Blackboard FAQs

Course Access

1. How do I access my course?
 
Solution

Visit http://blackboard.highpoint.edu/ and click "User Login" on the left side of the screen. Login using your Username and Password (the same as your HPU campus email). You will enter Blackboard at the "Welcome" page. Your courses are listed under the "My Courses" module on the right hand column. Click on a course name to access that course.

2. How do I login to Blackboard?
 
Solution

Your Blackboard username is the same as your email address, as is the password. If you cannot access Blackboard, check to ensure first that the Caps Lock key is not on. If your attempts continue to fail, please contact the HelpDesk at 841-HELP...841-4357.

3. Why can't my students access my Blackboard course?
 
Solution

By default Blackboard courses are automatically available. However, guest access is restricted initially. Imports are run daily to ensure that we keep the enrollment as accurate as possible. If a student is having difficulty accessing a course and you feel that they are not enrolled, please contact the HelpDesk at 841-HELP...841-4357. Also, be sure to check "Availability" setting under Control Panel > Settings > Course Availability. To make the course available to students, select "Yes".

4. How do I archive my course?
 
Solution

To archive your course log in to Blackboard and select the course you wish to archive.  Then click the following links - Control Panel > Archive Course in the Course Options section. Click Archive > Submit. A receipt is issued to your University email account with instructions to download the exported course site. Navigate to the link and select a location to save the .zip file. The Gradebook is not included in the archive file, and should be exported separately if required.

Course Design

1. What is the Control Panel?
 
Solution

The Control Panel is the area where the Instructor, Teaching Assistant or Course Builder can add, modify or remove course materials, announcements, assignments, set up groups and discussion forums, and where the Grader can assist with the setting up and use of assessments. Only users with a staff role see this link, which is located below the "Tools" links, on the left-hand side of the screen.

2. What is the Course Map?
 
Solution

The Course Map, like Windows Explorer, allows you to easily navigate around your course and to see an overview of your course's content. All users can see this link, which is located as the last link in the list of links under "Tools", on the left-hand side of the screen.

3.What is the Digital Dropbox?
 
Solution

The Digital Dropbox is a tool that instructors and students can use to exchange files. The dropbox works by uploading a file from its source location to the Blackboard server.  Faculty or students can download the file to work on it locally.   Individual student access to the dropbox is available from the Digital Dropbox area located in Tools.  Students can also have group access to a private dropbox from a group homepage. Instructors access the dropbox from the Control Panel.

4. What is the Electric Blackboard?
 
Solution

The Electric Blackboard allows users to save notes for a particular course within the Blackboard environment. From the Tools area, click "Electric Blackboard" to access the Electric Blackboard page.

5. What are Learning Units?
 
Solution

Blackboard Learning Units enable the instructor to set a structured path for progressing through the content within a course. Students can access content, including assessment, in sequential order. The development of self-paced learning is intuitive with Blackboard Learning Units. Learning Units can be added to (any folder in) Course Documents, Course Materials, Assignments.

6. How do I create a Learning Unit in a course?
 
Solution

In the Control Panel select the category from the Content Area where you want to place the Learning Unit. Look for the red dot with the plus sign near the upper right hand corner of the window.  To the very right of that is a selectable drop down list of options. Select the "Learning Unit" option and click on "Go" immediately to the right of the blue and black downward pointing arrow. Now click the "Go" button at the bottom right of any of the items that might already be placed in this section. Give the Learning Unit a name, and any descriptive or instructional text. Select the availability options. Sequential viewing may be enforced, as well as the option to open the Learning Unit in a new window. You can now begin to add content.

7. How do I add content to a Learning Unit?
 
Solution

There are several options to creating content within a Learning Unit:

Add Item - this option allows you to display content with a description and a link to the content item. More than one file can be attached to a content item.

Add File - this option allows you to display a file as part of the Learning Unit. The file is displayed as soon as a user accesses that page, allowing instructors to create a slideshow presentation.

To use the Add Item feature:

Click "Add Item" from within the Learning Unit. Give it a name, and any descriptive or instructional text. Attach files to the item. More than one file can be attached to an item. Select any additional options for the item.

To use the Add File feature:

Click "Add File" from within the Learning Unit. Enter the file name, location, and name of the link to the file. Items and files within a Learning Unit can be ordered using the drop-down lists next to each item or file. The items and files will appear to students in the selected order.

If students may skip ahead, or are not required to complete each item or file sequentially, the items and files will still be listed in sequential order. However, all items and files will be accessible by the student by clicking "Contents" within the Learning Unit navigation.

8. How do I set the time release of course materials?
 
Solution

Instructors can make content or assessments available or unavailable when it is posted - a range of dates can be selected when content or assessments are available. The time release of content option can be applied to Announcements; items, folders and learning units in Course Documents, Course Materials, Assignments and Books; and Assessments. To set the time release of content in your Blackboard course materials: In Control Panel select "Course Materials" from Content Areas.

Click one of the buttons to "Add Item", "Add Folder" or "Add Learning Unit". There will be an option to select date restrictions. You may choose the date when the content is available, a date when the content is no longer available, or a range of dates between which the content is available.

9. How do I select my Blackboard course entry point?
 
Solution

In Control Panel select "Settings" from Course Options.
Click "Set Course Entry Point". Select the course area to appear when users first access the course from the drop-down list (only the available areas for your course can be selected).

10. Why do my announcements keep disappearing?
 
Solution

By default announcements appear on screen for 7 days, automatically archiving after 7 days and finally after 30 days. To always show an announcement on the Announcments page you need to make it permanent.

To make a new announcement permanent:

In Control Panel, select "Announcements" from Course Tools. Click "Add Announcement", complete the "Announcement Information", and leave the "Smart Text" option selected. Under "Options", select the "Yes" option for "Always show this announcement on the course's main page". Click "Submit". To make an existing (archived) announcement permanent: In Control Panel, select "Add Announcement" from Course Tools. Locate your announcement using the View All tab, and click the "Modify" button to the right of the announcement. Under "Options" change "Always show this announcement on the course's main page" from "No" to the "Yes" option. Click "Submit".

11. How do I add a video or audio file to my course?
 
Solution

Blackboard supports many types of multimedia file. However you must remember that some users may not have access to current web browsers or the necessary players or plug-ins to open and play these files. In Control Panel, select "Course Materials" from Content Areas. Click "Add Item", (or access a sub-folder and click "Add Item", or Learning Unit and click "Add Item" or "Add File").

Give it a name and, choose a color if you wish, and type in any text you want to accompany your video or audio file. Under "Item Attachments", browse for your video (.avi, .ev, .ev2, .mov, .movie, .qt, .ram) or audio (.aiff, .au, .ea, .ra, .swa, .wav) file, type in a name to link to file, and select "Create a link to this file" as the special action option.
Click "Submit".A video or sound can be played by clicking on the link.

12. How do I copy content from one course to another?
 
Solution

*NOTE: In order to copy course materials from one course to another course, you must have appropriate user privileges in the destination course. In Control Panel, select "Course Copy" from Course Options. Click "Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course". Specify a destination course. Click "Browse", which will bring up a new window to help locate the destination course. Search for the course that you wish to copy content into, and when you have found it, simply click "Select" for that course. The window will close, and the Course ID will be populated in the text field. Next, select the materials to copy by checking the box beside each area. Click "Submit".

User Management

1. How do I remove a student from a course?
 
Solution

Imports are run daily to ensure that we keep the enrollment as accurate as possible. Removing students from a course is a part of this process. If a student appears on your roster that has since dropped the course, please contact the HelpDesk.

2. How do I add another instructor to a course?
 
Solution

If you are already the Instructor for a course and would like to request a colleague to be added as an additional instructor, please contact the HelpDesk. You will need to specify the Course ID number, as well as the new instructor's roles in the course.

3. What are the different types of staff roles?
 
Solution

There are four different staff roles available on a Blackboard course. Instructor has full access to all areas of the Control Panel. Course Builder allows the user to edit and add course materials, enrol users and have access to the course tools; they cannot manage groups or have access to the assessment areas. Teaching Assistant has the same rights as Instructor and Grader has access only to the assessment area.

Assessments and Grading

1. What is the difference between quizzes and surveys?
 
Solution

In Blackboard, surveys and quizzes are collectively known as assessments.

Survey: the survey option creates assessments that record answers anonymously. Use this when you want to perform opinion polls or course evaluations. Survey results are non-graded and anonymous.

Quiz: you can assign point values to each question. Student answers can be submitted for grading, and the results are recorded under each student entry in the gradebook.

2.What types of questions can be used in Blackboard assessments?
 
Solution

There are seven types of questions:

Multiple choice: you ask a question and the students indicate the correct answer by selecting a radio button. There is no limit to the number of answer choices you can create.

True False: these are similar to multiple choice, but have fixed answer options of True or False.

Fill in the blank: students can type a word or series of words into a text field. There are some important items to note when using this type of question:

Fill in the blank answers are not case sensitive, but evaluated based on spelling and letter patterns. When creating fill in the blank questions, if an actual blank space is necessary, add underscores to the question. Provide answers that allow for common spelling errors, abbreviations and partial answers. Keep answers limited to one or two words to avoid mismatched answers due to extra spaces or order of answer terms.

Multiple answer: these are similar to multiple choice, except they permit more than one acceptable answer.

Matching: good for items that belong in pairs, such as indicating which word goes with each definition.

Ordering: permit the student to designate a hierarchy for lists or indicate the correct order of items.

Short Answer/Essay: you must provide students with a question or statement, and students enter an answer into a text field. Blackboard does not grade essay

questions automatically as it does for other question types. The instructor must assign points to each essay question through the Online Gradebook.

3. How do I create a quiz in Blackboard? 
 
Solution

Refer to page 48 in the Blackboard Instructor Manual.
http://www.highpoint.edu/blackboard/docs/bbls_rel6_instructor.pdf

4. What types of questions can be used in Blackboard assessments?
 
Solution

There are seven types of questions:

Multiple choice: you ask a question and the students indicate the correct answer by selecting a radio button. There is no limit to the number of answer choices you can create.

True False: these are similar to multiple choice, but have fixed answer options of True or False.

Fill in the blank: students can type a word or series of words into a text field. There are some important items to note when using this type of question:

Fill in the blank answers are not case sensitive, but evaluated based on spelling and letter patterns. When creating fill in the blank questions, if an actual blank space is necessary, add underscores to the question. Provide answers that allow for common spelling errors, abbreviations and partial answers. Keep answers limited to one or two words to avoid mismatched answers due to extra spaces or order of answer terms. Multiple answer: these are similar to multiple choice, except they permit more than one acceptable answer. Matching: good for items that belong in pairs, such as indicating which word goes with each definition.

Ordering: permit the student to designate a hierarchy for lists or indicate the correct order of items.

Short Answer/Essay: you must provide students with a question or statement, and students enter an answer into a text field. Blackboard does not grade essay questions automatically as it does for other question types. The instructor must assign points to each essay question through the Online Gradebook.

5. How do I create a survey in Blackboard?
 
Solution

Refer to page 57 in the Blackboard Instructor Manual
http://www.highpoint.edu/blackboard/docs/bbls_rel6_instructor.pdf

6. How do I add images to assessments?
 
Solution

In Control Panel, select "Test Manager" (or "Pool Manager" if creating a pool of questions) from Assessment. If you have already created an assessment, select "Modify" next to the test name. If this is the first test that you are creating, see How do I create a quiz in Blackboard? To the right of the question selection drop down, click the "Creation Settings" button. Check the box next to the "Add images, files, and URLs to questions" selection. Click "Submit".

The next page to appear will verify your test settings. Click "OK" to continue. Now when you add or modify a question, there will be extra text fields below the "Point Value" field. Attach a file by clicking "Browse". Specify whether you wish to create a link to the file or include it in the assessment in the "Action" field.

You may also specify whether or not the attached image should be a link to another resource, as well assign a title to it, by using the "URL" and "Title" text fields.Turning on this option will give you the opportunity to include images/files in any of the questions on an assessment, including the response areas.

7. How do I create a link to an external website in the response to a question?
 
Solution

In Control Panel, select "Test Manager" (or "Pool Manager" if creating a pool of questions) from Assessment. Create your assessment, select your question type, and enter your questions and answer values in the usual way. In the "Response" panels, enter any text you wish to accompany the external web site.

To create the link, type:

<a href="/it/http://www.websiteaddress.com/" target="new">Visit this website</a>

Substitute "http://www.websiteaddress.com/" with the URL (address) of the web site you want to link to, and "Visit this website" with any text of your choice

that you want users to click on to access the web site.

8. How do I create a pool of questions in Blackboard?
 
Solution

Question Pools can be used to store questions for repeated use in both quizzes and surveys.

In Control Panel, select "Pool Manager" from Assessment Click "Add Pool". Give the pool a title and brief description.
Click "Submit". After you have created the pool, you can begin adding questions. For more on adding questions, see pages 217-237 in the Blackboard Instructor Manual. www.highpoint.edu/blackboard/docs/bbls_rel6_instructor.pdf

9. How do I export a pool of questions from one course and import into another?
 
Solution

Exporting a Question Pool In the "Control Panel", select "Pool Manager" from Assessment. Click the "Export" button next to the name of the test pool that you wish to export. A Download dialogue box will appear, prompting you to save a .zip file that is the question pool. Select a location on your machine and click "Save".

Importing a Question Pool In the "Control Panel", select "Pool Manager" from Assessment. In the top left panel is the option to "Import". Click the "Import" button. Use the "Browse" button to select the location of a test pool to import. Locate the .zip file and click "Open". The name and path of the file will appear in the "Pool to import" text field. Click "Submit". The imported test pool should now be listed on the "Pool Manager" page.