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Overview of Blackboard

What is Blackboard?

Blackboard is a Web-based course-management system designed to allow students and faculty to participate in classes delivered online or to use online materials and activities to complement face-to-face teaching. With Blackboard, instructors can provide students with course materials, discussion boards, virtual chat, online quizzes, an academic resource center, and more.

The degree to which Blackboard is used in a course varies. For example, an instructor may supplement an on-campus class by putting the syllabus and handouts on a Blackboard course site. In contrast, other courses may be conducted entirely through Blackboard, without any on-campus sessions. If your instructor is using Blackboard, he or she will most likely tell you early in the semester how Blackboard will be used.

The Blackboard learning environment consists of a header frame with images, buttons, and tabs that enable you to navigate to different areas within Blackboard. Clicking on a tab will open that area in the content frame. Web pages containing specific content, features, functions, and tools are accessed from the tab areas.

Header Frame

The header frame contains a Boise State image and navigation buttons that allow you to access Boise State's web site, access Blackboard 5 help, and logout of Blackboard 5.

Content Frame

The content frame always contains one of the following:

• Tab Area: The tab area appears in the content frame when you click a tab. Tab areas hold broad information and allow you to access Web pages containing specific content and features. For instance, clicking on the Courses tab fills the content frame with a list of the Blackboard courses you're enrolled in, as well as a catalog of all Blackboard courses.

• Web Page: A Web page appears in the content frame when accessed through one of the navigational tools (discussed later). Web pages contain specific content or features and originate from tab areas.

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