introduction!to!! blackboardlearn!...

Introduction to Blackboard Learn For GAs and TAs

Blackboard Login

http://blackboard.uwindsor.ca

UWindsor Blackboard Help Wiki

http://www.uwindsor.ca/blackboard

Request Blackboard Support

http://www.uwindsor.ca/bbhelp

Blackboard Help

http://help.blackboard.com

Centre for Teaching and Learning Modified August 2017 2

NOTES


Table of Contents Overview of Blackboard 5

Logging into Blackboard Learn 5

Global Navigation Menu 5

Course Layout 6

Student Preview and Edit Mode ON 7

Communicating With Students 7

Sending an Announcement 8

Editing Content 8

Adding Content by Linking 9

Uploading Resources 10

Grading Overview – Commonly Used Tools 10

Grade Discussions 11

Grade Assignments 11

How to… 13

Access the Grade Centre and Enter a Grade for a Student 13

Add a Grade Centre Column (data not automatically captured in Blackboard) 13

Create an Assignment 14

Edit Assignment 15

Grade Assignments 15

Grade Discussions 16

Grade Using Smart Views for Groups in the Grade Centre 17

Getting Help 18

UWindsor’s Online Self-Help Wiki 18

Accessing Online Help, Tutorials and Resources from Blackboard 18

Requesting Help and Training 18


Overview of Blackboard Welcome to the University of Windsor’s learning management system Blackboard Learn.

Please review the information in this guide to help familiarize yourself with the Blackboard LearnTM system and its many features.

Logging into Blackboard Learn Please navigate to http://blackboard.uwindsor.ca to access the login page. Use your UWin ID and password to log in. You do not need to add the @uwindsor.ca in the username, just use your UWin ID.

Global Navigation Menu On the top-right corner of every Blackboard screen to the right of your name, you will see the drop-down Global Navigation menu. This menu allows you to easily access key features across all of the courses that you are connected to (either as a student or as part of the instructional team as a GA or TA). Additionally, you will see the dashboard notifications (red number beside your name), which updates you on the number of new events or materials added from the courses or organizations that you are associated with since the last time you accessed the dashboard.


Course Layout

Sample Students’ Left Menu (without Control Panel Visible)

Sample Instructors’ Left Menu (Contains the Control Panel)

Depending on the role that you have been assigned, you will see different things in the left navigation bar. As a student, you will only have access to the course content, but none of the tools.

As a Lead TA, you will also have access to all of same course tools that the instructor has as seen in the Control Panel.

If you are a TA-Grader, you will have access to the student view and the Grade Center, but cannot add or edit any of the course content.

• Blackboard Home: Provides overview of the items you need to grade and recent posts.

• Posts: Displays recent posts made in Discussions, Blogs, Journals and Wikis.

• Updates: shows what is new since last login. You can adjust your notification settings by scrolling down from this panel to Settings -> Edit Notification Settings.

• Grade Centre: for students to see “My Grades”. Where assignments, tests or other course activities with grades are displayed

• Retention Centre: Check the overall academic health of your courses in the main table and drill in to see who is struggling.

• Calendar: link to course calendar that shows all activities in courses and due dates.

• Bottom of menu includes links to Organizations, Tools, and Settings for users to adjust their preferences for notifications.


Student Preview and Edit Mode ON A great feature offered in Blackboard Learn is the Student Preview tool. Located under the tabs towards the top, right corner of your screen, it looks like an eye, and allows you to switch your screen view from facilitator to student and back so you can see exactly what your students see.

Beside the Student Preview tool, you will see where you can toggle the Edit Mode to ON or OFF. For most functions in this document, the Edit Mode will need to be set to ON.

Communicating With Students Blackboard offers a variety of tools for communicating with students. Which ones are turned off and on in each individual course is at the discretion of each instructor. If you have any questions about which tools will be available in the course that you are a TA or GA in, please consult with the instructor. Email: Important to note - Blackboard Learn keeps no record of sent or received email. When you send an email from Blackboard using the Email tool, the email appears in the inbox of your UWindsor email program. Keep a copy of important messages in case you need them at a later date.

Announcements: With the Announcements tool, you can post timely information critical to the course’s success. On the Announcements page, you can add, edit, and delete announcements. This is an ideal place to post time-sensitive material including: due dates for assignments and projects, corrections/clarifications of materials, exam schedules, etc. Note that only Lead-TAs & TA-Announcements will have access to this function.

Course Messages: Course Messages are private and secure text-based communication that occurs within the course and among course members. Although similar to email, you must be logged in to a course to read and send course messages. This tool will not send emails to your UWin email account. This tool has to be added to the course menu as it is not a default tool.

Calendar: You can use the course Calendar tool to provide students with dates for course-related events. Course calendar events appear to all members of the course. Common entries include the following items: course start/end dates, assignment due dates, exams, etc.

Discussions: Online, hybrid, or courses featuring a lot of active learning can depend heavily on discussion board participation. Building a sense of community among students is crucial for a


successful online experience. With the discussion board tool, course members can replicate the robust discussions that take place in the traditional classroom.

Sending an Announcement Announcements are sent through the Announcements tool found as a link on the left menu. If your instructor wishes for you to send out an announcement, (and you have the appropriate permissions to do so) click on the link and then click on Create Announcement.

You will be required to input a Subject, an (optional) Message, and select the visibility of this announcement through the Web Announcement Options. If you would like an email to go out to all course participants, check the Send a copy of this announcement immediately box. Note: an email notification accompanying an announcement can’t be scheduled in advance, so it must be selected to Send a copy of this announcement immediately.

Editing Content In a TA-Grader role, you will not have permission to edit any of the course content, but if you are assigned to the Lead Teaching Assistant role, you will have the power to add, edit, or delete content. Please be sure to check with your instructor to make sure you understand what types of content you will be managing, and how that content should be organized. To change the name, description, appearance, or options for a pre-existing learning module, or content item, you will need to edit the item.

1. Ensure you have the Edit Mode to ON and access an item's contextual menu via the grey chevron.


2. Click Edit. 3. On the Edit page, make changes to the title, description, file attachments, options, or

settings.

4. Click Submit.

Adding Content by Linking

Select text or an object, and click the link function ( ) to add a new hyperlink or edit an existing hyperlink. To remove a link, select the link and click the remove link function ( ). You can also link and remove links using the right-click contextual menu. You must use the full http:// protocol when typing or pasting an address for the link.

Unless you select text or an object, the insert/edit link and remove link functions are grayed out and unavailable.

You can specify a link to a website, a file from your computer, or the Content Collection.

The content editor has a full-featured text editor.

Use the More Help link on every Blackboard page for further support.


In the Target drop-down list, choose where to open the link:

● Open in a New Window. This is recommended to ensure proper display and linking of content without losing access to the current Blackboard site. A best practice for accessibility is to include text notifying the user that a new window will open if a link is clicked. Further, another best practice to include an optional title for the window or frame displayed when users click the link. If no other choices are available, the drop-down list may only show Not Set.

Uploading Resources Resources such as course PowerPoint files can be uploaded easily in Blackboard Learn.

To upload a file into a Content Area (for example a Content Area entitled Resources), click the Resources link found in UWindsor course shells on the left menu. (Note your instructor may want other Content Areas created or used to store additional files. Please inquire with your instructor if you are unsure as to where the materials should be uploaded. You may need to create other Content Areas by using the “+” above the menu, provide a name and and ensure it is set to be available for students).

When you are in the correct Content Area for the file upload, click Build Content-> Item (see image).

Note: other types of content such as audio and video can be uploaded as well, using the corresponding option.

You will be required to enter a title for this item and you will be presented with options to either enter content or simply upload a file such as a PowerPoint. Options are available to limit visibility of the item to the user.

Once you are satisfied with your choice, click Submit to upload the file and post the resource.

Grading Overview – Commonly Used Tools In the Grade Center, you can provide and manage your students' grades for assignments, discussion posts, tests (or quizzes) and other tools with grading capabilities. Grade columns can


also be created for any activities or requirements that are performed outside of Blackboard, but need to be tracked within the Grade Centre, such as special projects, performances, mid-terms or finals (not conducted in Blackboard) or participation.

Access the Full Grade Centre from the Control Panel (see image).

Grade Discussions You can assign discussion grades within a forum or thread. You can assign grades based on student participation, on the quality of their posts, or a combination of the two. Please check with your instructor to be clear on the criteria for grades and whether there is a rubric for you to follow. Note that rubrics will need to be created and associated in advance of the grading.

For step-by-step instructions on grading discussion forums, review the instructions further in the document.

Grade Assignments Blackboard Learn contains some robust features to help facilitate online grading of assignments. See the following images for more detailed explanations of features in the Assignment tool and review the instructions at the end of this document to find out how to use them.


Diagram Explanations

A. View instructions: Expand the assignment instructions. B. Add comments and annotations: From the inline viewer toolbar, click the Comment function and the

annotation tools expand. You can comment, highlight, draw, strikeout, and zoom in and out. Right-click an annotation to remove it. To remove a comment, point to the yellow comment and select Delete. Use the

arrow keys to view other pages in a student's file. You can also download( ) a copy of the file after you annotate it.

C. View submission inline: Submitted files open within the grading screen. Supported document types that are viewable in the grading screen are Word (DOC, DOCX), PowerPoint (PPT, PPTX), Excel (XLS, XLSX), and PDF. Original formatting and embedded images are preserved. If a student has uploaded an unsupported file, you are prompted to download it. Assignment submissions created with the content editor are not compatible with inline grading. Submissions of this type show in the window, but annotation is not available.

D. Add, remove, or reply to comments: Add your comments wherever needed. Point to a yellow comment and the Reply and Delete options appear. The Reply function allows you to expand on your previous comment.

E. View grading details: In the grading sidebar, grade the submission. You can also view the assignment details, the grading rubric, and each attempt. After assigning a grade, return to this screen to review the grade and comments. Click the pencil icon to override the grade.

F. Provide feedback: Give suggestions, encouragement, and overall comments about the submission. G. Edit your content: Open the content editor to format your comments, attach a file, and check your spelling. H. Add private notes: Add notes and files that only you can see. For example, keep track of students'

progress during the revision process and refer to your notes when assigning the final grade. I. Download the student's file: Save the original file to your computer.


How to… Access the Grade Centre and Enter a Grade for a Student

Begin by locating the Control Panel, in the left menu of your course site

Next, Select Grade Center, then Full Grade Centre

Next, locate the row of the student you wish to enter the grade for, and locate the column of the item you wish to mark. Select the cell, type in the grade, and press Enter to save the grade.

Add a Grade Centre Column (data not automatically captured in Blackboard) Enter the Full Grade Center through the Control Panel

Next, select Create Column on the Action bar

On the following screen, enter the Column Name (e.g. Final Exam), set the Primary Display (either to Score or Percentage), and enter the maximum Points Possible for the assessment.

Before clicking Submit, review the following options:

● It is recommended to hide the column from students before and while entering grades, then, when you are ready, the grades can be released at once by reversing the Show this Column to Students selection from No to Yes. The same feature can also be applied to assignments.

● Columns can also be hidden through Grade Center-> Full Grade Centre. Locate the column you wish to hide, click the chevron next to the name, and then, select Hide from Students (On/Off). A hidden column is indicated by a red hash mark. To un-hide a column, following the above instructions again. No red hash mark indicates that the column is now visible to students (see image following).


Once the column has been made, you can now enter grades by simply clicking the cell of the corresponding student and enter a grade. Press Enter to confirm the grade and move to the next student.

Create an Assignment

Assignments are effective in Blackboard when instructors wish to collect content from students through Blackboard.

Assignments must be created from a Content Area. Once you are in a Content Area, select Assessments then Assignment.

On the Create Assignment screen, you will be required to enter a title for this assignment, (optional) instructions and/or a file, points possible, set a due date. Additional options such as SafeAssign should be discussed with your instructor. These options are found under Submission Details, Grading Options, and Display of Grades.


Setting a due date will not prevent students from submitting an assignment. It will only mark their submissions as late. The assignment availability checkbox must be deselected to prevent students from submitting. This is done under the Availability section – Make the Assignment Available (see image on next page).

If you wish to specify assignment availability between specific dates, check the boxes beside Display After and the Display Until field and enter appropriate dates.

Once you are satisfied with your choices, click Submit to create the assignment.

Edit Assignment Assignments can easily be edited through the contextual menu by clicking the chevron and clicking Edit.

Grade Assignments Submitted assignments will appear under the Needs Marking page in the Grade Centre under the Control Panel, or by clicking the chevron beside the student’s cell and selecting the Attempt (with date associated). When in the Needs Marking page, click on a student name to begin marking. You will be presented with the following grading interface:


Certain document types such as .pdf and MS office documents can be annotated online (as seen earlier). Other document types cannot be annotated online and you will be prompted to download them instead. A grade is input next to attempt. If your instructor has associated a rubric, it will be made available for you to use.

Feedback to the student can be provided in the appropriate place (see “F” in image). Once you are satisfied with your marks, click Submit to save the mark and to move to the next student.

Grade Discussions Discussions posts that been submitted and meet the criteria for grading can be found under Needs Marking. Click on a student name to begin marking. You will be presented with the following interface:

Posts and reply made by the student are visible in the center of the page. You may click on Forum Statistics to receive some data on the students post. A grade is provided in the grade


box. If your instructor has associated a rubric, it will be made available for you to use and there will be an icon indicating a rubric is present. Feedback can be left as well in the indicated box.

To save the grade, click Submit.

Grade Using Smart Views for Groups in the Grade Centre To see where groups are located in your course site (assuming they have been set up in advance), ensure your Edit Mode is ON, and navigate to the Course Control Panel, then Users and Groups, and choose Groups.

If a group has not been set up yet, you can do so (with your instructor’s permission) by clicking Create. There you will be presented with a number of options on the type of group(s) and customizations you want to create, how students will be added to that group, which tools to be available to the group, and an option to create a Smart View. If the group had already been created without a Smart View, access that group from the Groups page (as indicated above), click the chevron click beside the Group Name, and access the contextual menu which shows options to Create Smart View, or Open Smart View (if one exists).

A Smart View in the Grade Centre will help filter the rows you see in the Grade Centre to only those members in a particular group or by another other set of criteria, (e.g. Performance, User, Category and Status, or Custom, which you can specify when creating a Smart View from the Grade Centre Manage button, not the group creation options as discussed earlier). Click the Filter button in the Grade Centre to reveal the various views you can look at in the Grade Centre, including groups with a Smart View.

If you want speedier access to the Smart View from the Grade Centre sub-menu, you can designate that Smart View as a “Favourite” from the Manage -> Smart Views and click the star icon under the Add as Favourite list.


Getting Help UWindsor’s Online Self-‐‑Help Wiki You will find the commonly used Blackboard links at http://www.uwindsor.ca/blackboard as well as local articles containing specific procedures for the University of Windsor. There is a section devoted to the questions and issues faced by GA/TAs. Additionally, there are links to articles for students and Frequently Asked Questions.

Accessing Online Help, Tutorials and Resources from Blackboard Blackboard’s online self-help site help.blackboard.com is home to a wealth of resources for all your Blackboard related questions. Here you can find support organized by user types: Administrator, Instructor and Student, in the form of articles, videos and tutorials covering all types of topics and help that users may need. When visiting the site, you will be prompted to answer a number of questions. Be sure to select the correct Blackboard role that you wish to know about, as well as the right product, Learn.

Requesting Help and Training If you are experiencing technical difficulties with Blackboard Learn, have a specific question you can’t find the answer to, or need some customizations in your site not offered by the available tools (e.g. merging sites or setting up multiple semesters in one site), please contact I.T. Service Desk at ext. 4440, or by submitting a support ticket at http://www.uwindsor.ca/bbhelp. Blackboard Training Workshops for Instructors and Assistants will be listed on the CTL workshop page at http://www.uwindsor.ca/bbworkshops or by visiting the Training Tab when logged into Blackboard.

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