Getting Started with Blackboard
Faculty Support Services
Academic Technology Services & User Support
Cornell Information Technologies
INTRODUCTION.............................................................................. 1
GETTING STARTED ......................................................................... 2
OBTAINING A BLACKBOARD ACCOUNT ................................................................. 2
CREATING A BLACKBOARD COURSE SITE ............................................................. 3
TOUR THE BLACKBOARD PORTAL ....................................................................... 5
SITE SETUP .................................................................................... 8
BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR BLACKBOARD COURSE SITE .................................... 8
COURSE ICONS AND NAVIGATION ..................................................................... 9
SETTING THE COURSE PROPERTIES .................................................................... 9
SETTING SITE-WIDE GUEST AND OBSERVER ACCESS............................................. 11
SETTING ENROLLMENT OPTIONS ..................................................................... 12
ANNOUNCEMENTS ...................................................................................... 13
THE COURSE MENU ................................................................................... 14
ADDING COURSE MATERIALS ....................................................... 17
CONTENT AREAS IN THE COURSE MENU ............................................................
ADDING CONTENT: ITEMS AND FILES ...............................................................
ADDING AUDIO, IMAGES, AND VIDEO ...............................................................
ADDING A URL ........................................................................................
ADDING CONTACT INFORMATION ....................................................................
COURSE CONTENT FILES ..............................................................................
ADAPTIVE RELEASE ....................................................................................
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ORGANIZING CONTENT ................................................................ 26
USING FOLDERS .......................................................................................
COPYING/MOVING FOLDERS AND CONTENT ........................................................
COURSE LINKS .........................................................................................
REORDERING CONTENT ...............................................................................
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COURSE ENROLLMENT .................................................................. 30
OVERVIEW OF USER ROLES ..........................................................................
ADDING USERS TO YOUR COURSE SITE ..............................................................
MODIFYING USER PROPERTIES .......................................................................
REMOVING USERS FROM YOUR SITE .................................................................
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MORE INFORMATION AND SUPPORT ............................................ 35
 2011 by Cornell Information Technologies, Cornell University
Copying, abstracting, or modifying without fee is permitted provided that the copies,
abstracts, or modifications bear this copyright and are not made or distributed for
commercial purposes. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and specific
permission.
Introduction
Blackboard is a course management tool for instructors who want to deliver part or
all of their course materials and instruction online. Accessible via any Web browser,
Blackboard course sites provide many useful administrative and interactive
communication features which allow for file-sharing, online assessments, discussion
boards and collaborative group work. Instructors have the ability to customize their
course sites as their individual needs dictate.
General Information and Support
Many forms of assistance are available to you when you have questions about using
or maintaining your Blackboard site.
Visit http://cit.cornell.edu/services/blackboard, our Cornell Blackboard web site, for
announcements, tips, and other helpful documents.
• If you have any comments or questions, please send an e-mail to the
Academic Technologies support staff at atc_support@cornell.edu
• You may also search the Blackboard manual, located in the Support
section of the Control panel.
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Page 1
Getting Started
Obtaining a Blackboard Account
Requesting an Account
People at Cornell who have never used Blackboard before may need to request an
account before they can use Blackboard.
To request a Blackboard account:
In a Web browser, go to http://blackboard.cornell.edu.
Click the “New User: Get an Account” link on the left side of the page.
If you have students (or others involved in your course) who do not have a NetID,
they will not be able to create their own Bb account. They’ll need to get a GuestID
first, and then ATC support will do the rest. For assistance with GuestIDs, please
email atc_support@cornell.edu.
Log in with your Cornell NetID and password. You will be asked to verify your
identity. Click “Click here if you wish to submit a request.”
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Click the “Create a Blackboard user account” link.
The User Account information screen will appear. In most cases, the information will
be prefilled. When you have verified that it is correct, click Submit.
You will receive a confirmation screen saying that your account has been created.
Logging In
Blackboard uses Kerberos for authentication so, in order to access any Blackboard
sites, you must log in with your NetID (or GuestID) and Kerberos password.
In a browser, go to http://blackboard.cornell.edu
Click the Login button. If you haven’t already logged in,
the CUWebLogin screen will appear.
Enter your NetID (or GuestID) and Kerberos password in
the spaces provided.
If you are using a GuestID, change the ID Type to “GuestID”.
Click OK.
You are now logged into Blackboard. Every Blackboard user, including both students
and instructors, has a personalized view of the Blackboard system (sometimes called
a “portal”).
Creating a Blackboard Course Site
In a Web browser, go to http://blackboard.cornell.edu. On
the left side under Support Information / For Instructors,
click “Request a Course”.
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On the next screen, click
“Create a Blackboard
Course Shell”.
You will see a warning
screen indicating that the
course shell creation
process is for instructors
and TAs only. Click the link to continue.
You will then be asked to confirm that you have read and agreed to the copyright
information presented. When you click “Yes, I agree to the above statement”, you
will be taken to the Create Blackboard Course Shell screen.
Fill in the Course ID, Course Name, Instructor’s Last Name, Semester, and Year.
Click Submit. A confirmation request page will appear.
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If everything looks correct, click Confirm. A screen will come up saying that your
Blackboard course shell is now active. You will receive a confirmation email with the
course information.
Tour the Blackboard portal
The Community page
The Community page is the default landing page in Blackboard. It includes support
information for instructors and students, along with notice of any upcoming system
maintenance.
The My Blackboard Page
The My Blackboard page has two subtabs, My Courses and Notifications Dashboard.
The My Courses subtab has a list of the courses that you are teaching or taking
(as well as any announcements and calendar events for each course), and allows you
to access additional tools and information. Clicking the Add Module button allows
you to add additional modules, such as a dictionary or thesaurus, to this page.
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Access your Course Sites
The My Courses panel will
display any courses you are
currently teaching or taking.
This is your passport to any
Blackboard courses in which
you are participating.
Click on the course name to
enter the course site.
Manage your Personal Tools
Announcements
Displays all of the announcements related to courses in
which a user is participating
Calendar
Displays events for all the courses in which the user is
participating; Allows users to add personal events, and
customize their calendar view
Tasks
Users can view course-related tasks and add their own
personal ones
My Grades
Provides students with the ability to view their grades for your course (if
you’re using the student Grade Center tool) and others
Send E-mail
Allows you to send an email to selected users or groups who are enrolled in
one of your courses
Personal Information
Allows users to change their privacy options
The Notifications Dashboard subtab contains three basic modules that give
information to users based on their enrollment and their role in the system. Users
with multiple enrollments will receive information in modules for all their classes and
organizations. Users with multiple roles will receive information in modules for all
their roles. For all users, each course contains a Notification Dashboard specific to
that Course.
By default, the Notification Dashboard page displays these modules:
•
Alerts - Displays past due and early warning notifications for all courses.
Instructors, TAs, and Graders see the users in each course that have past due
items and who have generated early warning messages. Links are provided to
email students and view early warning system rules. Students see any
assignments, tests, or other items that are past due and any early warning
messages received.
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•
What's New - Displays a list of new items in all relevant courses and
organizations. Instructors, TAs, and Graders see any new assignments that
have been submitted, tests that have been submitted, new discussion board
posts. Students see new discussion board posts, new grades posted, new
content that is available.
•
To Do - Displays the status (Past Due/Due) of relevant course work and
tasks. Students see any grade items that have listed due dates in two
categories, what is past due and what is due in the future. Links to relevant
course items are provided.
By clicking the Add Module button, instructors may also add a Needs Attention
module that displays all items in their courses that require some type of interaction.
Instructors, TAs, and Graders see assignments, tests, and surveys that have been
submitted.
The All Blackboard Courses tab contains a list of all the courses you are teaching and
that you are taking. It also contains the Course Catalog, where students can search
for (and sometimes enroll in) a course that has been categorized.
Clicking the Browse Course Catalog button takes you to a screen where you can
search the full catalog by course name, ID, instructor name, or description.
The Cornell University Library tab has two subtabs, Services for Students and
Services for Instructors. The CU Library provides the information on these tabs.
To log out of the Blackboard system, click the Logout button (
of the page. Be sure to close your browser window!
Getting Started with Blackboard
) at the top
Page 7
Site Setup
□
Where will your site be listed in the course catalog?
□
Who will have access to your site?
□
How will students enroll in your Blackboard course?
□
Sending announcements to students
□
Customizing the course menu
Basic Information about Your Blackboard Course Site
When your course site was created, you were given an empty shell to start with.
Now, you can begin customizing the site and adding content.
The left side of your course site will always contain 2 components: the Course Menu
and the Control Panel. The Course Menu is available to your students, and you are
able to control its contents. Information about setting up the Course Menu is found
below.
The Control Panel is only visible to people with instructor, TA, and Course Builder
roles. It is through the Control Panel that you may access the Grade Center, handle
enrollment, save backups of your course, and more.
The Control Panel
The Control Panel is broken up into eight sections: Files, Course Tools, Evaluation,
Grade Center, Users and Groups, Customization,
Packages and Utilities, and Help.
Files
View all of the files that you have uploaded from your
computer into your course; import new files; export
files that you have previously uploaded
Course Tools
Add course-related announcements, calendar events,
a glossary, and tasks to your site; update contact
information for faculty and TAs; send email;
participate in blogs, wikis, or class discussions; and
create assignments and quizzes
Evaluation
View user activity reports and summary data on student participation in the
course
Grade Center
Assign grades, track student progress, provide feedback to students,
download grades to your computer
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Users and Groups
Enroll users and assign roles; create groups and assign students to them, or
allow students to choose a group
Customization
Set up enrollment options; customize your site menu, color scheme and
navigation; enable and disable Blackboard tools; add a banner image to your
main page
Packages and Utilities
Import, back up, or copy your course; bulk delete content and other course
materials
Help
Search the help manual, email the System Administrator, and visit the
support page on the Blackboard web site
Course Icons and Navigation
In order to add or edit content in your Blackboard course, you need to set Edit Mode
on by clicking the on/off button in the top right of the course.
When you set Edit Mode on, you will see a number of different icons, identified
below. Setting Edit Mode off will allow you to see what students in your course will
see.
The following icons are used in the course site:
Downward Chevron
Expand a menu to show options
Upward Chevron
Collapse a menu to hide options
Right Chevron
Display a menu in the main area
Drag and Drop Arrow
Drag and drop an item to reorder
Not Available Icon
Item is not available to students
Content Empty Icon
Content area is empty
Reordering Arrows
Reorder content
Setting the Course Properties
Course properties are modified by going to the Control Panel > Customization and
clicking the Properties link.
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The following properties may be changed on the Properties page:
Course name and description
The course name and description of your site, along with the names of all the course
instructors, will appear in the Blackboard course catalog. This information will help
students locate your site in Blackboard.
Classification
The Subject Area and Discipline fields under Classification are not used and can be
safely ignored.
Availability
While your site is “under construction,” or when you are not teaching the course, you
can limit access to the site so that only instructors and users with administrative
privileges can get in.
When the course is unavailable, you see the word “unavailable” appear next to the
course name in the “My Courses” list. As the instructor, you will still be able to enter
the site and make changes in the Control Panel, but the link will be disabled for
enrolled student users. Also, unavailable courses will not appear in the course
catalog.
When the course is ready for the public, set the availability back to Yes.
Course Duration
By default, your course duration is set to “Continuous”. You may choose to set start
and end dates for your course. The Course Duration affects whether your course is
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available to your students; students will only be able to see the course during the
selected date range.
Categorize Course
The Blackboard course catalog is organized by College or School and Department,
rather than appearing as one long list.
To ensure that students will find your course sites in the catalog, you need to make
sure they are categorized appropriately.
To categorize your course, select the appropriate department from the list on the left
side of the box (don't select a college or school) and click on the right arrow between
the boxes.
Click Submit when you have finished setting the Course Properties.
Setting Site-Wide Guest and Observer Access
Guest users on the Blackboard system can access course sites at the instructor’s
discretion. By default, site-wide guest access is disabled when your course is
created, but you can enable it if you choose to do so. When site-wide guest access is
turned off, a guest user will not be able to see any part of your site.
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Guest Access settings are modified by
going to Control Panel > Customization and clicking the
Guest and Observer Access link.
Click Submit if you have made any changes to Guest Access.
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Setting Enrollment Options
You or your administrative staff can manage course enrollments, or you can allow
users to enroll themselves in your course. These options are set by going to Control
Panel > Customization and clicking on the Enrollment Options link.
Enrollment by Instructor or Administrator
While enrolling each student individually is time
consuming, this feature is handy for special
circumstances in which a student is a late addition to the
class, or for adding administrative staff and TAs to the site.
Student Self-Enrollment
This option allows students to enroll themselves in your site. When self-enrollment is
enabled, students will be able to browse the course catalog and click the Enroll
button that appears next to your course. You can limit the enrollment period by
entering start and/or end dates for enrollment.
Note: Even if Student Self-Enrollment is enabled, instructors will still be able to enroll
users from the control panel.
Batch Enrollment
Batch enrollment (based on class rosters obtained from the Registrar’s office) is
available. For more information, see page 32.
To set up enrollment options:
Choose the desired enrollment option and related settings.
To enable student self-enrollment, choose the Self Enrollment option. You may
choose to select a start and/or end date for the enrollment period, or to require an
access code.
If you choose self-enrollment, make sure that your course has been categorized
properly using Categorize Course in the Course Properties dialog!
To disable student self-enrollment, choose the Instructor/Admin option. You may
choose to allow interested students to send enrollment requests to you via email.
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Click Submit to save your changes.
Announcements
You can use announcements to remind students about assignments or due dates,
and notify students of room changes or class cancellations. They can also be used to
highlight new content on your site, or to communicate other date/time-specific
information.
Announcements are displayed in the My Announcements module on the course home
page.
When you create an announcement, you can specify when and for how long it will be
displayed. You can make some messages permanent and others restricted by date.
You may also choose to have the announcement emailed to your students.
To add an announcement:
In the Control Panel, under Course Tools, click the Announcements link.
Click the Create Announcement button (
)
In the Subject box, type a subject for your message.
In the Message box, type the body of your message.
Set the display options for the announcement. If you enter date restrictions for your
announcement, the announcement will only be displayed during the dates and times
listed.
Note that even if you set the announcement to start being displayed after a
given date, the email will be sent immediately.
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If the announcement contains information about a specific section of your Blackboard
course site, you may use the Course Link to send your students directly to that
section.
For more information about course links, see page 27.
Click Submit to create the announcement.
The Course Menu
The Course Menu is visible to everyone who can access your site. When your course
is created, some items are included in your menu by default. You can modify or
delete these items, and add your own items.
The types of items that can be included in the Course Menu include:
Content Area
contains content items such as readings, handouts,
assignments, quizzes, and links
Tool Link
a link to a tool such as a discussion board, blog, or wiki
Course Link
a link to a specific entry point in the current course
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External Link
a link to another site on the Web
Module Page
a page containing modules, such as a Dictionary Module, a Thesaurus Module, a
Calculator, or library information
Subheader
used to add a subheader to your menu. It does not link to anything and so may
confuse users
Divider
a line used to separate items in the Course Menu.
In order to edit the Course Menu, you need to set Edit Mode to On in the top right
corner of the screen.
To add an item to the Course Menu:
Click on the plus sign above the Course Menu and select the type of item you want to
add.
To rename an item on the Course Menu:
Click on the downward chevron to the right of the menu item and select Rename
Link.
The menu item becomes a text box where you can change the item name. Type in
the new name, then click the green check mark to the right (or click the red X to
cancel).
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To make a course menu item link unavailable:
Click on the downward chevron to the right of the menu item and select Hide Link.
Hiding the link allows you to not display an items to students without deleting it. For
example, you may have a content item that you don’t want to show until midsemester – you can continue to build content and show the item when you’re ready.
Items which are hidden have an icon (a square with a slash through
it) next to the name.
If an item is hidden, you can show it again by choosing the Show Link item from the
drop-down menu that is displayed when you click the downward chevron.
To reorder items in the course menu:
Click on the up-and-down arrow to the left of the menu item, and drag it to a new
location in the menu list.
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Adding Course Materials
□
Which course materials do you want to deliver on-line?
□
How will the material appear? As text, images, or links to files?
□
Do any of your existing materials need to be digitized or converted into a
Web format?
□
Will all the materials be posted on the Web at the beginning of a course or
updated regularly during the semester?
Content areas are places to add and organize your course materials, as well as web
references, assignments and quizzes. Here, you can upload text, image, and
multimedia content in a variety of file formats.
Content Areas in the Course Menu
In the default course menu, there are two Content
Areas: Information and Content. The Information item
is intended to contain information about the course
itself, such as the syllabus, information about the
instructors, etc.. The Content item is for course
content such as readings, assignments, links, and
quizzes.
Overview of Content Types
content area of your site.
There are several different types of content to choose
from in Blackboard. All content areas are created equal,
so you’ll see the following options in each and every
Content is broken up into four types: Content, Assessments, Interactive Tools, and
Textbooks. Basic content types include:
Item
An item is an all-purpose type of content that allows instructors to add text content
and upload materials in a variety of file formats
File
An uploaded file that can be selected and viewed as a page within the course or as a
separate piece of content in a separate browser window
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Audio
An uploaded audio file; options include autostart and loop. A
transcript file can be included for people who are hearing
impaired
Video
An uploaded video that will appear in a player directly on the
page. A transcript file can be included for people who are
hearing impaired
URL
An external link that will take users to another web site,
optionally in a separate window
Learning Module
A collection of content items set in a path for sequential viewing
course
Course Link
A shortcut to an area, tool, or item within the same Blackboard
Adding Content: Items and Files
The course materials you choose to put on your Blackboard site may include a
syllabus, readings, assignments, readings, lecture notes, presentations, lab
instructions, and more. Content can be posted to your site in several different
ways—as text, an embedded image or media file, an HTML document, or as a file
that can be downloaded, viewed and printed.
The first two content types, items and files, are very similar; the primary difference
is that with items, you are able to add a description and attach a file, whereas with
files, the student clicks on the name of the file and it downloads immediately.
To add an item:
In the course menu, click on the name of the content area that
you will be working with.
Hover your mouse over Build Content, and select Item.
Give your item a name. In the text box, type or paste text for
the item. This is optional, but you can use the text area for short amounts of
content, to describe the file you've attached, give instructions, or note the date that
the file was last updated.
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To add a file as an attachment to your content item:
Click the Browse My Computer button, and find the file on your computer.
Once the file is uploaded, it will be listed under Attached Files.
You may change the wording on the link in the box under Link Title.
If you decide not to attach a file, click the Do not attach link.
Common formats for document attachments include:
Word documents (.doc)
Adobe PDF documents (.pdf)
Excel spreadsheets (.xls)
PowerPoint presentations (.ppt)
HTML files (.htm, .html)
After your file(s) is uploaded, select the appropriate options.
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Permit Users to View this Content
allows you to add the material but keep it from being visible to students.
Track number of views
records statistics about how many times the item is accessed. Statistics can be
summarized by user, by date, by day of the week, or by time of day.
Date Restrictions
allows you to specify the time period (by date and time) that your item will be
available, or visible, to students. When you add content items to your course, you
may not want students accessing them right away. By using Date Restrictions, you
won’t have to go back into the control panel to activate or deactivate the item later
on—Blackboard will do the work for you.
Click Submit to add the content item to your site.
To modify an item:
Click the downward chevron next to the name of the item you want to modify, then
select Edit.
At this point, you can add or edit text, upload additional files, or adjust options.
Click the Submit button to save your changes.
Adding Audio, Images, and Video
Adding audio, images, and video is very similar to adding an item with an
attachment, with the primary difference being the options available for each.
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To add an image, audio, or video:
Select the appropriate item from the Build Content menu.
Browse for the file on your computer.
Choose the options that you want for your file. For example,
with audio and video files, you can choose Autostart to have the
file play automatically when it is opened.
An additional option is to add a “Mashup”, which may be a
SlideShare presentation (available from SlideShare.com) or a
YouTube video (available from YouTube.com). Selecting
Mashup, either from the Add Video screen or from Build Content > Mashups, allows
you to search those sites for the video you want. The video is then embedded into
your Blackboard page.
Be judicious in adding audio and video to your Blackboard site! Large audio or
video files can be difficult and time-consuming for some students to download. For
assistance with compressing audio or video files, or for information on storing these
files on Cornell’s video platform, please email atc_support@cornell.edu.
Adding a URL
One of the advantages of using a Web-based course management system like
Blackboard is that you can integrate your course materials with links other online
resources. Links to other web sites, or URLs, can be used to supplement course
material, support class activities, or provide sources for research assignments.
To add a URL:
Select Build Content > URL.
In the Name box, type a title for the web resource.
In the URL box, type or paste the complete address of the web page.
In the description box, type a description for the resource.
You may choose to add an attachment to your URL item.
This is optional, but the description is a good place to tell your users a little bit about
the site, highlight things to look for, or give instructions for where to click.
Decide whether to launch the item in an external window.
Click Submit to create the link.
Adding Contact Information
You are able to create a “Contacts” menu item where instructors can post
information about themselves, teaching assistants, guest speakers, and others
involved in the course. This includes campus and email addresses, office hours,
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pictures and personal web sites. You may also choose to provide a link to this
information from the Information page.
To add a Contact item:
Go to Control Panel > Course Tools > Contacts.
Click the Create Contact button.
In the “Profile Information” section, fill the appropriate name and contact
information.
(optional) In the “Options” section, click the Browse button to locate a profile image.
(optional) In the Personal Link box, type the complete URL for the staff member’s
personal or professional web page.
Keep in mind that, in order for the link to work, you’ll need to enter the complete
address--http:// and all.
Click Submit.
In order for your students to see the Contact information, you need to add it either
as an item in your course menu or as a link from a content page (for example, the
Information page.)
To add Contacts as a course menu item:
Click the + icon at the top of the course menu, then select Create Tool Link.
Give your menu item a name – for example, Contacts or Staff Information.
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Select Contacts from the Type pull-down menu.
Check the Available to Users box so that your students can see the information.
Click Submit.
To add Contacts as a link from a content page (e.g. Information):
From the content page, select Build Content > Tools Area.
Select Contacts and click Next.
Provide some text to describe to students what they’ll find on the Contacts page.
Click Submit.
Course Content Files
All files that are uploaded to Blackboard from your computer are stored in the Files
area for your course. To get to the Files area, go to Control Panel > Files and click
the right facing chevrons.
Any files that you have already uploaded will be listed.
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To upload additional files, go to Upload > Upload Files.
If you have the Java Plugin, version 1.5 or higher on your machine, you may upload
several files at the same time. Select the files on your computer (either through My
Computer (PC) or Finder (Mac), and drag them into the box provided.
Alternatively, you can press the Browse button and browse for the files on your
computer.
Click Submit when you have uploaded your files.
The other upload option, Upload Package, allows you to upload a zip file with
multiple files. The files will be uncompressed after the upload takes place.
From the Files page, you may also create folders to organize your files, or download
a group of files by clicking in the checkbox next to the files to be included and
selecting Download Package.
Any files that are listed in the Files area may be reused in a course when you add
content, by clicking Browse Course instead of Browse My Computer.
Adaptive Release
Adaptive Release allows you to make a content item available (“release” it) only
under a specific set of circumstances. Adaptive Release options include:
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Date
the item is only available
during a specific date range
Membership
the item is only available to
specific users or groups
Grade
the item is only available to people who meet specified conditions for a grade in the
Grade Center. For example, it may only be available to people who have received at
least an 85 on a particular assignment.
Review Status
the item is only available to people who have visited a specific content item
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Organizing Content
Using Folders
Folders in your course site function in the same way as folders or directories on your
hard drive; you can use them to group related documents and information. You will
want to create folders and use them to organize the many documents you place on
your course site. This will help you locate documents more quickly when editing, and
it will make the site easier for students to navigate.
To create a folder:
In the content area, select Build Content > Content Folder.
Give the folder a name and a description, then click Submit.
Click on the folder name to display the contents of the folder.
Check the “breadcrumb trail” near the top of the screen to make sure that you are
inside the appropriate folder.
Once you are inside the folder, you can add, modify or remove content items as
needed.
Copying/Moving Folders and Content
If you decide to reorganize your materials after you’ve created and uploaded them,
you can move or copy the items to another location in your course. You can even
copy materials to other courses (if you have instructor privileges).
To move or copy content:
Click the downward chevron to the right of the item, and select Copy or Move.
If you are moving or copying the content to another course, choose the appropriate
course name from the Destination Course menu. This menu will display all of the
courses for which you have instructor or administrator privileges.
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Click the Browse button to select a destination.
Choose the section or subfolder where you’d like to place the item and click Submit.
The path to that location will appear in the Destination Folder box.
Click Submit.
Test the site to make sure the content is in the desired location.
Course Links
You can create course links to take users from one place in your site to another.
Course links can help you guide students through the content in your site, create a
more web-like structure, and can be used in announcements to highlight new
content.
Please note, you cannot create a course link directly to files (like PDFs) that you have
uploaded, only to the Bb content items with which they are associated.
This means that if you’ve uploaded a file using the “link to file” option, users will still
have to click on that link to view or print the file.
To add a course link from a content area:
Select Build Content > Course Link
Choose the Browse button next to Choose Item. The
Blackboard course browser will open in a small window.
In the Name box, type a title for the course link.
(optional) In the Text box, type a description for the link.
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Click the name of the section, folder or document you want to link to. Use the + or –
signs to expand / contract folders if necessary.
In the Name box, type a title for the course link.
The path to the location will appear in the Location box.
(optional) Provide a description for the link.
Click Submit. You should now see the path to the syllabus in the Link Location box.
Click Submit to create the course link.
Course links can also be added to Announcements. For more information about
Announcements, see page 13.
Reordering Content
Once you have added multiple documents and
folders to a section, you may wish to reorder
the items. To do so, click on the up-and-down
arrow to the left of the item you wish to move,
and drag the item to a new location.
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To change the order of your items using Reorder Content:
You may also reorder items using the Reorder Content feature. This can be useful if
you have several large items in your content area. To use this feature, click on the
arrows at the right of the creation buttons:
Select the item you want to move, then use the arrow icons to move the item up or
down in the list.
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Course Enrollment
□
How do you enroll users in your site?
□
What should you do if a person does not have a Blackboard account?
□
How can you give TAs and administrative staff access to the control panel?
Every Blackboard user is required to have his or her own username and password to
access courses. Blackboard accounts grant course site access privileges to users
based on their role in a course. A single user may have different roles in different
courses; for example, an undergraduate could be a student in one course, but need
access to the Control Panel as a TA in another course. Anyone with access to
Blackboard may have guest privileges, but they can only browse unsecured areas of
Blackboard courses.
Overview of User Roles
Role
Privileges
Guest
The user is able to view certain areas of the site (if you enable site-wide guest
access), but cannot participate in discussion boards or other class
communications. Also, guests cannot access tests, surveys or the student
gradebook.
Student
The user is able to access all available course materials, resources and
assessments, as well as any tools that you’ve enabled.
Grader
The user is able to access all areas under Assessments, as well as selected
Course Tools (Announcements, Course Calendar). Graders can also view a list
of enrolled users and have the ability to modify the properties of student
users.
Course
Builder
The user is able to add content to the site through the Content Areas and
Course Tools on the Control Panel. Course builders can also create tests and
surveys.
Teaching
Assistant
The user is able to control all aspects of the course through the course Control
Panel, but won’t be listed as an instructor in the course catalog.
Instructor
The user is able to control all aspects of the course through the course Control
Panel.
There is an additional course role called Observer. Observer is a system role, which
means it can only be assigned by our Bb system administrators, not by instructors.
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An Observer is tied to a specific Blackboard user, and can monitor that user’s activity
in a site. The role is used mainly in K-12 settings, specifically in cases where parents
want to monitor their child’s participation.
When managing your Bb tools and course menu in the control panel, you may see an
“Allow Observer…” option. Just know that the observer role is not currently in use at
Cornell.
Adding users to your course site
Enrolling Users
If a person already has a Blackboard user account, you can enroll that user in your
site. This is the first thing to try when you need to add a user to your site.
To enroll a user:
In the control panel, under Users and Groups, click Users
then click Enroll User > Find Users to Enroll.
At Cornell, all Blackboard userids for students are the same as their NetID (with the
exception being Guest IDs – see below). One option you have in adding students to
your course is to enter their NetIDs in the Username box. You can add multiple users
by separating the userids with commas.
Alternatively, you can find the student IDs in the Blackboard system by clicking the
Browse button and searching for them.
You can search by Username (i.e. their NetID), Last Name, First Name, or email
address. Click Go.
A list of Blackboard usernames that meet the search criteria appears.
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If you get the message "No Users Found", or if the person you're looking for isn't
there, check to make sure that the search criteria you entered is correct and/or try
modifying your search. If you still cannot find that person in the system, they
probably do not have a Blackboard account. They’ll need to get one before you can
enroll them in your site (you can refer them to the instructions on page 2).
To add the user to your course, click in the checkbox by the user’s name, then click
Submit. The student’s name is added to the Username box.
Select the role for the selected user(s), then click the Submit button. The users are
then added to the course site with the selected role.
Batch Enrollment
If your course has a large number of students, you will not want to enroll students
individually. You can allow your students to enroll themselves in your site by
adjusting the Enrollment Options (see page 12 for instructions), or you can use
Blackboard’s batch enrollment feature. This allows instructors to enroll multiple
students in a single step. To do a batch enroll, you’ll need to upload a special file.
Upon request, the Academic Technologies staff can get your course roster from the
University Registrar and create the file for you. Contact atc_support@cornell.edu for
more information about the batch enrollment process.
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Modifying User Properties
When you enroll users in your site, their role is set to “student” by default. If a user
is a TA or administrative staff member who needs access to the control panel, you’ll
need to change their role in the site.
To modify a user’s role:
All of the people who are enrolled in your course are listed when you select Control
Panel > Users and Groups > Users. If you have a large class, you can use the search
box at the top of the page to find a specific user.
To modify the user’s role, click on the downward chevron next to the userid and
select Change User’s Role in Course.
In the Role and Availability section, select the desired role.
The “Teaching Assistant” role is recommended if the user needs full access to the
control panel, but should not appear as an instructor.
Removing Users from your Site
When a student drops your course, you may need to remove him or her from your
site. You should also remove users after the semester is over.
To remove one or more users:
Select Control Panel > Users and Groups > Users
Click the checkbox to the left of any user(s) you’d like to remove from the site
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To remove everyone on the page, click in the checkbox in the title bar; this will add
checkmarks for everyone on the page.
Click Remove Users from Course.
Click Submit. The following message will appear.
Click OK to remove the users.
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More Information and Support
Many forms of assistance are available to you when you have questions about using
or maintaining your Blackboard site.
Visit http://FLWFRUQHOOHGXVHUYLFHVEODFNERDUG our Cornell Blackboard web site, for
announcements, tips, and other helpful documents.
If you have any comments or questions, please send an e-mail to the support staff at
atc_support@cornell.edu
You may also search the Blackboard manual, located in the Support section of the
Control panel.
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