• Blackboard, at http://learn.eku.edu, is a Web-based course management system that . . .
  • Provides a Web site for every class, and lets students and instructors participate in class activities online.
  • Offers online storage for course materials, discussion boards, virtual chat, online quizzes, grades, and more.

• Your (instructor) USERNAME for Blackboard is your “E-key,” with the lastnamefirstinitial pattern, and your PASSWORD matches what you use for email.

• We strongly recommend using Mozilla Firefox for Bb.

• Get HELP with Blackboard!
  • Look for the Bb Help tab, near the top of every page in Bb.
  • View the Bb instructors’ online help page: Among the links below the course menu, click Help > Blackboard Help.
  • Call our helpdesk at (859) 622-3000.

• Your course sites are automatically populated with your students, ready for your use. However, your site is NOT available for students to see until you make it available!
• To make your site AVAILABLE:
  Look below the course menu for your Control Panel links.
  Click Customization, then click Properties.
  Look for the third section and select “Yes.”
  Click Submit (at the top or bottom of the window).

• We have made it easy for you to see your classes from the student’s view, by giving you a “pretend-student” account, which is automatically enrolled in each of your courses.
  • This username has a zero prefixed to your ordinary account, like 0smithj, and the password is the last four digits of your Social Security number.
  • Log in with this account to observe how every element of your course behaves from the student’s point of view. It is especially useful to practice submitting files and taking online tests.

• To post your syllabus:
  • Click Course Information > Build Content > Create Item.
  • Type the “Name” for the item, then click “Browse” to locate your file. Click Submit. You will get a green bar that says you have succeeded, and you will see the link to your file.

• To post an Announcement:
  • Click Create Announcement, fill in the boxes, choose whether it is date restricted, and click Submit.
  • You control the order of Announcements by drag-and-drop.
  • If you wish to give an announcement priority, you can drag it above the announcement priority bar to make that announcement stay at or near the top.

• To post other kinds of files (handouts, PowerPoint files, study guides, etc.), and keep them well organized:
  • Open the Course Documents area (or any content area).
  • Click Build Content > Content Folder, type the Name and any descriptive information, and click Submit.
  • Click into your folder, then click Build Content > Create Item to upload your files.
  • While you could nest folders endlessly, good practice limits nesting to three levels.

• You can modify the course menu items, using the left-margin vertical arrows to drag-and-drop the order you prefer, using the “plus sign” at the top to add new items, and using the down arrow at the right end of each item to rename or delete it. You control the basic color and design of the course menu through Customization > Style.

• To send email, click Tools > Send Email. Or, click Evaluation > Grade Center, and use the check-boxes and the “Email” link. When you send email from the Grade Center, you can get the recipients listed on YOUR copy of the message.

• To post grades for your students, use Grade Center
  • Use the Full Grade Center view to see everything, or use Needs Grading to see ONLY what needs grading.
  • You can create columns yourself or use those auto-generated by assignments and tests.
  • Click the first student’s box, type the score and press Enter. This moves the entry point to the next student.

• Here are easy directions to:
  • Copy course materials.
    NOTE: If you copy SafeAssignments, you MUST synchronize them in the new course in order for them to work properly.
    
    • Go to Course Tools, Safe Assign and click Safe Assignments.
    • Then click on the “Synchronize this Course” button.
  • Customize the “Library Guide” button.
  • Change the Course Name.
  • Add a course banner.
  • Use your “pretend-student” account.

• If you use a McGraw-Hill text with the Connect feature and you need help copying content, visit the following link: http://mpss.mhhe.com/connect-quickguides-all.php?pid=257
• To create a link for students to submit files to you, for grading:
  • Inside any content area, such as Assignments, click Create Assessment > Assignment. Type a “Name” and the Points Possible, and click Submit. This creates a link for the students and a Grade Center column for you.
  • The Safe Assignment option includes anti-plagiarism scanning of the students’ texts.
  • In the Grade Center, look for green exclamation points, which indicate student submissions.

The Course Menu Holds…

• Announcements
• Content areas such as Course Documents, Assignments, Modules, etc.
• Links to Tools such as Discussion Boards, Email, text chat

Use your Content Areas to manage…

• Course documents & folders
• Different kinds of documents
• Access to tests and assignments

In the Grade Center, you can…

• Create columns for students’ scores
• Access students’ files and tests
• Employ various options to deal with grades