Tutorials

Here is a collection of self study guides to help you learn and use Blackboard.

Students

Getting Started (PDF)
Printing PowerPoint

Instructors

Announcements
Assignments
Communication and Collaboration Tools
Content Authoring
Course Development
Gradebook

As part of their commitment to encourage faculty use of the Blackboard, Blackboard Inc's Learning Services team has developed free self-study materials to supplement the official Instructor Manual.

About Animated Tutorials…

Animated Tutorials take you through each step of a specific course-building task. To save the animated tutorial to your computer, right-click (Windows) or control-click (Mac) the SWF link and select the appropriate command to save the file. Please note that the SWF file requires the use of Flash Player.

About Tip Sheets…

Tip sheets cover a variety of topics, from best practices advice to quick reference guides for specific tasks. Tip sheets are available in PDF (download Reader), or PDF format. To save the file to your computer, right-click (Windows) or control-click (Mac) the link on the page below and select the appropriate command to save the file.

Announcements

Creating an Announcement
In this animated tutorial, you will learn how to create an announcement in a Blackboard Learning System (Release 6), course Web site.
[SWF]

Assignments

Creating an Assignment
In this animated tutorial, you will learn how to create an Assignment in a Blackboard Learning System (Release 6) course Web site.
[SWF]
Completing and Submitting an Assignment
In this animated tutorial, you will learn students complete and submit an Assignment in a Blackboard Learning System (Release 6) course Web site.
[SWF]
Grading an Assignment
In this animated tutorial, you will learn how to retrieve and grade an Assignment in a Blackboard Learning System (Release 6) course Web site.
[SWF]
Digital Drop Box vs. Assignments
In this tip sheet, you will learn how the Assignment content type varies from the Digital Drop Box, and review some scenarios where one tool is more appropriate than another.
[PDF]

Communication and Collaboration Tools

Creating and Managing Groups
In this tutorial, you will learn how to create and manage a collaborative group in a Blackboard Learning System (Release 6) course Web site.
[SWF]
Creating a Discussion Forum
In this animated tutorial, you will learn how to create a Discussion Forum, and modify Forum and User Settings in a Blackboard Learning System (Release 6), course Web site.
[SWF]
Archiving Discussion Board Threads
In this animated tutorial, you will learn how to create an archive, move threads to an archive, release threads and remove archives in a Blackboard Learning System (Release 6) course Web site.
[SWF]
Working with Discussion Board Options
In this animated tutorial, you will learn how to access and utilize the Discussion Board options.
[SWF]
Glossary
This tutorial reviews a step-by-step procedure on how an instructor can use a Glossary tool to create a Glossary list. The tool provides Blackboard courses with term-definition lists that are fully customizable and maintained by Instructors. It gives students and faculty an easy way to access subject-specific terms to enhance the teaching and learning experience.
[SWF]

Content Authoring

Content Authoring
The Visual Text Box Editor provides a rich text editing interface, including WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) and Spell Check, to create effective learning content. QuickEdit allows an instructor to quickly switch between the student view of a course content area and the instructor view. Instructors can also import e-learning content created in external authoring tools such as Macromedia Dreamweaver, Impatica, Microsoft Frontpage, or any SCORM-compliant authoring tool.
[SWF]

Course Development

What's New and Different in Release 6
A quick overview for instructors, covering the major differences between Blackboard 5 and Blackboard Learning System (Release 6).
[PDF]
New Features of Blackboard Release 6
A site with the description of each new feature available in Blackboard 6.2.
[HTML]
Getting Started in Your Release 6 Course
This tip sheet was designed for students who have never used Blackboard before.
[PDF]
Modifying your Course Design
In this animated tutorial, you will learn how add a course banner and customize your Course Menu.
[SWF]
Course Roles
This tip sheet defines the privileges associated with each Course Role in Blackboard. Familiarity with these privileges is useful for Instructors who have TAs, Graders, or student assistants.
[PDF]
Building a Learning Unit
In this animated tutorial, you will learn how to build a Learning Unit, which encourages your students to view content in a specific, predetermined order.
[SWF]
Field Lengths
This tip sheet lists all of the text fields in Blackboard, and the number of characters you can input into each one.
[PDF]

Gradebook

Gradebook Icons and Definitions
This tip sheet will teach you how to interpret the Gradebook Icons to ensure an easy grading process in Blackboard 6.
[PDF]
Weighting Grades by Category or Item
The Release 6 Gradebook contains a grade weighting feature that allows an instructor to determine how the software calculates the final grade for a student. There are two options: Weight by Item and Weight by Category...
[PDF]
Gradebook Weighting by Category
This job aid walks you through considerations and tasks for implementing accurate grade weighting.
[PDF]
Gradebook
This tutorial provides an overview of the Gradebook in which instructors can store and manage student performance results on assignments and assessments that they have created.
[SWF]