Blackboard 9.1 Faculty Guide: Getting Started
Logging In
In order to log into Blackboard, you would use the following link:
Please note, your user name and password will be the same as your email or Panther Portal id and password. If you do not have a user name or are experiencing password problems, click here.
My Blackboard
Upon logging in, you will arrive at your My Blackboard page. Here you will find the module My Courses which lists all the courses in which you are registered as an instructor. As well, you will also see important My Messages, Announcements, and Calendar Modules. These modules help you keep up to date with both your classes and campus Blackboard initiatives. It is also important to note that students see these same modules when the log in giving professors the ability to communicate with students more efficiently and effectively. Below is listed a description of each module of each:
My Courses
Definitely the most important module on this page is the My Courses module, which lists all the courses in which you are listed as an instructor. Click on a course to access it.
Advanced tip: You can also drag your mouse to the upper right hand corner of this module to reveal a gear icon. If you select this gear, you can hide unused classes or show more information on the classes in which you are enrolled
My Messages
New with our latest upgrade, professors and students now have the ability to tell if they have any new messages in any of their Blackboard classes right on the My Blackboard Page. This saves the time of having to go into each course individually to check for new messages.
Announcements
This module shows both institution-wide announcements and announcements you have posted within any of your Blackboard Classes. Remember, students also see these announcements and these are displayed for them in the same manner that you see them.
Calendar
This module shows the calendar events you have posted in your classes. Remember, students can also these events and they are displayed in the same manner that you see them.
Class Organization
Upon entering a course, you will see the screen below. Labeled are the major parts of a Blackboard course and below is a description of each.
Course Menu
In the upper left hand corner, you will see the Course Menu. In Blackboard 9.1, this area serves as a table of contents for your class. Here, by you have the ability to add folders of content as well as links to educational tools such as discussion boards and announcements. To do so, you would drag your mouse over the plus icon in the upper left hand corner. This reveals the following options.
- Content Area
This creates a content folder in which content (files), assessments (quizzes and assignments), and interactive tools (discussion board, blogs, etc.) can be added. For more details see the content section of this tutorial - Module Page
This creates a link directly to a Blackboard Learning Module. Learning Modules allow you to group Blackboard files, activities, content, and assessments together into cohesive lessons. In addition, you can force students to not begin the next activity until they finished the one previous. In so doing, you can ensure students are looking at each part of a given series of lessons rather than skipping to the end. If you are unaware of this feature, we highly recommend that you explore it. - Blank Page
As the name indicates, Blank Pages is essentially a Blank Page for you to write upon and share information with students. - Tool Link
Rather than place everything in a content folder, you can actually directly link to a number of tools including messages, the calendar, the discussion board, and much more. - Web Link
At times, you may wish to make a link to another website for students to explore. The web link allows you to create links to websites and resources, such as the library or a research guide directly on the course menu. - Web Link
At times, you may wish to make a link to another website for students to explore. The web link allows you to create links to websites and resources, such as the library or a research guide directly on the course menu. - Course Link
Course links allow you to link directly to a file or folder in your class directly from the course menu. Essentially, what this allows you to do is take students more directly to an important file, assignment, or tool without having to go through a content folder. - Subheaders and Dividers
As you add more and more stuff to the course menu, you may need to begin organizing it in a manner that students understand. Subheaders are emboldened text that allows you to subdivide and title sections of content. Dividers provide you the ability to put lines in between sections of content on the course menu to divide sections of content for students.
Main Content Area
While you will access course content by clicking on items on the Course Menu, actual content will be displayed in the Main Content Area. Here students will interact with the content you placed in content folders, interact on discussion boards, take quizzes, and complete class work.
The Control Panel
The control panel is located in the bottom left of your class page. This section will not be visible to students, but only to course instructors and site administrators. Here, you will find a number of helpful teaching tools including an Evaluation section to monitor student performance, a Course Tools area where you can create assignments and other educational content for later use and reuse, a Customization area where you can control the look and feel of your class site, the Packages and Utilities area where you can archive course material and upload previous courses taught in either Blackboard or Web CT, and the Grade Center where you can manage the grading of student work and progress. These options and features will be discussed in greater detail in the following tutorials.
