General
1.1 - What is
Blackboard?
1.2 - Why doesn't my
bookmark or favorite to Blackboard work?
1.3 - The text is too
small to read, how do I fix this?
1.4 - How can I find
more information on how to use Blackboard?
1.5 - Whom do I contact
to report a problem?
1.6- Does Blackboard
support Macintosh?
1.7- Which browsers
work with Blackboard?
Logging In
2.1 - How do I login
for the first time?
2.2 - What if I forget
my password?
2.3 - How can I change
my password?
2.4 - My last name has
changed - what happens to my Blackboard account?
Helping Your Students
3.1 - Where can my
students get help?
3.2 - How do my
students log in?
3.3 - Students report
that my class is not shown on their courses list
Problems with My JMU
4.1 - My course is not
listed under My Courses.
4.2 - You get a blank
page or script error after logging in.
Course Management
5.1 - How do I get a
Blackboard course for my class?
5.2 - How do I combine
multiple sections of a class into one Blackboard course?
5.3 - My course is
listed as “Unavailable”. What does this mean?
5.4 - How can
I rename my course?
5.5 - How can I use my
Blackboard class next semester?
5.6 - When will my old
Blackboard course be deleted?
5.7 - How do I see my course from a
student perspective?
User Management
6.1 - A student does
not appear on my course roster or has just added the class.
6.2 - How can I delete
students from my roster?
6.3 - What if I have
more than one instructor for my course?
6.4 - How can my GA or
TA work on my course?
6.5 - Can individuals
who are not enrolled in my course access it?
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1.1 - What is
Blackboard?
Blackboard is JMU's
chosen format for online delivery of course content. Using Blackboard’s graphical
point-and-click interface, instructors can quickly and easily incorporate
learning materials from word processing, audio & video, spreadsheets,
and presentation files. Features include announcements, threaded
discussions, virtual chat, file exchange, online assessments, online
gradebook, and so much more.
1.2 - Why doesn't
my bookmark or favorite to Blackboard work?
When you go to the Blackboard website,
Blackboard adds a bit of text to the URL (/?bbatt=Y). When you make a bookmark or favorite,
this extra bit of text is included and can cause the bookmark to not work.
To fix this, edit the bookmark so that it points to only
http://blackboard.jmu.edu
1.3 - The text is
too small to read, how do I fix this?
This is probably due to your browser's
Text Size being set too small.
In Internet Explorer, 1) click
"View" in the menu bar at the top of the window. 2) Choose
"Text Size" 3) Select "Medium"
In Netscape, 1) click "View" in the menu bar at the top of the
window. 2) Choose "Text Zoom" 3) Select "100% (Original
size)
1.4 - How can I
find more information on how to use Blackboard?
The best resource is the online manual,
which can be found in the Control Panel under the Support area. This can
answer most "How To" type questions. The Student Manual is also a
good reference source. This can be accessed from the course Tools area. You
can also sign up for one of CIT's many Blackboard workshops by going to the
CIT website.
1.5 - Whom do I
contact to report a problem?
You can send an email to Blackboard Support.
1.6 - Does
Blackboard support Macintosh?
Apple OS X is supported by Blackboard and we do provide technical
assistance for Macintosh related problems. Centra
and Studymate are currently Windows Only
applications and will not run on Apple OS X.
1.7 - Which
browsers does Blackboard support?
Currently Blackboard is designed to work best with Internet Explorer.
This is the recommended browser. However, browsers which fully support Java
do work with Blackboard. Many users have reported that Firefox,
Safari, and Netscape do work well with Blackboard. The America Online
browser is not supported.
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2.1 - How do I
login for the first time?
To log into Blackboard, go to the login
page at http://blackboard.jmu.edu.
Blackboard uses the same username and password as your JMU e-mail account.
Contact the Helpdesk at 568-3555 for any questions or problems with your
username or password.
2.2 - What if I
forget my password?
You can call the Help Desk at 568-3555,
but they will not be able to tell you your password. If your password needs
to be reset, you will have to go to the Help Desk area on the lower level
of the Frye building with photo ID in order for them to be able to help
you.
2.3 - How can I
change my password?
It is not possible to change your
password in Blackboard. Blackboard uses the same username and password as
your JMU e-mail account (your LDAP account). To change your electronic id
(e-ID) password, go to the Accounts Portal at https://accounts.jmu.edu and select the
e-ID password option.
2.4 - My last name
has changed - what happens to my Blackboard account?
When your last name has changed, JMU
will issue you a new electronic id (Eid). This
new Eid will automatically become your username
on Blackboard and your previous username will be disabled. After you have
successfully logged into Blackboard with your new Eid
and password, you should check and manually change the email address on
Blackboard if necessary. To do this, 1) click on Personal Information at
the bottom of the left frame on the MY JMU page. 2) click
Edit Personal Information 3) In the E-mail box, enter your new JMU email
address AND click Submit at the bottom of the page.
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3.1 - Where can my
students get help?
For help logging into Blackboard, your
students can call the Helpdesk at 8-3555. For all other concerns, you can
guide them to this website (http://support.blackboard.jmu.edu).
Students can also use the online Student Manual which is accessed in the
course Tools area.
3.2 - How do my
students log in?
Students should use the exact same
process you use to log on. For more information on logging, see section 2
of this FAQ.
3.3 - Students
report that my class is not shown on their courses list
All courses are created in Blackboard
with the status of “unavailable”. This means they are invisible to everyone
except the instructor(s). You must make each course available before they can
be viewed by students. To make a course available, navigate to Control
Panel --> Settings [under Course Options] --> Course Availability.
Click Yes next to Make Course Available --> Submit.
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4.1 - My course is
not listed under My Courses.
Courses are automatically created for
every course offered at JMU using data provided from the Registrar's
office. Instructor assignments are also automated daily. If your course is
not listed, follow your department's procedures for adding or modifying an
instructor assignment in the official schedule of classes (Ecampus).
4.2 - You get a
blank page or script error after logging in.
This can happen during times of heavy
use. Try reloading or refreshing the page by clicking your browser's reload
button or right-clicking on the page and choosing Refresh.
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5.1 - How do I get
a Blackboard course for my class?
Each semester, courses are automatically
created for every course offered at JMU. You do not need to request that a
course be created.
5.2 - How do I
combine multiple sections of a class into one Blackboard course?
To combine multiple sections or courses
into one Blackboard course, fill out the online request form at http://ddls.jmu.edu/accounts.
Please request this before starting to create course content.
5.3 - My course is
listed as “Unavailable”. What does this mean?
All courses are created with the status
of "unavailable". This means they are invisible to everyone
except the instructor(s). The reason for this setting is to provide
instructors with an opportunity to develop their courses prior to student
access. To make a course available, navigate to the Control Panel -->
Settings [under Course Options] --> Course Availability. Click Yes next
to Make Course Available --> Submit.
5.4 - How do I
rename my Course?
New courses will be named exactly as
they are in the JMU Course Catalog. If you would like to change this,
navigate to the course Control Panel --> Settings [under Course Options]
--> Course Name and Description. Modify the course name and click Submit
at the bottom of the page.
5.5 - How can I use
my Blackboard class next semester?
A new course will automatically be
created each semester for all classes taught at JMU. Content from a
previous semester can be copied into newly created, empty courses. To do
this, go to the previous semester’s course --> Control Panel -->
Course Copy [under Course Options] --> Copy Course Materials into an
Existing Course > Browse to Destination Course ID. Select the
destination course and course materials you want to copy --> Submit. You
can copy material from as many courses as you like without overwriting previously
copied material.
5.6 - When will my
old Blackboard course be deleted?
The current policy states that a course
will be made unavailable a few weeks into the next semester. If you wish to
remove some or all of the courses that appear on your list of courses on
the MY JMU page, you can hide them from view. On the My Courses menu
bar, click on the "edit the My Courses module" icon (tip of pencil)
and deselect all columns for each course you wish to hide from view. Click Submit at the bottom of the page.
Courses are kept on the server for the current academic year plus the
previous 2 academic years. After that time they will be archived and
deleted from the system.
5.7 - How do I see my
course from a student perspective?
Ask Blackboard Support (bbsupport@jmu.edu) to
create a mock
student account for you. Then you will be able to enroll this account in any class
you are teaching and will be able to log into the student account and see how your
course looks to your students. A common use for this is to see how online tests
work from a student perspective.
6.1 - A student
does not appear on my course roster or has just added the class.
Enrollment data is pulled from the
Student Administration system every morning. Every student who is enrolled
with the registrar's office will normally be enrolled in your Blackboard
course within 24 hours. If a student does not appear, please make sure that
the student is officially registered with the registrar's office.
6.2 - How can I
delete students from my roster?
Within a day or two of a student
dropping a class, their status in the course will automatically be
“disabled”. This means that the student will no longer see the course and
you, the instructor, will no longer see the student in the course. There is typically no need for an
instructor to remove a student from a course, but they do have the ability
to do so. Be especially careful
when using the Remove Users feature. When a student is deleted from a
course, all information associated with that student's course account is
lost and cannot be recovered.
6.3 - What if I
have more than one instructor for my course?
Each semester, courses are automatically
created for every course offered at JMU. Instructor assignments are also
automated. Courses with multiple instructors in the course catalog will
have more than one instructor assigned. If you wish to add additional
instructors to a course, go to the Control Panel and under User Management
select Enroll User. After the other instructor is enrolled, go back to User
Management in the Control Panel and select List/Modify Users. Search for
the instructor and click Properties next to his/her name. Scroll down to
the item labeled Role and Availability. Click on the Instructor radio button
and click Submit.
6.4 - How can my GA
or TA work on my course?
Every user that is enrolled in a course
can be given one of several roles. These roles define how much the user can
affect the content of the page. Users with the student role have the lowest
level of permissions, and can only add content to student areas like
discussion boards. Users with the instructor role can affect every aspect
of the course. To add a teaching assistant to a course, go to the Control
Panel and under User Management select Enroll User. After the person is
enrolled in the course, go back to User Management in the Control Panel and
select List/Modify Users. Search for the TA and click Properties next to
his/her name. Scroll down to the Role and Availability item. Click on the
Teacher's Assistant radio button and click Submit.
6.5 - Can
individuals who are not enrolled in my course access it?
Members of the JMU community can be
added to your course at any time through the Control Panel. (Control Panel,
under User Management, choose Enroll User).
Non-JMU users must be approved on a case by case basis as our license with
Blackboard only allows us to create accounts for users who are using it for
JMU related purposes.
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