Blackboard Help @ UofL
Frequently Asked Questions
What has changed with the course template?
How do I backup my course?
How do I export my course statistics?
How do I make my course unavailable/available?
How do I save my gradebook at the end of the term and why do I need to do it?
When do instructors have access to course shells in Blackboard?
What happens when a course and/or its instructor are added late to the Schedule of Courses?
Which instructors have access to course shells?
A class I am teaching doesn't show up in Blackboard.
How are co-instructors and assistants added to the course?
When are my students added to the course?
How are students added and dropped? Can I add or drop a student?
I have too many courses listed in the "My Courses" area, how do I hide the old courses?
My courses are cross-listed and my students appear on two separate rosters in the Ulink System, how will this look in Blackboard?
I want my students to access course content before the first day of class. Can classes be opened early?
My students and myself in my cross listed courses are at a disadvantage because they can not communicate online with one another, and I have to maintain two separate Blackboard shells to teach the class. Is there some way to resolve this problem?
How long are classes kept on the server (what happens at the end of the semester)?
What are the alternatives to the Digital Drop Box? (The Digital Dropbox is not available in Blackboard 7.3)
My students want me to email them at their personal email address instead of their UofL email address, how can I change the email address for my students in the Blackboard System?
When can I begin communicating with my students using the Blackboard system, including by email?
I have looked in the Blackboard Roster for my list of students but they are missing, why?
What is this "Link Checker" located in my Control Panel?
How do I change the Navigation menu items in a course?
How do I copy my content from one course to another?
How do I backup my course?
How do I make my course unavailable/available?
How do I copy my content from one course to another?
No questions for this area
How do I create and administer assessments in Blackboard?
How do I use Gradebook and manage grades in Blackboard?
How do I save my gradebook at the end of the term and why do I need to do it?
My students on dial-up are having trouble taking assessments, do you have any suggestions?
My students are having trouble with submitting assessments and assignments.
A student wants me to clear an assessment attempt.
How can I protect my assessments from being printed or copied?
What is Respondus?
Can I use Blackboard to submit my grades?
How do I export my course statistics?
Getting help using Blackboard.
How do I use the features in my control panel?
What are the new features in Blackboard 7.3?
Answers
Q. When do instructors have access to course shells in Blackboard?
A. Courses and their instructors are added to the Blackboard system with the use of an automatic process between the Registration system and Blackboard.
- Summer semester courses are added in February.
- Fall semester courses are added in April.
- Spring semester courses are added in May.
Q. What happens when a course and/or its instructor are added late to the Schedule of Courses?
A. The previously mentioned automatic process between the Registration and the Blackboard Systems runs twice daily, once in the morning at 5:45am and once in the evening at 7:45pm . The process updates the Blackboard System with the new or changed information that occurred since the last update.
Q. Which instructors have access to course shells?
A. Generally there is only one instructor listed in the Blackboard course shell. This individual is listed as the instructor of record in the Schedule of Courses.
Q. A class I am teaching doesn't show up in Blackboard.
A. Are you the instructor of record for the course? If you are not listed as the instructor of record in the PeopleSoft system you will not load into the Blackboard system as the instructor of record. Your Unit Business Manager can assist you in clarifying this.
Q. How are co-instructors and assistants added to the course?
A. The instructor listed in the Schedule of Courses must email the Delphi Center from their UofL email account to request additional access. Only the instructor of record may request these additions or deletions. This is a manual process, changes may take up to 24 hours to appear. The instructor must provide the following information:
- The official course code (example: ENGL-100-01)
- The additional instructor/assistant's username (example: Tom A. Jones, tajone01 )
- Level of access to grant
- Instructor: Full rights to add/edit /remove/grade/copy items in my course
- Teaching Assistant: Rights to add/edit/remove/grade but not copy items in my course
- Course Builder: Rights to add/edit/remove/copy but not grade/access student information in my course
- Grader: Rights to grade/access student information in my course.
Q. When are my students added to the course?
A. Students are added to the course on the day for which they register; however students are not able to access the course until 14 days prior to the first day of class.
Q. How are students added and dropped? Can I add or drop a student?
A. Students are added and dropped with an automated process that runs twice daily. They may be added or dropped from your course in response to changes in their enrollment status. Instructors are not allowed to add or drop a student within Blackboard.
Q. I have looked in the Blackboard Roster for my list of students but they are missing, why?
A. Your students do not have access to the course therefore the roster is empty. To view a list of all users associated with this course access the List/Modify Users located in the Control Panel. Fourteen days prior to the first day of class your Blackboard Roster will be populated.
Q. What is this "Link Checker" located in my Control Panel?
A. Link Checker validates added external links only. It does not go into your documents to validate any embedded links.
Q. When can I begin communicating with my students using the Blackboard system, including by email?
A. Your students do not have access to the course until 14 days prior to the first day of class, at that time you will be able to commmunicate with you students via announcements, email, discussion board, or chat. To view a list of all users associated with this course access the List/Modify Users located in the Control Panel.
Q. I want my students to access course content before the first day of class. Can classes be opened early?
A. Students have access to the content of your course 14 days prior to the first day of class.
Q. My courses are cross-listed and my students appear on two separate rosters in the Ulink System, how will this look in Blackboard?
A. Your students will appear in two separate Blackboard courses.
Q. My students and myself in my cross listed courses are at a disadvantage because they can not communicate online with one another, and I have to maintain two separate Blackboard courses to teach the class. Is there some way to resolve this problem?
A. Yes, many instructors prefer to move one roster of students into one Blackboard course. Please fill out the Notify the Delphi Center form provided on the Blackboard Announcement page to make this request. Be sure to provide the following information:
- Your name
- Your master course code (the one you will be teaching/communicating from)
- Your merged course code(s) (the course(s) you will not be teaching/communicating from)
Remember only the instructor listed on the Schedule of Courses may request a course be merged. This course merge will take place on the date of your first class meeting. Remember that this merge of courses only takes place within Blackboard, the students are still enrolled in their distinct courses and sections. Grades must be submitted for those respective courses/sections.
Q: I have too many courses listed in the "My Courses" area, how do I hide the old courses?
A. Courses you have taught/taken in the past and in the future are available to you until they have been archived and removed from the Blackboard system, however you may hide these courses from your My Courses area and return them to your My Courses area as much as you like. Learn more about modifying your My Courses area. (Must have Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Q. My students want me to email them at their personal email address instead of their UofL email address, how can I change the email address for my students in the Blackboard System?
A. This is not possible. The email address for each user in the Blackboard system is just one piece of information that the automatic process (mentioned earlier) provides to the Blackboard system. The only way students can receive email in their personal email account is to forward their UofL mail to their personal email account.
Q. How long are classes kept on the server (what happens at the end of the semester)?
A. Courses in Blackboard remain in the system for nearly a year after the end of the semester. Listed below is the Delphi Center's archive and remove schedule:
| Length of time courses live after the end of the semester | Date courses are archived and deleted | |
|---|---|---|
| Summer | 8 months |
October of the upcoming year |
| Fall | 11 months |
October of the upcoming year |
| Spring | 11 months |
March of the upcoming year |
Q. What has changed with the course template?
A. The new navigation has changed to enhance ease of use and reduce confusion. There are three items in
the top section, (Syllabus, Faculty Information and Course Description) that are open to guest access. Additionally,
When you enter the Control Panel with the new template in place you will notice new content areas as well as
the dividers listed in the “Content Areas” section.
The “Start Here” area is now listed in the instructor control panel.
An additional area called “Instructors Start Here” has also been added.This area is not visible to students and contains
internal information that faculty may find useful in creating their course menu design. Lastly, dividers are content areas
and are clickable from the navigation area. We have placed a note in the area to inform students and faculty that these
areas contain no information and are provided for convenience and can be removed if so desired by the faculty member.
Click here for a detailed look at changes to the course template. Blackboard Template Changes Document.doc
Q. How do I Change the Navigation menu items in a course?
A: Navigation Menu items can be modified, moved or removed by the faculty member at his/her discretion. Changing, moving or removing these items is done through the Control Panel. Once inside Control Panel, Go to the Box on the left at the bottom labeled Course Options. This is the area where course wide actions can be edited or removed based in the section of the course in which you want to work. To work with the navigation menu in this box, choose Manage Course Menu. From here you will be able to add, move, change and remove items on the menu that you will not need. Click here for an in-depth look at customizing your course menu. Change Menu.doc
Q. How do I backup my course? - Best Practice!
A. As a best practice, faculty should archive or export their own course to a local or network drive for later access. We recommend at least archiving or exporting your course at the completion of each semester. Archive verses Export:
Archive
Archive Course creates a permanent record of a course including all the content and user interactions. Archived courses are saved as .zip files. Archiving a course does not remove it from the system. In the event you need t
he archived file restored to Blackboard, you must forward the following Archive File to the Delphi Center. To archive your course to your personal computer follow these steps:
- Enter the course
- Enter the Control Panel
- Select Archive Course from the Course Options area
- Click the Archive button from the button bar of the Export/Archive Manager
- Click Submit
- Click OK
- When your archive package is complete, you will receive an email. After the email is received, you may enter the Export/Archive Manager page (as listed above in steps 1 - 3) and download the course package to the personal computer.
- Single right click the ArchiveFile and select "Save Target As (Internet Explorer" or "Save Link As (Mozilla Firefox)" to save the file to your personal computer.
- Save your Archive File to the appropriate directory in your file system.
- To remove the ArchiveFile from your course select Remove then OK.
Export
The Export Course feature creates a package of the course content that you may later import into another course with the same content. Export Course does not include any user interactions with the course, it only includes the content and the tools. Do not unzip an ExportFile or remove files from the package, otherwise the package will not be imported correctly. To export your course to your personal computer please follow these steps:
- Enter the course
- Enter the Control Panel
- Select Export Course from the Course Options area
- Click the Export button from the button bar of the Export/Archive Manager
- Select the items you wish to include in your download and click Submit
- Click OK
- When your export package is complete, you will receive an email. After the email is received, you may enter the Export/Archive Manager page (as listed above in steps 1 - 3) and download the course package to the personal computer.
- Single right click the ExportFile and select "Save Target As (Internet Explorer" or "Save Link As (Mozilla Firefox)" to save the file to your personal computer.
- Save your ExportFile to the appropriate directory in your file system.
- To remove the ExportFile from your course select Remove then OK.
Q. How do I make my course unavailable/available? - Best Practice!
A. Since Blackboard content will be available to students 14 days prior to the first day of class, follow these instructions to control your students access to your course's content by setting your course to unavailable. Once you have prepared your content and are ready to release the course's content to your students make sure you remember to set your course to available.
Setting your Course to Unavailable
- Enter the course
- Enter the Control Panel
- Select Settings from the Course Options area
- Click the Course Availability link from the list
- Select No and click the Submit button (Note: To make the course available to your students you are required to return to this form.)
- Click OK
- Now your course is Unavailable
Setting your Course to Available
- Enter the course
- Enter the Control Panel
- Select Settings from the Course Options area
- Click the Course Availability link from the list
- Select Yes and click the Submit button
- Click OK
- Now your course is Available to students
Q. How do I copy my content from one course to another?
A. Content in a course can be copied from one course to another in the Blackboard system. For example: You taught a course last semester and the organization of the content as well as the content itself are still relevant to a course you are teaching this semester. To use the course copy feature follow these instructions or click here Copy Course.doc to download the complete course copy document :
- Enter the course for which content exists
- Enter the Control Panel
- Click the Course Copy button from the Course Options area
- Click "Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course" link
- Click Browse
- Choose Search By: "Instructor", type in your userID, then click Search
- Locate the course for which you wish to populate with content, click Select (far right of screen)
- Choose each check box for content you wish to transfer to the Destination Course
- Click Submit
- Click OK
- Check your email for a receipt and destination course for content
Note: As a best practice we recommend that you not copy your gradebook. However, there is one situation that requires you copy your gradebook. When copying a course which contains the Assignments feature you must select the Content Area for which your assignments are posted and "Gradebook Items and Settings" during step #8 above.
Q. How do I create and administer assessments in Blackboard?
A: Exams can be created using the Blackboard Test Manager > Add Test feature including: Multiple Choice, True False, Multiple Answer, Ordering, Matching, Fill in the Blank, Essay, Random Block. Test management and deployment can be reviewed by exploring the Assessment_Creation Assessment Creation.doc document or watching this video Test Manager.swf.
Q. How do I use Gradebook and manage grades in Blackboard? A. Using the Gradebook in Blackboard will allow students to view the grades for any item that you as
the instructor choose to create a column for and make visible. Remember, the Blackboard gradebook and the PeopleSoft
grade system for reporting final grades are not connected to one another. The Gradebook can be accessed from the Assessment section.
This area is located on the right side of the control panel in the middle box. To access it you will need to click on “Gradebook”.
From this point, you may make modifications and submit grades for the students to view with in Blackboard. For a comprehensive manual
on managing grades, modifying the gradebook, and filtering gradebook displays, view or save Gradebook Copy Course.doc.
Q. How do I save my gradebook at the end of the term and why do I need to do it? - Best Practice! A. Below is the step-by-step procedure for saving a copy of your course's gradebook to your personal computer. Please follow these instructions at the completion of each semester to ensure you have a backup. You need to retain a backup of your gradebook incase a student returns to contest grades listed on transcripts. Once a student is no longer enrolled at the University, the Blackboard system no longer displays the individual student's row in a previous course's gradebook. Please follow these instructions: Q. My students on dial-up are having trouble taking assessments, do you have any suggestions? A. Yes. Students using dial-up to the internet can lose communications to their Internet Service Provider within 30 minutes of in-activity. Due to the ISP's policy students are dropped during assessments. We have found a solution to this issue. Learn more about
how to Assist your Dial-Up Students from being Kicked Out of your Blackboard Exams. Q. My students are having trouble with submitting assessments and assignments. A. Students can find helpful Assessment Suggestions located in the Student's Frequently Asked Questions list on our site. Learn more about Assessment Suggestions for students. Q. A student wants me to clear an assessment attempt. A. If a student has an interruption in internet service or accidentally performs an illegal function while taking an assessment, they may be prevented from successful submission of the assessment to Blackboard resulting in a lock symbol appearing in the gradebook. It is up to individual instructors to develop a policy regarding legitimate problems with submissions and communicate that policy to students. The instructor can clear assessment attempts at their discretion allowing students to take and submit the assessment again. Unfortunately, the student cannot resume the test from where the error occurred, but must begin with a new attempt. Learn more about clearing an assessment attempt. (Must have Microsoft Word.) Q. How can I protect my assessments from being printed or copied? A. There are two methods. The first method provides Javascript you can add to your assessment that will prevent your students from using the copy and the File > Print features available in your browser. Learn more about Protecting Your Blackboard Exams from being Printed or Copied. A. Respondus is a software program that allows the user to create exams, surveys and pools for Blackboard without being logged in and online while working. UofL has a site license, which means you may download Respondus and install it on your office computer and your home computer. When used in conjunction with Respondus LockDown Browser, a more secure environment can be created to guard against potential cheating. Learn more about acquiring and using Respondus. (Must have Microsoft Word.) Q. Can I use Blackboard to submit final grades? A. No. Blackboard is not linked to the official grade submission process. You must submit your grades using the process indicated by the Registrar's office. Q. How do I export my course statistics? - Best Practice! A. All instructors are encouraged to export course statistics reports and store for future reference since these statistics will be removed one month after the end of the semester. To export your courses statistics follow these instructions: Exporting Course Statistics Q. Getting help using Blackboard. A. Faculty have many outlets to receive Blackboard assistance. Q. How do I use the features in my control panel? A. Below are a list of features available in the Control Panel. Select the hyperlink to view a Windows Media Video explaining the use of each feature or select the associated Word document to read/print the same instructions.
Q. What are the alternatives to the Digital Drop Box? (The Digital Dropbox is not available in Blackboard 7.3)
A. There are 4 alternatives to the digital drop box
Refer to the following Word Document to learn more about the alternatives.
Q. What are the new features in Blackboard 7.3?
Blackboard will be upgraded to version 7.3 over the holiday break period. In addition, new hardware and software will be installed to improve system performance.
Refer to the following Word Document to learn more about these features.
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Note: The file name will default to gb_export.xls. As a best practice you should change the name of this file to eliminate overwriting.
The second method involves the instructor creating assessments in Respondus and student downloading the Respondus LockDown Browser. See "What is Respondus?" below for details.