Getting Started with the elearning Portal. (Blackboard 9.1)

Getting Started with the elearning Portal (Blackboard 9.1)

Table of Contents Add Announcement... Page 1 Add Contact... Page 4 Add Folder... Page 7 Add Item... Page 10 Add Web Link... Page 14 Edit or Delete Content Items... Page 18 List Staff and Students... Page 19 Send Email... Page 20 Make Course Available... Page 22 Course Copy... Page 24 Where is it in Blackboard 9.1?...Page 29

Add Announcement The Announcements tool is used to alert students to important course 1 -related information such as forthcoming events. Students access their course related announcements from the My Announcements box on the Course Home page or from the Announcements link in the course menu (if present). NOTE: If there is no Announcements link in the course menu and you want to find out how to add one, see separate guide Add Menu Item Create Tool Link. Tutors can choose to email an announcement so it goes out to all staff and students attached to the module. If required, the Announcements tool may be used to create an introductory message, welcoming students to the course. Detailed Instructions 1. From the Home page, click on the link to the required course in the Course List box. 2. Ensure Edit Mode is switched to ON (top right of screen). When edit mode is switched off you will only see the student view of the course. 3. From the Control Panel select Course Tools, then Announcements or click on the Announcements link in the course menu. 5. On the Announcements page click on Create Announcement. 1 A course is an elearning Portal module or programme site. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 1

Add Announcement 6. Enter a short and meaningful Subject and an announcement Message. 7. Use the colour Modify button to choose a colour for the announcement title (optional but, if you use it, choose a dark colour). 8. Select the Web Announcement Options as required. If Duration is set to Date Restricted, you will need to enter Display After and/or Display Until dates and times. If you choose Not Date Restricted, the announcement will become visible to students straight away and will remain permanently on the Announcements page. If you choose to email the announcement it will go out to all students and staff attached to the course. NOTE: You can t email an announcement which has a Display After date set in the future. 9. If the purpose of the announcement is to inform students about some new content you have added, you can create a link from the announcement direct to the new content. Click on the Browse button to open a course map and click on the new content item. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 2

Add Announcement 10. Click on the Submit button to create the announcement. 11. You will see a green bar at the top of the page confirming that your announcement has been created. Click on the cross in the green bar to close it down. NOTE: New announcements appear directly below the repositionable bar on the Announcements page. Announcements can be moved by dragging and dropping. If you move them above the repositionable bar they will remain fixed in position at the top of the page and will not be superseded by later announcements. This may be appropriate for some types of announcements eg Welcome messages. To move an announcement: hover your mouse over the announcement. Click on the double headed arrow (the hold and drag arrow) that appears to the left of the announcement and hold and drag up or down. Repositionable bar Check Your Changes Finally, it is good practice to always check any changes from the student view of the course. Go to the announcements page (if you are not already there) and switch Edit Mode to OFF. You will now see the announcements as the students would view them. Click on any course links you have added to make sure they open without issues. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 3

Add Contact The Contacts tool is used to add information about yourself and other module tutors to an elearning Portal course. It replaces the Staff Information tool in Blackboard 8. You can include office hours, phone numbers, photographs and links to help students identify tutors on the course. Detailed Instructions 1. From the Home tab, click on the link to your course in the Course List box. 2. Ensure Edit Mode is switched to ON (top right of screen). When edit mode is switched off you will only see the student view of the course. 3. Either: click on the link to the Contacts page from the course menu (if there is one it may be called Staff Information or something similar) or go to Control Panel (proceed to Step 4). NOTE: Students can only access the Contacts page via the course menu so you will have to add a menu item if there is not already one there - see separate guide Add Menu Item Create Tool Link. 4. From the Control Panel select Course Tools, then Contacts. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 4

5. To add a contact (a staff profile), click on Create Contact. Add Contact NOTE: When you want to group contacts together (eg Guest Lecturers), create a folder first, and then create contacts whilst inside the folder. 6. Add in as much information as you wish in the Profile Information section. Email address is a required field. You can Spell Check your text via the abc button. NOTE: Students appreciate information about where and when you will be available. This is especially important for Distance Learners. Add important information in the Notes box. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 5

Add Contact 7. Select the Options you require. NOTE: the default setting for Make the Profile Available is No, so make sure that the option is set to Yes or your students won t be able to see it. You can attach a picture of yourself. Click the Browse button and locate the file. NOTE: Your photo must be reduced in size to a maximum of 150x150 pixels or it will swamp the page and slow everything down. If required you can add a Personal Link (the URL of a relevant web site). 8. And finally, click on the Submit button. 9. You will find yourself back on the Contacts page with the new Contact added. Click on the cross in the green bar at the top of the page to close the Success notification. Check your changes Finally, it is good practice to always check any changes you have made from the student view of the course. You can do this by switching Edit Mode to OFF (top right corner of page). If you have added a Personal Link, make sure that it opens without any issues. NOTE: Students will access the Contacts page via the link in the course menu, so don t forget to create a link if there is not already one there (see Add Menu Item Create Tool Link Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 6

Add A Folder When adding content to your elearning Portal course you will probably want to organise it into folders in order to create a logical framework within the course, to which content can be added. You are strongly recommended to sit down with your Programme Team first and decide on how courses will be structured and agree a common design of pages and folders. This will help students navigate through the materials and reduce confusion. Detailed instructions 1. From the Home tab, click on the link to the required course in the Course List box. 2. Ensure Edit Mode is switched to ON (top right of screen). When edit mode is switched off you will only see the student view of the course. 3. From the course menu, click on the link to the content area where the folder is to be added, eg the Learning Materials area. 4. Place your mouse pointer over the Build Content modify button. 5. From the New Page menu, select Content Folder. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 7

Add A Folder 6. Enter a Name for the folder. 7. Use the Color of Name modify button to choose a colour for the folder name (optional but, if you use it, choose a dark colour). 8. Enter a short piece of explanatory text about the folder. 9. You can leave all options at their default settings including Yes to Permit Users to View this Content. Selecting No would prevent students from viewing this item. You can however set date restrictions if you want to limit the time period the item is available to students. 10. Click on the Submit button. 11. You will receive confirmation that the folder has been created. Click on the Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 8

Add A Folder cross in the green bar at the top of the page to close the Success notification. NOTE: Clicking on a folder name takes you into that folder. The crumb trail (the set of links which appear above the course menu) shows you which area of the course you are currently in. Crumb trail. This shows that the user is in the Learning Materials content area, inside the Essay and Report writing folder. To edit/delete/copy a folder move your mouse over the folder title. A Modify button (V) will appear. Click on this button and then select the required option from the drop down menu. BEWARE! Deleting a folder will also delete its content (if any). This is irreversible. 12. To add content to the folder, see following guides (eg Add an Item/Add a Web Link). Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 9

Add an Item The method of adding content described in this guide is similar to the Add Item option that was available in Blackboard 8. It allows you to upload a file and add some descriptive text about the file, so students understand why they need to look at it. Detailed Instructions 1. From the Home tab, click on the link to the required course in the Course List box. 2. Ensure Edit Mode is switched to ON (top right of screen). When edit mode is switched off you will only see the student view of the course. 3. From the course menu, click on the link to the content area where the file is to be added, eg the Learning Materials area. NOTE: If you want to put the materials inside a folder, click on the folder name in the content area. 4. Place your mouse pointer over Build Content and from the Create menu, select Item. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 10

Add an Item 5. Enter a Name to describe the file you are going to add. 6. Use the Color of Name modify button to choose a colour for the item s name (optional but, if you use it, choose a dark colour). 7. Enter a short piece of explanatory text in the Text Editor space. 8. To attach a file, click on Browse My Computer, browse for the required file, select it, and click Open. NOTE: Any files you attach to a content area are automatically placed in the central storage area known as the Content Collection and from here they can be shared with other courses. For more information about the Content Collection contact the LTech team (ext 4877 or email it.ltech@northumbria.ac.uk). Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 11

Add an Item 9. The file is attached, with the file name automatically populated in the Link Title box. You can change the file name to something more meaningful if necessary by simply editing the text in the Link Title box. A link to the file will be inserted below the content item title. NOTE: If, at this stage, you decide not to attach this file, click on Do not attach, and select OK. 10. You can leave all options at their default settings including Yes to Permit Users to View this Content. Selecting No would prevent students from viewing this item. You can however set date restrictions if you want to limit the time period the item is available to students. 11. Click on the Submit button. 12. You will receive confirmation that your content item has been added. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 12

Add an Item Check your changes Finally, it is good practice to always check any changes you have made from the student view of the course. Switch Edit Mode to OFF and click on the link to the file you have added and make sure that it opens without any issues. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 13

Add Web Link It is very easy to add links to websites from within an elearning Portal course but you do need to take a little care with copying and pasting the correct web address (URL) and you should make sure that you open any external websites in a new window. Detailed Instructions 1. Open a new tab or a new browser window and navigate to the website you want to use. Right-click in the address bar and select Copy to copy the URL to the clipboard. 2. From the elearning Portal Home tab, click on the link to your course in the Course List box. 3. Ensure Edit Mode is switched to ON (top right of screen). When edit mode is switched off you will only see the student view of the course. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 14

Add Web Link 4. From the course menu, click on the content area where the link is to be added, eg the Learning Materials area. 5. Place your mouse pointer over the Modify button next to Build Content, and from the Create menu, select Web Link. 6. Enter a Name to describe the external web site. 7. Right click in the URL textbox and paste in the web address. It must be the whole address which includes the http:// Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 15

Add Web Link 8. Enter a short Description of the link. 9. Optional: If you would like your students to refer to some accompanying materials, you can use any of the Browse buttons to browse for, and attach, the required file. 10. You can leave all options at their default settings including Yes to Permit Users to View this Content. Selecting No would prevent students from viewing this item. NOTE: Open in a new window should always be set to Yes as it makes it easier for students to navigate back to the elearning Portal after viewing the linked page. There are also important copyright reasons why external websites should always open in a new window. You can however set date restrictions if you want to limit the time period the item is available to students. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 16

Add Web Link 11. Click on the Submit button. 12. You will receive confirmation that your external link has been added. Click on the cross in the green bar at the top of the page to close the Success notification. NOTE: You can select further options (eg edit/delete/copy/move item), if required, by moving your mouse to the right of the content item and clicking on the Modify button. Check your changes Finally, it is good practice to always check any changes you have made from the student view of the course. 1. Switch Edit Mode to OFF. You will now see the item as the students would view it. 2. Click on the title of the link you have added and make sure the external website opens without any issues. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 17

Edit or Delete Items Edit or delete items You can edit or delete all types of content items (eg. Folders, Items, Web Links) using the method described below. NOTE: Edit mode must be ON in order to edit or remove content. Move your mouse over the name of the item. A Modify button (V) will appear. Click on this button and then select the required option from the drop down menu. The Edit option replaces the previous version s Modify button. Use this option if you are going to make changes to the content item. The Delete option replaces the Remove button. Use this option to remove the content item. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 18

- List Staff and Students This tool works in a similar way to the Roster tool (found under Tools, Roster in the Course Menu) except that it lists all users on the course, staff and students, whilst the Roster lists only students. Detailed Instructions 1. From the Home tab, click on the link to your course in the Course List box. 2. Ensure Edit Mode is switched to ON (top right of screen). When edit mode is switched off you will only see the student view of the course and you may not see all of the Control Panel features. 3. From the Control Panel, click the arrow to the left of Users and Groups (to expand the menu). 4. From the sub-menu, select Users. 5. Select Last Name and Not blank in the Search boxes, and click Go. This will list all staff and currently enrolled students on the course (in alphabetical order of Last Name). To search for an individual student adjust the criteria in the Search boxes. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 19

Send Email The Send Email tool provides a useful means of getting information to students without the need for them to log in to the elearning Portal (although they must of course log in to their Northumbria email accounts). Tutors can choose to send emails from an elearning Portal course to all users attached to the course (staff and students), to selected categories of users (eg all Tutors), or to selected groups or individuals on the course. Detailed Instructions 1. From the Home tab, click on the link to your course in the Course List box. 2. Ensure Edit Mode is switched to ON (top right of screen). When edit mode is switched off you will only see the student view of the course and you may not see all of the Control Panel features. 3. From the Control Panel select Course Tools, then Send Email. 4. Click on whichever selection of users is appropriate, eg All Users. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 20

Send Email 5. Enter a Subject line and Message. NOTE: The Course ID (module or programme code) will appear automatically in the Subject line when the email is received. 6. Click in the Return Receipt check box if you would like to receive an email confirming which recipients were successfully sent the message. A copy of the email will be sent to your Outlook Inbox. 7. If you wish to add a file, click on Attach a file, then on Browse and locate the file from your computer filing system. To add further files, click on the Attach Another File link (which appears below the Attachments box after the first file is attached). 8. Click on the Submit button to send the email. 9. You will receive confirmation of who the email was sent to. Click on the cross in the top right corner of the screen to close the confirmation message and continue to send further emails if required. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 21

Make your course Available to Students By default, within most Schools elearning Portal courses are initially made unavailable for students to access. It is the responsibility of a member of the module/programme team to make the course available if courses are not automatically made available within the School. Detailed Instructions 1. From the Home tab, click on the link to your course in the Course List box. NOTE: You can tell if a course is not available to students; the word unavailable will be shown next to the course title. 2. Ensure Edit Mode is switched to ON (top right of screen). When edit mode is switched off you will only see the student view of the course and you may not see all of the Control Panel features. 3. From the Control Panel, click on Customization, and then on Properties. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 22

Make your course Available to Students 4. Scroll down to Section 3. Select Yes to make the course available to students. 5. Scroll down to Section 8. Click the Submit button. 6. You will receive confirmation that the Properties have been updated for that course. 7. The course (in the Course List box) will now be available to students. NOTE: The word unavailable, which appeared at the end of the course title, has now been removed. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 23

Course Copy Before you begin copying you will need to make sure that you are attached to both courses; the course you are copying from (source) as well as the course you are copying to (destination). Detailed Instructions 1. From the Home tab, click on the link to the source course, the course where you have all the old materials which you wish to reuse. The source and destination courses can be located in the Course List box. 2. Ensure Edit Mode is switched to ON (top right of screen). When edit mode is switched off you will only see the student view of the course and you may not see all of the Control Panel features. 3. From the Control Panel, click on Packages and Utilities (to expand the menu). 4. From the sub-menu, select Course Copy. 5. The Copy Course page appears. Select the option to Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course. The other two options are not relevant to our use of the elearning Portal here at Northumbria and are therefore unavailable. WARNING: Make sure you have already added yourself to the destination course. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 24

Course Copy 6. In Section 2, click the Browse button. 7. The Courses page appears. 8. Select the course into which the materials are to be copied (the destination course), and click Submit. 9. The Destination Course ID is now inserted fully into the text box. 10. Select Course Materials. You now need to decide which materials you want to copy across. You can just copy everything across at this stage and then work through all the items on the new course, updating or removing them as necessary before making it available to students. Please Note: In Section 4 DO NOT copy enrollments. NOTE: If you have set up Tests and Surveys in any of the content areas, these won t be copied. See the note next to Tests, Surveys and Pools overleaf. Note also that Turnitin Assignments cannot be copied successfully and must be set up from scratch on each new module site (course). Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 25

Course Copy NOTE: If you have Adaptive Release Rules that contain user criteria, these criteria will not be copied because they are relevant to a different student cohort. Select any of the boxes below. However, we would not recommend selecting any of the Settings boxes. NOTE: Selecting the Discussion Board option will copy across the Discussion Board structure and settings but not any messages because these are personal to the previous cohort. NOTE: When copying content in a module site from one year to the next it is not necessary to copy these Settings. NOTE: Selecting the Tests, Surveys and Pools option will copy across any tests, surveys or pools. However it will copy them to the Test Manager, Survey Manager or Pool Manager under Control Panel. It will not copy them to a content area so you will need to add them. See separate guide Make Test Available. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 26

Course Copy 11. In Section 3, select the option to Copy links and copies of the content (include Course Files). If you copy only the links, the file itself will remain in the Content Collection area for the original course (meaning you would need to go to that course s Content Collection area if you needed to update the file). 12. When you select the option to include copies of the course files, clicking on the Calculate Size button will display the size. This will ensure you do not exceed the maximum package size allowed for copying. To reduce the package size, click the Manage Package Contents button and remove any files you don t wish to copy across. 13. The Remove Files from Package page appears. Select the files you wish to remove and click Submit. 14. In Section 4 please DO NOT select Enrollments. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 27

Course Copy 15. Click the Submit button when you have made all your choices. 16. You will be returned to the Package and Utilities page showing a confirmation message that the Course copy action has been queued. 17. Check the new course to find the copied materials. Sometimes there is a short delay while your materials are copied across. Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 28

Where is it in Blackboard 9.1? This guide lists the tasks most frequently carried out on the elearning Portal and tells you where to find the functionality in Blackboard 9.1. The steps below assume that you have already clicked on the link to your course from the elearning Portal Home page and that Edit Mode is set to ON (top right corner of page). TASK Blackboard 8 Blackboard 9.1 Add a Folder: Add a File: 1. Click Control Panel 2. Click on the Content Area where the folder is to be added 3. Click the Add Folder button 1. Click Control Panel 2. Click on the Content Area where the document is to be added 3. Click on a Folder Name on the content page (if the content is to go inside a folder) 4. Click Add Item button 1. Click on the name of the Content Area in the Course Menu 2. Hover over the Build Content menu 3. Select Content Folder from the New Page section of the menu 1. Click on the name of the Content Area in the Course Menu 2. Click on a Folder Name on the content page (if the content is to go inside a folder) 3. Hover over the Build Content menu 4. Select Item from the Create section of the menu! The File option is similar but does not allow you to include a description of the file being added Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 29

Where is it in Blackboard 9.1? TASK Blackboard 8 Blackboard 9.1 Add a Web Link: 1. Click Control Panel Add an Announcement: Add a Staff Profile: 2. Click on the Content Area where the document is to be added 3. Click on a Folder Name on the content page (if required) 4. Click Add External Link button 1. Click Control Panel 2. Click on Announcements 3. Click Add Announcement button 1. Click on Control Panel 2. Click on Staff Information 3. Click Add Profile button 1. Click on the name of the Content Area in the Course Menu 2. Click on a Folder Name on the content page (if required) 3. Hover over the Build Content menu 4. Select Web Link from the Create section of the menu 1. Click on Course Tools in the Control Panel menu 2. From the sub-menu click on Announcements 3. Click the Create Announcement button 1. Click on Course Tools in the Control Panel menu 2. From the sub-menu click on Contacts 3. Click on the Create Contact button Make Course Available: Copy Course: 1. Click on Control Panel 2. Click on Settings 3. Click on Course Availability 4. Select Yes 1. Click on Control Panel 2. Click on Course Copy 1. Click on Customization in the Control Panel menu 2. From the sub-menu click on Properties 3. On the Properties page, set Make Course Available to Yes 1. Click on Packages and Utilities in the Control Panel menu 2. From the sub-menu click on Course Copy Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 30

Where is it in Blackboard 9.1? TASK Blackboard 8 Blackboard 9.1 Send Email: List Staff and Students: 1. Click on Control Panel 2. Click on Send Email 1. Click on Control Panel 2. Click on List/Modify Users 1. Click on Course Tools in the Control Panel menu 2. From the sub-menu click on Send Email 1. Click on Users and Groups in the Control Panel menu 2. From the sub-menu click on Users 3. To get a list of all course users (staff and students) set the Search drop-down to Username or Last Name and the Criteria to Not blank, then click the Go button Copyright 2011 Northumbria University. Page 31