Blackboard 9 - Student Guide

Blackboard 9

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Originally compiled 2006 by Teaching & Learning Center, South Mountain Community College Updated April 2010 by Center for Teaching, Learning and Technology, Phoenix College

Objectives

These materials have been designed to present the following competencies:

  • Explain the basic functions of Blackboard.
  • Locate your Maricopa Enterprise ID (MEID).
  • Login to Blackboard.
  • Identify the screen components of the Blackboard My Institution page.
  • Identify and describe the use of the major components of the Course Menu, including Start Here, Announcements, Syllabus, Schedule, Your Instructor, Course Content, Discussion Board, Course Links, Student Resources and My Grades.
  • Use the Blackboard Email tool to send an email.
  • Print and Save course documents or files.
  • Cut, copy and paste content.
  • Save documents as RTF (Rich Text Format) files.
  • Navigate to the Discussion Board, create a new thread and post a reply.
  • Submit an assignment using the Assignment Tool.
  • Identify Blackboard test-taking best practices.

What is Blackboard?

Blackboard 9

Blackboard is a course management system. It is a Web-based software system which provides your instructor with tools to manage a course and for students to interact with the content, the instructor, and other students.

Blackboard allows instructors to supplement a course with an online component, or to teach a class completely online.

Blackboard allows for communication via email, discussion boards, and chats, and posting of course materials and assignments.


With Blackboard, students can:

  • stay informed about class activities
  • learn about instructors’ expectations
  • find out about and submit assignments
  • take online assessment
  • view their grades online
  • communicate with the instructor and with other students

You will use your Maricopa Enterprise ID (MEID) to login to Blackboard.

Need Help?

If you need assistance with Blackboard (finding your login information or using any of the tools) visit the Maricopa’s Blackboard help page at http://www.maricopa.edu/blackboard/support/students/ or call 1-888-994-4433 for 24x7 help.

Find your Maricopa Enterprise ID and Set your Password

  1. Go to Maricopa’s Blackboard at https://ecourses.maricopa.edu .
  2. Click the New Users – Lookup User ID link.
  3. The Student Personal Administration Tool (SPAT) displays. Fill in all required fields (Maiden/Previous Last Name & Student ID are optional). Enter your First Name, Last Name, Social Security Number and Date of Birth.
  4. Click Next.
  5. At the Set Password and Challenge Questions screen, you will see your MEID toward the top of the screen. This is your Maricopa Enterprise ID (MEID) and you will use it to login to Blackboard.
    6. Follow the prompts on the screen to:
    • Set your password. Click Password Rules to ensure you select an appropriate password.
    • Set your Challenge Questions. Be sure to select questions and answers you will remember. You will need them to reset or change your password in the future.
    • Make note of your MEID and password as you will need them to login to Blackboard.
  6. Click Submit.
  7. At the Summary of updates screen, you can click the link to login to Blackboard.

When you want to update your Maricopa Enterprise Account information or if you want to change your password, you will use the Student Personal Administration Tool (SPAT).

  1. Open your browser and go to: https://eims.maricopa.edu/MAW/SPAT.html
  2. Enter your MEID and Password.
  3. Enter the captcha code.
  4. Click Log In.

OR Click the appropriate link if you have forgotten your MEID or Password.

 

 

 

 

Login to Blackboard

  1. Open your browser and go to: https://ecourses.maricopa.edu/webapps/login
  2. Enter your Maricopa Enterprise ID and Password and click Login.
  3. Blackboard’s My Institution screen will display.
    The courses you are taking which are using Blackboard will be listed on the right side of the screen under My Courses.

 

 

Email and Blackboard

Google (Gmail) powers the email system used by students at all Maricopa Community Colleges. Sign up for your free email account, which uses the @maricopa.edu domain name and your MEID (for example JOSTB0000@maricopa.edu). Visit http://google.maricopa.edu to learn more about the benefits of using your Gmail account and to sign up.

This is the official way to receive communications from the students’ colleges and the Maricopa Community College District. The @maricopa.edu email account is automatically loaded into Blackboard. ALL email sent via Blackboard will be sent to the student’s Maricopa email. Students can elect to forward their Gmail account to an alternate email address.

My Institution (Welcome Page)

Once you have logged in to Blackboard, you will see the My Institution welcoming page, which looks similar to the image below.

The major components of the My Institution page are:

  • Header Frame – contains the institution’s logo, a button for Maricopa Library Resources (to search your college library and their respective databases) and the navigation buttons for My Places, Home, Help, and Logout. My Places, Home, Help and Logout buttons at the top of the window will direct you to a listing of all of your Blackboard courses (My Places), the homepage (ecourses.maricopa.edu), Help pages ( http://www.maricopa.edu/blackboard/support/students/index.php ), and allow you to Logout of this Blackboard session.

  • My Places, Home, Help and Logout buttons at the top of the window will direct you to the a listing of all of your Blackboard courses (My Places), the homepage (ecourses.maricopa.edu), Help pages (http://www.maricopa.edu/blackboard/support/students/index.php), and allow you to Logout of this Blackboard session.

  • Tabs located at the top of the window allow you to navigate between your institution and the courses you are enrolled in. The Courses tab also displays a link to view the course catalog. The Content Collection tab displays your content and your portfolios. The Scholar tab shows the bookmarks you have created using Scholar (a social bookmarking site).


    • Modules


    Each named box on the My Institution page refers to a module.
    • My Announcements – Lists last 7 days worth of announcements for all classes you are taking.
    • My Calendar – Shows 7 days worth of calendar events for classes you are taking.
    • My Courses – Shows all the classes you are taking under “Courses in which you are enrolled.” To begin working on a course, click its link under this module.
    • My Tasks – Shows all assigned tasks.

    You can add modules to this page using the “Add Module” button located at the top left of the screen. Additional modules that can be added include: Alerts, To Do, What’s New and Needs Attention. You can also reorder the modules.

     

    Tools

    The Tools Box gives you access to a number features of Blackboard.

    • Announcements – Check institutional and course announcements for all classes. You can view all announcements or those for specific courses.
    • Calendar – View calendar entries, including My Events, Institutional Events, Course events, and Organization Events. You can also add events from this area.
    • Tasks – View tasks, including My Tasks and Course Tasks. You can also add tasks from this area. Send Email – Send email to users of the courses you are enrolled in. User Directory– View the user directory (of those who have changed their privacy settings to public display). If privacy settings have not been set, the only the person’s name will display.
    • Address Book– Add contacts to your personal address book. Scholar – Go to the Scholar social bookmarking application (also accessible via the Scholar tab).

     

     

    Course Menu

    Once you enter a course, the course menu displays in the far left portion of the screen. *Note that not all courses will have the same menu. Ask your instructor for help on where to find things if your course menu differs from the one below.

    • Home Page – Can contain links to course alerts, items that need your attention, what’s due in the course and what’s new in the course.
    • Start Here – Provides basic information for being successful in the course, including course components, success strategies and technology skills
    • Announcements – Provides important course announcements – this is the page you will see each time you login to a course
    • Syllabus – Contains the course syllabus
    • Schedule – Provides a general course schedule with important due dates
    • My Instructor – Provides contact information for your instructor
    • Course Content – Contains all course materials and assignments
    • Discussion Board – Contains all online class discussions
    • Course Links – Course-specific websites are listed here
    • Student Resources – Provides links and information for college services
    • My Grades – Provides your current grade and grades for assignments/tests
    • Tools – Links to course tools including messages, email and groups

    Groups

    Access your course groups from the My Groups area below the course menu. Use the double down arrows to see all group options, and the double right arrows to see see the group overview page.

    Accessing Course Materials

    To access course materials, click the “Course Content” item from the course menu. You will see a variety of items (folders, items, assignments, tests and links). Here is an explanation of the icons you may see in course content.

    SYMBOL

    DESCRIPTION

    Folder

    Folder – further organizes content

    Item

    Item – text or file

    Assignment

    Assignment – link to an assignment

    Course Tool or Course Link – link to a tool or other area in course

    External Link – link to a Web site

    Test – link to a test

    Communicating With Your Instructors

    You will use either email or messages to communicate with your instructor and fellow students. Find out which communication method your instructor wants you to use. Access both from the Tools area of the course menu.

    Sending Email

    Even though email is composed through Blackboard, it must be viewed through your regular email client (such as Gmail, Outlook, Webmail, etc.). To send email to fellow students or the instructor, follow these steps:

    1. Select the Send Email link from the Tools course menu item.
    2. Click the link for the desired recipients (all users, all groups, all teaching assistants, all instructor users, select users, or select groups).
    3. If you are composing a message to select users or groups, make sure you select the appropriate recipients.
    4. Compose your message as you would for any other email - provide a subject, type the message body, and add attachments if desired.
    5. Click Submit.

    Sending Messages

    Unlike email, messages are composed and managed through Blackboard. To send messages to fellow students or the instructor, follow these steps:

    1. Select the Messages link from the Tools course menu item.
    2. Click the Create Message button.
    3. Select the desired recipients.
    4. Compose your message as you would for any other email - provide a subject, type the message body, and add attachments if desired.
    5. Click Submit.

    Basic Computer Skills

    To be successful in a course that uses Blackboard, it is important to know how to do basic computer tasks, such as downloading course files, saving as rich text format (rtf), and knowing how to cut, copy and paste.

    Saving Course Files on a PC

    To save files posted to a course site, follow these steps:

    1. Navigate to the area of the course that contains the file you wish to download to your computer.
    2. Right-click the file.
    3. Select Save Target As... (Internet Explorer) or Save Link As...(Firefox) from the right-click menu.
    4. Specify a save location.
    5. Click OK.

    Cut, Copy and Paste

    To cut content (remove from current location):

    • At the beginning of the text that you want to copy, hold down the left mouse button and drag to highlight across the text.
    • Right-click on the text and select cut OR use Control + X on the keyboard.

    To copy content (leave in current location and make duplicate):

    • At the beginning of the text that you want to copy, hold down the left mouse button and drag to highlight across the text.
    • Right-click on the text and select copy OR use Control + C on the keyboard.

    To paste content (place in new location):

    • Place the cursor where you would like to past the text.
    • Right-click the mouse and select paste OR use Control + V on the keyboard.

    Rich Text Format - Windows

    1. Open your word processing document.
    2. From the File menu, select Save As.
    3. From the Save as type drop-down menu, select Rich Text Format (.rtf).
    4. Click Save.

    Rich Text Format - Mac

    1. Open your word processing document.
    2. From the File menu, select Save As.
    3. Enter a document name.
    4. From the Save File as Type drop-down menu, select Rich Text Format (.rtf).
    5. Click Save.

    Posting to a Discussion Board

    Your instructor may have you participate in class discussion using the discussion board. In the discussion board, you will read the instructor’s prompt and compose your response. Follow these steps to learn how to post a thread.

    1. Select your class from the My Courses list.
    2. Select Discussion Board from the course menu on the left.
    3. Select the link for the forum you wish to add to. The numbers to the right of the topic indicate total posts, unread posts and total number of participants.
    4. Click Create Thread to post your response.

    5. Create the discussion forum post: type the subject line in the Subject field, enter your response in the Message field and attach items as necessary.
    6. Once you have completed your message, click Submit.
      • You can also save your post as a draft in order to modify and submit it later. If you save it as a draft, by default it will not display in the forum listing. Use the Display menu to see draft posts.

    Viewing and Replying to Discussion Board Posts

    1. Your response and your classmates’ responses will display in the forum list. Use the double down arrows next to each thread to access management features.

    2. To read someone else’s posting, click on the title of the response or select Open from the drop-down menu.

    3. To reply to the post, hit the Reply or Quote button, compose and submit your message.
    4. To manage multiple postings at once, select their checkboxes and use the options from the Thread Actions double arrow menu.

    Submitting an Assignment

    These instructions are specific to submitting assignments that instructors have created with the Assignment tool in Blackboard. If you are unsure if your instructor used this tool, please ask:

    1. From the course menu, enter the area where your instructor has told you to find assignments. In all likelihood, this will be in the “Course Content” area.
    2. Locate the assignment you wish to submit. Click the name of the assignment.
    3. You will be taken to the assignment page. This page can include more information, such as the assignment instructions, due dates, points possible and files the instructor has uploaded for you to use to complete your assignment. You can download any attached files to your computer. Carefully review the due date – assignments can be submitted late, but your instructor might penalize you.
    4. Submit your work. For some assignments, you will simply be answering questions, creating journal entries, etc. using the submission box. For other assignments, you might be required to attach a file.
    5. To attach a file to this assignment, click either the Browse for Local File or Browse for Content Collection item button. Find and select the desired file. Click the Attach File button. To attach more than one file, once again click either the Browse for Local File or Browse for Content Collection item button.
    6. Enter any desired assignment comments in the comments box.
    7. Click the Save as Draft button if you wish to return to this assignment and complete it later. Click the Submit button when you are finished and want to turn your assignment in. NOTE: if you make a mistake and accidentally submit when you were not ready to, you will not be able to modify your assignment later. If your instructor has only given you one attempt at the assignment, you must ask your instructor to clear the attempt so you can access the assignment again.

    Taking Exams

    Your instructor may have you take online exams. Follow these instructions to take and submit exams, and be sure to read the recommended best practices!

    1. From the course menu, enter the area where your instructor has told you to find the test. In all likelihood, this will be in the “Course Content” area.
    2. Locate and click the name of the test you wish to take.
    3. Click the Begin button.
    4. Take note all of test instructions and settings.
      • The test might be timed. You will receive a 1-minute warning. Find out if your instructor allows you to exceed the timeline without penalty.
      • The test might be set with ‘force completion’ meaning you MUST complete the exam the first time you begin it; you will not be able to save your work and return to finish later.
      • The test might have multiple attempts. Check to see if you only get one chance to take it.
    5. Progress through the test, saving your work often using the “Save All Answers” button.

    6. Refer to the “Question Completion Status” area to verify saved answers.

    7. The click Save and Submit button only when you are ready – you may not be able to take the test more than once.

    Some test items can be scored automatically, while others have to be manually graded by your instructor. Refer to the My Grades area of the course to see the test grade. You will not see a score for a test in which you exceeded the time limit until the instructor has reviewed your submission.

    Recommended Practices: Taking Exams

    • Do not enter exam until you are ready to take it or you may be locked out of exam.
    • Do not wait until the last minute to take exams; if you experience technical problems they will take time to be resolved.
    • Allocate ample time and ensure no distractions during this time period (turn phones off, children are cared for, pets have been cared for, no sandwich or TV breaks, etc).
    • If you experience difficulty immediately notify your instructor and the Blackboard Helpdesk: 1-888-994-4433.
    • Ensure you have setup your browser using the browser setup guide (this can be found on the Blackboard Helpdesk Support Site).
    • Ensure you have a reliable Internet connection and avoid using wireless Internet connection.
    • Close all other applications, especially instant message applications like AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, etc.
    • Maximize the browser window and do not resize or refresh during the exam.
    • Do not use return/enter key or browser navigation buttons, use the buttons provide in the exam.
    • If you must navigate between applications use keyboard commands (e.g. Alt-Tab in Windows).
    • Do not double click exam links or buttons (single click only).
    • Do not attempt to print the exams.
    • Do not attempt to access other web pages or files during exam, this may cause exam to fail.
    • Do not click outside exam area. For example, do not click any Blackboard menu links such as Course Content or Announcements.
    • Avoid leaving your exam for longer than 15 minutes as you may be timed out by your ISP.
    • Do not answer any questions until entire exam has loaded.
    • Type answers to essay questions in a word processor and copy and paste the answers into the text fields for each question in Blackboard. This way, you have a copy of your answers just in case you lose your Internet connection and need to re-take the exam.
    • When your exam is presented one question at a time always use the Save button before you go to the next question. When your exam is presented with all questions showing avoid using the Save button adjoining the question, rather use the Save button at the bottom of the page after you have answered two or three questions. • At end of the exam ensure you select Submit to send the exam results to your instructor and not Save.
    • Click Submit only once. If your Internet connection is slow, you may think the quiz is not being sent. Wait at least 3-5 minutes for a confirmation that your quiz was received. The quiz must be sent, scored, and the results returned to you.