Blackboard Quick Reference Guide for Students

I. Login and Account Management What is Blackboard? Marygrove faculty use Blackboard to place course materials for their students on the web. With a Blackboard account you can retrieve and submit assignments, participate in discussion groups, take tests online, and use optional features such as the calendar and address book.

Obtaining a Blackboard account Once you register for courses at Marygrove College you are automatically given a Blackboard account. To access your Blackboard account, you must have your User Name and Password. User Name and Password To obtain your Blackboard user name and password: • Log on to the Marygrove home page (http://www.marygrove.edu) • Click on the ISIDORE (Blackboard) link. • In the Login Here box click on the link to WebAdvisor for Students and follow the instructions.

If you need assistance with any of your Marygrove student computer accounts, call the 24/7 support desk at 1-866-886-4875.

Logging in to Blackboard Once you have obtained a Blackboard ID and password, you’re ready to log in. Blackboard is accessible several ways: • Go directly to ISIDORE, Marygrove’s electronic portal (http://isidore.marygrove.edu). OR • Go to the Marygrove home page (www.marygrove.edu) and click on the ISIDORE (Campus Portal) link. Under Login Here, type your user name and password. Once you log in, you may create your own password if desired, as explained in the next section. Changing your Blackboard password After logging into Blackboard, the My Institution screen will be displayed.

1. Click on the Change My Password link in the upper-right corner of the page. 2. Fill in your User Name and Old password in the appropriate boxes. 3. In the New Password box, type your new password and then in the Confirm New Password box, retype your

new password. 4. Click on OK. 5. After the message "Password successfully changed" appears, close the browser window to return to Blackboard.

II. Blackboard course features and functions

The instructions in this section apply to tasks that must be completed within your individual Blackboard courses. Please note that each Blackboard course may vary in content. Instructors have the option of choosing which areas they will include in their Blackboard courses. Accessing your course Once logged into Blackboard, you may access your courses by: 1. Clicking on the name of the course you wish to enter in the My Courses section of the screen. 2. Then, click on the desired course.

Note: If you do not see the course you want, contact your instructor. Posting a message to a Discussion Forum The Discussion Board, which is similar to a bulletin board, enables participants to read and post messages and create discussion threads. Some instructors may use the Discussion Board to measure class participation. The Discussion Board feature in Blackboard acts somewhat like a bulletin board. For instance, your professor may add a forum about a particular topic that was discussed in class. Then, he or she can pose a question encouraging feedback from students. Students can reply to a particular thread by posting their reactions, comments, or questions about the topic. Note: When you participate in a class discussion, keep in mind that your entire class will be able to read your

postings. Posting a reply to a Discussion Board 1. Open the course that lists the Discussion Board in which you wish to participate. 2. Click on the Discussion Board button located on the left side of the screen. If you do not see a Discussion

Board button, click on the Communication button and select the Discussion Board option. 3. Click on the forum in which you wish to participate. 4. To reply to a thread that has already been posted, first click on it and then click on the Reply button on the right

side of the screen. 5. Type in your subject and message. Remember that the entire class can read the threads so be courteous. 6. When you finish typing your message, click on Submit to make it public. OR Start a new Discussion Board thread 1. Under Discussion Board, near the top of the screen, click on Add New Thread. 2. Type the subject and your message. Scroll down, click Preview to view, or click Submit to post the message

immediately.

Participating in a Virtual Classroom The Virtual Classroom or chat feature in Blackboard allows students and instructors to hold virtual classroom sessions online. Students working on group projects can also use the Virtual Classroom feature to hold group meetings online. To participate in a Virtual Classroom: 1. Open the course that will give you access to chat with other members of the class. 2. Click on the Communication button located on the left side of the screen. 3. Click on the Collaboration link. 4. At the Collaboration Sessions window, select the session in which you wish to participate. Note that the Tools

column identifies a session as either Lightweight Chat or Virtual Classroom.

Note: To search for specific collaboration sessions, you can use either the Filter function or the Search by function.

5. Once you have located the session in which you wish to participate click Join. 6. At the Blackboard Chat window, to send a message, begin typing in the Compose box. 7. When you have completed your message, click Send. Sending a question or comment privately to your Instructor during a session 1. At the bottom of the Chat or Virtual Classroom window, click on Private Message. 2. Begin typing your message in the Compose Private Message box. 3. Click Send.

Sending files to your instructor through the Digital Drop Box When you use the Digital Drop Box to hand in assignments, the file is placed in the instructor’s Digital Drop Box. If you want to post your assignment and send it later, you should select the Add File option or follow the instructions that allow you to send files immediately. To send a file to your instructor: 1. Open the course to hand in your assignment. 2. Click on the Tools button on the left side of the screen. 3. Click on the Digital Drop Box link. 4. Click on the Send File button. 5. Type a name for the file you would like to add in the Title box. 6. Click on the Browse button to search for and select the file you would like to add. 7. Click on the filename to highlight it and click on Open. 8. If you wish, you can type a message in the Comments box to send with your file. 9. Click the Submit button to send the file.

Note: If your file was successfully sent to your instructor, you will see the Receipt: Success screen.

Creating a Homepage 1. Click on the Tools button located on the left side of the screen. 2. Click on the Homepage link. 3. Fill in the required information about yourself in the Introduction and Personal Information boxes. 4. To upload and image to your Homepage, click on the Browse button. Select the drive where the image file is

located, click on the image file, and then click on Open. 5. Fill in the required information for one or more of your favorite websites. Remember that a URL is the web

address of a website, such as www.amazon.com. 6. Click Send.

You may also follow the steps above to edit your homepage. Note: You must size your image file before uploading it to Blackboard. If you upload and image that is too big or

too small, you must resize it using an image editing program. When you upload the new image, check the box next to Remove image to replace the old with the new.

Viewing a Homepage 1. Click on the Communication button located on the left side of the screen. 2. Click on the Roster link. 3. Type in the last name of the person whose Homepage you wish to see. To see a list of Homepages for everyone

in your class, click on the List All tab, and then click on the List All button.

Checking your grades With the My Institution tab selected, in the Tools box on the left, select View Grades link.

III. Helpful Tips • Do NOT double-click on the Submit button after taking a quiz/exam in Blackboard. • Do NOT refresh or reload your browser window when taking a quiz/exam in Blackboard. • Do NOT resize your browser window when taking a quiz/exam in Blackboard. • Do NOT click on the Back button on your browser while taking a quiz in Blackboard.