Blackboard Basics for Students

Blackboard Basics for Students Revised: July 8, 2015 Authored by: Vanessa Huston ASU Blackboard Support Team Member - CITS

Table of Contents INTRODUCTION... 3 Activating your Email/Blackboard Account... 4 Forgotten Password... 4 ONLINE COURSE BASE REQUIREMENTS... 4 NAVIGATING TO THE BLACKBOARD WEBSITE... 5 LOGGING INTO BLACKBOARD... 6 FINDING COURSES... 7 ANNOUNCEMENTS... 7 ACCESSING THE CLASS SYLLABUS... 8 ASSIGNMENTS/SAFEASSIGN... 9 Regular Assignments... 11 SafeAssign... 13 TAKING TESTS... 14 Test Area Descriptions... 15 DISCUSSION BOARD... 19 Creating a Thread on the Discussion Board... 19 Discussion Board Areas... 20 Viewing a Thread You Created... 21 MY GRADES... 22 LOGGING OUT OF BLACKBOARD... 22 BLACKBOARD COLLABORATE... 23 Blackboard Collaborate Launcher... 25 Blackboard Collaborate Loading Process... 25 Blackboard Collaborate Functionalities... 26 Viewing Privileges... 26 Audio Setup Wizard... 27 Speaker Setup... 28 Microphone Setup... 29 Collapsing/Expanding Panels... 31 Using your Microphone in Blackboard Collaborate... 31 Using a Web Camera... 32 Using the Chat Box... 32 Loading Content/Showing a Presentation... 33 ABOUT BLACKBOARD MOBILE LEARN... 35 FOR MORE HELP... 36 Blackboard Student Manual page 2

INTRODUCTION This is a guide on using the Blackboard Learn 9.1 (April 2014 release) for students. Some instructors may use Blackboard to communicate with their students. The instructors may post assignments, handouts, conduct quizzes/tests, or even begin discussions on a discussion board which will allow students and instructors to converse on various topics. To log into Blackboard, you will need your Gold Key. The Gold Key will be your username that you use to log into your Alcorn email account. For example, if your email account is: jdoe@students.alcorn.edu, then your Gold Key (your username) will be: jdoe This is all that you will need to type in the Username box in Blackboard. The password will be the same as the one you use to log into your Alcorn email account. Note: The pictures used in this guide are only references. They will vary depending on your courses. Throughout this guide, please look for the following arrow to find the area that is being mentioned in that particular section: Note: You will have access to your Blackboard and Alcorn email accounts after you have completed the Activate Email/Blackboard section in Banner Online Services. See the next page for instructions. Blackboard Student Manual page 3

Activating your Email/Blackboard Account In order to use your Alcorn email and Blackboard accounts, you will need to complete the activation process online. Click here to go to the instruction page. Forgotten Password If you have forgotten your password, click here to go to the instruction page to reset your password. If you have printed this student manual, you can go to the sites manually for the instructions. Go to: http://kb.alcorn.edu Web Browsers Operating Systems System and Other Requirements ONLINE COURSE BASE REQUIREMENTS Supported Browsers for Windows Computers Internet Explorer version 9 and above Firefox 28 and above Chrome 34 and above Supported Browsers for Mac Computers Safari version 6 and above Firefox 28 and above Chrome 34 and above Windows Vista, 7, or 8 Mac OS X (version 10.7 or above) 256MB RAM or more (2GB RAM recommended) 20MB free disk space or more (100MB Recommended) Internet connection speed of at least 56Kbps Adobe Flash Player version 11 (required for viewing YouTube videos) Anti-Virus/Anti-Malware Software (particularly for Windows users) Please note that Windows XP is no longer supported by Blackboard in the April 2014 release (the version we are currently using). Also note that Microsoft (the creators of Windows XP) no longer supports Windows XP. NOTE: Though Internet Explorer (versions 9 and above) are officially supported browsers, Alcorn s Blackboard Support team strongly recommends the use of either Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome for the best possible experience in using Blackboard Learn. Blackboard Student Manual page 4

NAVIGATING TO THE BLACKBOARD WEBSITE You may go to the Blackboard website two ways. The first way is to go to the main Alcorn webpage: www.alcorn.edu Here you will see at the top of the page Students. Place your mouse over the word Students and click the Blackboard LMS option. The second way you can access Blackboard is to type the link into the address bar which is: blackboard.alcorn.edu Once you have gotten to this page, you will see the following window on your screen: Students & Faculty Temp account users Blackboard Student Manual page 5

LOGGING INTO BLACKBOARD Click on the link Students & Faculty, Click HERE to Log In! Enter your username and your password into the appropriate boxes. (Your Gold Key. Same information as your Alcorn email account.) If you have a temp account, (temporary account) click the link for temp account users. After you log in, you will see this page: This page is introducing you to the new Blackboard interface. After you are done reading this page, click on Close. This is your home page. (Please note: Every student s My Courses list will vary.) Blackboard Student Manual page 6

The My Announcements section indicates announcements that instructors may have recently posted to remind students of upcoming work, dates, tests, etc. FINDING COURSES To access a specific course, locate the My Courses section. ANNOUNCEMENTS After clicking on your course, the page you will then come to is the announcements page for that course. It will look similar to the following picture: Blackboard Student Manual page 7

You will see an area to the left that has various links in a panel. This area is known as the Course Menu Panel. Please note: Your course menu panel may differ depending on the instructor. For example, instead of white, the course menu may be blue, orange, red, etc. Also, the list of items in the Course Menu panel may differ as well. For example: The assignments link may be named as handouts or a name of the instructor s choosing. And other links may be named differently or omitted. ACCESSING THE CLASS SYLLABUS To access your class syllabus, you will click on the link that says Syllabus in your course menu panel as shown below. After clicking on Syllabus you will see the following on your screen: (Once again, this area may vary depending on the instructor and where/how they uploaded the syllabus.) Blackboard Student Manual page 8

1 2 Your teacher may upload your syllabus as an attachment, as shown in 1. They may also type their syllabus as shown in 2. To open the syllabus, click on the name of the attached file. The name of this file is SAMPLE SYLLABUS. You would click here: ASSIGNMENTS/SAFEASSIGN To find your assignments for that particular course, click on the Assignments link in the course menu panel as shown below: Blackboard Student Manual page 9

Once you click here, you will see a page that is similar to the following: To upload your assignment, click on the name of the assignment. After clicking on the assignment name, you will be directed to the page to upload your assignment. You may choose to write in your submission into a text box, or you may upload your document as an attachment. Be sure to follow the instructors instructions for your assignments. Blackboard Student Manual page 10

Regular Assignments 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Read the descriptions for each area that corresponds to the above numbers. 1. Points Possible - This area shows you how many points this assignment is worth. 2. Assignment Instructions - This contains your assignment instructions (only if your teacher included them, otherwise this area would be blank). 3. Text Submission Write Submission: By clicking on this button you will have the choice to type your assignment into a text box. Blackboard Student Manual page 11

4. Attach File Browse My Computer: This allows you to attach (upload) your assignment. 5. Add Comments - This area allows you to type a comment to your instructor if you choose. It is not required, but you can include a quick note to say (examples only) you enjoyed the assignment, to tell the teacher that you were late to submit the work, or if you had difficulty on the assignment. 6. Save Draft- If you are working on your assignment, but you need to come back at a later time to finish it, you can choose to save it as a draft. This saves the work that you have completed so far on the assignment. Once you open the assignment again, you can resume where you left off. Please note: Be sure to complete the assignment before the due date, otherwise the assignment will no longer be available and you will not be able to submit it. 7. Submit - After you have completed typing/attaching your assignment, and you are ready to submit your assignment, click the submit button. After you have submitted your assignment, you will see the Review Submission History screen. It will show your assignment that you have just submitted. Click OK at the bottom of the page to return to the assignment page. Blackboard Student Manual page 12

SafeAssign SafeAssign is a feature that checks your document for possible plagiarism. It will notify the instructor what areas in the document are possibly plagiarized and provide a percent to indicate how much of the document may have been copied. Only certain file types can be uploaded in SafeAssign: DOCX, DOC, PDF, TXT, ODT, RTF, HTML, and HTM. Please note: PowerPoint and spreadsheet files are not supported. You may type your submission in the Write Submission area, or attach a file. After you are done, click Submit at the bottom of the page. Note: To view assignment area descriptions, see the previous page on Regular Assignments. Blackboard Student Manual page 13

Some teachers may allow students to submit an assignment multiple times. Be sure to read your instructors description of the assignment. You can review your submission at any time by clicking on the name of the assignment again. It will return you to the area as seen on the previous page. TAKING TESTS To take a test on Blackboard, you will need to click on the Test link in the course menu. You will then see a page similar to this: To begin taking a test, click on the name of the test. You will be taken to the page that includes the test instructions and details. Test: You may/may not see instructions or a description depending on if the instructor included it upon the creation of the test. Blackboard Student Manual page 14

Click Begin to start the test. 3 4 2 5 1 6 Test Area Descriptions Read the descriptions for each area that corresponds to the above numbers. Blackboard Student Manual page 15

1. This area includes your test questions. This test is one question at a time. However, your instructor may choose to display all questions at once. 2. This button allows you to move to the very first question of the test. 3. This button allows you to move to the previous question. 4. This button allows you to move to the next question. 5. This question allows you to move to the last question of the test. 6. This allows you to save your answer for the current question. It is advised to save your answers as you move through your test. Click OK at the bottom of the page to go to your test results. Note: If your test is timed, and you don t complete the test in the allotted time, you will automatically be booted out of your test and your answers will be saved. You will then be directed to the Test Submitted page, as seen above. Blackboard Student Manual page 16

After you are finished reviewing your results, click OK to be taken back to the Tests page. If you have multiple attempts to take your test, you can click on the test name again, and click Begin. You will be taken to the following page: Choose your desired option. Blackboard Student Manual page 17

After you have completed all of your test attempts, you can go back to the test, click Begin, and you will see the following page: Click on View All Attempts to see your test attempts. Click OK at the bottom of the page to return to the test page. Blackboard Student Manual page 18

DISCUSSION BOARD The discussion board allows students and instructors to communicate via a message board. To access the discussion board, click it in the course menu panel: The discussion board will be displayed with various forums. An example of one is displayed below: Creating a Thread on the Discussion Board To respond to a forum, click on the name of the forum in blue. You will then be taken to a page to create a thread (a response). Click on Create Thread: Blackboard Student Manual page 19

You will then be able to create a response. 4 5 1 2 3 Discussion Board Areas Read the descriptions for each area that corresponds to the above numbers. 1. Subject - type in the subject of your thread here. 2. Message - type your response to the teacher s question/topic in the message box. 3. Attach File - submit an attachment (be sure to follow the instructions given by the instructor). 4. Save Draft - You can begin working on your thread and come back at a later time to finish. Be sure to complete your thread before the due date. After the due date, you may not be able to complete and submit your thread. 5. Submit - You are now ready to submit your thread. Blackboard Student Manual page 20

Your thread has now been created and will display as seen below: Viewing a Thread You Created You can view your submission by clicking on the subject of the thread you created: Your message will be displayed here: If you are instructed to reply to other threads created by your classmates, click the reply button after you select their thread. To leave this page, click OK that is in the bottom right corner. Blackboard Student Manual page 21

MY GRADES You may view your past submissions and your grades by going to the My Grades section: Your grades will be displayed here. If the instructor has not graded your submission, you will see this symbol: LOGGING OUT OF BLACKBOARD When logging out of Blackboard, click this button (found at the top right of your Blackboard window). It will log you out of Blackboard. Please note: You will also need to close all of your browser windows to be completely logged out. If you are working with multiple browsers, only close the one you access Blackboard on. Example: Google chrome, close all Google chrome windows. Blackboard Student Manual page 22

BLACKBOARD COLLABORATE Your instructor may have online meeting sessions on Blackboard. These online meetings will be conducted through Blackboard Collaborate. In order to access Blackboard Collaborate (previously Elluminate Live was used), follow the steps below. In the course menu click on Tools. Find Blackboard Collaborate in the list and click it. Note: Your instructor may have created a Blackboard Collaborate link in the course menu panel. Otherwise, use the steps to navigate to Blackboard Collaborate. Blackboard Student Manual page 23

After navigating to the page, you may see an option to launch a Blackboard collaborate room, or to launch a session. If you want to review a session that happened in the past, click RECORDINGS. If you need to use the Launch Room option, click Launch Room. If you are accessing a scheduled session, click it. The page will navigate to the details of room. Click Join Room to begin. Blackboard Student Manual page 24

Blackboard Collaborate Launcher If this is your first time using Blackboard Collaborate, you will need to install the launcher. Click on download the Blackboard Collaborate Launcher. The installer file will be downloaded onto your computer. Click it to run the launcher. Follow the steps on the screen in order to complete the process. It is recommended that you restart your computer after the launcher has completed installing. If you launch the session without restarting your computer, you may receive an error message. Exit the session, restart your computer, and re-enter the session. Blackboard Collaborate Loading Process The following screens will appear after you use your web browser to launch the session. You will see a Security Warning asking if you would like to run Blackboard Collaborate. Click Run. Blackboard Collaborate Loading Screen: Blackboard Student Manual page 25

Blackboard Collaborate Functionalities After loading is completed, you will be taken to the web conference session. 1 3 2 5 4 1. Audio/Video Panel Allows you to use the talk and video features. 2. Participants Panel This shows all participants in the web conference session. 3. Feedback, Step Away, Raise Hand, Polling Options your instructor may ask you for your feedback, you may have a question and want to raise your hand, or you may need to step away from the session for a moment. Note: When you use Step Away you do not leave the session, it just indicates that you are Away on screen. 4. Chat Panel Use this area to communicate to the class. 5. Content Area Information on course material will be shown here. Viewing Privileges Note: You may/may not have certain permissions. This means that you may not be able to do certain things in the class if the instructor has not permitted it. For example, the instructor may turn off microphone privileges, chat privileges, etc. You can view what privileges you have by clicking here: You will then see what permissions you have in the web conference session: Blackboard Student Manual page 26

You can place your mouse over each of the icons to understand what that icon represents. For example, the first is the microphone. The permission to use the microphone is turned on. Any icon with a red X indicates that the permission for that action is off. For example, the next icon represents the web camera. This permission is turned off. Audio Setup Wizard You will need to use the audio setup wizard in order to test your speakers and microphone setup. To do this, click on Tools, Audio, and Audio Setup Wizard. You will then see a window displaying all of your speaker devices. If you have more than one listed, choose the first one and follow the steps on the screen. Continue to move through the list of your speakers until you find the one you would like to use. Blackboard Student Manual page 27

Speaker Setup Press play to hear a recording to ensure that your speakers/headphones are working. Slide the bar to the left or the right to decrease/increase the volume of the recording. Blackboard Student Manual page 28

After the recording is finished, you will see the following. Choose Yes if you were able to hear the recording. Choose No if you were not able to hear the recording. Microphone Setup You may have different devices listed. Choose an option and follow the steps below. Blackboard Student Manual page 29

Click Record and talk into your microphone. Press Stop after you are done talking. You will be able to play your recording to see if your microphone properly recorded. Blackboard Student Manual page 30

Your audio setup is now complete. Click OK to exit setup and return to your Blackboard Collaborate session. Collapsing/Expanding Panels In order to collapse/expand a panel, click on the arrow located by the name of the panel. For example, to expand the Audio/Video panel, click here: Using your Microphone in Blackboard Collaborate If you are required to use your microphone in class, perform the steps above (Audio Setup Wizard steps) to ensure a working microphone in class. To talk, press the Talk button under the Audio/Video window. To turn off your microphone, press the Talk button again. Depending on the number of simultaneous talkers the instructor allows, you may click the talk button in order to speak in the session. Blackboard Student Manual page 31

Using a Web Camera If you are required to use your web camera, make sure your camera is plugged correctly into your computer and click the Preview button so you can see your image before transmitting to the class. After you are satisfied with your preview, press the Video button to transmit your video to the class. Preview Once the video is transmitting, the Video button will look like this: The video will be shown here: Once you are done using your video, click the Video button again to stop transmitting your video. Using the Chat Box You may type a message to everyone here in the Chat box: Blackboard Student Manual page 32

Loading Content/Showing a Presentation If you are to present a PowerPoint or a document in class, your instructor will need to grant moderator privileges to you. After the privileges have been granted, follow the steps below to load your presentation. Please note: The presentation or document that you are trying to load must be closed before attempting to load it into Collaborate. Click on Load Content. Blackboard Student Manual page 33

Find your file and click Open. Blackboard will then open your PowerPoint and convert the files into Whiteboard pages so they can be accessed in Collaborate. Note: If you have a large number of slides in your PowerPoint, it may take a while for the converting process to finish. You can move through your slides by clicking the arrow buttons: Blackboard Student Manual page 34

ABOUT BLACKBOARD MOBILE LEARN The Blackboard Mobile Learn app is now available for students and faculty in both the Google Play and Apple App stores; just search for Blackboard Mobile Learn. Though the Blackboard Mobile Learn app is currently supported by Alcorn State, be careful! There are areas within the application that are still under development and aren't fully supported. Particularly, the unsupported areas of the Blackboard Mobile app include (but are not limited to): Taking non-mobile tests Sending email Calendar Glossary Messages Tool Contacts Tool Achievements Wikis What an unsupported feature of the app means is that when you tap to open a particular feature, the app switches into a view that looks as if you were opening Blackboard Learn on a desktop computer. See the screenshot below for an example: Blackboard Student Manual page 35

Please note that the Blackboard Mobile app, in its current state, is not recommended by Alcorn's Blackboard Support Team as the sole tool a student uses to participate in online, hybrid, or supplemental courses here at Alcorn State University. It is strongly advised that the student still own or have dependable access to at least one, functional computer with a sufficient Internet connection. For help in using Blackboard Mobile learn, you can visit help.blackboardmobile.com. FOR MORE HELP If you still have any questions, please feel free to call the 24/7 Blackboard support help desk toll free at: 1-855-671-6898. Visit www.alcorn.edu/blackboard to find the self-help portal. This contains answers to common questions to Blackboard. Blackboard Student Manual page 36