Faculty - First Time Blackboard Users
About Blackboard
Blackboard is an online course management system. It can
be used to supplement traditional face-to-face classroom activity
or to deliver a completely online course. Blackboard includes
tools for managing student communication and grades, sharing
content, collaborating outside of class, administering quizzes
and surveys, and communicating with email or chat. Blackboard
also is being used as a tool to keep student majors or student
groups informed and to collaborate with other professors in
research projects. If you would like to learn other possibilities
of Blackboard, contact the Instructional Technology Assistance
Center at 677-2332.
Becoming a Blackboard User
All students and instructors are automatically given a Blackboard
account.
IMPORTANT: You are also given a Bradley email account and
this is automatically used as your email address for Blackboard.
If you have questions about your Bradley email account, you
may contact the Technology Help Desk, 677-2964.
Account
Login
Your Bradley username is also used as your Blackboard login/username.
If you are not sure of your Bradley username, you can check
in the Bradley Directory & Web Search linked from http://www.bradley.edu.
Passwords
Passwords can be established by the user. Click the "Login"
link or button on the Blackboard
web site. To establish your password, click the "Forgot
your password" link at the bottom of the Log In to Blackboard
box. Put in your first and last name and username then click
"submit." Blackboard will send an email message
to your Bradley email address. This message will contain a
link to a web page that will allow you to set your own Blackboard
password. You then log in to Blackboard with this new password.
Note: Blackboard will not let you in after you have typed
your username and password incorrectly more than three times.
You will need to relaunch your browser.
If you need further assistance, please contact the Instructional
Technology Assistance Center between 8 AM and 5 PM at 677-2332
in Library Room 20, or the Technology Help Desk (extended
hours) at 677-2964 in the Library.
Creating Courses in Blackboard
Instructors can request a new Blackboard course by submitting
an Online Course Request Form. Go to the Blackboard
web site and click "Request a Course Site"
Blackboard courses will be created generally within two working
days after receipt of the electronic (web) form. The
course ID will follow this naming structure: CourseNumber_CourseSection_YearSemester
For example:
ENG101_01_06FA
How
to Use Common Features of Blackboard
To learn more about how to use Blackboard, please review
the Instructor's
Guide to Bb. There are also online tutorials for specfic
features available at http://blackboard.bradley.edu/docs/tutorials.shtml
Automatic Population of Courses
All courses will be created in Blackboard approximately 1
week prior to the start of the semester. All registered students
will be given access to Blackboard and their course sites.
Newly added students will be updated on a daily basis. Blackboard
course rosters should not be considered official and will
not reflect immediate changes. The accuracy of each
course roster remains the responsibility of the faculty member.
Only new students will be added to Blackboard courses.
Dropped students are not removed automatically, but must be
removed by the course instructor.
Instructors or administrators requesting access to a Blackboard
course other than their own must receive permission from the
instructor of the course prior to being granted access to
the course or any material contained within.
Copying and Migrating Courses from Semester to Semester
At the end of the semester, Blackboard courses for that semester
will be archived. This backup is for the purpose of reusing
the course at a later date. This backup file is not accessible
outside of Blackboard and must be imported back into Blackboard
to be usable. The archive process does not retain student
work, grade information, grade book, or student assessment
answers. It is highly recommended that the instructor export
the course grade book at the end as well as through out the
semester. Courses will be removed from the server at the start
of the following semester.
Proper Conduct for Use of Blackboard
Faculty, staff and students who use Blackboard are expected
to abide by a standard and customary code of conduct regarding
the respect of others’ identity, privacy and property.
All policies regarding Blackboard conform to the Faculty Handbook
section on “Ethical Use of Information Technology Resources”.
The following documents outline guidelines on other related
topics:
Policy on misuse of computer resources
http://www.bradley.edu/irt/cs/policies/computerpol.html
Guidelines for developing secure passwords
http://www.bradley.edu/irt/cs/policies/password.html
Copyright
By using Blackboard you agree to abide by the current guidelines
on copyright and fair use. The University will not grant
indemnity to anyone who abuses the ownership rights of others.
http://www.bradley.edu/irt/cs/policies/copyrightinfo.html
System Administration
Blackboard is managed and maintained by a Blackboard Administrator
and System Administrators. The Blackboard Administrator
handles Blackboard user concerns and has the ability to monitor
any course established on Blackboard. The System Administrators
address server issues. Additionally, the Bradley Technology
Help Desk, 677-2964, can assist with problems associated with
personal computers and network connectivity. Support
Blackboard Manual
The Instructor and Student manuals are available within each
Blackboard course. The Instructor manual is linked within
the Control Panel. The Student manual is accessible
within Student Tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
Blackboard Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's) pages are lists
of questions received from Blackboard users. These FAQ
pages are available from the Bradley Blackboard web site under
the Student Help and Faculty Help links.
Training Seminars
Training seminars to show instructors how to use Blackboard
are offered each semester. Seminar listings are published
in the IRT
Seminar Brochure.
Consultation
The Blackboard Administrator and Blackboard assistants are
available to answer questions by phone or schedule one-on-one
appointments. Please call 677-3387 or 677-2344.
Online Course Development
If you would like assistance with online course development,
please call Barb Kerns, 677-2332, or email brk@bradley.edu. |
