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related question is to use the NYU Blackboard Help Request Form. - NYU Blackboard is currently used by more than 3,000 faculty and 38,000 students at New York University.
- About Blackboard
- Getting Started
- Managing Users
- Managing Content
- Uploading Images
- Assessments
- Using the Blackboard Gradebook
- Communication Tools
- Administering Your Site
- New in Blackboard 6
SECTION 1: ABOUT BLACKBOARD
- What is Blackboard?
- What are the minimum system requirements to run Blackboard?
- What type of browser should I be using to view Blackboard?
- What plug-ins should I have in order to use Blackboard?
- What concerns exist for Mac users?
- Is Blackboard ADA Compliant? How does it work with screen readers?
SECTION 2: GETTING STARTED
- How do I create a new course site?
- Should I have one or more Blackboard sites for my large, multi-section course?
- Once I submit the Blackboard Class Request Form, when can I expect to start using my site?
- When and how are students enrolled into my Blackboard course?
- How do I login to Blackboard?
- What if I don't see my Blackboard course in NYUHome?
- How should AOL users access Blackboard?
- How do I change the default Course Options?
- How can I be sure my course is available to students?
- How do I add announcements to my Blackboard page? Can I change the order in which announcements appear?
- How do I add a syllabus or document to my Blackboard site?
- Can I change the name and style of my buttons on the left?
- What do I need to know about copyright issues?
- Where can faculty members get help with unexpected Blackboard problems?
- Where can students get help with unexpected Blackboard problems?
SECTION 3: MANAGING USERS
- How do I enroll users to my course web site?
- How do users get removed from my course web site?
- How do I make my Blackboard page available to guests?
- What if an X appears next to a user's name?
- How can I add a TA to this site with administrative rights?
- Can I check how often the students visit the site?
SECTION 4: MANAGING CONTENT
- How can I customize the name of a Content Area? How can I add a new Content Area?
- How do I customize the name of a Tool Area? How do I create and modify a new Tool Area?
- How do I change the appearance of the Navigation menu?
- Can the navigation window be collapsed to give more Course Content Area?
- When I "Create a link" to a document, does this mean that students will be accessing the file directly from my computer?
- How do I add an announcement? Is there any way to change the order in which the announcements appear?
- How do I add a syllabus or document to my Blackboard site?
- How do I add a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation to my Blackboard site?
- When you upload a file, you are given an option of a Special Action, which can be set to "Create a link to this file", "Display media file within this page", or "Unpackage these files". What do these options do?
- How can I change the order of documents and folders within Content Areas?
- How can I create a folder within a Content Area? How can I add, copy or modify that content?
- How can I move and copy content items, folders, and learning units within my Blackboard course and among distinct Blackboard courses?
- If I use the "Save as web page..." feature from my application, how can I upload the output files to Blackboard?
- How do I upload a simple web page or many individual web pages?
- How do I upload many linked web pages to Blackboard?
- How do I reuse content from a non-Blackboard web site?
- How can I download a .zip file?
- I keep getting an error message when trying to upload a document. Is how I name my documents important?
- Students who use PCs cannot download the documents I've placed on my site. What's wrong?
- How can I modify the text I input into the course site (i.e., bold or italicize)?
- How can I integrate the new Math and Science Equation Editor into the Content Area and Assessments?
- How do I add a link to another area within my Blackboard site? Can I add a link to an Assignment? To an Assessment? To a Content Area?
- How do I add an External Link in a Content Area?
- How can I add a Test, Survey, or Assignment to a Content Area?
- How do I incorporate multimedia content in Blackboard?
- How can I include SCORM-compliant (Shareable Courseware Object Reference Model) Microsoft LRN (Learning Resource Interchange).
SECTION 5: UPLOADING IMAGES
- How do I add images to the other pages in my Blackboard site?
- How do I add a MS Word file with images to my Blackboard site?
- How do I add an image to a quiz or survey question?
SECTION 6: ASSESSMENTS
- How do I create a test (or survey)?
- What's the difference between the Test Manager (or Survey Manager) and the Gradebook?
- What is the difference between a test and a survey?
- What types of questions can I create in the Test Manager (or Survey Manager)?
- How do I modify a test or survey question?
- How do I add categories and keywords to test (or survey) questions?
- How do I specify the default point value for questions?
- How do I add images, files and URLs to test or survey questions?
- How do I add images and files to test or survey answers?
- How can I get customized feedback for each correct or incorrect question?
- How can I create equations with scientific and mathematical notation within the question text and answer items?
- How can I add tests to a Content Area?
- I see how to add a Test to a Content Area, but how do I add a Survey?
- What options are available for tests when they are displayed within a Content Area? (e.g., time limits, password protection, etc.)
- How does a timed test work?
- Students who use Mac are having trouble with the timer display when taking assessments. What is wrong?
- What options are available for Test Feedback?
- What options are available under Test Presentation from a Content Areas? (e.g., randomize questions, prohibit backtracking, etc.)
- Is it possible to modify tests after they are given without losing previous results?
- How do I review student results?
- How do I make a quiz unavailable without losing my Gradebook entries?
- How do I view student work while entering grades in the Gradebook without losing the grades I already entered?
- Is there a way I can ask the students to evaluate the course so far and have them respond anonymously?
- One of my students was taking a survey, but lost his data when he re-sized the browser window. He tried to start over, but the system would not let him. Is there any way to let him take the survey over?
- Why are my students Fill in the Blank answers being marked wrong by Blackboard in an assessment when their given answers appear to match the correct answer exactly?
SECTION 7: USING THE BLACKBOARD GRADEBOOK
- What's the difference between the Test Manager (or Survey Manager) and the Online Gradebook?
- How can students view their grades?
- Can I customize the display of the Gradebook?
- How can I modify Gradebook items, and select the order for them to appear in the Gradebook?
- How can I adjust the student information, (i.e., first name, last name, student ID) displayed in the Gradebook?
- How can I add and define custom Gradebook categories?
- How can I create and define the value of letter grades and custom symbol sets, (per test), within Gradebook, (i.e. 95-100=a+)?
- I tried to check my students' grades in the Gradebook, but there was a symbol there instead of a grade. What does that mean?
- How do I enter online and "offline" grades, such as essays and traditional exams?
- How can I download and upload grades from spreadsheet applications?
- What happens when an Instructor takes a quiz?
- How do I make a quiz unavailable without losing my Gradebook entries?
- What current Gradebook software bugs and recommended solutions exist?
SECTION 8: COMMUNICATION TOOLS
- Discussion Board
- Who can create new forums on Discussion Boards?
- How can I get old messages off the Discussion Board? If I erase a message, will it disappear for everyone or only for me?
- Once in the Discussion Board, I found it impossible to just scroll up or down from one open message to the next. The "Next" and "Previous" functions that appear above an open message do not seem to work, instead I had to return to "Communications" and start all over again. What is happening?
- I was previewing a message before posting it and noticed some mistakes that I wanted to correct. When I hit the back arrow (as instructed), however, I got a blank form instead of my message. I tried to recover my message by going forward, but the posted information was missing. What happened?
- When I tried to submit a new posting, I received a JavaScript Error message. What went wrong?
- How can I archive messages?
- Digital Dropbox
- What is the difference between adding and sending a file to the Digital Drop Box?
- Can I delete a file once it has been sent?
- Can I create folders within the Digital Drop Box? There are several sections in my course, and I need a way for students to get their papers to the appropriate Instructors.
- After I return each paper, the program puts me back at the top of the Digital Drop Box. I therefore have to scroll all the way back down to the part of the screen where I can send back the next paper. Is there a way around this?
- I've told my students to send me their papers via the Drop Box, but they tell me they can't locate it. Where is it?
- I tried uploading a document to the Digital Drop Box; however, I got an error message that says "Document contains no data." What am I doing wrong?
- Collaboration Sessions
- I understand that the Collaboration Tools are Java applications. Do I need a special version of Java? Are there special concerns for Mac users?
- What is the difference between a Virtual Classroom and a Lightweight chat? How do I know which type of Collaboration Session to use?
- How has the Virtual Classroom been improved?
- There seem to be a lot of different tools in the Virtual Classroom. What do they all do?
- How do I use the Course Map feature of the Virtual Classroom?
- How do I use the Whiteboard feature of the Virtual Classroom?
- How do I use the Group Browser feature of the Virtual Classroom?
- How do I use the Ask Question and Question InBox features of the Virtual Classroom?
- How do I use the Chat Window feature of the Virtual Classroom?
- How can I host multiple, simultaneous, and concurrent synchronous sessions?
- I would like to have small "break-out" discussions with either assigned or self-selected groups. How do we do this?
- How can I view and edit content online during a lecture chat, such as MS PowerPoint presentations? Can I view Assessments as well?
- How can Instructors give online field trips through the course site?
- Are Collaboration Sessions recorded and archived automatically?
- Can I archive chat logs for future reference and grading?
- How can I delete an archived Virtual Classroom or Lightweight Chat discussion?
SECTION 9: ADMINISTERING YOUR SITE
- Should I have one or more Blackboard sites for my large, multi-section course?
- How can I start building a site for next semester without the students having access?
- How can I reuse my old course (or part of it)?
- How can I archive my site?
- Will my old course sites be archived automatically? What happens to them then?
- How can I restore an archived course?
- How can I remove a course listing from my students' Blackboard list and the Blackboard course catalog?
- How can I delete my old course site?
- Once a site is deleted, can it be recovered?
- After the semester ends, how long before my Blackboard course site is deleted?
SECTION 10: NEW IN BLACKBOARD 6
- Course Design
- Content
- What new buttons are there in the Content Areas?
- How can I customize the names of a Content Area? How can I add a new Content Area?
- How can I change the appearance of the Navigation Menu
- Can the navigation window be collapsed to give more Course Content Area?
- How do I add a link to another area within my web site? Can I add a link to an Assignment? To an Assessment? To a Content Area?
- How do I add an External Link within my Blackboard site?
- How do I customize the name of a Tool Area? How do I create and modify a new Tool Area?
- How can I add a Test or Survey to my Content Area? How can I add an Assignment?
- How can Blackboard 6 make it easier to reuse and move content within a course and among distinct courses?
- I want to move and copy content items, folders, and learning units among distinct Blackboard Courses. How can I do that?
- How can I integrate the new Math and Science Equation Editor into the Content Area and Assessments?
- How can I include SCORM-compliant (Shareable Courseware Object Reference Model) Microsoft LRN (Learning Resource Interchange)?
- How do I incorporate multimedia content into Blackboard?
- Assessments
- How has Assessment Manager changed?
- How can I add tests to a Content Area?
- How can I get customized feedback for each correct or incorrect question?
- How do I add images, files and URLs to questions?
- How do I add images and files to answers?
- How do I add categories and keywords to questions so they can be used at a later time?
- How do I specify the default point value for questions?
- What options are available for Tests within a Content Areas? (e.g., time limits, password protection, etc...)?
- What options are available for Test Feedback? (e.g., score only, detailed feedback, etc...)?
- What options are available under Test Presentation from a Content Area? (e.g., randomize question order, prohibit backtracking, etc...)?
- Is it possible to modify tests after they are given without losing previous results?
- How can I create equations with scientific and mathematical notation within the question text and answer items?
- Gradebook
- Can I customize the display of the Gradebook?
- How has the weighting of Grades changed?
- How can I modify Gradebook items, and select the order for them to appear in the Gradebook?
- How can I adjust the student information, (i.e. first name, last name, student ID) displayed in the Gradebook?
- How can I add and define custom Gradebook categories?
- How can I create and define the value of letter grades and custom symbol sets, (per test), within Gradebook, (i.e., 95-100=a+)?
- How can I adjust the way letter grades are displayed based on my own weighted numeric values?
- How can we download and upload grades from spreadsheet applications?
- Assignments
- How does the assignment feature work?
- How do students complete the Assignment?
- How do I view completed assignments?
- How can I collect and organize electronic assignments through Gradebook? Can I return and comment on "corrected" files as well as store private notes related to student work in the Gradebook?
- How can I bulk download all student work for one particular assignment? How can I bulk download all ungraded files? How can I bulk delete selected files?
- What are the options available for managing an Assignment?
- How can I view all grades for an individual student?
- The
Collaboration Environment
- I understand that the Collaboration Tools are Java applications. Do I need a special version of Java? Are there special concerns for Mac users?
- What is the difference between a Virtual Classroom and a Lightweight Chat? How do I know which type of Collaboration session to use?
- How has the Virtual Classroom been improved?
- How can I host multiple, simultaneous, and concurrent synchronous sessions?
- I would like to have small "break out" discussions with other either assigned or self-selected groups. How do we do this?
- How can I view and edit content online during a lecture chat, such as MS Power-Point presentations? Can I view Assessments as well?
- How can Instructors give online field trips through the course site?
- Are Collaboration Sessions recorded and archived automatically? How can I do that?
- Can I archive chat logs for future reference and grading? How do I do that?
Page last reviewed: August 19, 2008