Accessing My Blackboard Course(s)
To access your distance learning courses in Blackboard, you will need to log into Blackboard. On your home page you will find a list of all courses you are enrolled in that is utilizing Blackboard in its delivery. By clicking on the course, you will enter in the course and the materials provided by your instructor for the course.
The instructions below outline how to access a course in Blackboard, along with a brief overview of what materials and tools you will find related to your course.
Please Note: For more information on Blackboard tools not covered in this tutorial, please refer to the User Manual located under Course Tools.
1. Access your Blackboard home page by logging into Blackboard.
2. In the My Courses Box is a list of the Blackboard courses you are enrolled in, along with any announcements particular to the course.
Please Note: If an Internet course you registered for does not show up in your My Courses Box, contact your instructor.
3. Click on the name of the course in the My Courses Box to enter the course and access course materials.
4. The Course home page should appear.
The left navigation menu provides the options for navigating through the course materials.
Your course menu items may include:
Clicking on the tabs at the right of the page will allow you to change views of your Announcements, and view:
Click on document name to access the document.
Please Note: You will need the appropriate software to open some documents. For example:
| File Type: | Needed Software: |
| .doc |
Microsoft Word
|
| .xls |
Microsoft Excel
|
|
Adobe Reader (free download)
|
|
| .htm or .html |
Any Web browser
|
Click the Learning Unit name to access the materials, learning activities, and tests for the unit.
Materials
The Learning Unit will encompass a variety of materials provided by your instructor to be reviewed and studied for the the course.
When accessing the Learning Unit, the first item within the Unit will be presented. Note: There is an advancement arrow located on the right side with the number of items with the Learning Unit.
In order to see a list of all contents within the Learning Unit, click on the Contents button.
The Learning Unit will encompass a variety of materials provided by your instructor to be reviewed and studied for the course.
Activities that are to be completed in the Assignments folder generally require a document supplied by your instructor to be downloaded from Blackboard to your computer. You will complete the work and then upload the completed activity back into the Assignments folder in Blackboard.
See Completing Assignments in Blackboard for more information on completing assignments in Blackboard.
Some sections of the Learning Unit are Tests. Tests are generally timed and may limit your access the test. You should always allow sufficient time to take tests.
See Test Taking Tips for Blackboard for important information on Test Taking in Blackboard.
- Assignments -- Your instructor may have you complete some learning activities in the Assignments folder.
When you complete a learning activity and upload it to Assignments, an entry is automatically created in the Gradebook. Your instructor will then grade the assignment and post in in the Gradebook.
See Completing Assignments in Blackboard for more information on how to complete Assignments.
The Tools Box:
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Discussion Board
The Discussion Board allows students to engage in interactive discussions -- however they do not have to be online simultaneously to participate.
See Using Blackboard's Discussion Board for more information on the Discussion Board.
Calendar
The Calendar provides information on important deadlines for your course. You may click on the tabs to change view to day, week, month or year.
By clicking on Jump to, (located at the top of the Calendar) you can quickly view a particular Calendar date.
My Grades
My Grades allows you to view your grades as you progress through the course and complete assignments and tests. Some grades will be automatically posted once you complete the assignment or test. Others will be manually entered by your instructor.
Please Note: If some portions of the assignment or test requires the instructor to review and grade it, your grade will display " !" until your instructor enters your grade.
You may use the Course Map as an alternative way to navigate through the course materials.
-
Course Map (Pop-up Window View)
5. Logging Out of Blackboard:
Click the Logout button located on the tool bar located at the top of the page.
You should always log out of Blackboard whenever you are finished to insure that someone using the computer after you does not have access to your course materials.