Please Note: The WYSIWYG Text Box Editor is now cross-browser, cross-platform compliant. However, the Text Box editor in Safari is a "lite" version and does not include all of the options available in FireFox and Internet Explorer.

To enable the WYSIWYG Text Box Editor, click on Personal Information on the My Institution tab.

Click Set Visual Text Box Editor Options.

Click Available then click Submit.

The Electric Blackboard may be made available by checking the boxes in the Manage Tools menu/Tool Availability accessed through the Control Panel.

Once available, to access The Electric Blackboard, click on Course Tools in the Course Menu.

Click on The Electric Blackboard.

A new window containing a text box pops up. Type notes into the text box and click Submit to save the notes. Each time you access the Blackboard course, you will have access to the notes saved in The Electric Blackboard.

Please note: You will have a separate Electric Blackboard for each Blackboard course in which you are enrolled.

Each student can add content, edit others' contributions, and reformat layout as desired, but a full history of the revisions is maintained and accessible.  Teams LX measures and highlights the changes made by each student to a page.  This feature gives the instructor both quantitative and qualitative information with which to assess an individual's performance within the group framework.

 Please note: there are two options for using wikis in your Blackboard course. The first is to use the Course Wiki which students access through Course Tools. The second is to set up a group wiki within a content area.

If you plan to use wikis in your course, you may wish to share this quick wiki tutorial with your students: http://stream.unf.edu:8080/ramgen/CIRT/Bb/wiki.rv

 Course Wiki

Group Wiki

Using the Wiki Tool

Assess Wikis

Tasks are unavailable by default in new Blackboard courses. Tasks may be made available by checking the boxes in the Manage Tools menu/Tool Availability accessed through the Control Panel.

To create Tasks for a Blackboard course, click on Tasks in the Course Tools section of the Control Panel.

Click on Add Task to add a Task to the course.

Type a name for the task, a brief description, set the due date, and set the priority level. Click Submit to add the Task to the Course.

Students have two options for viewing Tasks:

1. Click on Tasks from the My Institution Tab.

2. Click on Course Tools in the Course Menu, then click on Tasks.

Click here for information on creating a syllabus using the Syllabus Builder.

To add information to Staff Information, click on Staff Information from the Control Panel.

Click on Add Profile.

Add any pertinent information and click Submit.

Note: To change Staff Information to Faculty Information, click on Manage Course Menu from the Control Panel.

Click Modify next to Staff Information. Change Staff Information to Faculty Information and click Submit.

To send an email using the Blackboard interface, click on Send Email in the Course Tools section of the Control Panel.

Select All Users, All Groups, All Instructor Users, Single/Select Users, or Single/Select Groups.

The subject field is automatically populated with your UNF Course ID. Type your message in the Message field and click the Add button to add an attachment to the email message. Click Submit to send the email.

Please note: Blackboard will not save a copy of the email; a copy of the email will be sent to the Sender's email address.

To view the Roster for a course, click on Communication in the Course Menu.

Then click on Roster.

You can search for students by Last Name, Username, or Email or to view a list of all students enrolled in the course, click on the List All tab and click List All.

To remove a user from a course, click on Remove Users from Course link in the User Management section of the Control Panel.

Search for a user by Last Name, Username, or Email, or click on List All then click on the List All button to list all of the users in a course.

To remove a user from the course, check the box next to the user's name, type "Yes in the box and click Submit.

Access to RefWorks is provided in two ways:

• Blackboard users can access their personal RefWorks accounts from within the course Tools page;

• Instructors can set up links to specific RefWorks databases from within courses, allowing students to access course-specific reading lists and group research projects

Click here to view a RefWorks tutorial

  There are two steps to adding a podcast to a course:

Manage Podcast - set up your podcast feed title, iTunes metadata and visibility options.

Add Podcast Episodes - add your podcast content, including media and attachments, to the course.

Once a podcast is added to a course, students may listen to the podcast using two different methods:

Subscribe to a Podcast - subscribe to the course podcast in iTunes or RSS for access outside of the Blackboard course.

Play an Episode - play a selected episode in the course.

To access the Personal Information area, click on Personal Information in the Tools area of the My Institution tab.

From this page, personal information, CD-ROM Drive, privacy options, the WYSIWYG editor and user locale settings may be updated.

Please note: Users may not change their password in Blackboard; all passwords should be changed through the ITS Self-Service page: http://www.unf.edu/app/ess.

This page displays the following information:

• Last Name
• First Name
• Username
• Role
• Date / time of last login
• Days since last login
• Review Status - Only displayed if this tool is enabled. Displays how many items have been reviewed / number of items with Review Status enabled. A detailed view of items may be opened in a new window.
• Adaptive Release - Only displayed if this tool is enabled. An overview of the Student path may be opened in a new window.
• View Grades - Only displayed if the Gradebook is enabled. Provides links to the Gradebook: User Grade List page for that user.

Users can click Print to open the page in a new window in a printer-friendly format. All applicable columns may be sorted.

The Online Journal is a tool to track student's daily activity and encourage reflective learning. The Online Journal is private and can only be read the student and the instructor. The Online Journal chronologically archives all the entries and comments in one scrollable screen in your students' Blackboard.

Most content used in Blackboard is added directly to content areas of the course. However, many instructor and educational content providers store some memory intense multimedia content outside of Blackboard. The offline content is then provided to the student for immediate access, without the excessive waiting involved in downloading files.

Instructors add a link to Offline Content through a Content Area of a course. Click on Offline Content in the drop down menu and click Go.

Students access My Grades by clicking on My Grades from the Course Menu.

If the instructor does not enable the My Grades link on the Course Menu, students may access My Grades by clicking on Course Tools then My Grades.

If an instructor does not want students to have access to My Grades, My Grades may be disabled:

Click on Manage Tools from the Control Panel.

Click on Tool Availability, then uncheck the box next to My Grades. Click Submit.

Blackboard Messaging is unavailable by default in new Blackbaord courses. Messages may be made available by checking the boxes in the Manage Tools menu/Tool Availability accessed through the Control Panel.

To access MERLOT Search, click on a Content Area from the Control Panel of your Blackboard course.

MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments.

• Discussion Board
• Virtual Classroom
• Group File Exchange
• Group Email

Note: The Advanced Group Management is a streamlined alternative to the Manage Groups tool that may be used for adding groups to your Blackboard courses.

To access Manage Groups, click on Manage Groups in the User Management section of the Control Panel.

Click on Add Group to add a group or groups to your course.

Add a Name for the group, a description, select the Option you would like available for the group and choose whether or not to make the group available. Click Submit to Add the Group.

Once a group is added to the course, you may change Group Properties, Add Users to Group, List Users in Group and Remove Users from Group by clicking Modify next to the Group from the Manage Groups page.

To set a locale for your course, go to the Control Panel>Course Options>Settings>Set Locale.

Note: Blackboard imports a snapshot of course enrollment from Banner several times a day.

To access the List/Modify Users page, click on List/Modify Users in the User Management Section of the Control Panel.

Instructors may search for students by Last Name, Username, or Email address on the Search tab. Advanced searching options include searching by the first letter of the user's last name and searching for users active within the past x days. To see a list of all users in a course, click on the List All tab, then click List All.

The Link Checker is located in the Control Panel of each Blackboard course.

The link checker shows all External Links in the course, the URL, Location, Availability, and Validity. Links may be hidden from the student view by checking the box next to the link and clicking Submit.

Note: Links that are added in Announcements, Items, Documents, Assessments, etc. will not be checked by the Link Checker. The Link Checker only checks those links in a course that are added using the Add External Link button.

To create a Learning Unit in Blackboard, go to a content area in the Control Panel and click on Learning units in the drop-down menu and click Go.

On the Add Learning Unit page, type a name for the Learning Unit and add a description in the text box. Select your Options make sure to click Yes for Enforce sequential viewing of the Learning Unit if you want sequential viewing. Click Submit.

This provides instructors with a variety of ways to incorporate journaling (blogging) into a course with minimal administrative burden and a high-level of control. The journals can be used simultaneously on a course, group, and individual level: 

•  Course Blog -- Each student in a course creates a journal, either closed for private dialog or open for peer review.
• Course Assignment Blogs -- Groups of students collaborate in creating topic-specific posts, which other classmates can comment on.

 Course Blog

Assignment Blog

Using the Blog Tool

User Documentation

Students access their Homepage for a course by clicking Course Tools from the Course Menu then clicking Homepage.

Students complete the form to update their Homepage.

To access student Homepages, click on Communication, then click Roster. Click on a student's name to see their Homepage.

View Grades by User allows an instructor to see all of the gradebook items for a selected student at once and input the student's grades all at once. Submitting at the bottom of the page will update all of the student's grades in the course gradebook.

View Grades by Item allows an instructor to view all of the students' grades for a particular gradebook item at once. The instructor may enter all of the grades for the item and click Submit to update all students' grades for the item in the gradebook.

The Glossary may be made available by checking the boxes in the Manage Tools menu/Tool Availability accessed through the Control Panel.

Instructors access the Glossary from the Course Tools section of the Control Panel.

Students access the Glossary from the Course Tools section of the Course Menu.

 QUICK START

• ACCESS EXPO LX --available on the My Institution Tab
  MY INSTITUTION >MY EXPO SITE >
• ADD CONTENT --My Wiki or My Blog
  MY INSTITUTION >MY EXPO SITE>MY WIKI or MY BLOG>here
• VIEW OTHER EXPO SITES --
  MY INSTITUTION >EXPO SITE DIRECTORY>SEARCH PEOPLE

To enroll users manually, from the User Management area of the Control Panel, click on Enroll User. Search for the user by last name (type in user's last name and hit the "Search" button) Place a check mark in the "Add" box on the left hand side of the screen to add users.

Note: Manually adding users using Enroll User will provide them with access to the course as students. In order to add users with different user roles (TA, Instructor, Grader, etc.) you should use the Add Users by Role tool in the Course Tools section of the Control Panel.

The Electric Blackboard may be made available by checking the boxes in the Manage Tools menu/Tool Availability accessed through the Control Panel.

Once available, to access The Electric Blackboard, click on Course Tools in the Course Menu.

Click on The Electric Blackboard.

A new window containing a text box pops up. Type notes into the text box and click Submit to save the notes. Each time you access the Blackboard course, you will have access to the notes saved in The Electric Blackboard.

Please note: You will have a separate Electric Blackboard for each Blackboard course in which you are enrolled.

To Add a Discussion Board Forum:

1. Click Discussion Board from the Control Panel of your Course.
2. Click Add Forum.
3. Enter a Title and Description for the Forum.
4. Select the Forum Settings: Allow anonymous posts, Allow author to modify message after posting, Allow author to remove own posted messages, Allow file attachments, Allow new threads.
5. Optional: Select Forum User Settings. If you wish to make a student a Moderator of a forum or Block or Unblock a student from posting to a forum, click the appropriate button to select the setting.
6. Click Submit to add the Forum. 

Instructors access the Digital Dropbox through the Control Panel.

Students access the Digital Dropbox through the Course Tools on the Navigation Menu.

Click here for more information on CPS.

CPS is unavailable by default in all new Blackboard courses. CPS may be made available by checking the boxes in the Manage Tools menu/Tool Availability accessed through the Control Panel.

To access the CPS Connection, click on Course Tools in the Course Menu.

Then click on CPS Connection.

Click Register Class to register your course with CPS.

• Overall Summary of Usage
• Accesses by Content Area
• Accesses by Forum
• Accesses by Group

Click on Course Statistics in the Assessment area of the Control Panel to access Course Statistics.

Note: Course statistics that are older than 180 days are automatically deleted. Therefore, if you want to have access to Course Statistics after the semester is over, you will need to Download the Course Statistics report by clicking on Export Data.

Course links are added by clicking on Course Link in a Content Area through the Control Panel:

The following Collaboration Tools are available:

• Virtual Classroom: Allows users to enter a real-time discussion with Instructors, Students, and colleagues; access the Web; and engage in question and answer sessions.
• Lightweight Chat: The Lightweight Chat is part of the Virtual Classroom but can also be accessed separately. It allows users to open just the Chat function of the Virtual Classroom.

Instructors access the Collaboration tools through the Course Tools area of the Control Panel.

Students access the Collaboration tools through the Communication area of the Navigation Menu.

• synchronization of the course roster in the Blackboard Learning System course web site with the external application
• single login so the user does not have to re-authenticate in the external application
• posting of results and grades from the external application back to the Blackboard Learning System’s Gradebook.

The instructor installs a Blackboard Chalk Title in their course much as they would a Blackboard Course Cartridge. Like a Blackboard Course Cartridge, the Blackboard Chalk Title populates the course with discipline-specific learning materials, test banks and rich media, but it also enables additional functionality in the instructor Control Panel of the course web site.

*NOTE: This tool should be Unavailable by default in UNF Blackboard Courses. If you will be using a Blackboard Chalk Title in your course, you will need to make the Chalk Title Management available. To make the tool available, go to Manage Tools and click on Tool Availability.

Check the box next to Chalk Title Management and Submit.

Cartridges may contain a wide variety of resources, including basic instructional text, PowerPoint presentations, subject-specific multimedia objects, or banks of test questions. Publishers may use different kinds of content in different Cartridges. Cartridge content is typically updated when new textbook editions are released.

All cartridges require an Instructor Download Key in order to import them into a Blackboard course. Instructor Download Keys for Course Cartridges are obtained directly from the publisher. To import a Cartridge into a course that has already been created, click on Import Course Cartridge in the Course Options area of the Control Panel.

Enter the Download Key provided by the Publisher.

Please note that Cartridge installation can take a few minutes or it can take several hours. It is best to wait until the cartridge installation completes before making changes to the course. The system will send you an email when the installation process is complete.

To learn more about the Blackboard Course Cartridges, visit http://www.blackboard.com/extend/ccart/

To access the Course Calendar, click on Course Calendar from the Course Tools module of the Control Panel.

Click on Add Event to add an event to the calendar. The event will be visible to all users enrolled in the course.

Students access the Course calendar through the Course Tools on the Navigation Menu.

When the students view the calendar through an individual course they will see the events just for that course, but when viewed through My Institution they see all events for all courses, as well as any personal entries.

When instructors use Blackboard's Assignment Manager to post assignments, students can submit an Assignment via the View/Complete Assignment link and the completed assignment will appear in the Gradebook. This feature eliminates the need to have students e-mail assignments to instructors or submit assignments via the Digital Dropbox.

• when assignments are due

• changes in the syllabus

• corrections/clarifications of materials

• exam schedules

Create an Announcement

1. In the Course Tools section of the Control Panel, click Announcements .
2. Click the Add Announcement button. 
3. Type the subject in the Subject box.
4. Enter the Announcement in the Message box.
5. Optional: set any options such as Permanent Announcement, date restrictions, and Course Links.
6. Click Submit .

By default, ALEKS is unavailable in all Blackboard courses.

To make the ALEKS tools available in a Blackboard course, click on Manage Tools in the Course Options section of the Control Panel.

Click on Building Block Tool Availability.

Check the boxes next to ALEKS Grades and Alex Tools and click Submit.

Once Available, access ALEKS in the Course Tools section.

For more information on ALEKS, visit: http://www.highedmath.aleks.com/

Click on Advanced Group Management in the Course Tools area of the Control Panel.

From the Advanced Group Management, Instructors are able to add new groups, remove groups, configure groups and assign students to groups.

Students can access their assigned groups from the Communication button of the menu, by clicking Group Pages.

The Address Book may be made available by checking the boxes in the Manage Tools menu/Tool Availability accessed through the Control Panel.

Once Available, access the Address Book by clicking the Course Tools button from the Tools section of the Navigation Menu and then clicking the Address Book link.

Click on Add Contact to add an entry to the Address Book. Search entries by Last Name or Email.

• Instructor
• Course Builder
• Grader
• Teaching Assistant
• Guest

This tool should be used to add other instructors and guests to your courses. It should not be used to add students to your course because student enrollment is updated automatically as students add and drop courses.

To access the tool, click on Add Users by Role under Course Tools.

Click on Browse to select a Blackboard user. Select the User's Role and click Submit.

The following options are available:

• Adaptive Release – Create basic rules for an item. Only one rule per item may be created.
• Adaptive Release: Advanced – Create advanced rules for an item. Multiple rules may be created. User Progress – View the details on an item for all users in a course. This page includes information on whether the item is visible to the user and whether the user has marked the item as reviewed.