you create an item (see chapter 4.3). URL Add a link to an external website 1. Click on URL and add a name 2. Fill in the URL and if you want to, you can add a description or attach files 3. At 4. Options you can set restrictions for users. For example, you can set restrictions to date and time and whether or not users will be allowed to see the item. 4.2.3 Creating Useful Others These extras can help making a syllabus or lesson plan easily. It will be directly integrated on your Blackboard page. However, we recommend to make a back up in case you cannot access Blackboard. You can find them under the button Build Content in a Content Area such as Course Information or Course Documents. Learning Module A Learning Module is an organized collection of course content that includes a table of contents. You can provide parts of the course in this learning module. Lesson Plan This is a template where you can fill in course objectives and the subject area. The Lesson Plan is most efficient with information and not with content (Learning Module). Syllabus The Syllabus contains a template for making a syllabus to describe the course, show learning objectives and required materials. Course link A Course Link links to somewhere in the course.
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4.2.4 New Page Next to the Create column of the button Build Content, there is also a New Page column. Here you can create new Pages, Folders or a Tools Area. Content Folder If you want to add multiple documents it is advised to add structure by means of folders. When you choose to use a folder it is possible to add several files to it. This may come in handy by, for example, ordering your documents (like PowerPoint presentations and articles) based on weeks. In the picture on the right you can see how organized this will look for students. A content folder is easily created: 1. Click on Build Content > Content Folder 2. You will be redirected to a page where you have to fill in a name for the folder 3. Click on Submit Blank Page A Black Page is a single page with no content on it. You can add content with the Visual Editor. There is no possibility to add files and items with the Build Content button. If you want a page that does this, you have to create a Content Area. Module Page A Module Page is a page where you can add special content (such as a text editor, calculator or a dictionary) to the course. When you check the box of Permit Users to Personalize the Page students can add content themselves. Tools Area Create a link to a Tools Area (such as Journals, Blogs, Calendars or Mygrades)
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4.3 The Visual Editor When using Blackboard you will soon get to work with the Visual Editor. You will come across the Visual Editor when making an announcement, a test question or when using create item at e.g. course documents. In the top row of the Visual Editor you will find options regarding font and styles. In the lower two, there are various options. Notice: The copying of text from programs such as Word, Excel and Wordpad (which have their own internal format) causes trouble in Blackboard. The only program where you can copy from is Notepad (Start menu > Accessories). Within Notepad you can write a text and copy it into Blackboard. However, if you do have a Word document and you want to copy this or parts of it, you should first copy the text to Notepad and then copy it from Notepad to Blackboard. The most important functions of the lower two rows are: Making a hyperlink You can link to other websites. You can do this by typing a text, selecting it and subsequently clicking on the globe icon. In the popup that will appear, you leave the type as HTTP, fill in the link and if necessary the title. We recommend to check the box of Open link in a new window, such that the student won t lose the Blackboard page by clicking on the link. Making a table Sometimes a lot of text will look clearer when using a table. By pressing the table icon (as the image on the left) a popup will appear to make a table. Adding symbols In Blackboard 9.1 you can add (a limited amount) of symbols to your text. Most of them are Greek characters. Preview Before a text is submitted, there is the option to preview it. Adding an image By pressing this icon you can upload or add an image by its URL at 1. Select image. Under 2. Image Options you can edit the size of the image at width and height or you can add a link to an image (Image Target URL). Embedding a YouTube Video Click the button and select YouTube Video. A popup screen will show you a search bar in which you can search for videos. Click on select to select the video you want to add, and select embedded video to add it to your page.
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4.4 Content in menu buttons: order, edit, and delete You can manage the order of items in menu buttons easily by using drag and drop (see chapter 3.2). To edit or delete content, make sure the Edit Mode is On and click the chevron behind any content (see illustration below). Choose Edit to change the text or its options and Delete to delete the specific item. Note: Deletion is permanent. When deleting a folder, the underlying content will also be removed.
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5. Managing Course content To view your Course Content go to the Control Panel and click on Files. Subsequently, click on the name of your course. You can now view every file that you uploaded to the shared files area of the course. Note that you will not see the files that you uploaded to other content areas of the course, e.g. the files in Course Documents. With the action bar you can perform multiple actions. These actions are explained in the next two chapters. 5.1 The action bar: Open files and download content When you are viewing your files at the Control Panel > Files > Your Course you can open files by clicking the name of the file you want to open. To download content from Blackboard to your computer, you can check the boxes in front of the files and click on Download Package. Automatically, they will be added to a.zip file. This way you can download multiple files at once. 5.2 Search for files Go to Control Panel > Files and click on Basic Search. Here you can search for files in your course. Check the box of Search File Contents to get more results. You can use the Action bar at the findings as well to open files or download them.
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6. Course management 6.1 Add students or instructors To add or remove users to your course you have to go to: 1. Go to the Control Panel (Course Management) 2. Click on Users and Groups and go to Users 3. You will see the first page that shows all the enrolments in the course, click on Find User to Enroll (see image). 4. To search the database click on Browse and search the database. The search options are automatically set on Username. A student s username will consist of the student number preceded by an s. If you want to search a user by the last name you have to change the search options. 5. Select the role the user is receiving. This is automatically set on Student. In case of enrolling a fellow colleague to the course, you have to select Instructor from the drop down menu. 6. The Enrollment Availability is set on Yes. Do not change this. 7. Click submit
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6.2 Search for users, change user role and delete users 6.2.1 Search for users 1. Go to the Control Panel and on Users and Groups and go to Users. 2. To search for students or other instructors fill in the blank form and select if you want to search based on a username, first name, last name or email. 3. Set the Search Options to Contains for the highest number of results. 4. Click on Go. 6.2.2 Change User Roles On the page Users (Control Panel > Users and Groups > Users) you can change the role of a user by clicking on the chevron behind the username. Next click Change User s Role in Course. Choose for example Student or Instructor and click Submit. Roles available to select are: Student is the default role; they have no access to the Control Panel. Guests have limited access to the course: no access to course tools, communication or documents. Instructors have full rights to manage all aspects of the course. Teaching Assistants have fewer rights than Instructors, but have access to most parts of the Control Panel. Course Builders can access most parts of the Control Panel, but not the Grade Centre. Graders have access to some parts of the Control Panel, principally the Grade Centre. No ability to upload or organize content. 6.2.3 Remove a student You can remove a student from the course by checking the box before the username at the Users page (Control Panel > Users and Groups > Users). To delete the user click on Remove Users from Course. It is not possible to remove another instructor from the course. To do this, please contact the Blackboard helpdesk. Make sure to mention in your e-mail the name and ID of the Course and the name of the instructor that has to be removed from the course.
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6.3 Customization 6.3.1 Managing enrollment options Normally students enroll themselves via the Course Catalog into the Blackboard courses. This standard setting can be changed. You can change the enrollment options or create an end date. 6.3.1 6.3.2 6.3.3 Notice that: Students are not used to this setting and will find the course in the Course Catalog but without an enroll chevron. This can cause questions for students and colleagues. We recommend not changing the enrollment options (The standard settings are set to Self enrollment and no end date ). If you want to change the Enrollment Options after all, follow these steps: Click in the Control Panel on Customization > Enrollment options. In this form you can choose whether students can enroll themselves ( self enrollment, the standard setting) or that the instructor adds the students. After editing, click Submit to apply your changes. 6.3.2 Course availability for students You can make the course available or unavailable for students by clicking Customization > Properties. In the form that appears you can choose Set Availability in option 2. After making any changes click Submit to save them. 6.3.3 Managing the course style Open Customization > Style to change the appearance of the course (color of the menu buttons). Furthermore you can upload a banner (picture) that will appear on top of the Announcement page of your Course. 6.4 Shortening the courses overview After a while the number of courses on the first page of Blackboard (after logging in) at My Courses will increase. However, instructors like to keep an up-to-date overview. Because there is a legal preservation time for Blackboard courses, courses cannot be deleted just like that. Moreover, courses have to be kept for six years for visitatiecommisies. A possible solution is to keep your overview up-to-date with the so called gear wheel. All courses will stay accessible at the tab My courses, but on the home page you will only see your active courses. To do this: click the gear (encircled in red in the picture). In the next form you can select which courses you want to show by checking and unchecking the box at Course Name. Click Submit to apply these changes.
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7. Notifications Dashboard Blackboard offers a very useful tool for students and instructors: the Notifications Dashboard. You will find the Notifications Dashboard immediately after you log in (before you click on your course). The most important module at this dashboard is What s New. This module immediately shows all the changes by students in your courses since the last time you logged in. So, if you use the Discussion board or Assignments, the module What s New will display all the new contributions or uploaded documents. On the other hand, students can use the Notifications Dashboard to see all new announcements, all new course content or all new assignments you and other instructors have created in all their courses. Click on e.g. Announcements or Content to unfold the Notifications an read them. This is how a What s new will appear: 8. Assignments and Grade Center You can use Assignments to let students submit papers or other work. Blackboard also offers the possibility to engage in online testing. The manuals Assignments, SafeAssignments and Gradecenter and Test Manager will provide you with more information on these subjects (see our website). 9. Leaving Blackboard When you are done using Blackboard, it is important not to forget to log out. This is especially an issue if you are working on a public computer. This way you can prevent others adding or removing items in your courses. At the top of the page you can find the button Logout.
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10. And further: Copyright, Plagiarism, Preservation, Code of Conduct. Please know that Copyright law ('Auteursrecht') not only applies to readers printed on paper, but also to on-line materials, and consequently to the materials in your Blackboard course. This means that you must be aware of the rules that apply to articles, pdf's, PowerPoint presentations etc. that you upload to your Blackboard course. These rules are outlined on the website of the University Library: "Blackboard en auteursrecht", or more specifically, on the sub-site "Vuistregels voor Auteursrecht in Blackboard". o Linking to external content on websites, movies on YouTube.com, images on Flickr.com, slides on Slideshare.com etc. is always allowed; linking is the preferred method of pointing to external sources; o Using/presenting copyrighted materials in your class is allowed because of the onderwijsexceptie ; you may only use the materials in your classroom and only when the materials, like images, are functional with respect to your course ( vertoningsrecht ); o Follow the Vuistregels when you want to upload copyrighted materials in your Blackboard course or use copyrighted materials in your PowerPoint presentation, weblecture or pdf. Please have a look at our faculty s regulations about fraud and plagiarism. You will find here how to prevent plagiarism, how to find authentic sources, how to recognize plagiarism, sanctions to students, and more. When students upload papers to Blackboard, these documents can be scanned automatically by the SafeAssign module. The procedures to follow are listed on the website, including a link to the manual on safe assignments. By law, on-line materials, like Blackboard course materials, must be preserved for 1 year ( wettelijke bewaarplicht ). This applies to e.g. submitted papers and grades of students. For administrative reasons Leiden University even keeps Blackboard courses and their full contents for 3 years on the so-called production server, and moves the courses for another 3 years to the archive server. In total, Blackboard courses are saved for 6 years. This also meets the demands of reviewing committees ( visitatiecommissies ). After 6 years, courses will be automatically removed, unless you indicate not to do so (send an e-mail to the Blackboard helpdesk). You can learn more about archiving and removing old courses. Finally, take a look at the Code of Conduct ( gedragscode, netiquette ) for teachers and students that use ICT means. You may use this Code as a reference when it comes to problematic situations, for example when students use Blackboard as a spam server.
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