BLACKBOARD BASICS – Part 1 (Summer 2012)
Logging into Blackboard:
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Begin at the ISU Homepage, www.iastate.edu , and click the “Blackboard” link along top left edge.
Click the “Test Your Browser” button and then click the “Java Test” button. These routines will help
you spot any computer compatibility issues.
If you have an ISU email account, e.g. somebody@iastate.edu :
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log into Blackboard with your netID, which is the first part of your email
use the password that goes with your email
If you do not have an ISU email account, then you must be assigned an “exception ID” which will be
your username within Blackboard. It will have a specific password. Contact your technical support
person or your instructor for assistance.
The “My ISU” Screen
Each user can personalize this screen: add/delete modules (information panels), rearrange modules,
expand/collapse modules, change settings within the “My Courses” module, change overall color scheme.
Note the text and links along upper right edge. Notice there is a “Notifications Dashboard” screen too.
Notification Settings:
Reach by clicking the head and shoulder profile icon on upper right edge,
 Personal Information:
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Indicate which contact information is to be shared.
Cannot change name, email, or password.
o Contact the ISU Solution Center to reset a password
(515-294-4000)
o Contact the Registrar to change an official name in the
student record system.
Add avatar, if desired.
Set privacy options to restrict whether your name appears in the
class roster in courses you are enrolled in (instructor will still know if
you are enrolled).
 Edit Notification Settings:
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Each user selects their own notification settings -- you do not set your
students’ settings.
ISU does not offer Mobile (text messages to smartphones) alerts yet.
There are both student and instructor specific alerts turned on by default. You can turn any on or off.
Even if student turns off their email alerts, instructor can force Announcements to go to them through
email IF they have an email account associated with their BB username. Email goes through the ISU
email service (not internal to BB).
You can only change the notification settings on courses you are currently in. New courses come with
the system default settings.
Edit Notification Settings > Edit General Settings
Edit Notification Settings > Bulk Edit Notification Settings > Courses I am Teaching/Taking