Blackboard Introductory Training Manual

1HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDEBLACKBOARD INTRODUCTORYTRAINING MANUALThe materials in this manual are to assist instructors using Blackboard. The manual will cover topics such asadding, updating and deleting content. This manual does not cover all aspects of the Blackboard system, but itwill provide a foundation for successfully managing your Blackboard-enhanced courses.Questions about Blackboard should be directed to James Fogt (fogtj@hssu.edu or 340-3574).CONTENTSAbout the Control Panel - 2Adding Announcements - 3The Calendar- 4Adding Personal Information - 5Adding Tasks - 6Adding Discussion Boards - 7Emailing Options - 8Collaboration Tools - 9Digital Drop Boxes - 10-11Adding Course Information - 12-13Adding Course Documents - 14Creating External Links - 14Managing Course Menus - 15Managing Course Settings - 15Contact Information - 16

HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE2THE CONTROL PANELThe Control Panel is your main linkfor modifying your course materials.The Control Panel is only available toinstructors, and students will not seethis option on their course page.All of the course options may be adjusted from within the Control Panel.Clicking on any of the links will takeyou to a page to modify your coursematerials.For example, if you click on the Announcements link, you will be takento a page where you can edit yourcourse announcements.

3HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDEADDING ANNOUNCEMENTSTo add an announcement, click on theAdd Announcement button.Type in the announcement subjectand the full announcement message(or you can cut and paste from another document,such as Word).Choose the date and times you wantthe announcement to appear.If you like, you can link the announcement to another area in Blackboard.For example, if your announcementis related to an assignment you haveposted, you can link that announcement to the assignment so studentsdon’t have to go searching for it.

HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE4THE CALENDARIn the Control Panel, click on the Calendar link. When the calendar comesup, click on the Add Event button.Add the event title and the full textexplanation of the event.Choose the date and time of theevent.After you submit the event, it willappear in your calendar and in thecalendars of all the students enrolledin your course.

5HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDEADDING STAFF INFORMATIONIn the Control Panel, click on the StaffInformation link.When the Staff Information pageopens, click on the Profile button.Enter information that you want students to have access to.You can determine whether or not youwant to make the information visible.Browse your computer for an image ofyourself, if you would like to post one.Click on the submit button to make theinformation available.

HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE6ADDING TASKSTasks can be set up to remind students of course assignments or tests.Any task you set up will appear inthe student’s personal task list whenhe/she logs onto BlackboardTo add a task, click on the Tasks linkin the Control Panel.When the Tasks page opens, click onthe Add Task button.Enter the task title and description.Enter a due date and a priority level.Submit the task so that it appears inyour students’ task list.

7HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDEADDING DISCUSSION BOARDSDiscussion boards are a good wayto get students to collaborate in thelearning process by posing and replying to questions related to the course.For a discussion board to be of value,the instructor should monitor thediscussions that are going on in thisarea.To create a discussion board, clickon the Discussion Board link in theControl Panel, then click on the AddForum button.Enter a title and description for yourdiscussion board. Select the forumsettings appropriate to your needs.Forum User Settings allow you to setlimits on how some or all students usethe discussion board. If a student isusing the discussion board inappropriately, you may block them for posting,while they will still be able to read theboard and access all other coursecontent.When you submit the discussionboard setup information, the board willbe automatically generated. You maycreate as many boards as you like.They are great tools for creating content for individual instructional units.

HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE8EMAIL OPTIONSRight away, you want to have students update their email informationin Blackboard. All student Blackboardaccounts contain a default email address, which is “changeme@yourdomain.com.”When students change the defaultemail to their correct email, you willbe able to email them directly fromBlackboard. Students are responsiblefor keeping their email information upto date.In Blackboard, you have a number ofemail options for contacting courseparticipants. Select the email optionthat suits your needs and click on OK.For example, if you select the EmailAll Users option, the email will beautomatically addressed to all users inthe course.Type in the subject and the message,add an attachment if desired, andsubmit the email.Students will also have access toemail lists so they will be able to sendinformation to both you and otherstudents.

9HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDECOLLABORATIONThe Collaboration Option allows youto create tools for students to interactwith each other in real-time. The collaboration area contains both a chatroom and a virtual classroom. Thevirtual classroom is a self-containedarea that contains a chat room, awhite board, and all of the coursetools in Blackboard. It is fairly comprehensive.To set up your collaboration area, clickon the Collaboration link in the ControlPanel. Then click on the Create Collaboration button.Choose a descriptive session nameso that students can identify the collaboration session.Schedule the time when the collaboration are will be available.Finally, choose a collaboration tool:either the Lightweight Chat or theVirtual Classroom.Students will be able to access thecollaboration area, which can bemade available during class times, allthe time, or when you are off-site andwish to conduct your course from adistance.

HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE10DIGITAL DROP BOXThe digital drop box allows you toplace files on the server and givestudents access to course downloads,such as PowerPoint presentations,sample databases, or other electronicdocuments.Students may also send materials toyour digital drop box, such as homework assignments or presentations.In the Control Panel, click on the Digital Drop box link, then click on the AddFile button.Enter a title for the file you wish to putin the digital drop box, browse for thefile on your hard drive or floppy disk.Add any comments or instructionsassociated with the file, then submitthe file.

11HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDEDIGITAL DROP BOXYou can also send a file to a specificstudent’s account by clicking on theSend File button.Select the individuals to whom youwish to send the file, select or uploadthe file you wish to send, add a titleand instructions, then click the Submitbutton.The file will appear in the selectedstudent’s digital drop box area.

HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE12COURSE INFORMATIONAdding course information is a toolto provide students with informationabout your class. With course-information options, you can add itemsof interest, link to other areas in thecourse, or link to external URLS.In the Control Panel, click on theCourse Information link and thenchoose a category to add: Items,Folder, URL, Course Links, or Test.The numbers next to each item indicate the order in which the item will appear. Old items should be given high numbers, while new items are given low numbers. This will prevent students from having to do a lot of searching for courseinformation.Items that are grayed out still exist in the system but are invisible to students. It is better to make content invisible tostudents rather than deleting it. This way, you can re-open the content for students or another course when you wantto. This will cut down on redundant work for the course instructor.Each item can be changed by clicking on the Modify button next to it. Items can also be removed by clicking on the Remove button. Once an item is removed, there is no way to retrieve it, so you will want to carefully consider whether youwant to remove an item or simply make it invisible to students.

13HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDECOURSE INFORMATIONAdding course information allows youto choose from many options, suchas the name of the content and adescriptive explanation. You will beable to upload and link to files fromyour computer or link to other documents you have already placed inBlackboard.With Blackboard, you will be able tochoose when the materials are available to course participants. You canalso track whether or not studentshave accessed the materials byclicking the Track Views option. Withparticularly important assignments,you may want to track views to makesure that students are accessing thematerials.You will be able to make content available only after certain times, such asa two-day window before a test. Thecontent will automatically be madeinvisible to students at the end of thetime that you set.Once you have set your preferences,click the submit button. The materialwill become available on the datesand times you have selected.

HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE14COURSE DOCUMENTSCourse documents can be addedin the same fashion as you addedcourse information.In the Control Panel, click on theCourse Documents link and selectitems, folders, urls, course links, ortests to add.EXTERNAL LINKSExternal Links can be added in thesame fashion as you added courseinformation.In the Control Panel, click on theExternal Links link and select items,folders, urls, course links, or tests toadd.With External Links, it is better to justadd URLs of outside web sites so thatstudents don’t get confused whenlooking for information.

15HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDEMANAGE COURSE MENUYou will be able to add and deletebuttons from your course menu. Itis best to remove non-used itemsfrom the course menu. This limits thenumber of locations students will lookfor relevant information. Menu itemscan always be put back when contentbecomes available by clicking on theAdd Content button.To manage your course menu, Clickon the Manage Course Menu link inthe Control panel. Add or remove theoptions appropriate to your course.COURSE SETTINGSYou also have access to course settings in the Control Panel. By clickingon the settings button, you will be ableto make changes to various aspectsof your course. Typically, you maywant to consult with the help desk(340-5953) prior to making changes toyour course settings.

HSSU BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE16ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WILL BE ADDED TO THIS MANUAL OR OTHER MANUALS IN THENEAR FUTURE. FOR IMMEDIATE QUESTIONS, THE FOLLOWING CONTACTS ARE AVAILABLE:James FogtAcademic Technology Specialist, HSSCfogtj@hssu.edu340-3574Help Deskhelpdesk@hssu.edu340-5953

17Your Blackboard Notes:HSSC BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW &INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE

INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE. 6. HSS. U. BLACKBOARD OVERVIEW & INTRODUCTORY TRAINING GUIDE. 7. ADDING DISCUSSION BOARDS. Discussion boards are a good way to get students to collaborate in the learning process by posing and reply-ing to questions related to the course. For a discussion board to be of value, the instructor should monitor the