Blackboard 8 Interface Welcome to Tarleton State University's Blackboard 8! Blackboard is the online Learning Management System (LMS) of Tarleton State University. Blackboard enables the teacher to provide content, assignments, quizzes, live chat sessions, discussion boards, an internal e-mail system, announcements, and the grade book to students in a secure environment. Workshop Overview In this workshop, participants will gain hands-on experience with the range of Course and Design Tools in Blackboard 8. You will first learn how to log into the Tarleton State University Blackboard system. Next you will learn about the Build, Teach, and Student 'tabs' and how to use each to create, manage, and test the course. You will learn how to develope your Course Homepage. Finally, you will learn about all of Blackboard's Course and Design Tools. Training Topics in this Workshop Logging into Blackboard 8 The Three Tabs (Build, Teach, Student) The course homepage Course and Designer Tools What You'll Learn After completing this workshop, you will be able to: 1. Login to the Tarleton Blackboard system. 2. Demonstrate how to use Build, Teach, and Student tabs.
3. Alter the course homepage by changing settings and adding course tools. 4. Understand the various Course Tools in Blackboard 8. 5. Understand the various Designer Tools in Blackboard 8. Logging into Blackboard 8 There are several ways to get to the Tarleton Blackboard Login Page. One of the easiest is off the main website of Tarleton State University. See the red arrow! On the Blackboard Login page notice the User Name and Password areas. You will receive credentials to Blackboard after the proper paperwork is processed.
The 3 Tabs (Build, Teach, Student) After clicking on your class the first items you should notice are the 3 Tabs. Build. Teach. Student The Build Tab - On this tab you can add items, add links, add files, create assignments and quizzes, and manage the overall look of the course.
The Teach Tab - On this tab you are 'teaching' the class. You grade assignments, grade discussion board assignments, look at chat logs, and input data into the Grade book. The Student View Tab - Each course has a 'Demo Student.' Demo Student can take tests, turn in assignments, and basically lets the professor insure the quality of the course from a student's perspective. Your Blackboard Homepage The shaded purple section of the image below is called the Home Page. The Home Page is a very important part of Blackboard. In this area professors can: Post the Name of the Course, Section, and Instructor Name Post a picture or self-photo Post folders and files the students need Post links to quizzes, assignments, discussion boards, web sites, etc. Organize how information is distributed to the students The Page Options button allows the instructor to:
Edit the Header (Course Name, Instructor Name, add a picture, etc) Edit the Footer Customize the Page Display (change colors and columns)
Blackboard Course Tools There are numerous Course Tools available in Blackboard 8. Below is a brief description of each of the tools and how the tool can be used in an online instructional environment. Course Tool Description Announcements Quick notices that can be posted for the entire class to see. Great for reminders and small chunks of information. Assessments Tool to create Quizzes, Surveys, or Self Tests. Quizzes have multiple options of Question Delivery, Duration, and Setup Options. Who's Online Assignments Calendar Chat Discussions Goals Learning Modules Local Content Mail Media Library See who is online and in the course. Change the instructor's status to invisible or available to chat. Tool to create assignments that students submit through Blackboard and into the instructor's Assignment Dropbox. Feature to add links to Quizzes, Assignments, Web Links, etc. to specific dates. Synchronous communication tool that allows the instructor or students to communicate to each other. Asynchronous communication tool that allows the instructor to post a message that is replied to by the students. The posts are gradable. Tool to add course goals and associate those goals to quizzes, assignments, content, etc. Tool to add content in an order that the instructor wants the student work through. Tool to link to in-class files in Blackboard. Files could be on CDs that come with books or local files on thumb-drives. Blackboard has an internal e-mail system. Very similar to web mail, but all messages pertain to the particular course. Tool to create collections of items, such as, picture libraries or glossaries.
Roster SCORM Search Syllabus Web Links Designer Tools Manage Course File Manager Grading Forms Selective Release List of instructors, students, and groups with convenient 'Print' button. SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) is a tool to help one program to one another. Tool to help search the files of the course. Shows the Syllabus that the instructor has loaded into the system. Tool to create links to outside Internet resources. Access to which Course Tools you want, Menu Options, Colors, Icons, Importing Files, and Backing up a Course to your computer. (CITDE backs up your course on our server) Is your virtual file cabinet for online instruction. Create folders, load files, and organize your materials. Create your own forms with Criteria and Performance Indicators. Sometimes called Rubrics. An advanced feature that allows the instructor to control what, when, and who gets materials, quizzes, etc.
Contact Us Tarleton State University Center for Instructional Technology & Distributed Education Tarleton Center 131 Phone: 254-968-9307 Revised August 9, 2010