PRESENTS
INTRODUCTION
TO BLACKBOARD
TOPICS
Logging into Blackboard
Course Availability
Adding Content
Organizing Content
Customizing Home Page
Customizing Course Menu
Combining Courses
Tool Availability
Course Copy
LOGGING INTO BLACKBOARD
3 Ways to Login to Blackboard:
1. Click Blackboard on Missouri S&T home
page (mst.edu).
2. Click Blackboard under Faculty and Staff
on Missouri S&T home page.
3. Go directly to blackboard.mst.edu in
your web browser.
COURSE AVAILABILITY
• Courses are UNAVAILABLE by default.
– Gives instructors time to populate a course
with content before students see course.
• Courses need to be made AVAILABLE
before students can see them.
• Courses become UNAVAILABLE again a
few weeks after the end of the semester.
– Instructors can make them AVAILABLE, but
will then need to manually make the course
UNAVAILABLE again.
COURSE AVAILABILITY
• Login to Blackboard.
• Click the course to make available.
• Under the Control Panel, click
Customization.
• Click Properties.
• Under Set Availability section, select Yes.
• Click Submit.
– The course is now available for students.
ADDING CONTENT
• Content can only be added to designated
“Content Areas” in Blackboard.
– Staff Information: Profile of the instructor, CV, video
introduction, etc…
– Content: Basic content area for PDFs, Word docs,
PowerPoint files, and more.
– Assignments: Content area for items that will be
assessed for a grade.
• All content areas have same basic
functionality—only difference is in name.
• Content areas can be added or renamed to be
more descriptive.
ADDING CONTENT
Basic Content Upload:
• Select content area from course menu (e.g.
Content, Assignments, Staff Information, etc.).
• Select Build Content.
• Click Item under Create section of the Build
Content menu.
• Type in a Name.
• Type in additional Text.
ADDING CONTENT
Basic Content Upload:
• Click Browse to attach a local file from your
hard drive or S: drive.
• Select visibility options.
• Click Submit when finished.
ADDING CONTENT
Other Content Options:
• Select Build Content tab for adding links to
folders, external links, course links, and more.
• Select Assessments tab for adding
assignments, tests, and other items that are
graded.
• Select Tools tab for discussion boards, groups,
blogs, wikis, and more.
– Some options may need to be “enabled” before they
will show up in the Tools tab.
ADDING CONTENT
[ NEW ] Files in Control Panel:
The Files option in the Control Panel is a central
repository for course files.
•
•
•
•
•
Organize files into folders.
Upload packages of files/folders.
Download packages for reuse.
Link to a File content item from anywhere in the course.
Modifying a content item in the Files section will update
all links to the content item.
ORGANIZING CONTENT
Moving Items:
• Blackboard 9 has a “click-and-drag”
interface for moving buttons, modules and
content items within a single page.
– Simply click and hold the arrow icon next to
the item.
– Then drag the item to its new location.
ORGANIZING CONTENT
Moving Items:
• Items can be moved to a different location
in the course (or to a different course).
– Click the drop-down arrows next to the name
of the item.
– Click Move.
– Select a Destination Course
• This can be the same or different as the current
course.
ORGANIZING CONTENT
Moving Items:
• Items can be moved to a different location
in the course (or to a different course).
– Click Browse to search for a destination
folder within that course.
– Select the desired folder.
– Click Submit. Content will now appear in the
desired folder.
ORGANIZING CONTENT
Copying Items:
• Items can be copied to a different location
in the course (or to a different course).
– Click the drop-down arrows next to the name
of the item.
– Click Copy.
– Select a Destination Course
• This can be the same or different as the current
course.
ORGANIZING CONTENT
Copying Items:
• Items can be copied to a different location
in the course (or to a different course).
– Click Browse to search for a destination
folder within that course.
– Select the desired folder.
– Click Submit. Content will be copied into the
desired folder.
• Original copy is in its original location
ORGANIZING CONTENT
Learning Modules:
• Add a linear structure to the content of a
Blackboard course.
• Students are guided through modules one
at a time.
• Can be tied to a variety of other objects in
Blackboard.
– Discussion boards
– Tests/Quizzes
– Readings
ORGANIZING CONTENT
Creating Learning Modules:
• Select Build.
• Click Learning Module under Create
options.
• Type in a name.
• Type in the text for the learning module.
• Select visibility and availability options.
• Click Submit.
ORGANIZING CONTENT
Folders:
• Add a lot of structure to the content of a
Blackboard course.
• Can be layered.
• Can be imported from a document
package (ZIP file).
ORGANIZING CONTENT
Creating Folders:
• Select Build Content.
• Click Create Content Folder.
• Type in a name for the folder.
• Type in a description for the folder.
• Select visibility options and date/time
restrictions.
• Click Submit.
CUSTOMIZING HOME PAGE
You can personalize what you see when you
login to Blackboard.
• Click Add Module to add new modules to
the home page.
• Click-and-drag title bar of module to move
it around.
• Click gear icon in title bar of a module to
modify settings for module.
CUSTOMIZING HOME PAGE
• Click the minimize icon
module.
to minimize a
– Module is still available.
• Click the close icon
a module.
to completely close
– You will need to click Add Module to open
the module on the home page again.
– Some modules can’t be closed (a system
setting).
CUSTOMIZING COURSE MENU
• Course menu is highly customizable.
• Buttons can be:
– Created
– Moved
– Renamed
– Grouped
– Linked to a variety of tools/objects in
Blackboard
CUSTOMIZING COURSE MENU
• Button templates are available for various
teaching styles/methods.
– Click Customization in Control Panel.
– Click Teaching Style.
– Select an option under Select Course
Structure.
– Choose an Entry Point.
– Select a Menu Style.
– Choose other options.
– Click Submit when finished.
CUSTOMIZING COURSE MENU
• Button templates are available for various
teaching styles/methods.
– WARNING: Use caution when choosing a
different button template!
• Restoring the original default S&T template is a
time-consuming process!
• If you want to use this, choose the menu structure
before adding any content!
CUSTOMIZING COURSE MENU
Adding Buttons to Course Menu:
• Click the plus button above the course
menu.
• Select the type of object to add (e.g.
Content Area, Course Link, etc.).
– New buttons are created at the bottom of the
course menu.
• Click-and-drag the item to its new location.
COMBINING COURSES
How Course Combine Works:
• Students from one or more sections
(Children) are combined into another
course (Parent).
• Students are then enrolled in two sections.
– Both parent and child sections
– Only students are copied over, not content
COMBINING COURSES
How Course Combine Works:
• EdTech recommends making Child section
unavailable to avoid confusing students.
• EdTech also recommends notifying
students in Child section that a course
combine has taken place.
COMBINING COURSES
Before Course Combine
After Course Combine
• Adam, Bob, Chuck
• Amy, Betty, Cathy
• Alice, Bill, Chris
Section
A
• Adam
• Amy
• Alice
Section
A
Section
B
• Bob
• Betty
• Bill
Section •• Bob
Betty
BMake
• Billsource
Section
C
• Chuck
• Cathy
• Chris
sections
• Chuck
Section
unavailable
• Cathy
C
• Chris
COMBINING COURSES
1. Login to itweb.mst.edu/~bbfocus with
your Missouri S&T userid and password.
2. Select the term that contains the courses
you want to combine.
3. Click Get Matching Courses.
4. Select 1 Destination (Parent) Course.
5. Select 1 or more Source (Child) Courses.
– Students in Child courses will be merged into
Parent course.
COMBINING COURSES
6. Click Proceed to Combine Courses.
7. Click Confirm Combination.
– WARNING – You will NOT be able to undo a
course combine!
8. A confirmation message will tell you when
the courses will be combined.
– Source sections should be made unavailable
to students to avoid confusion.
– Notify students of the change in sections.
TOOL AVAILABILITY
• Blackboard has a wide variety of tools.
• Tools can be HIDDEN from students to
limit their access to the tools.
• Two methods for making tools
available/unavailable:
1. Tools page.
2. Customization in Control Panel.
TOOL AVAILABILITY
Method 1: Tools Page
• Click Tools in course menu.
• Click Hide Link for each tool that you want
to hide from students.
– Click Show Link to show a hidden tool.
– Common tools to hide if they are not used in
the classroom:
• Blogs and Wikis
• Voice tools
• Groups
TOOL AVAILABILITY
Method 2: Customization in Control Panel
• Click Tool Availability under
Customization in Control Panel.
• Select the checkbox in the column for each
tool to make available/unavailable.
– Some tools can only be configured at the
system level.
– To make a tool fully available, it may also need
to be made available in a Content Area (e.g.
Blogs and Wikis).
COURSE COPY
• Ideal for moving course content from
semester-to-semester.
• Usually very quick method of copying
content.
• Accessed through Packages and Utilities
section in Control Panel.
• Select Copy Course Materials into an
Existing Course.
COURSE COPY
• Browse for destination course ID.
– Only courses you are listed as instructor for will
be available.
– May need to wait until future semester courses
are created (about mid-semester).
• Choose course materials to be copied.
– If copying Grade Center Columns and Settings,
should also copy any Assignments, Tests,
Surveys, and Pools tied to GC columns.
PROBLEMS WITH BLACKBOARD?
• Contact the Help Desk at (573) 341-HELP or online at
http://help.mst.edu
• Please have the following information available:
– Which Operating System are you using?
– Which Web Browser are you using?
– What is the Course ID / Reference Number /
Instructor of the course that you are having
problems with?
• What steps did you go through when the problem
occurred?
• Blackboard Support Information can be found online
at: http://edtech.mst.edu/support/blackboard
102 Centennial Hall
Rolla, MO 65409
EMAIL: edtech@mst.edu
PHONE: 573-341-4131