Blackboard Information for Students

Allegany College uses an e-learning program called Blackboard. You may view an introductory video clip of Blackboard at http://www.allegany.edu/dl/iresources/studentresources.shtml

This program is accessed using the Internet. You do not need special software to use Blackboard, but you will need a username and password.

If you are having technical problems with Blackboard, review the "Technical Support" page.

Logging into Blackboard

1. Open a browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.) from an active Internet connection.
2. Go to blackboard.allegany.edu (or go to www.allegany.edu and click on the Blackboard icon on the bottom right of the page)
3. You should see the blackboard login page.
4. Click on the login button.
5. Enter your username and password.

Username and Password format is:

fmlast

Where:
f = first initial
m = middle initial
last = last name

There is a chance that more than one student may have the same first and middle initials and last name. In this case, a number will be added to the end of the username (2,3,4 etc.) to differentiate the users. For example, if your name is Mary Jane Smith and you have tried mjsmith with no success, try mjsmith1. Usernames are case sensitive and should be entered in lower case letters.

Previous Blackboard Users (before Spring 2008) Continue to use your current password with Blackboard as you have.

Passwords will initially be set to your Student ID. You are responsible for keeping your password secure. You should change your password the first time you log into Blackboard and periodically throughout the semester. You should also update your email address the first time you log into Blackboard and keep it updated throughout the semester.

Changing Your Password

1. Click on the "My institution" tab.
2. Click on "Personal information".
3. Click on "Change Password"
4. A form will appear on your screen. Fill in your new password in the first box and verification of your new password in the second box.
5. Once you have completed the form, click on the submit button on the bottom right hand side.
6. Click on the OK button to return to previous screen.

Changing Your Personal Information

The first time you login on to Blackboard you should also update your email address. Your instructor may be using email to communicate with you and this address must be correct.

1. Click on "Personal Information" (from inside your course).
2. Click on "Edit personal information".
3. A form will appear. Boxes with a red asterisk next to them are required. These include name and email address. Other information is helpful to the instructor, but not required.
4. Update your email address and your personal information, if desired. This information is only available to your instuctor. It is not available to other students.,
5. Click on submit.
6. Click on OK to return to previous screen.

Overview:

Notice that there are three tabs at the top of the page, labeled "My Institution", "My Courses" and "Academic Web Resources". The "Courses" tab shows you a list of the courses that you are enrolled in. Click on the "Courses" tab and then click on the appropriate course. You should see a list of buttons on the left hand side of your screen. Explore the buttons and note what each area contains.

• Announcements - Instructors put announcements here. Be sure to read it each time you log in.
• Course Information - Important information about the course. This is where the
  course syllabus and calendar normally will be.
• Staff Information - Instructor contact information.
• Course Documents - Depending upon how your instructor has your course set up, this area normally contains course materials such as handouts, study guides, or video lectures. Follow your instructors instructions for using this area.
• Assignments - Depending on how your instructor has your course set up, this area normally contains detailed assignment information. Follow your instructors instructions for using this area.
• Communication - Contains tools to communicate with your instructor and other students, including an email feature, the discussion board and a chat room.
• Discussion Board - A short cut to the discussion board area in Communication
• External links - Contains links to additional web sites that may be useful in the course.
• Tools - Contains the digital drop box function, the "Check grade" function, the Student Blackboard Help Manual, and various other functions.

And last, always remember to log out when you are finished! The logout icon is on the very top of your screen in the center of the black area.

To check your grades (if your instructor uses this feature):

1. Click on the "Tools" button on the left side of your screen (from inside the appropriate course).
2. Click on "View grades".
3. Grades for assignments/exams that have been posted will appear. Your total points/average appears at the top of the page. Also note that the "class average" column is the average of the entire class, not your individual average. It is there for comparison purposes.
4. Click on OK to return to previous screen.

Submitting files to your instructor

Using the Digital Drop Box:

To send a document (file) to your instructor using the digital drop box (NOTE: Your instructor may choose to use the "Assignment" feature in Blackboard instead of the Digital Drop Box. Please be sure to check with your instructor before submitting assignments.)

1. Do your homework and save it as a file on your computer or diskette, preferably as a word file (follow your instructors directions as to the type of file to save as).
2. From your Blackboard course click on "Tools" on the left side of your screen.
3. Click on Digital Drop Box.
4. Click on the "Send File" button.
5. Note: The Send File button saves the file in your drop box AND sends a copy of it to the instructor. The Add File button saves the file in your drop box, but does NOT send it to your instructor. If you are sending a file that you have previously added, click on the Send File button and choose the appropriate file from the Select File dropdown menu.
6. Enter "title" in the title box (your instructor may ask you to use a specific file name)
7. Click on Browse to locate the appropriate file on your computer; then click on Open.
8. Enter any comments to your instructor.
9. Click on Submit.
10. You will get a "receipt" telling you that you were successful in sending the file. ** If you do not get this receipt, the file was not sent. Try sending the file again.

Using the "View/Complete" assignment link:

1. Go to the assignment
2. Click on the "View/Complete" link for the assignment.
3. The "Upload Assignment" screen will appear. In section 2, "Your Files", enter any comments you want to make to the instructor, then attach the file by clicking on the "browse" button, finding the appropriate file in the browse window, and clicking on "open". Notice that the file location information appears in the "File to attach" window.
4. Click on the "Submit" button to send the file to your instructor.

To retrieve a file from your digital drop box (sent by your instructor):

1. From within your course, click on Tools.
2. Click on Digital Drop Box.
3. Click on the file you want to open, or right click on the file to save it to your computer.

Using the discussion board:

Click on the "Discussion Board" button (or click on "Communication" and then "Discussion Board") and then click on the appropriate "Forum" (discussion board area). For example, "Introductions".

Each time someone adds a message using the "Add New Thread" button, that message appears on the far left (not indented). Each time someone "replies" to the message using the "Reply" button, the message is indented underneath the current message. This way, it is easy to follow a conversation by following the indented replies.

To read and reply to threads:

• Click on the thread that you want to read.
  • Read the message.
  • Notice that the "Current thread detail" window shows up at the bottom of the screen, showing you all of the messages in the current thread. Also notice that the message you are currently reading shows up in blue text.
  • To continue to the next message, click on the "Next Message" link.
  • Continue reading the messages until you get to the end or until you want to reply to one of the messages.
  • To reply to a message click on the "reply" button, enter the appropriate information, and then click on "Submit"
  • Click on OK to return to the previous screen

To add a new thread (start a new "topic"):

• Click on "Add New Thread"
• Enter a Subject.
• Enter your message.
• If you wish, attach a file (click on browse to locate the file).
• Click on Submit.
• Click on OK to return to the previous screen
  

Getting additional information about Blackboard:

1. An animated tutorial is available online at http://www.allegany.edu/dl/iresources/studentresources.shtml (11 minute video clip).
2. Or you may Click on the "Tools" in your Blackboard course. Then choose "Student Manual". You can browse the student manual by clicking on links or you can perform a search using keywords.

If you are having technical problems with Blackboard, review the "Technical Support" page.

Copyright 2004 Bobbi H. Dubins
All rights reserved
bdubins@allegany.edu