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Blackboard Basics - Overview of most popular features.

Blackboard Flash Tutorials - Flash movies of more advanced features.

Blackboard FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
How to Copy a Course
How to add a TA to your class
My Items are out of order
Using the Blackboard Gradebook
Test-taking Tips for Students
How do I get rid of that long list of classes?
How to Change Your E-mail Address

What is safe assign?
How does it work? What does a report look like?
How do I use it for plagarism checks?
How do my students submit items?

Why should I use Blackboard?

Course Copy Feature Back to FAQs

To copy a course to another section or a new semester

1- Go to the control panel within the source (old) course

2- Under Course Options, click Course Copy (bottom left of screen)

3- Click Copy Course Materials Into an Existing Course

4- Click browse

5- In the search box type the dept and course with no space
(ex.  ENVR200  or SLISJ704 or MGSC798T  or ENGLJ101P)

6- Click search

7- Click select next to the destination course (new)

8- Under 2 Select Course Materials, put a check by all the items you would like to copy

(Note:- do not put a check next to enrollments, that would copy students from a previous semester to the new semester)

9- Scroll down and click submit.

10- You (or the instructor) will receive an email telling you when the action has been completed. It can take several minutes if there are several large files to copy.

Adding a TA Back to FAQs

1. Go to the control panel
2. Click on enroll user
3. Enter the TA's network username *
4. Click Username
5. Click search
6. Put a check next to the person you want to enroll
7. Scroll down and click submit
8. Click OK (takes you back to the control panel)
9. Click List/Modify users
10. Type in the username or last name
11. Click Properties next to the TAs name
12. Scroll down until you see the Role section
13. Select TA, Course Builder or Grader **
14. Scroll down and click Submit

*You can search by last name, but if it is a common name like Smith or Jones, you will get back several pages of names to choose from.  There could also be duplicate first names making it impossible to know which user to add.

**TAs have the same access as an instructor, but cannot change an instructor's role.  Course Builders can add, change or delete content, but do not have access to the gradebook.  Graders have access to the gradebook, but cannot alter content.

Reorder Items Back to FAQs

Frequently, when a course has been copied the items will get out of order and may even have two number 1s, etc.  To fix this...

• Begin with the last item in the list and renumber it to the last number
• Make the second to the last item, the second to the last number
• Continue up until you renumber the first item as number 1

Any items added after you do this should fall in the correct place.  Renumbering should work normally.

Accessing the Online Gradebook Back to FAQs
Gradebook Movie Here

The Blackboard grade book displays student names and grade book items in a spreadsheet view. You can look at entries for an individual student by clicking the student's name or look at all entries for a particular grade book item by clicking the item name.

Adding a New Gradebook Item and Entering Grades
The basic steps are:

· In the grade book, click Add Item.

· Give the item a name, category, possible points, etc.

· Click Submit.

To enter grades for the item:

· Click the item name in the grade book.

· Click Item Grade List and enter the grades.

Understanding Gradebook Symbols

The icons that appear in the grade book are explained in the legend at the bottom left corner of the spreadsheet.

Clear Attempt

If a student begins a quiz but fails to complete it a lock icon or exclamation point will appear in the gradebook. When you click the icon and then click the View button you will see a Clear Attempt button.

Clearing the attempt will allow the student to take the quiz again.

Weighting Grades

To weight grades go to the grade book and click the Weight Grades icon at the top of the spreadsheet. You can weight grades by individual item, or by categories, such as homework, quizzes, and so on.

Downloading and Uploading Grades

Clicking Download Grades will download the grade book as a CSV file that you can open with Microsoft Excel.

Clicking Upload Grades will allow you to upload grades from a spreadsheet to the Blackboard grade book. Blackboard recommends that you first download your grade book, then enter the grades into the spreadsheet, and upload them.

Blackboard Test-taking Tips Back to FAQs

• Don't open another browser or try to go to another web site while taking a test on Blackboard.
• Don't click the back or forward buttons on your browser.  Only use the buttons provided in the test.  Many tests will not allow you to backtrack and clicking the back button will end your test.
• Turn off your instant messenger or email notifications.  Do not interrupt your test to respond to email.  Your mail package may interfere with operation of your browser.
• Don't leave in the middle of your test and come back to it later.  Your ISP may kick you off if your browser is idle for too long.
• Avoid taking tests between 4am and 7am.  Nightly processes run at that time and can slow down response time.
• When you submit an answer, be patient.  Clicking multiple times can cause problems or may be seen as an attempt to backtrack.
  

Managing your My Courses Module Back to FAQs

1) Login to Blackboard

2) Look at My Courses Module in the upper right hand corner

3) Click on the pencil icon (short fat pencil)

4) Check Show Course ID next to classes that may be in question

5) Uncheck Show Course, Show Course ID and Show Announcements for any classes you do not want to see

6) Scroll down and click submit

7) Look at My Courses module and note location of courses you don't wish to see, relative to other courses

8) Click on the pencil icon again

9) Uncheck all 3 columns for courses you do not wish to have in your list

10) Scroll down and click submit

Note - You can always come back and show courses that you have chosen not to show. You can see all courses at all times by clicking on the Courses tab.

Here are the steps to change an email address: Back to FAQs

1.  Login to Blackboard
2. Under tools, in the upper left corner of the "My USC" page, click on the "Personal Information" link.
3. Click Edit Personal Information
4. Type in your preferred email address in the email field
5. Click on Submit.

Safe Assign: Back to FAQs
What is SafeAssign?
SafeAssign" is a plagiarism prevention service, offered by Blackboard to its Blackboard Learning System, Enterprise, Vista Enterprise, and CE Enterprise License clients.  This service helps educators prevent plagiarism by detecting unoriginal content in student papers.  In addition to acting as a plagiarism deterrent, it also has features designed to aid in educating students about plagiarism and the importance of proper attribution of any borrowed content.