Questions About HowTo:
Login
How do I obtain a Blackboard account?
Southeastern students are automatically populated into Blackboard course sites for courses in which they have registered.
What is my user name and password?
Southeastern student’s Blackboard user name and password are the same as their WEBMAIL and LEONET username and password. Username example: w0123456
How do I change my password?
Southeastern students cannot change their password from within Blackboard. Southeastern students may change their password by using the account information and password change on the WEBMAIL page. Students may go to McClimans Hall to the Office of Technology Operations office for additional assistance.
I can log into Blackboard on campus, but not at home. What can I do?
The Internet security setting may be set too high. Internet Explorer security is, by default, set to custom - High. You need to change this setting to Medium.
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Click on the Tools menu choice when in the Internet.
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Click on the Security tab.
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Click on the Custom Level button (just above the OK button).
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At the bottom of the Security Settings window, reset the custom settings to Medium.
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Then click on the OK button twice.
I get an "Empty ResultSet" error message when logging into Blackboard. What do I do?
If you are receiving an "Empty ResultSet" error message, there are two things to check:
- First, make sure you are logging into Blackboard properly.
- In order to log into Blackboard properly, you must first enter the Blackboard Welcome
page at: http://blackboard.selu.edu/ and click the Login button.
You may not bookmark the Login page and enter there. Blackboard requires you to enter through the Welcome page. If you are logging into Blackboard properly and still receiving the "Empty ResultSet" error message, you will need to enable Cookies in your browser settings. See Minimum Hardware and Browser Settings for Blackboard for more information about how to enable Cookies.
I get a "No authentication credentials" error message when I try to login to Blackboard. What do I do?
The "No authentication credentials" error message is caused by an incorrect security setting on your computer. To correct this problem you will need to make adjustments to the browser settings. You will want to make sure your computer has JAVA and Javascript. You will also need to make sure your browser settings for Active Scripting is enabled. See Minimum Hardware and Browser Settings for Blackboard for information on how to enable JAVA and Javascript.
I have to log in to Blackboard two times. The first time I get an error message and the second time it works. Why is this happening?
This is most likely due to the security settings with Internet Explorer. To correct the problem:
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Click on Tools, then Click on Internet Options.
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Click on the Security Tab.
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Click the Custom button.
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Scroll down to the bottom of the list to User Authentication. Select Anonymous Logon.
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Click OK.
Access to Courses
When will I have access to my Blackboard classes?
Blackboard courses are generated using the Registrar's data. Students are automatically added to Blackboard courses when they register for the course. During the Add/Drop period, students are added automatically as the Registrar processes enrollment. It takes up to 24 hours from the time your enrollment is official for the Blackboard database to be updated.
Blackboard courses courses are set as “unavailable” by default. This means that the instructor can see it, but the students cannot.
Instructors will set the availability to "YES" when they want students to have access.
If a course you have registered for does not show up in your Blackboard course list, it is most likely because the availability has not been set to "YES." However, some instructors do not use Blackboard in their distance education courses. If you registered for a distance education course and the course does not show up in your My Courses box in Blackboard, you will need to contact your instructor.
If your instructor has asked you to login to Blackboard and it is not listed in your My Courses box, contact your instructor. Your instructor will verify that the availability of the course has been set to "YES" and will check the class roster to see if you are listed as enrolled in the course.
How do I access my course once I have logged into Blackboard?
When you login to Blackboard you will see a welcome screen labeled My Southeastern. On the My Southeastern page, you will see a module labeled My Courses. The My Courses module contains a list of your courses. Click on the course name to view its content.
The course I am taking is not listed in my Blackboard account. What should I do?
Check the Blackboard course catalog to see if the course has been set available to students by the instructor. If the course is not listed in the Blackboard course catalog, then the course may not be set available to students. Please contact the instructor.
Blackboard does not seem to be working properly. I have accessed Blackboard from this computer before and it worked just fine. What should I do?
Try rebooting your computer. Sometimes when "glitches" happen, the best thing to do is close everything down on your computer and start over. Reboot your computer and log back into Blackboard.
If you continue to experience problems, and you know that your computer and browser settings meet the requirements outlined in Minimum Hardware and Browser Settings, you may try contacting the Blackboard and Distance Education Help Desk. The Blackboard and Distance Education Help Desk can be reached by phone at 985-549-2700 or e-mail at BBBDEHD@selu.edu.
How do I log out?
You must exit all browsers to log out.
Open and View Files
What's the best way to open a file in my Blackboard course?
Generally, you can left-click (option-click on Macs) on most files to view them.
Depending on your browser and its settings, the file may open in the same browser
window, a different browser window, or may launch the application associated with
the file. If the file opens in the same browser window and it's difficult to view
it, you may right-click the link instead (click and hold on Macs), and choose "Open
in new window" to open the file in a new browser window.
I am still unable to open or view a file.
Possible reasons:
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You may not have the correct (compatible) software program for the file.
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The software version you have may be too old. Find out from your professor what software and version were used to create the file (i.e., Word 2003 or 2007, PowerPoint 2003 or 2007, etc.) For example, earlier software versions are usually unable to open files created in later versions.
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If the file is Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, you can download a Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats or the Microsoft Viewer by going to Microsoft Download Center: Office (for PC) & Microsoft Download Center: Mactopia (for Mac).
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You may need to get or upgrade a plug-in (free) for your browser, especially for sound files, movie files, and Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files. Ask your professor about this. To download plug-ins for Blackboard, go to “ Plug ins and File Viewers for Blackboard.”
What is a Viewer and why do I need one?
A viewer is a helper application for your browser. If you are unable to open a Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint file in Blackboard because you don't have the right application on your hard drive, you can download a corresponding viewer that will allow you to open and print (but not edit) the file. All Microsoft viewers are available for free. Please visit http://www.microsoft.com and search for the one you are looking for.
If I need a Viewer, where do I get it?
If you need to download a Microsoft viewer, go to Microsoft Download Center: Office (for PC) and Microsoft Download Center: Mactopia (for Mac).
What are Plug-ins and why do I need them?
Plug-ins are mini-applications that help your browser read certain kinds of files. If your browser needs a plug-in that it cannot find on your hard drive, it will tell you to download it from a particular site. To locate this information, see Plug-ins and File Viewers for Blackboard.
What's the best way to download a file from my Blackboard course?
Generally, to download a file to your hard drive, you can right-click on the file (click and hold on Macs) and choose SAVE LINK AS... or SAVE TARGET AS. Choose the location where you want to save the file. The filename automatically appears in the File Name box. Another option is to double-click on the file, which will bring up a dialog box. Click SAVE from the dialog box and choose the location where you want to save the file.
Printing
I tried to print a Blackboard screen, but only the navigation buttons printed.
Blackboard uses frames. Only one frame can be active at a time, and Blackboard prints the active frame. Click in the main file area (the right side) to activate that frame before using the PRINT command. If you just want to print a file, another option is to right-click on the file link (click and hold on Macs) and choose OPEN IN NEW WINDOW. This opens a new browser window, which makes it easier to view and print the file. When you are done with the file, remember to close the new window to return to Blackboard. Another option is to highlight the material, the click PRINT and choose “Print selected” or copy and paste material to a Word file and print it from there.
Discussion Board
I'm supposed to reply to a discussion board question, but I don't know what to do.
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Click on the Tool button.
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Click on the Discussion Board button.
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You should find a discussion forum listed.
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Click on the title of the discussion forum.
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Inside the discussion forum you may find discussion threads.
Threads are parts of the overall discussion started by your instructor or by your classmates. -
Click on one of the threads, read it, and click on the Reply button.
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Type in your contribution to the discussion.
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Click the Submit button.
My instructor recommended that I first write my discussion board comments in Word
and then copy and paste that into the discussion board. However, if I type something
that's long I can't paste it into the discussion board editor. How can I fix this?
The editor used in the discussion board is not intended to be used for really long notes. It will not handle any response that's more than about 4000 characters. If you want to just dash off a paragraph or two then the text editor is fine. However, for long responses (something that's a couple of pages or more) you will need to create a Word document and then upload that document into the discussion board. Uploading a long file also makes it easier for other students in your class since they can then download your comments and read them at their leisure instead of plowing through several screens of text while online.
Why aren't the messages I posted on the discussion board displaying?
To display your message and those of others click the EXPAND ALL icon on the top right of your screen.
Chat
How do I access the Chat Tool?
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Click on Tools.
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On the next screen you’ll see Collaboration Sessions.
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Click on the Join button next to the Chat session.
Virtual Classroom
My instructor wants me to use the Blackboard Virtual Classroom, but it doesn't start after I click on the link.
First, if you are using some sort of "Popup Blocker" software on your computer that could be interfering with the virtual classroom. Disable that software and then try starting the virtual classroom again. See Minimum Hardware and Browser Settings for Blackboard for information on how to disable your pop-up blocker.
Second, the Virtual Classroom relies on a recent version of the Java Virtual Machine. Download the latest version of Java (free download).
Also, see Minimum Hardware and Browser Settings for Blackboard for information on JAVA and Javascripting settings.
Screen Text Size
Help! The font on my screen is tiny. What can I do to fix that?
Internet Explorer permits you to set the font size for your convenience. For some reason, yours got set to "Tiny." To reset your font to a legible size:
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Click on View. Then Click on Text Size.
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Click on choice -- medium or larger.
Page Refreshing
My instructor said he updated one of the pages on Blackboard, but it still looks the same to me. What's happening?
Web browsers will "cache" (or keep a local copy of) Web pages in order to make browsing faster. It is likely that you are looking at an old copy of the page that's actually on your computer rather than the most recent version that is in Blackboard.
You will want to refresh your browser by clicking on "Reload" or "Refresh" button located on your Internet tool bar at the top of the page. You can also force Internet Explorer to refresh the page using the keyboard command "Control + R."