Boise State University

 Introduction to Blackboard
 Academic Technology Home - Blackboard Assistance Home - Boise State Home - Blackboard Login
 

Last updated February 08, 2007

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Workshop Goals Table of Contents

Workshop participants will be introduced to the following Blackboard areas, features, and information:

  • Requirements
  • Login Instructions
  • Announcements
  • Course Information (syllabus, schedule, etc.)
  • Staff Information
  • Course Documents (lectures, course content, etc.)
  • Assignments
  • Tests, surveys and pools
  • Communication (email, student pages, discussion board, etc.)
  • External Links
  • Tools (drop box, check grade, calendar, edit homepage, etc.)
  • BSU Blackboard Resources & Contact Information
     
Requirements Table of Contents
Required Equipment and Skills for Blackboard

Participants in a course delivered via Blackboard need the following products and competencies:

  • A Pentium 4 class PC or higher running Windows XP or higher OR a Macintosh running OSX or higher, with a minimum of 256MB RAM (recommended)
  • Access to the Internet through a network connection or an Internet Service Provider, with a high speed connection (recommended).
  • A Web browser, either Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (recommended and supported by Blackboard), FireFox 1.0 or higher.

    NOTE: If you don’t have the items described above at home, you can use a computer in an on-campus lab.
     
  • A Boise State University assigned e-mail account and the ability to send and receive e-mail and e-mail file attachments. A personal account, rather than a shared account, is recommended.
  • The ability to use a browser to navigate the Web, the ability to navigate among multiple open windows, and the ability to open, close, and save files and attachments.
  • A Blackboard User Account. If you register for a course that uses Blackboard an account will be automatically created for you. Your username will be BroncoWeb login ID (not your your full BSU student ID number). Your password will be your BroncoWeb password
  • Any additional requirements as requested and specified by the course instructor, such as access to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Acrobat Reader, Real Player, or other specialized hardware or software.
     

Participants in a course delivered via Blackboard need the following products and competencies:

  • A Pentium 4 class PC or higher running Windows XP or higher OR a Macintosh running OSX or higher, with a minimum of 256MB RAM (recommended)
  • Access to the Internet through a network connection or an Internet Service Provider, with a high speed connection (recommended).
  • A Web browser, either Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher (recommended and supported by Blackboard), FireFox 1.0 or higher.

    NOTE: If you don’t have the items described above at home, you can use a computer in an on-campus lab.
     
  • A Boise State University assigned e-mail account and the ability to send and receive e-mail and e-mail file attachments. A personal account, rather than a shared account, is recommended.
  • The ability to use a browser to navigate the Web, the ability to navigate among multiple open windows, and the ability to open, close, and save files and attachments.
  • A Blackboard User Account. If you register for a course that uses Blackboard an account will be automatically created for you. Your username will be BroncoWeb login ID (not your your full BSU student ID number). Your password will be your BroncoWeb password
  • Any additional requirements as requested and specified by the course instructor, such as access to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Acrobat Reader, Real Player, or other specialized hardware or software.
     
Login- Accessing Blackboard and Courses Table of Contents

In Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher, or FireFox 1.0 or higher:

  1. Go to... http://blackboard.boisestate.edu
  2. Click the Login button.
  3. When prompted, enter your Username and Password.
           Username = BroncoWeb Username 
           Password = BroncoWeb Password 
       
           The My Boise State Welcome Page will be displayed.
  4. To access a course, click the desired Course Title listed under My Courses.

    Important!

  • Because your Blackboard username and password are the same as your BroncoWeb username and password, each time your password changes on BroncoWeb (required every 90 days) it also changes on Blackboard.
  • When your BroncoWeb Login Password needs to be reset, you are given 6 grace logins. Blackboard does not indicate when you are using a grace login as you enter the system. If you use all of your grace logins while entering Blackboard your BroncoWeb account will be locked. To have your BroncoWeb account reset call the BroncoWeb helpline @ 426-2932.
  • When you log into Blackboard, if you miss-type your password you only get 2 tries before your BroncoWeb Login and Password are locked by the BroncoWeb intruder alert system. You account will be locked for 30 minutes. There will be no message displayed on the Blackboard Login page to inform you that this has occurred. To have your account reset before the 30 minute lockout period expires call the BroncoWeb helpline @ 426-2932.
Overview of a Course Site Table of Contents

The Blackboard course site user interface is shown below. The Announcements page is generally the first area displayed when entering a course.

The navigation links down the left hand side of the screen are used to access various areas of the course. All navigation links may not be available in every course, as an instructor decides which buttons/text to display (enable) on a class-by-class basis. The links shown here are just examples as an instructor can create and name the navigation links on a class-by-class basis. The navigation links can be displayed as text (shown above) or as buttons (shown below).

Button

Application - Example

New information about the course - room changes, quizzes, chat room meetings.

General information - syllabus, schedule (activities, events, and assignments), etc.

Instructor's information - office hours, email address, phone number.

Course Content- lecture outlines, lessons, required readings, presentations, etc.

Assignment listings - class projects, research, links to quizzes.

Links to communication tools - email, discussion board, virtual classroom, group pages, roster & student pages.

Links to web pages - online resources to be used in conjunction with the course.

Digital drop box (send & receive files), check grade, calendar, edit your homepage, etc.

Use the navigation links and bread crumb trails to move in and out of course areas, documents, and folders.

Communication Center Table of Contents

The Communication area is customizable on a course-by-course basis, so all of the options listed below may not be available in every course. An instructor decides which features to enable or disable on a class-by-class basis. The communication tools allow for such actions as: sending email, viewing student homepages, and synchronous and asynchronous communication.

Button

Application - Example

Send email to other students & instructors in the course.

This feature is similar to the chat, but is designed for asynchronous use, when users are not present at the same time to converse on-line. An additional advantage of the discussion board is that student conversations are logged and organized. Conversations are grouped into threads that contain a main posting and all related replies.

These tools allow the instructor and students to participate in real time lessons and discussions and also view archives of previous Collaboration sessions.  The Collaboration Tools can be used to hold real-time, online classroom discussions, TA sessions, and office hour type question/answer forums.  Guest speaker and subject matter experts can also communicate with the class using these tools.

List of student's names, email addresses, and links to the student homepages.

Listing of groups in the course and access to private group areas. A group can consist of one or more students and each group area can have its own Send E-Mail, Discussion Board, Virtual Classroom, and File Exchange (Drop Box).

 

Tools Table of Contents

The Tools area, like the Communication Tools, is customizable by course based on instructor preference. All options here may not be available for your course. These tools allow for such actions as: electronic file exchange, checking grades, building a student homepage and viewing calendar events.

Button

Application - Example

Electronic file exchange between instructor and students.

Allows students to edit their own homepage. Every student enrolled in the course has a homepage where they can post information about themselves.

Students can access functions to edit personal information, change password, set CD-ROM drive and set privacy options.

Allows students to view events the instructor has posted to the course calendar.

Students can view their grades, as posted in the course gradebook.

Online resource guide to the functions and features of the Blackboard software.

Organizes projects, defines task priority, and tracks tasks status. Course tasks are separate from personal tasks that students can post from their My BSU page.

Allows users to save notes for a each course they are enrolled in.

Allows users to store contact information. The Address Book is empty until the user enters contacts. Users must enter in a profile for anyone they wish to add to their address book, even if the contact is a system user.

 

Control Panel Table of Contents

The Control Panel contains tools and features used by the instructor in creating content and administering a course.

Buttons

Description

Contains the tools for adding and managing all course content, such as posting announcements, creating folders, adding text documents and file attachments, creating assignments, deploying tests/surveys and adding links to external  sites. The names associated with the Content Areas are managed by the course instructor and can be different on a course by course basis.

Hosts all course components involved in instructor and student communications. Instructors come here to send course members e-mail, create and monitor course tasks, and create calendar events. Some of the names associated with the Course Tools are managed by the course instructor and can be different on a course site by course site basis.

Allows the instructor to manage the appearance and structure of the course. Options include the ability to customize navigational buttons, add or remove course areas, and set security options.

Allows the instructor to manage the users of the course Web site. For example instructors may add or drop students, as well as manage groups of students (create, modify and remove).

Contains the tools for creating and administering quizzes, surveys, and question pools, as well as quiz and course level statistical reports.

Allows the Instructor to research the online support site, browse the online Instructor Manual, and contact support.

 

Information & Resources Table of Contents
Boise State University
Blackboard Login: http://blackboard.boisestate.edu
Instructor Info & Request Forms: http://itc.boisestate.edu/BbSupport
 
Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Home: http://www.blackboard.com

Blackboard Assistance at Boise State

email:  blackboard@boisestate.edu  
 phone:  (208) 426-2583 (8-5 Mon-Fri) 
office:  Education 420