Basic Blackboard
The Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS) is an excellent enhancement to your course and can be
customized to fit your needs. The purpose of this document is to introduce Blackboard course management
concepts, enable you to personalize course menu areas, insert content of various types and enroll your students
for course usage.
The first step in setting up your Blackboard course is to gather the materials you would like to include. Some
examples would be your syllabus, presentations, note handouts, review/study items and website links. Items can
be added, modified or removed at a later date.
Customize the
Course Menu
The course menu buttons can be customized to meet your needs:
• From within your course area, click on Control Panel (left menu)
• Enter Manage Course Menu section (in Course Options menu)
• Add, Modify, Remove or change the menu button order of appearance from this
page.
NOTE: Only insert the menu areas you intend to populate now. Course menu buttons can be added,
modified or removed at a later date.
Use this button to add pre-defined content areas, such as Assignments, Course
Documents & Lectures, or you can create a personalized Content Area by typing in the
Name and clicking Submit. Text, files attachments and external website links can be
added to a Content Area.
Use this button to add direct links to pre-defined tools, such as My Grades or
Discussion Board, then click Submit.
Use this button to link to another area within the course.
Use this button to link to a website by typing in the website Name and URL address.
The website will open when the menu button is clicked. If you want to have a page of
website links, add a Content Area page and place External Links on it.
Adding
Announcements
Announcements are used to convey important information or reminders to students.
Current Announcements are displayed on the Welcome Page in Blackboard as well as
in the course area. To add an Announcement:
• From within your course area, click on Control Panel
• Click on Announcements (in Course Tools menu)
• Click Add Announcement button in the upper left corner
• You must type in a Subject, the Message area is optional.
• Use display dates to have the content automatically posted or removed from
viewing on a specified day.
• A link to an area within the course may be included.
• Click Submit.
Upon entering the main Announcements page, via the Control Panel, you have the
option to Modify or Remove current Announcements.
To view Announcements that are no longer current, or displayed, click the View All tab.
Adding Content
There are 2 ways to add content into a Content Area:
1. Content may be added directly from the course area of Blackboard by clicking
on the Content Area button (e.g. Assignments) in the Course Menu and then
clicking on Edit View (upper right corner).
2. Content may also be added by entering the Control Panel and clicking on the
link to that Content Area.
The most commonly used content type is an Item. Inserting an item allows you to insert
type-written text or link to pre-existing files. To add an Item:
• Click the +Item icon on the upper left side.
• Enter a Name for the content. (e.g. Chapter 1 Notes)
• Enter Text, if desired. This is a WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get)
editor that allows text formatting, such as color, bold, etc.
• Insert a link to a file from the text area by clicking or insert a link to an image
by clicking , OR
• Attach a file from the 2 Content section, this method will show as a separate
link that is not embedded within the textbox.
• Browse to the file you want to attach, and Name the Link
• Use display dates to have the content automatically posted or removed from
viewing on a specified day.
• Click Submit.
External Links are popular for creating a list of websites. To add an External Link
click on the icon, enter the Name and URL, click Submit.
Items and External Links can be Modified or Removed from within that Content Area.
There are 2 methods to enroll students into your course:
1. Instructor enrolls the students:
• Enter the Control Panel.
• Click on Enroll User (in User Management menu).
• Search by student last name and select the student to enroll.
• Click Submit and continue this process for the entire class.
Enrolling
Students
2. Student Self-Enrollment Option:
• Click Settings from the Control Panel (in Course Options menu)
• Click on Enrollment Options
• Check the Self Enrollment button
•
You may assign an access code for students to self enroll by clicking the
Require Access Code to Enroll option and entering an access code and click
Submit. (NOTE: Access codes are cASe sEnSitive.)
Tell your students to self-enroll and let them know the Access Code, if
•
applicable. They must log into Blackboard, click the MHC Blackboard
Courses tab, click Browse Course Catalog, search for the course and click the
Enroll button next to the course.
Resetting
Student
Passwords
If a student enrolled in your Blackboard course forgets their password, the Instructor can
reset it for them:
• Click on List/Modify Users from within the Control Panel.
• Search for the student by last name.
• Click on the Password button next to the student’s name.
• Enter the new password twice and click Submit.
If you have any questions regarding Blackboard LMS or its usage, please contact:
Chuck Payne, Manager, Educational Technology / TEL: 529-3870 / E-mail: payne@mhc.ab.ca