Blackboard FAQs for Faculty & Staff

Posting online announcements and course content (e.g., syllabi, handouts, PowerPoint presentations)
Facilitating online discussions about content or course-related topics
Collecting and grading student assignments and assessments
Managing grades and making them available for students to view online

The user-friendly interface means you can get started right away.

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How do I get to my course(s)?

Once you have logged in to Blackboard, your official courses will be listed on the right hand side of the My NNU tab, under the My Courses module. To navigate to your course, click on the course title link.

Why is my course listed as "unavailable"?

When official courses are batch-created, they are automatically made unavailable so that you can develop them before students start interacting with the content. When you are ready to make your course available to your students:

Go to the Control Panel of your course > Settings > Course Availability > Select Yes > Submit.

If you choose not to use the Blackboard shell to supplement your course, do nothing and your course will remain unavailable to your students.

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How do I post content into my Blackboard course?

As the Instructor, you will have a toggle in the upper right corner of Content Areas where you can go between Display View (what students see) and Edit View (what only an instructor sees). It's in Edit View that you will be able to post content, create links, etc.

For instance, if you want to post an MS PowerPoint presentation under Course Documents, click Course Documents > Edit View > Add > Write a title in the Name field > Write any description or instructions to accompany the presentation in the textbox > Scroll down and click Browse to search for your presentation on your N: drive (or wherever you have it stored) > Scroll down and click Submit.

As instructor, you also have access to the course Control Panel, which appears in a gray Toolbox on the left side. In addition to Edit View, you can add content by going into the Control Panel. Click on any Content Area and follow the same procedure as above. For more detailed instructions, refer to the Tip Sheets and Tutorials.

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May I just start with something simple?

Yes. You may use Blackboard as much or as little as you wish. The three most common and simple elements to use are

Announcements
Syllabus
Instructor Information

As you feel more comfortable -- or as your students request more in Blackboard -- you can add content, links to articles or websites related to your discipline, questions in the Discussion Board, and more. Refer to the Training page for details.

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What should I do if students cannot see my course?

1. Is your course available to your students?

Go to the Control Panel of your course > Settings > Course Availability > Select Yes > Submit.

2. Is the student enrolled in the course?

Contact the Registrar's office to make sure the student has registered. Beginning 60 days before a course begins, E-Learning Services runs automatic processes to generate accounts and place students in their proper courses. These processes run on the hour each day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. MST.

If a student has just recently added your class, wait a bit and then check again for the student's name in your enrollment list in Blackboard. Go to the Control Panel > List/Modify Users > Search > Look for the student's name. If it does not appear, send an e-mail to the Technical Response Center. Please be sure to include the student's full name with middle initial and ID number if known, along with the course ID, title and section number.

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How can I clean up my course list on the Welcome page (MyNNU tab)?

To erase from view older Courses in your My Courses area of the Welcome page, click on the small pencil icon in the border of your My Courses area > Uncheck the box next to any undesired course > Submit.

You can use this same method to hide or unhide Course IDs, Announcements, etc. for any course in your list, depending on your wishes.

To change the way your Welcome page looks, click on the Modify Contents or Modify Layout buttons in the right corner. Note that some areas are required and cannot be deleted. You can also use the small round icons to customize the modules on the Welcome page.

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How do I receive a Blackboard course shell?

All undergraduate and graduate courses are batch-created in Blackboard 60 days prior to the beginning of a course. Courses roll in from the Registrar's office as an integration with the Course Load or Course Initiation processes, so if you cannot see your course listed in Blackboard, it may be that the Registrar's office did not receive full information on who was teaching the course. Each Official, or Teaching, course shell is set to "Unavailable" for student access until the instructor changes the setting to Available.

Continuing Education classes taught using Blackboard are set up through the Center for Professional Development.

If you would like to start developing content in Blackboard for a future course you are teaching, you may request that a Master course shell be created for content development. Alternatively, you can ask that a course you have just taught be copied as a Master for future use. Visit the BbCourses page for details and the Master request form.

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What is the difference between an official course and a MASTER course?

	Official Course	MASTER Course
What It Is	An Official shell is what you use to teach your course. Students are automatically loaded into this shell before class begins. An official shell includes the semester or session, department, course number, section, and name; for example, GS09_BU_512_01: Managing Information Systems.	A Master course is used only to store or develop content. Students are never loaded into a Master course, and you should never teach from a Master . A Master includes the Master designation, department, course number, instructor's initials, and name; for example, MASTER_BU_512_jl: Master - Managing Information Systems.
When to Use	Use the Official shell to teach during the semester or session. For instance, you would use a course shell that begins with "SP09" in its ID during the Spring 2009 semester.	If you are developing a brand new course and the Official shell has not yet been created (60 days out), request a Master to start creating content. When your Official course is created, you can then Export the content from the Master into the Official shell. Or, request a Master be created from a completed course that you plan to teach again.
How to Receive	If all paperwork such as an instructor's contract and the Course Load or Course Initiation form has been processed by the appropriate offices, an Official, or Teaching, course shell will be created 60 days prior to the class start date. Continuing Education instructors should contact that office.	Complete the online form found on the Bb Courses page.

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How do my students get enrolled into my Blackboard course?

Once a student registers for a course, the Registrar's office handles his/her paperwork. E-Learning Services then uses a process that integrates the Registrar's office software with Blackboard. This process creates student accounts and enrollments beginning 60 days before a course begins; the process runs on the hour between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. daily. A registered student will show up in your Teaching course shell within two hours after his/her paperwork has been handled by the Registrar.

Please do not use the Enroll User function to add a student to your Teaching course who has recently registered, or who is in the process of registering. Doing so will cause an error the next time the automatic process runs, and the error will need to be cleaned up on the server. Please let the automatic process described above do its work.

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How do I get my TA enrolled into my Blackboard course?

If you have just a handful of courses for which a student will serve as TA, you may use the Enroll User function in the Control Panel.

After enrolling the student, click List/Modify User in the Control Panel > Find the student > Click Properties next to the student's name > Scroll down and change the student's Role to Teaching Assistant > Submit.

If you have a larger number of courses, you may send an e-mail to the Technical Response Center (help(at)nnu.edu) that includes the following:

name and ID number of the TA
courses for which the TA needs access
- specific course IDs, or
- all courses taught by a particular instructor, or
- all courses in a particular program or department
start and expiration dates for access

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How can I see my course as a student would?

Please send a request to the Technical Response Center that includes the following:

Name and username
The courses you need to access
- Specific courses, or
- All courses taught by a specific instructor

The TRC will create an account for you that puts stu_ before your own username, like this:

stu_cdnielsen

You will then be able to open a new browser window and log in to Blackboard with this account in order to see content as students do.

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How are students dropped from my Blackboard course?

As of January 20, E-Learning Services will process drops automatically, within two hours after the Registrar's office has completed handling of the student's drop paperwork.

If you wish to disable a student's access to the course, you may make the course unavailable to the student. Go to the Control Panel > List/Modify Users > Search > Locate the student > Properties > Select "No" under Availability > Submit.

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I direct or assist an academic program. How can I be added to our courses?

Program directors and assistants or secretaries often wish to be placed as either instructors or teaching assistants into all the courses offered by their program. To do this, please use the Bb_AddAsst enrollment spreadsheet.

The first worksheet in the file is blank for you to list the desired courses, your username and your desired role. Click the Example tab at the bottom of the worksheet to see a sample.

Save the file and then e-mail it to the Technical Response Center for processing. Please title your e-mail Batch Enroll Support Roles and allow three working days for completion.

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How do I give access to my course to a guest, such as an accreditor?

Send an e-mail to the Technical Response Center (help(at)nnu.edu) that includes the following:

name and personal e-mail address of the guest
reason for access (e.g., accreditor, guest lecturer)
courses for which the guest needs access
- specific course IDs, or
- all courses taught by a particular instructor, or
- all courses in a particular program or department
start and expiration dates for access

Please allow one week for processing, especially if the individual will need access to campus computers.

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How do I send grades to the Registrar's office?

Although the Blackboard Gradebook allows you to manage assignments, tests, even discussion participation and attendance, you will need to report your final grades to the Registrar by using MyInfo or the NNU Portal. Grades in Blackboard may be downloaded into MS Excel to make the process easier.

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What should I do with my course when I am done teaching?

Please follow these recommendations after submitting final grades:

Export your Gradebook
Transfer any updated content into your Master, or request a Master

Export Your Gradebook

Why: If you need to refer to something in your Gradebook, it's best to have your own copy available when and where you need it.

Refer to this tip sheet on Exporting Your Gradebook to MS Excel.

Transfer Your Content to a Master or Request a Master

Why: A Master course is intended to be yours alone for retaining content between semesters. If you have tweaked any content while teaching a course, you'll want to make sure the Master has the freshest content, too. If you have never had a Master yet, you can request one at the end of a teaching session or semester to hold your content for the next time you teach.

To request a Master course, use the online form on the Bb Courses page.

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What are the hardware/software requirements for using Blackboard?

Platform
PC - Windows 2000 or above
Mac - Mac 10.2 or above

Hardware
64 MB of RAM, 1 G of free disk space

Connection
56 K or faster (cable modem or DSL highly recommended)

Note: To determine your modem speed on a PC running Windows XP, click the Start button > Click Control Panel > In the box at top left, make sure you are in the Classic View > Double-click on System > Click Hardware > Click Device Manager > Double-click Network Adapters.

The name of the adapter should have a number such as 56, 10, 100, or 1000. This is not the final determining factor for how fast your connection will be, since you can have a 1000mb network card and only be paying for 400mb service. That would be determined by your Internet Service Provider.

Browser
Firefox 3 highly recommended, others per table below

Yes = OK to use with Blackboard
No = Not recommended for Blackboard

Java Runtime Environment (JRE) should be at least Version 6. Note: Version 6 Update 13 clashes with Blackboard and should be avoided.

Java Scripting, Active X, and Cookies must be enabled.

BROWSERS ON WINDOWS	2000	XP	VISTA
Firefox 3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firefox 2.0	No	Yes	Yes
Firefox 1.0	Yes	Yes	No
Internet Explorer 8 (beta)	No	No	No
Internet Explorer 7	No	Yes	Yes
Internet Explorer 6	Yes	Yes	No
Google Chrome (beta)	No	No	No
Netscape 8.0	Yes	Yes	Yes
Netscape 7.1	Yes	Yes	Yes

BROWSERS ON MACINTOSH	10.2	10.3	10.4
Firefox 3.0	Yes	Yes	Yes
Firefox 2.0	No	No	Yes
Firefox 1.0	Yes	Yes	Yes
Safari 2	No	No	Yes
Safari 1.2	No	Yes	No
Safari 1.1	No	Yes	No
Safari 1	Yes	No	No
Google Chrome (beta)	No	No	No
Netscape 7.1	Yes	Yes	No

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Should I block pop-ups in Blackboard?

You can still have pop-ups blocked on your computer, but make Blackboard a Trusted Site so that any of its pop-ups will display. The Collaboration tool, for instance, places a virtual chatroom into a pop-up window.

To add Blackboard as a Trusted Site in Firefox:

Click Tools in the Firefox browser.
Click Options.
Click Content.
Where you see Block pop-up windows, click Exceptions.
Enter the address online.nnu.edu.
Click Allow.
Click Close, then OK.

To add Blackboard as a Trusted Site in Internet Explorer version 6 or below:

Click Tools.
Hover on Pop-up Blocker.
In the dropdown, click Pop-up Blocker Settings.
Enter the address online.nnu.edu.
Click Add.
Click Close.

To add Blackboard as a Trusted Site in Internet Explorer version 7:

Double-click the Status Bar where the Restricted Sites or the Internet icon appears. The Internet Security Properties box will open.
Click on the Trusted Sites icon under the Select a zone to view or change security settings heading.
Click Sites to open the Trusted Sites box.
The URL for Blackboard, online.nnu.edu, should appear in the Add this website to the zone field. If not, enter the URL.
Uncheck the Require Server Verification (https:) for all sites in this zone option.
Click Add.
Click Close.
Click OK on the Internet Security Properties box.
Refresh the page.
A message will appear in the Internet Explorer Information Bar: "This website wants to run the following add-on: 'Microsoft (R) Dynamic HTML Editing Control' from 'Microsoft Corporation'. If you trust the website and the add-on and want to allow it to run, click here..."
Click the message and select Run ActiveX Control from the context menu.
Click Run in the Security Warning box.

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I use Microsoft Office 2007. Is there anything I should know?

Microsoft's suite of Office applications, including Word, PowerPoint and Excel, are different from past versions. If you create files in 2007, other users will either need to have the 2007 suite as well, or a file converter. For details, please visit the software Bbulletin.

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I use Windows Vista. Is there anything I should know?

Users of the Windows Vista operating system may have difficulty with the textbox editor, used for posting to the Discussion Board, but there is a workaround. Please refer to the software Bbulletin for details.

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I use Internet Explorer 7. Is there anything I should know?

Users of the Internet Explorer 7 browser must add the NNU Blackboard server to their list of Trusted Sites. This will allow the Visual Text Box Editor, which is used in the Discussion Board and a few other areas, to function correctly. Without Blackboard being named as a Trusted Site, the formatting and content controls will appear, but the text box itself will appear broken.

To add Blackboard as a Trusted Site:

See the directions above about popup blockers.

If you have been using IE 7 for a while, you will need to clear the browser's cache to enable a fix applied on Sept. 4. You will only need to do this once, but we strongly recommend that you do so before taking any tests.

To clear the cache in Internet Explorer 7:

Open Explorer. (Do not log in to Blackboard.)
Click Tools. (The Tools button is usually on the right side of the toolbar in Explorer 7.)
Click Internet Options.
Under the Browsing History section, click Delete. A new window will open.
Next to Temporary Internet Files, click Delete, then click Yes.
Click Close.
Click OK.

If you need assistance with this or have any questions, please contact the Technical Response Center (208-467-8111).

I use AOL. Is there anything I should know?

Some individuals have reported being unable to access Blackboard when using America Online. AOL employs its own browser to view web pages, and this browser can cause sporadic problems with Blackboard.

If you use AOL, we recommend that you download and use another browser such as Mozilla Firefox (version 1 or 2) or Microsoft Internet Explorer (version 6 or 7). You will still use AOL to access the Internet but will keep it in the background while you use the second browser to view your course material in Blackboard.

For best results with AOL:

Connect to the Internet using AOL version 4.0 or higher
Open a private chat within AOL (this allows AOL to remain open without asking if you wish to disconnect while minimized)
Minimize AOL
Launch the second browser (such as Firefox or IE)

Note: NNU recommends Firefox, as many users have found that it is faster and more reliable than other browsers, especially when taking tests in Blackboard. Firefox 3 is now available but has not yet been certified for use with Blackboard. Firefox 2 is available to download for either Windows or Mac on the Mozilla website.

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What should I do if I am having trouble logging in?

Refer to the Logging In tip sheet for assistance. If you still have trouble, ask yourself these questions:

1. Are you using the correct username and password?

Username - Your departmental secretary or program administrator or the Technical Response Center (help(at)nnu.edu or 208-467-8111) can help you remember your username.

Password - Recovering from a forgotten password depends on what type of course you are teaching.

If you are teaching a course in a degree-seeking program or the Course of Study, use the Novell Password Management tool.
If you are teaching a Professional Development course, simply contact the Technical Response Center (help(at)nnu.edu or 208-467-8111).

2. Can you get to other websites (such as Google, Yahoo, etc.)?

If you cannot get to other websites, then the campus Internet connection may be down or your home Internet Service Provider may not be functioning properly. Contact the Technical Response Center (208-467-8111) or your provider for assistance.

3. Are you actually typing in online.nnu.edu?

Be sure that you are accurately typing in the URL, or link path, by hand. Sometimes a bookmarked screen may not access the Blackboard server directly.

4. Can you get to the login screen?

If you can get to the initial page but not the login screen and are receiving a “Page cannot be displayed” error message, then likely Blackboard is offline. Please contact the Technical Response Center (208-467-8111).

5. If you still cannot log in, contact the Technical Response Center (208-467-8111).

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What do I do if the option for adding a test or assignment isn't appearing in my course shell?

Occasionally, options for adding certain content disappear following a Course Copyor Export, but this is easy to fix. In the Control Panel, click Manage Tools > Click Content Type Availability > Place a check by the desired content type(s) > Click Submit.

If desired, you can refer to the tip sheet on Managing Content Types and Tools.

Why can't I view/download a file uploaded into Blackboard through the Assignment feature or on a Discussion Board?

1. Is there a pound sign or other symbol in the file name?

Blackboard has difficulties with filenames that contain special characters (e.g., # ? ! @ $ % & * , etc.). If a file is uploaded into Blackboard with one of these special characters in the filename, the file should be replaced.

If it is a file that you as Instructor posted, go to the Course Area where it is located > Remove the file > In the program that created the file (such as MS Word), rename the original file without using special characters > In Blackboard, upload the newly named file.

If the bad file was uploaded by a student, ask the student to rename the original and resubmit.

2. Was the document created in MS Office 2007?

If the Word, PowerPoint or Excel document was created by someone using Microsoft Office 2007 and you do not use Office 2007, the document will be unreadable for you. A file converter is available, or you can ask the creator to save the file in an older format. See the software Bbulletin for details.

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Why is the font size of my Discussion Board post so tiny?

Some Blackboard users write their thoughts in Microsoft Word, then highlight, copy and paste the text into the Blackboard Discussion Board. This is especially true of courses where lengthy replies are commonly expected.

If you are seeing tiny font sizes in your posts, try writing your posts in a text editor such as Notepad or Wordpad instead of MS Word. A text editor will not copy over all the underlying coding that Word does, and you can still save a .txt file just as you would a .doc file.

You can usually find a text editor by clicking the Start menu > All Programs > Accessories. Use the Word Wrap feature in Notepad for easier reading.

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