Blackboard Learn 9.1
April 2014 Release
New Features & the Basics
Faculty Guide
Blackboard 9.1 Basics
Faculty Guide
Blackboard 9.1 Basics Faculty Guide
Contents
Logging In
5
Getting Started
5
Course Creation
6
Course Enrollment
6
Accessing Courses
5
Modifying the My Courses Module
6
Course Shell
7
Introductory Splash Screen
7
Student Preview
8
Delegated Grading
9
Safe Assign in Assignments
13
Anonymous Grading
18
Inline Grading Updates
21
Group Management
21
Calculated Formula
25
Global Navigation Menu
29
My Bb Tools
29
My Bb Profile
30
My Bb People
31
My Bb Posts
31
My Bb Updates
32
Manage Course Menu
33
Control Panel
33
Announcements
34
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Add a New Announcement
34
Instructor Information/Office Hours
34
Adding Course Content
34
Assignments & Assessments
35
Assignments
35
Download Student Assignment Submissions & Clear Attempt
Assessments
36
37
Add Test
37
Edit Test Options
37
Grading Student Submissions
38
Clear Student Assignment Attempt
38
Discussion Board
38
The Grade Center
39
Create a Grade Center Column
39
Manually Enter a Grade
40
Grade Center Icons
40
Send Email
40
Send Email from Control Panel
40
Send Email from Grade Center
40
Course Availability
Make Your Course Available
Course Style Settings
Customize the Color and Style of Course Menu
41
41
41
41
Course Copy
42
Export & Import
42
Exporting Your Course
42
Import Course Package to a New Course
42
Bb Collaborate Session
43-47
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Blackboard Assistance Contact Information
Functional Assistance The Office of Instructional Design & Delivery
IDD@frostburg.edu
Anita McGregor - Administrative Assistant at: 301.687.7090
Rita Thomas - Instructional Designer/Technologist at: 301.687.3172
Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Technical Assistance FSU Help Desk
helpdesk@frostburg.edu
301.687.7777
Monday - Friday 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
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Blackboard 9.1 SP 13 - Basics Faculty Guide
This guide will give you instruction on the basic features of Blackboard 9.1 and the NEW features of Service Pack (SP) 13. For more information on advanced features, please visit FSU’s Blackboard support site
at http://www.frostburg.edu/blackboard/
Logging In
To login to Blackboard go to
http://blackboard.frostburg.edu
Your login credentials are the same as your FSU
email/PAWS information. If you do not know this
information, please contact the University's Help
Desk at 301.687.7777 or helpdesk@frostburg.edu
Getting Started
Course Creation All courses that are officially created in PAWS will automatically have a Blackboard course
component created to correspond with them (please note - each section of each course will have its own
Blackboard course component).
Course Enrollment When an instructor is assigned to a specific course or a student enrolls for that course, those enrollments
are automatically reflected in Blackboard. You do not need to request student enrollments. The only
exception would be if you would like to request a teaching assistant or an additional instructor to be
given access to your course. In this circumstance, email the Office of Academic Computing & Instructional Technologies (ACIT) at ACIT@frostburg.edu and the request will be processed for you.
Accessing Courses Once you are logged into Blackboard, under the tab
Blackboard@FSU you will see the My Courses panel.
Courses that you are either teaching or enrolled in will
be listed in this panel. Click on the course name to
enter the course.
Modifying the My Courses Panel Courses appear within the
My Courses Panel. After
some time has passed, the
courses listed in your My Courses panel may be overwhelming. You can edit which courses are listed in
the panel by following these steps:
1. From the My Courses panel, hover over My Courses and click the cog icon located in the upper right
corner.
2. Uncheck the courses you do not wish to be displayed and Click Submit.
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Course Shell
Each Blackboard course shell is the same by default. The Blackboard environment includes:
A. Open Quick Links
E. Add Content or Tool Links
B. Task-Based Navigation - allows you to jump
F. Course Menu - modify as you like
from one course to another allowing you to
G. Control Panel
perform the same task across multiple courses.
H. Course Theme - Select from drop-down menu
C. Global Navigation Menu - one-click entry acI. Edit Mode Button - Leaving Edit Mode ‘On’
cess to My Blackboard and Log out button.
allows you to edit content within the window.
D. Menu Area (Tabs)
c
A
B
H
E
F
This image is an example of a course shell.
G
Introduction- Splash Screen
The first time you log
onto the new version
of Blackboard, a
splash screen appears.
The screen welcomes
you to the new version and asks if you
would like to see the
new features that
were added.
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Student Preview
As an instructor, use student preview to review the course content before your
students see it. The Enter Student Preview function appears in the top-right corner
of your course pages. You can experience your course exactly as
your students do. While in student preview mode, you can:

Submit assignments

Take tests

Create blog and discussion board posts

Create journal and wiki entries

View student tools
Click the
Enter Student Preview function at the top right-corner of your course
pages next to the Change Course Theme function. Student preview creates a student
account, called the preview user account, logs you in as that student and enrolls you in
the current course. When you enter student preview mode, the student preview bar
appears at the top of every page. The bar displays the text “Student Preview mode is
ON” and has Settings and Exit Preview functions. Student preview mode is active only
in the course where you enabled it.
Understanding Your Preview User Account
The preview user account appears in the course roster and is visible to all students enrolled in the course. Students and administrators can identify this as your preview user
account by the way it is named. The format is your last name appended with
_PreviewUser. The username is your username appended with “_previewuser.”
All of your data associated with your activities are captured by Blackboard Learn, such
as submitted assignments and discussion posts. In fact, other students can interact with your preview user. For example, students
could reply to your posts as though
you were another student enrolled
in the course.
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Exit and Delete Your Preview User Account
Click Exit Preview to exit the student preview. If you
leave the course without exiting from student preview, you will return to student preview when you
return to the course.
When you exit the student preview, you are prompted
to keep or delete the preview user and all its associated data.
Delete the Preview User and Data
It is considered best practice to remove the preview user and its associated data. In
the Exit Student Preview dialog, select Delete the preview user and all data
(Recommended). You could choose to select the Do not ask me check box. The
course will automatically complete your choice each time you exit student preview.
To change the setting at any time, click Settings in the student preview bar.
Deleting the preview user removes all activity conducted or created as the preview
user permanently and the preview user is unenrolled from the course.
Keep the Preview User and Data
Select Keep the preview user and all data if you need to keep the user and data to
see how student activity presents itself to you as the instructor, such as grade calculations. When you save the preview user account, the dot in the middle of the
Enter
Student Preview function icon turns green
indicating the preview user account is
available for use.
Warning: If you keep your preview user account and run reports or gather statistics
from your course, your numbers will be skewed by one (or more if there are multiple
instructors using student preview). Also, it can potentially confuse your students who
may try to interact with your preview student when you are not in student preview
mode to monitor the interaction.
Delegated Grading
Users who help you grade are called delegated graders and they follow the same grading steps that you do. However, the group of assignment attempts that they see are
based on the options you choose. After the delegated grader provides grades and
feedback, one or more instructors review the grading to determine a final grade or
reconcile it.
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Delegated Grading Workflow:
Enable Delegated Grading
On the Create Assignment page, choose the graders to help with grading tasks. In
the Grading Options section, after you select the check box for Enable Delegated
Grading, you can view a list of potential graders. Use the Show drop-down list to filter the list.
A. Use the drop-down list next to each
grader’s name to assign submissions to grade:

All Submissions

Random Set

Groups

None
B. All instructors in a course can see what other graders assigned. If you want other
roles to also view scores, feedback, and notes added by others, select the check
box in the View Setting column.
C. In the Reconcile Grades column, view who can determine the final grade and
feedback for each student. All instructors can reconcile grades.
Notifications
You are notified of needs grading status for assignments you have been delegated in
the following areas:

Needs Grading page - you only see the specific assignments delegated to you, not
assignments delegated to others.

Grade Center grid -The needs grading icon appears in the cells for the grader assigned to the delegated assignment submissions.

Notification modules

My Blackboard on the Updates page

Individual email notifications, if enabled
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The Grade Assignment Page
Both access options take you to the Grade Assignment page
where you view submissions and grade inline as you normally
do. Each instructor has the ability to view what other graders
provided for scores, feedback, and notes. Other graders do
not see this information unless enabled.
After you provide a grade, the Needs Reconciliation icon appears in the Grade Center cell. No score appears until the instructor role reconciles the grade.
Notifications for Grades to Reconcile
After delegated graders begin providing grades, instructors receive notifications that
grades need reconciling. These notifications appear in the following areas:

Needs Grading page - Needs Reconciliation appears on the action bar.

My Blackboard on the Updates page

Grade Center grid - the Needs Reconciliation icon appears in the cells.

Notification modules

Individual email notifications, if enabled
Reconcile Grades
The instructor role reviews all grades and feedback made by graders, and determines
the final grades. Regardless of how
many student attempts an instructor role
assigned or even if none are assigned, all
instructors can reconcile grades.
The Reconcile Grades page is accessible
from several locations, including the Needs Grading page and the Full Grade Center.
The instructor role select Reconcile Grades from the grade column’s contextual menu.
Other grader roles who have graded attempts see the Needs Reconciliation icon in the
Grade Center, but do not have access to the Reconcile Grades page.
Reconcile Grades Page
On the Reconcile Grades page, the instructor role can view all the grades that all
graders assigned and see who has grading to perform. For large classes, filter the list
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by status and grader. Scores that appear with a comment icon have feedback. On this
page, you accept the grades set by another -OR- review grades assigned by multiple
graders and set the final grades.
A. Show Grader Progress: Click to view
the progress of all graders, what the
grader assigned for the average grade
for the assignment, and the number of
attempts.
B. Show Detail View: Click the icon to
view existing grades, feedback, and
view a rubric if one has been associated. From this view, you can hide all the
graders' feedback, add new feedback,
and determine the final grade.
C. Add Grader: Click the icon to open a
pop-up window to add one or more graders for this student.
D. Determine Final Grade: Use the drop-down lists to assign a final grade for each
student. Or, use the Final Grade drop-down list in the column header to reconcile
grades in bulk for highest, lowest, or average of the graders' scores.
Reconciled Grades Appear
After you reconcile grades, the Needs Reconciliation
icons are replaced with the scores you assigned. You can
view the scores and feedback each grader assigned on
the student's Grade Details page in the Grade History
tab. Students see their reconciled scores and feedback in
My Grades. They can also click the name of the assignment to view the feedback from all graders on the Review Submission History page.
When reconciling grades, instructors have the option to
not show delegated graders' feedback to students and provide their own.
Delegated Grading and Content Exchange
Delegated graders and settings are carried over to the new course when you use the
following content exchange functions: Copy Course With Users (Exact Copy); Copy
Course Materials in a New Course and select the check box for Include Enrollments in
the Copy; Archive/restore, as users and their settings are part of an archived course.
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Without Enrollments
When you copy a course without enrollments into a new course, the delegated setting
is brought over as enabled for all existing delegated grading assignments. The instructor copying the course is set to grade all submissions and reconcile grades.
When you copy or import a course without enrollments into an existing course, the delegated setting is brought over as enabled for all existing delegated grading assignments. All current users who can reconcile are also set to grade all submissions.
Use SafeAssign in Assignments
SafeAssign is now integrated into regular Blackboard Learn assignments. With the integration between SafeAssign and regular assignments, almost all of the regular assignment features are available with the SafeAssign service.
Use SafeAssign to review assignment submissions for plagiarism potential. SafeAssign
compares submitted assignments against a set of academic papers to identify areas of
overlap between the submitted assignment and existing works.
SafeAssign is based on a unique text matching algorithm capable of detecting exact and
inexact matching between a paper and source material. Submissions are compared
against several databases:

Internet: Comprehensive index of documents available for public access on the internet.

ProQuest ABI/Inform database: More than 1,100 publication titles and about 2.6
million articles from 1990 to present time, updated weekly (exclusive access).

Institutional document archives: Contains all papers submitted to SafeAssign by users in their respective institutions.

Global Reference Database: Contains papers that were volunteered by students
from Blackboard client institutions to help prevent cross-institution plagiarism.
How to Use SafeAssign in Your Assignments
You can now use SafeAssign plagiarism checking for any of your assignments.
1. On the Create Assignment page, expand Submission Details.
2. Select Check submissions for plagiarism using SafeAssign.
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1. Optionally, select one or both options:
1. Allow students to view the SafeAssign originality reports on their submissions.
2. Exclude all student submissions for this assignment from the institutional
or global reference databases.
2. Complete the Create Assignment page.
3. Click Submit.
SafeAssign Originality Reports
After a paper is processed, a report is generated detailing the percentage of text in
the submitted paper that matches existing sources. The report shows the suspected
sources for each section of the submitted paper that returns a match. You can delete
matching sources from the report and process it again. This is useful if the paper is a
continuation of a previously submitted work by the same student.
Read the report carefully and investigate whether each block of text is properly attributed.
Global Reference Database
Blackboard’s Global Reference Database is a separate database where students voluntarily donate copies of their papers to help prevent plagiarism. It is separated from
each institution's internal database, where all papers are stored by each corresponding
institution. Students are free to select the option to check their papers without submitting them to the Global Reference Database. Students submit their papers to the
database voluntarily and agree not to delete papers in the future. Submissions to the
Global Reference Database are extra copies that are given voluntarily for the purpose
of helping with plagiarism prevention. Blackboard does not claim ownership of submitted papers.
SafeAssign Originality Report
A SafeAssign originality report provides detailed information about the matches found
between a student's submitted paper and existing sources. When instructors create an
assignment and choose to use the SafeAssign service, they determine if students can
see the results of the report.
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The originality report displays the list of potential sources, and each source is highlighted in a different color. The report can display up to 30 colors to represent 30 different sources.
Originality report information adapts to the screen it appears on, such as an iPad ® or
iPhone®.
Access the Report
When a SafeAssign report has finished processing, you can access it on the Grade Assignment page. Access the Grade Assignment page from the Grade Center or the
Needs Grading page.
In the Grade Center, locate the assignment
that you enabled the SafeAssign options.
When students have made their submissions, you see the needs grading icon—the exclamation mark. Access the cell's contextual menu and click the attempt.
On the Grade Assignment
page, a SafeAssign section
appears in the grading
sidebar. While the report
is processing, the following statement appears:
Report in progress...
When the report is ready
to view, a percentage appears in the grading sidebar. Expand the
SafeAssign link and click
View Originality Report
to view the results in a
new window.
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Report Layout
A SafeAssign originality report is divided into three
areas:
·
Report information
·
Citations
·
Manuscript text
If you need more room for
viewing the paper's text,
you can collapse the right
panel with the right-pointing arrow. The highlighting colors remain in the collapsed
view.
Report information
Report information appears in the right panel of the report. When you reduce the
width of the viewing area, this information appears at the top. You can view data
about the paper, such as the author, percent of matching text, word count, and when
it was submitted. If students have included multiple attachments, they appear with
the report information. You also have an option for viewing a printable version. This
printable version is the most effective view of the report for users who rely on assistive technology to access Blackboard Learn. At the top of the page, click Print to view
the printable version. Download the PDF to email to others.
Citations
The sources that include text that matches the submitted paper's text are listed in the
right panel of the report. You can expand the section to select sources, exclude them
from the review, and process the paper again.
You can click Select Sources and Resubmit to determine which sources to include in
the next report. By default, all sources are included. Clear the check box for each
source you want to exclude from the results and resubmit. This is useful if a source is
a previous work from the same student for the same assignment. You might also exclude a source if there is a reason that lengthy sections from the source appear in the
paper. Processing the paper again generates a new value for the percent matching
without using the excluded sources.
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Manuscript text
The submitted paper appears in the left panel of the report. All matching blocks of
text are identified. Each source has a color specific to the source—up to 30 unique colors for 30 different sources. Text
matching a source is highlighted in
the source color and identified with
a number. In the right panel, you
can click Show/Hide All Highlighting
to turn source highlighting off and on
for all sources at one time. You can
turn the highlighting off and on for
only one citation. Click Remove or
Show Highlighting next to a citation.
Click a matching block of text to display information about the original source and the probability that the block or sentence was copied from the source.
Multiple Attachments and Attempts
SafeAssign recognizes a student's multiple attempts for an individual assignment as submitted by the same student for the same assignment. SafeAssign does not check the contents of the
student’s current attempt against content from previous submissions.
If a student includes more than one attachment with
an assignment, they are listed in the report. Click a
file name link to view the file's text in the left panel and view its word count in the
right panel.
Interpret SafeAssign Scores
Sentence matching scores represent the percentage probability that two phrases have
the same meaning. This number reflects the reciprocal to the probability that these
two phrases are similar by chance. For example, a score of 90 percent means that
there is a 90 percent probability that these two phrases are the same. There is a 10
percent probability that they are similar by chance and not because the submitted paper includes content from the existing source—whether appropriately attributed or not.
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The overall SafeAssign score indicates the probability that the submitted paper contains matches to existing sources. This score is a warning indicator only. Review
papers to see if the matches are properly attributed.

Scores below 15 percent: These papers typically include some quotes and few
common phrases or blocks of text that match other documents. Typically, these
papers do not require further analysis as there is no evidence of plagiarism.

Scores between 15 percent and 40 percent: These papers include extensive quoted or paraphrased material, or they include plagiarism. Review these papers to
determine if the matching text is properly referenced.

Scores over 40 percent: A very high probability exists that text in these papers
was copied from other sources. These papers include quoted or paraphrased text
in excess, and need to be reviewed for plagiarism.
Anonymous Grading
Whenever you want to add another layer of fairness and impartiality to your grading,
you can use the anonymous grading feature.
On the Create Assignment page, you can choose to hide student names when viewing
and grading submissions. Students are alerted to the anonymous grading setting on
the Upload Assignment page. However, in your assignment instructions, you can additionally ask students not to include any information that identifies them, such as
adding their names to files they attach to assignments.
In the Grading Options section, select the Enable Anonymous Grading check box and
choose when you want to automatically remove students' anonymity:
A. On specific date: Provide the date you want to disable anonymous grading.
The system will automatically begin removing anonymity before the end of
that date.
B. After all submissions are graded: Provide a due date. After students submit
attempts, the due date passes, and you have graded the attempts, student anonymity is disabled.
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You can manually disable anonymous grading
at any time by clearing the Enable Anonymous
Grading check box. You can turn anonymous
grading on and off until a student submits an
attempt. After the first submission, you can
only turn it off. If you grade half of the attempts anonymously, then turn off the anonymous setting, the items graded with revealed
names will not be tracked as "Graded Anonymously."
Anonymous Grading Workflow
Notifications
You are notified of needs grading status for anonymously graded assignments in the
following areas:

Needs Grading page—user anonymity is preserved in the list

Needs Attention and Alerts modules

Individual email notifications

SMS, voice, and daily-digest email notifications
Access Anonymous Submissions
You can access assignment submissions that you set for anonymous grading in the Grade Center or on the Needs Grading
page.
A. From the Grade Center:
After the assignment due
date has passed or all attempts have been submitted, access the assignment's column and click Grade
Attempts. For columns where you enabled anonymous grading, all cells are
grayed out so that you don't know who made submissions.
B. From the Needs Grading page: Filter the items that need grading to show only
the assignment you want to grade. In the User Attempt column, all identifying
information is replaced with "Anonymous Student" and an attempt ID. From an
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assignment's contextual menu, click Grade All Users to begin grading.
Both access options take you to the Grade Assignment page where you view submissions
and grade inline as you normally do. As you
navigate from student to student, usernames
are replaced with "Anonymous Student" on the
action bar. You can also see how many gradable items are in the queue.
After anonymous grading is disabled, the grades appear in the Grade Center column.
Proof of Anonymous Grading
Institutions need a way to validate that specific assignments were graded anonymously.
You can verify anonymous grading was enabled at the time you gave the grade. Even
after anonymity is disabled, administrators and instructors can view the attempt on
the inline grading screen or in the Grade Center history to see that the attempt was
graded anonymously.
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Inline Grading Updates - Assignment, Blog, Journal and Wiki instructions are
now above the content for quick reference. By default the instructions are minimized in Assignments, but expanded in Blogs, Journals, and Wikis.
Goals can be aligned to blogs, Journals, and Wikis from the instructions panel. Also,
Instructors can optionally choose to view students who have not submitted an assignment or posted an entry form the inline grading sidebar.
Groups Management - The Groups Management Building block provides the ability to:

Easily see which students are in which groups, including which students are
not in any groups.

See and modify group memberships. Avatars are available to distinguish
among users.

Choose and manage membership for groups sets with an improved workflow.

Import and export groups and group memberships.

Sort columns, perform bulk actions for deleting groups, and create Grade
Center smart views for one or more groups on the All Groups page.

Optionally, manage tool availability for all groups on the All Groups page.
All Groups Page
Click the links at the top of the page to sort your view by groups, group sets, or users. All Groups is the default view and has sortable columns that contain details
about all of the groups for your course.
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After you create groups, you have the option to make tools available or unavailable.
Click the check mark in a tool's column to make it unavailable—an X appears. Click the
X in a tool's column to make it available—a check mark appears. Use the View Options drop-down list on the action bar to show or hide tool availability.
Selecting Group Members
Whether you are creating
one group or a group set,
you search for and select
group members from the
new All Users page.
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Importing and Exporting Groups
You can export a CSV (comma-separated value) file containing your existing groups and
group members, reorganize as needed offline, and then import them. On the main
Groups page, use the import and export functions on the action bar to add new users
and groups. However, you cannot remove users or groups. During these processes, you
cannot add new users to your course.
On the Import Groups page, you can also select the group
tools you want each group to have access to the tools.
Previous tool availability setting are overwritten.
On the Export Groups and Members page, make a selection for what you want to export:



Groups only
Group members only
Groups and group members
Group Codes
Group codes are unique identifiers used
strictly for import purposes. You may reveal a column in the interface to see the
group codes, but you cannot edit group codes while in your course. Group codes also
appear in downloaded CSV files. You can edit the group codes in the CSV file when importing existing users to a group to ensure the users are added to the correct group.
Group codes are necessary to provide a unique way to identify each group in case they
have the same name.
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When viewing all groups, use the View Options drop-down list to show and hide the
Group Code column.
Calculated Formula Questions
Calculated Formula questions present students with a question that requires them to
make a calculation and respond with a numeric answer. The numbers in the question
change with each user and are pulled from a range that you set. The correct answer is
a specific value or a range of values. You may grant partial credit for answers falling
within a range. Calculated Formula questions are graded automatically.
An instructor created this question by typing the following question text:
If a small glass can hold [x] ounces of water, and a large glass can hold [y] ounces
of water, what is the total number of ounces in 4 large and 3 small glasses of water?
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How to Create the Question and Formula
Access a test, survey, or pool.
1. On the action bar, point to Create Question and select Calculated Formula.
2. The Question Text must contain at least one variable. Surround variables with
square brackets. Variables are replaced by values when shown to students.
Variables can be letters, digits (0-9), periods (.), underscores (_) and hyphens
(-). Variables cannot contain the letters "e," "i" and "pi" because they are reserved. You cannot reuse variable names. Variables can contain more than one
character, such as [ab] or [cd]. All other occurrences of the opening rectangular bracket ("[") should be preceded by the backslash ("\").
3. The Answer Formula is the mathematical expression used to find the correct
answer. Choose operators from the buttons
across the top of the Answer Formula box. In
the example, the formula is 4y+3x.
The formula is not visible to students—it is
used by the system to determine the correct
answer to the question.
In the Options area, leave the Answer Range
at zero if the answer must be exact. Alternatively, set a range for correct answers. You can also Allow Partial Credit and
select Units Required. Click Next to proceed.
How to Define the Variables
Use the next page in the process to define the question's variables and select options
for the automatically generated set of answers.
1. In the Define Variables section, provide the Minimum Value and Maximum
Value for each variable. When the question is presented to a student, Blackboard Learn replaces the variable with a value that is randomly selected from
the range you defined. You can use scientific notation in the value boxes. Select the number of Decimal Places for each variable's value.
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Note: The number of decimal places you select can affect the minimum and maximum values of a variable. For example, you set the minimum value as
0.0000004 and the maximum value as 1, and you choose 2 decimal places. The
system rounds both numbers to 2 decimal places, therefore the system generates variables in the answer sets with values between 0.00 and 1.00.
2. In the Answer Set Options section, use the Calculate Answers To drop-down list
to select the number of Decimals or Significant Figures for the generated correct answers. Type the number of Answer Sets, which is the number of possible
variations of the question. Select whether the Correct Answer Format is normal
or exponential.
3. Click Next to view the answer sets generated by the system.
How to Edit the Answer Sets
The last page in the process displays the answer sets that were generated by the system. Each set represents one of the possible variations of the question that can be
presented to students.
1. You can change the values of the variables in each answer set by typing in the
boxes. Click Calculate to update the calculated answers and save your changes
before submitting.
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2. Click Remove in an answer
set's row to delete it and have
the system automatically replace it with another set. If you
want to reduce the number of
sets, click Go Back and change
the number of answer sets under Answer Set Options.
3. Optionally, type feedback
for correct and incorrect answers and add metadata. You must enable the options for feedback and metadata on the Question Settings page for those options to appear in individual questions.
4. Click Submit -OR- Submit and Create Another to add the question to the test.
How to Set Answer Options
On the first page of question creation, you can select Allow Partial Credit or Units Required. After you select the check box, more options appear.
In the preceding example:
· An answer that is within plus or
minus 4 is awarded 100% of the
point total.
· An answer that is within the partial credit range of plus or minus 5 to 8 is awarded 50% of the point total.
The available options are:
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·
Answer Range: The range of answers that are awarded full credit. Select
whether it is a Numeric range or a Percentage range. If the answer must be exact, type zero for the range.
·
Allow Partial Credit: Allow partial credit on a less accurate range of answers.
Set the Partial Credit Points Percentage to be awarded if the student’s answer
is within the partial credit range.
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Units Required: The unit of measurement must be provided in the student’s answer. Type the Answer Units and Units Points Percentage to be awarded if the units are entered correctly.
Examples
The following examples use variables in equations. You can see how the instructor
crafted the question text and the resulting student view of the question.
Example 1
Example 2
The following pages have information from the Service Pack 13 update, which was
prior to the April 2013 Release.
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From Service Pack 13 - My Blackboard: It consolidates critical information from all of your Courses
and Organizations.
Global Navigation Menu: Always present in the top right corner, the new navigation menu is the entry point to My Blackboard. Also, it provides one-click access to your Courses, Organizations, Settings,
and Help. Click on the drop down arrow to the right of your name in the upper right corner.
The five new tools that make
up My Blackboard are: Profile,
Posts, Updates , My Grades,
and People.
Notifications - the numbers in red tell you if there’s
something that’s new or needs your attention.
My Blackboard Tools
Profile - Enhanced Cloud Profile.
Bb Home - gives you an overview of the items that are due & have been recently graded. Students - Move your cursor over View to reveal your grade.
Posts - This page displays the latest posts in the courses and organizations you are enrolled in
and follow.
Updates - Review a list of notifications alerting you to important events and information. For
example: you can see when an assignment has been graded.
My Grades - View your grades for each assignment, test, or activity in all of your courses. Sort
the grades by date or course.
Retention Center - is an instructor-only tool that enables you to give focused attention to
students who need it.
My Calendar - Review everything you have due and be reminded of when you need to complete it.
People - Find and interact with peers, classmates and instructors.
Messages - Message users outside of the course environment.
Spaces - Work and communicate collaboratively with others in your academic network.
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My Blackboard: Profile & Profile Card
Access Your Profile
Click the arrow next to your name in the page header to access the global navigation menu. Click the empty profile image or your existing image to access your profile.
You can upload a profile image that is used to represent you throughout the system and within the greater Blackboard academic network.
Your personal image appears in the page header,
people tool, blogs, journals, discussions, wikis, and
roster. Your profile avatar also appears in the notifications modules—What's New, Needs Attention, and To
Do—which may appear on the My Institution tab or on a course's home page. The image you upload to your
profile page overwrites any other avatar images you have with your user account.
Setting Up Your Profile
Add a profile avatar - you can upload an image of yourself to your profile or change your existing profile
image. Images must be les than 5 megabytes in size and at least 50 x 50 pixels in dimension. Acceptable
file formats include GIF, PNG, JPG, and JPEG.
Follow the steps on the page you see:
1. Click the arrow next to your name in the page header to access the global navigation menu.
2. Click the empty profile image or your existing images to access your profile.
3. On the profiles page, click the Settings &
Privacy link.
4. The Settings & Privacy section appears in
the right panel. Click Change Picture to
upload an image from your computer.
5. Click Save.
Find, View, and Follow Other Users
You can find and interact with anyone with a user profile. From your course visit your class roster and class contributions to blogs, journals, discussions,
and wikis. From the people page in My Blackboard and from the Spaces page
in My Blackboard. The preview will include your name, avatar, institution
name, graduation date and top eight tiles. Click View Profile to see the full
profile and interact with the owner. You can click the flag icon to report
inappropriate content in the profile.
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Learn Profiles are now connected to profiles on MyEdu - a site dedicated to helping students achieve
their goals and position them for career success. This is a robust educational profile. Emphasis on the
students’ outcomes and job-ready skills have become a prime metric in gauging success.
Follow Other Users
You can follow or message users from their profile cards. If you select the Follow button on users’ profiles, their posts and comments from their profiles are aggregated on your posts page in My Blackboard.
The People page in My Blackboard provides access to requests to follow you, who is currently following
you, and who you are following.
My Blackboard: Peoples Tool
The People tool enables you to discover others in your academic network. You can see
who is in each of your Courses and Organizations, as well as, everyone across your entire
school that has made their profile visible
school - wide.
1. Click on the Open Global Navigation Menu
2. Click on the Peoples Tool (Smiley face
icon)
My Blackboard: Posts Tool
3. The Edit My Blackboard Profile page populates
Each new post is shown on the right with a preview of the content, location and author. Click
the post to expand the content on the left. Click Reply or Quote to continue the conversation.
1. Click on the Open Global Navigation Menu
2. Click on the Posts Tool (Postcard icon)
The Posts tool in My Blackboard displays the
latest posts in the courses and organizations you
are enrolled in and follow. The Posts tool consolidates posts from all of your courses and organizations:
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
Posts from Discussion Boards

Journals

Wikis

Blogs
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My Blackboard: Posts Continued:

Journal, Wiki, and Blog posts, you can comment
right from within the Posts interface or you can
click to see the full context of the post in the
course environment.

Discussion Board posts, you can click right into the
interface in the course environment where you can
type your reply. So it’s simple to both stay up -to
-date and involved in the conversation.
My Blackboard: Updates Tool
Updates Tool - The updates tool consolidates all of your Notifications from
across all your Courses and Organizations. Notifications remain in My Blackboard for a month.
1. Click on the Open Global Navigation
Menu
2. Click on the Updates Tool (Clock
icon)
The tool updates you on:

Course Announcements

When new content or assignments are added
to a course

When an assignment or assessment is due

When assignments and assessments need
grading
Notification Preferences - allows you to choose
exactly what you want to show up in this tool.
Click on the cog in the upper right corner. The
filters are:

Look at all notifications at once

Look at only those notifications from one
particular Course or Organization

All Course Announcements
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Manage Course Menu - New Items can be created and current items deleted/modified. Select
Add Menu Item button (the plus sign) and add one of the following:
1. Content Area - Place where course content will exist
(e.g., Assignments, Exams, Lessons, Course Material, etc.)
2. Module Page 3. Blank Page - Direct link to a content item (e.g. PowerPoint,
Journal Article, etc.)
4. Tool Link - Link to any tool within the Blackboard course (e.g. Discussion Board, Announcements, Calendar, My Grades, Roster, Wikis,
etc.)
5. Web - Link to any website outside of Blackboard.
6. Course Link - Direct link to content previously existing in the course
(e.g. an exam that is currently available under the Exam button).
7. External Link - Link to any website outside of Blackboard.
8. Subheader - An inactive link that will allow you to divide your content areas into sections.
9. Divider - A line that divides menu buttons into groups.
Remove Menu Item -
To remove an existing course menu item, click the action
menu button to the right of the menu item name and select Delete. You will then be prompted to confirm your
request by clicking OK. You have the option to Rename
Link or Hide Link. Selecting Hide Link will hide the link
from users instead of removing it completely.
Reorder Menu Item To reorder the course menu items, hover over the item; then click and hold
the up/down arrow to the left of the menu item name and drag/drop the item
to its new position.
Control Panel
In Blackboard 9.1 the control Panel tools and
functions are located within a subpanel that
can be accessed by clicking the corresponding
action menu button.
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Announcements
The Announcements
page is the default
Entry Point into the
course.
Add a New Announcement -
From the Control Panel, click the action menu button for Course
Tools, then select Announcements. From the Announcements page
you will then click Create Announcement and complete the following:
1. Announcement Information - Give the announcement a subject,
then type the message of the announcement in the appropriate
field.
2. Web Announcement Options - Choose the announcement to be
Not Date Restricted or Date Restricted (choosing this option will
allow you to enter Display After and Display Until options).
3. Course Link - Provide a direct link to an item currently existing in
the course.
4. Click Submit.
Instructor Information/Office Hours
Instructor information can be posted in the appropriate course menu item.
1. From the Course Menu, click Instructor Info (if you do not have an Instructor
Info menu button, add a new Tool Link menu item, and label it Instructor Info.
From the dropdown menu, select Contacts - be sure to select Available to Users.
2. Click the Create Contact button in the upper right corner of the Contacts window, fill out the
form, and click Submit.
Adding Course Content
Adding content to your Blackboard course
can be accomplished in any Content Area
(e.g. Assignments, Course Materials, Lessons, etc.).
From any Content Area in the Course menu,
select the action menu in the Build Content
button.
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Adding Course Content Continued
Select from one of the following options:
Create:
New Page:

Item

Content Folder

File

Module Page

McGraw-Hill Content

Blank Page

Pearson’s MyLab/Mastering
Mashups:

Audio

Flickr Photo

Image

SlideShare Presentation

Video

YouTube Video

Web Link

Learning Module

Lesson Plan
*Note on Mashups: This feature
allows instructors to add multimedia content to a course from an
external website. This content is
used in a variety of ways within a
course: a standalone piece of
course content, part of a test
question, a topic on a discussion
board, or part of an assignment.
If you are using Mashups, please
be sure that the Mashup is public
and not private. When using third
party Mashups, be sure to verify
that the Mashup is allowed under
copyright.
Assignments & Assessments
Test, Survey, Assignment, Self and Peer Assessments, McGraw - Hill Assignment, Mobile Compatible
Test, and Turnitin Direct Assignment can be added to your course
through the Create Assessment button within any Content Area. If for
some reason you do not see these
options, re-enable them through the
following steps:
1. From the Control Panel, click Customization, then Tool Availability.
2. Put a check beside all the tools you wish to be made available in that
specific course and click Submit.
Assignments When an Assignment is created, a Grade Center item corresponding to that Assignment will automatically be created. Instructors now have the ability to allow either a limited or unlimited number of submission attempts. To create an Assignment:
1. From a Content Area from within a course select Create Assessment, then select Assignment.
2. Give the Assignment a name and type any instructions or description in the Instructions field.
3. Attach a file (optional).
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4. Enter number of points possible.
5. Select Availability, Number of Attempts, Date Restrictions, and Track Number of Views option.
6. Enter Due Date.
7. Select Recipients. (If you select Groups of Students, you must have groups created already.)
8. Click Submit.
Download Student Assignment Submissions When a student has submitted a file for an Assignment,
a green circle with a white exclamation mark will appear in the associated Grade Center column indicating
the item is ready for grading. Please note that files uploaded to an Assignment or submitted as an Assignment should have short file names with no spaces
or special characters in the name (numbers and letters only).
Submission attempts can be viewed one at a time or all submission can be downloaded into a .zip file.
To view submission attempts one at a time:
1. From the Control Panel, click Grade Center, then either Full Grade Center or
Assignments (both will let you view the Assignment).
2. Hover the cursor over the area with the green box with the white exclamation
point, click the action menu button, and select View Grade Details.
3. From this window you will select View Attempt, then click the file name to
download.
To download multiple submission attempts at once:
1. From the Control Panel, click Grade Center, then either Full Grade Center or
Assignments (both will let you view the Assignment).
2. Click the action menu button in the Assignment column and select Assignment
File Download.
3. Select all users you wish to download and click Submit. You will then be
prompted to download the .sip file containing all Assignment submissions.
Clear Student Assignment Attempt 1. Click Grade Center in the Control Panel, then choose either Full Grade Center or Assignments.
2. Click on the cell of the Needs Graded icon
View Grade Details.
and click the action menu button, then select
3. From this window, select Clear Attempt, then click on OK to confirm your request.
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Assessments Tests, Surveys, and Self and Peer Assessments are all created in the same manner
within Blackboard. Create a Test 1. From a Content Area within a course, click Create Assessment, followed by
Test, then Create.
2. Give the test a Name, Description and Instructions (optional), then click Submit.
3. Add questions to the test by using the Create Question, Reuse Question, and/or
Upload questions options on the Test Canvas page.
For more information on specific test question types, please visit the blackboard Support Site at
http://www.frostburg.edu/blackboard/
Add a Test to a Content Area Once the test has successfully been created, you must manually
add the test to any Content Area within the specific Blackboard
course.
1. From a Content Area within a course, click Create Assessment, then Test.
2. Tests that have been created and are not currently deployed
in another Content Area will appear within the heading Add
Test. Select the test you wish to deploy and click Submit.
Edit Test Options Once you click Submit, the Test Options page will appear. Or, next to the test name, click on the action menu button (Drop down arrow) and select Edit Test Options. From this page you have the ability
to edit the following:
1. Test Information
2. Test Availability
3. Due Date
4. Self Assessment Options
5. Test Feedback
6. Test Presentation
After you have edited the Test Options, click Submit.
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Grading Student Submissions Blackboard has the ability to automatically grade tests that contain certain types of test questions (e.g.
multiple choice, true/false, etc.). When these types of questions are used, you do not need to manually
enter a grade. However, if you choose to utilize question types such as short answer, essay, or file
response, you will need to manually enter a grade.
1. From the Control Panel click Grade Center, then
either Full Grade Center or Tests (both will let
you view the Test).
2. Hover the cursor over the area with the
exclamation point in the green box, click the action menu button,
and select View Grade Details.
3. From this window click View Attempts. The
student’s test submission will appear and show
each test answer. You can then assign the allotted points and click Save and Exit.
Clear Student Test Attempt 1. From the Control Panel click Grade Center, then either Full Grade Center or Tests (both will
let you view the Test).
2. Hover the cursor over the area with the exclamation
point in the green box, click the action menu button, and select View Grade Details.
3. From this window select Clear Attempt, then OK to
confirm your request.
At some point in time, you may need to clear a student’s test attempt so they may resubmit.
IMPORTANT: Please note that when any attempt is cleared, it is removed from the entire system.
We cannot retrieve that attempt.
Discussion Board
The Discussion Board is an interactive tool made up of forums that
can be organized around a particular subject.
Create a Forum 1. From the Course Menu, click Discussions (if you do not have a
Discussions menu item, add a new Tool Link menu item and label it Discussions, from the dropdown menu select Discussion
Board - be sure to select Available to Users). Once in the Discussions area, click the Create Forum button.
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Create a Forum cont’d 2. Complete the following information:
A. Name & Description
B. Set Forum Availability Options
C. Establish Forum Settings and Grading Options
3. Click Submit.
The Grade Center
The Grade Center is an effective record-keeping tool to support student learning. The Grade Center
opens into a spreadsheet view listing student users in rows and graded items in columns. All features
of the Grade Center can be accessed through the spreadsheet and grades are recorded automatically for
assignments, assessments, and surveys. Course work managed outside of the Blackboard system will
need to be managed manually.
Create a Grade Center Column 1. From the Control Panel click Grade Center, then
Full Grade Center.
2. From the toolbar above the students name, click
Create Column.
3. Complete the following fields:
A.
Column Name
F.
Select a Category (optional - however,
if you choose to weight your grades by
category you will need to select the
appropriate choice.)
B.
Grade Center Display Name (optional)
C.
Descriptions (optional)
D.
Choose a Primary Display Option
G.
Points Possible
E.
Secondary Display Option (optional)
H.
Add Rubric
4. Choose a due date or leave none selected.
5. Select from the following options:
A.
Include Column in Grade Center Calculations - the column is included in the possible
selections of items when creating Calculated Columns such as Weighted Grade Columns
or Total Point Columns.
B.
Show this Column in My Grades - Grades will appear in My Grades (the student view),
View Grades, and the Report Card module (when available).
C.
Show Statistics (average and mean) for this column to Students in My Grades - Includes
statistical information with the grade value when shown to students.
6. Click Submit.
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Manually Enter a Grade To manually enter a grade into the Grade Center, click into the box associated with the student and
grade center column. The text field to enter the grade will turn yellow. Enter the grade and hit return
on your keyboard.
Grade Center Icons -
User Unavailable - User no longer has access to the course.
Column Not Visible to Users - Column is not visible to students.
Completed - Item has been completed by student. This icon will be seen on grading columns
that are Surveys or if the grading column has had the Complete/Incomplete associated with it.
Needs Grading - Student has submitted an assignment that needs to be graded. This icon will
appear on Assignment columns and Test columns containing essay or short answer questions.
Override - The instructor has manually changed a student’s grade on an Assessment or
Assignment.
Attempt in Progress - A student is currently using this Assessment or Assignment.
External Grade - Should be set to the grade the instructor wants to be known as the final
grade for the course.
Grade Exempted for this User - The student has been allowed to skip this grading column
without penalty by the instructor.
Error - Grade Center Error.
For more information on specific Grade Center functionalities, please visit the Blackboard Support Site
at http://www.frostburg.edu/blackboard/
Send Email
There are numerous ways to send emails to users enrolled in your Blackboard course.
All user emails are associated with FSU email accounts. When an email is initiated from
within Blackboard, it is automatically sent to the recipient's FSU email. This
process cannot be changed.
Send Email from Control Panel To send an email from the Control Panel click Course Tools, then Send Email.
You will be prompted to choose a group of users or select individual users. Fill in
the associated fields and click Submit.
Send Email from Grade Center -
1. From the Control Panel click Grade Center, then
Full Grade Center.
2. Put a check in the box beside all email recipients’ names. Click
Email above the user names, then Email Selected Users.
3. Fill in applicable fields and click Submit.
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Course Availability
When a course is created in Blackboard, it is automatically set to
not currently available. Upon login, all unavailable courses are
denoted with an “not currently available” statement to the right
of the course name in the My Courses Module under the Blackboard@FSU tab. You must manually make your courses available for students to have access.
Make Your Course Available 1. From the Control Panel click
Customization, then Properties.
2. Under number 3, Set Availability, select Yes.
Course Style Settings
The Course Style settings control how the course appears to users. By selecting colors,
buttons, and text, you can individualize the appearance of the menu. In addition, a
course banner may be added to the top of the course entry page. There are two ways
to customize style settings.
Change Course Themes Icon
1. Click on the Change Course Theme Icon and select a color theme. Scroll
down the list for different color options.
Customize the Color and Style of Course Menu From the Control Panel click Customization, then Teaching Style.
1. Select Course Structure, a preview of the course menu is displays. Select a Focus on the left side panel, then click on the Use This Structure
button.
2. Select Course Entry Point. Announcements is set as the default setting.
3. Select Course Theme (Over 50 professionally designed themes available.)
4. Select Menu Style - by selecting Text or Buttons, then choosing a color or button style, the preview image will reflect those changes.
5. Course Menu Display - Permit Both Views is the default setting.
6. Default Content View - Icon and Text is the default setting.
7.
Select Banner - Click on Browse My Computer button to navigate to the picture of your choice.
Banners should be saved as .jpg or .gif files. The suggested size of a course banner is 600 pixels (wide) X 100 pixels
(long).
8. Submit - Click on Submit button. A pop-up window displays stating that you chose to change the
structure, Click OK. The Course Style will be updated.
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Instructors who teach the same course from semester to semester may wish to reuse the content posted
in their original Blackboard course. This can be accomplished by using Course Copy or Exporting the
course material then Importing that material into the new course.
Course Copy
From the Control Panel click Packages and Utilities, then Course Copy.
Course Type - it is set to a default setting. Under number 2 - Copy Option,
click on the Browse button to choose the Course Destination.
Select Course Materials: Click the Select All button to copy over all materials or click next to each individual item that you want copied over. A checkmark will appear next to the item enabling those items
to be copied. Click Submit.
Export and Import
Exporting Your Course 1. From the Control Panel click Packages and Utilities, then Export/
Archive Course.
2. Click the Export Package button in the upper left corner of the Export Course page (clicking Archive will make an exact copy of your course including enrollments and user information. You do
not want this option if you are going to use the course content in a different semester).
3. Under number 3, Select Course Materials, select all the materials to include in the Export Package,
then click Submit.
4. A green banner will appear at the top of the page. An email will be sent to your FSU account when
the Export Package is ready for download (packages are downloaded into a .zip file).
5. Once you have received the confirmation email, return to the Export/Archive Course page of the
course you exported from.
6. Click on the underlined file name that ends with ‘.zip’. You will then be prompted to save the .zip
file to your local computer. It is important to remember where you save this .zip file. You will
need the file to import to the new course (DO NOT open the .zip file once downloaded. If opened,
the package cannot be Imported).
Import Course Package to a New Course 1. From the Control Panel click Packages and Utilities, then
Import Package/View Logs.
2. Click the Import Package button in the upper left corner of the Import Package/View Logs page.
3. Under number 2, Select a Package, click Browse to select the .zip file on your local computer that
was downloaded from the previous Export.
4. Under number 3, Select Course Materials, choose the course materials from the package you wish to
import to the new course, then click Submit.
5. A green banner will appear at the top of the page. An email will be sent to your FSU account when
the Import Package process is complete.
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Bb Collaborate Sessions
For every course, Blackboard Collaborate generates two types of rooms that require no scheduling.
Course Room: A default room provided for your course that lasts as long as the duration of your course.
By default, the room is titled with your course name and is always available.
 By default, students enter your Course Room as participants. Instructors and administrators enter as
moderators. You can allow all participants to join as moderators so collaboration can start without your
presence.
 If you have supervision concerns, you can completely turn off your Course Room at the course level.
Use your Course Room to acclimate students to your course setup, introduce new concepts, host Q and A
sessions, lead study sessions, and grade group presentations.
My Room: A default room provided for each instructor that lasts as long you retain an account on the
system. By default, the room is titled with your name and is always available.
 My Room is accessible from any course where you have the instructor role.
 You can disallow participants from a certain course to enter your room.
 By default, students enter your room as participants. You can allow all students to join as moderators
or only allow select users from a course you teach to join your room.

Use My Room to provide office hours or help to users across all your courses. When privacy is a concern, create a new session and restrict access to only the user you need to discuss an issue with.
The Main Blackboard Collaborate Page
You can enter an existing room, edit settings for existing rooms, set defaults for sessions you want to create, create new sessions from this page, and search existing sessions and recordings.
Begin Collaborating
Click Launch Room to enter a room. The Launch Room function only appears if the session is ready to be
launched. On the Room Details page, click Launch Room to initiate Blackboard Collaborate.
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Bb Collaborate Sessions - Main Page
The Main Blackboard Collaborate Page
You can enter an existing room, edit settings for existing rooms, set defaults for sessions you want to
create, create new sessions from this page, and search existing sessions and recordings.
Begin Collaborating
Click Launch Room to enter a room. The Launch Room function only appears if the session is ready to be
launched. On the Room Details page, click Launch Room to initiate Blackboard Collaborate.
Collaborate Launcher Pop-up Window
With some operating systems, when users click the Launch Room function, a pop-up window provides
the following two options.
1. If you do not have the Collaborate Launcher, download it now, and when complete, double-click
the .collab file in your Downloads folder to launch your session.
2. f you have already downloaded the Collaborate Launcher, double-click the .collab file in your
Downloads folder to launch your session.
You may find you do not need to use the launcher as the .jnlp file opens your session properly after
clicking Launch Room.
If you want to continue using the launcher for future sessions, click the You many need Collaborate
Launcher link at any time to access the pop-up window again.
You can learn more about downloading or using the Collaborate Launcher from the link provided in
the pop-up window.
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Bb Collaborate Sessions Continued
Edit Settings
You can customize any of your rooms. Click Edit Room to adjust settings for simultaneous speakers,
private messages, the recording options, and more.
Add a Course Link
Click Add Link to create a course link to the room in one of your course areas, such as a content area
or learning module. When you add a course link, students can access the room at a designated time
alongside the relevant content in your course.
Allow Guests
You can send guests a URL to access your Blackboard Collaborate session. In the pop-up window, add
your guests' email addresses and click Send Invitations. In the email from you, your guests will be able
to view the session details such as when the session starts and ends. After clicking the URL, they can
access the same Launch Room link as your students do to initiate Blackboard Collaborate.
Search Sessions and Recordings
Type a keyword or phrase in the Search box to locate a specific session or recording. You can also provide a date range for the search. Results are limited to the scheduled sessions or available recordings
listed in the course you are in.
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Bb Collaborate Sessions - Create
You can create your own Bb Collaborate sessions from your Bb Courses. Click on
Course Tools in the Control Panel and select Blackboard Collaborate.
Click on the Create Session button on the Bb Collaborate List Page to create a new session. The Create Session Page opens. There are 2 vtabs at the top of the page:
Scheduled Sessions| Recordings
Important:
Please keep the course ID as
part of the session name for recording a
lecture. You can append to the name of
the session by adding a dash and some
other description. The reason this is so
important is because if we have to
search for your recording in Bb Collaborate' s system, the course ID will help.
You can create individual sessions for test reviews, specific group activity, and for touring and discussing content in
your course. When privacy is a concern, create a new session and restrict access to only the user you need to discuss an issue with. Click the Set Defaults link to create settings you can use whenever you create new sessions. For
example, you always want six simultaneous speakers and want recordings of the sessions to start automatically.
You can set the session to start and stop at designated times, and repeat at regular intervals. For example, you
might host a session every Monday at a set time where you introduce a new chapter and objectives for the week.
The start time you provide must fall in 15 minute increments, such as 0, 15, 30, and 45. You can allow students to
enter a session before the start time.
Options
You can expand a section to view the options. Click the quick tip icon
for more information about your selections. For Type, you can create a
session that is shared with one or more additional courses that you
teach. Select the check boxes for the courses you want to include.
Grade Center Integrations
If you select ON for Add a grade column?, you can automatically add
a Grade Center column after a session is over. Provide the points
you want to assign for this activity.
Blackboard 9.1 Basics
Faculty Guide
Bb Collaborate Sessions Continued
After a session ends, you can access an attendance report that allows you to push points to the Grade
Center. The points are solely for attendance. From the session’s contextual menu, select View Session
Attendance. On the
View Session Attendance page, you see a
list of the students
who attended the session. If a student exited the session and returned, his or her
name appears in the
list again.
To automatically
award the predetermined points for attending the session. Click Post Attendance to grade Center on the action bar. You cannot select
which users receive points, but you can adjust points for individual users from their Grade Details pages
in the Grade Center.
In the Grade Center, point to the column
heading to view more information about
the column on the Grade Information Bar.
Click the column heading’s contextual
menu to edit the column title.
To learn about other Blackboard features and explore more information on features provided in this
document, please visit FSU’s Blackboard Support site at:
https://frostburg.edu/blackboard/
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Blackboard 9.1 Basics
Faculty Guide
Notes:
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