Blackboard HELP

Blackboard is a software solution used by Ball State University faculty to teach online courses. With Blackboard, faculty may create online assessment exams, host discussion forums, and make files available to their students.

Blackboard How-To's

How do I log onto Blackboard?
If your course uses BlackBoard, the web address is http://my.bsu.edu. You use your BSU computer username and password to log on. Do not type any spaces or dashes in the username or password. Also note that the password is case sensitive. 

Where do I get a username and password if I don't have one?
Your username and password are included in your blue course binder in the Introduction Letter.

When should I log on? How often should I log on?
Make sure to log onto your course Web site the first day of class. Some instructors don't post their courses until the beginning of the term, and others may post them earlier. Your instructor may require you to e-mail them the first day of class to ensure you were able to log in and to verify your enrollment.

Once you log onto Blackboard, a link to your course (s)  will appear under "My Courses" on your home page. Your course announcements or your course syllabus should give you an idea about how often you need to log onto the course site. 

To view the presentation in the browser just click on the link and the presentation should open up in the browser. You must have either PowerPoint or the Power Point viewer installed on your computer.

Note: If you are using Netscape Navigator download the presentation to your computer and then view it.

How do you personalize your Blackboard homepage?
To the right of the "@myBSU" page you should see two buttons labeled "Contents" and "Layout". Clicking on the contents button takes you to a page where you can add more content to your main page, just click on the content you would like to add and after you have added everything that you need click on "Submit" button which is at the bottom right corner of the page.

Clicking on the "Layout" button will take you to a page where you can change the page layout. In the first section you can customize where each section is located on your homepage, first click on the name of a section and click on the appropriate button to move it up the list, down the list or move from right side of the page to the left etc. In the second section you can choose the color and text layout of your main page. Choose the changes you would like to make and click on "Submit".

How do I use the Discussion Board?
The Discussion Board tool within Blackboard allows users to post, read, and respond to messages in a bulleting-board-style setting. To access the Discussion Board, click on the "Communication" link, then on the "Discussion Boards" link.

On the Discussion Board page, you will see several "forums" listed; each is a discussion board on a specific topic area.

The number of messages within each forum is displayed, as well as how many of those message you have not yet read. To enter a forum, just click on its name.

Once inside the forum, you will see all the messages listed, along with the author and posting date/time of each.

Any replies to a message are indented and placed directly below it; together, a message and its replies are considered a "thread." You may collapse a thread so all replies are hidden by clicking the small minus sign next to the message. You can expand a thread so all replies are visible again by clicking the plus sign next to the message.

To read a message, click on the title, Click on the author's name to send that individual an e-mail message.

To post a new message, click on the "Add New Thread" button. Fill in the Subject and Message boxes, and then click on the "Submit" button.

To reply to a message, simply look for the "Reply" Button while reading the message.

How do you insert a URL into discussion board?
To insert a URL into an email or discussion board, click on the address bar where the URL is located in your browser, when it is highlighted, right click on it and in the pop-up menu choose copy. Now go to your discussion board message and right click on the message where you want to insert the link and choose paste.

How do I use the "chat" function in Blackboard?
Click on "Communication" link in the Course menu of a course page. Select "Collaboration Tools". Click on "Join" next to the chat session. To enter a message for other in the session to read type the message in the compose box and click on the "Send" button. Some of the functions can be used only if you are the active user. To become an active user click on the hand symbol next to your name, the instructor has to click on the hand too to make you the active user. Once you are the active user you can post messages to the class. To view information about a user, click on the users name and click on "User Info". To send a Private message to a user, click on the users name in the list and select "Private Message". A new chat window will open up and you can chat with the user.

How do I view PDF files?
In order to view PDF documents you will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader which can be downloaded free at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. if you have the Acrobat reader you can open the document by just clicking on the link or the document can be downloaded to your computer and viewed. To download the document right click on the link and select "Save Target As….", which will take you to a pop up window asking to save the file. Select the folder where you want to save the file and click Save. Double click to open the PDF file.

How do I attach a document to my thread?
Click on the "Add New Thread"  button, it will take you to a new page asking you to create a new message. After typing in the subject and message, click on the "Browse" button next to the Attachment field.

This would open up a window where you can locate the file you want to add as the attachment. After you have located your file click on open located at the bottom of the pop up window. Now you should see that the attachment text field will be filled with words indicating the path to your file. Click on "Submit" and your file and message should be posted in the discussion board.

Troubleshooting Blackboard

Q. Blackboard won't let me login - it says "Could not login. The username or password is incorrect."

Possible Causes
1.  The wrong password is being used. You should use the BSU computer username and password listed in the Introductory Letter in your blue course binder.

2. Passwords are case sEnSiTiVe, be sure the Caps Lock key is off and that you only use capital letters where they are required. (Usernames are not case sensitive.)

3. The username was typed incorrectly. Be sure that the username you are using matches exactly with the one you were given, including all leading zeros. (Zeros are often mistaken for O's . . . 0 vs. O) Check your spelling. Simply entering incorrect characters (a "typo") is one of the most common reasons for getting an "Could not login." response.

Q. I know I entered the correct web address on my browser, but it just "spins its wheels" and doesn't go anywhere. Why?
If you know that you have entered the correct web address, and you can access other web sites normally, the server at the BSU site may be down. If the server is down, the operators are aware of it and are working on it. Try it again in a short time. You may also check Computing Services "Breaking News" Web site at http://www.bsu.edu/ucs/article/0,1370,6393-1932-4156,00.html to see if an announcment has been posted concerning the server.

Q. I received an email from my professor with an attachment, but when I open it, it looks all jumbled like hieroglyphics. What should I do?
Contact your instructor, and ask what program he/she used to create the document. Documents created in different programs are often incompatible with each other, and may require some attention to find a format that both student and professor can open.

Why can't I view PowerPoint lectures?
Here are a few things to check:
1. Professors have two options when they upload a PowerPoint in Blackboard. They can either upload the entire PowerPoint file, or they can save their PowerPoint as a Web page and then upload it. You first need to find out whether you are working with PowerPoint saved as HTML or as a .ppt file.

2. If you are working with a PowerPoint file and not a Web page, you must either have the PowerPoint program on your computer or the free PowerPoint viewer. If you need the viewer, you can download it from http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/Ppview97.aspx.

3. If you are using Internet Explorer to access Blackboard and you have either PowerPoint or the PowerPoint Viewer, the file should open directly in the browser window and you should be able to step through it.

4. If you are using Netscape Navigator to access Blackboard you should save the file to the desktop and then open it using either PowerPoint or the PowerPoint viewer.

5. If you are working with a PowerPoint as a Web page and you are using Internet Explorer, the PowerPoint should open directly in the browser and you should be able to see any animations that were saved with it.

6. If you are viewing the PowerPoint as Web page using Netscape Navigator you may or may not see it correctly depending on how it was saved. If animations and transitions were saved, you will most likely have to open the Web presentation in Internet Explorer to view it properly.

Q. I want to download a Word document to my desktop, but it just opens in the browser window. What do I do?
1. If you are using Internet Explorer, right click (extended click on Mac) on the link and choose "Save Target As." This will then bring up a dialog box asking you where you want to save the document.

2. If you are using Netscape Navigator, right click (extended click on Mac) on the link and choose "Save This Link As." This will also bring up a dialog box asking you where you want to save the document.

Q. I can log into Blackboard at home, but not at work. Why?
Most of the schools, universities and other organizations with a large number of computers usually have a firewall installed to protect the local network from attacks outside the network. Firewalls can be configured to block certain applications. Check with the technology specialist at your school or business regarding this issue.