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Answers to Instructors' Frequently Asked Questions in Blackboard
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Assessments/Tests
Can instructors edit their exams in Blackboard 6 after make them "available" without losing the grades previously submitted?
Yes, instructors can modify assessment questions once they are deployed.
Can student print the exams in Blackboard 6?
Yes, student can print assessments. You can make it more difficult for students to print an entire exam by setting up the exam to show students one question at a time.
Assignment Manager
Can students see each other's assignments that are submitted?
No, students can only see their own assignment submissions.
Do files sent via the Assignment Manger also go to the student's drop box at the same time?
No, the Assignment Manager and the Digital Drop Box are completely separate. If a student submits an assignment via the Assignment Manager, the file will not go to the Digital Drop Box.
Digital Drop Box
Can
students send more than one item to the digital drop-box at a time?
No, students can only "Send" each file individually. Once you've "Added" a file, you've basically just put it in your own digital drop box; useful if, for instance, you wanted to use it on different computers that weren't networked to each other and you didn't have a disk to save it on. You'd just upload it to the digital drop-box, go to the other computer, download it there, and continue working on it. (Note that it needs to be saved again on the computer and then added again to the digital drop box to reflect the changes you make!)
When
you "Send" a file, you both "Add" and "Send"
it together. Thus, the digital drop box is a good place for students to
keep a record of what they've sent the teacher, because once an item is
sent it appears in the teacher's digital drop box as well as in the
student's. Once one or more files have been added, when you hit the
"Send" button, you are given the choice -- from a little
"pull-down" menu -- to select from among those and send them to
the teacher, but you can only do so one at a time.
I can't seem to add files to the Digital Drop Box!
Make
sure the file name doesn't have any spaces in it. It should have a
".doc" extension (sometimes Mac users have to add this because
it's not automatically added). Also, make sure that you don’t change
anything about the “path” once you’ve added the file name in the box
beside “Browse”. If you do, the computer can’t find the file it
needs to upload.
If it still doesn't seem to upload, try saving the document with a different name, making sure there are no spaces in the name, then clearing out the drop box and trying it again. If it's still not working for you, send BlackboardSupport@sau.edu a description of the kind of error message you are getting, and hopefully then wecan help you further. Also, if you have Norton Utilities or any other security system on your computer, some of its higher-security settings might prevent you from downloading or uploading documents from the net. Check out your users’ documentation to help you change these settings to allow downloads/uploads, javascript, and cookies.
Is there a way to make comments on things that
students submit to me via the digital dropbox and send it back to them?
How
can I track students’ use of Blackboard?
There
are two different routes you can take, depending on what you want to know:
For
General Information:
1.)Go into the course that you are curious about. Go the the control panel. Click on "Course Statistics", which is under the heading "Assessments". You'll come to a few options, which you can play around with if you want to, but if you just hit "Submit" at the bottom of the screen you'll get to some nice graphs and charts reporting students' usage both individually and as a class.
For
Content-Specific Information:
2.) If you'd like to track their usage for individual content items, you can either set that up when you first post the document, or go back and hit "modify" and select the option for tracking. There is an option when you are posting a content item (in that screen where there's a place to put the title, description, and then upload the attachment) called "Do you want to track the number of views?"; select that box, and, after you "Submit" the item, you'll see an extra little button beside it from the control panel view (it shows up below "Modify" and "Remove") that's called "Tracking". After a few weeks of student use, you can go back in, click on that Tracking button beside the item you're curious about, and it'll tell you just which students viewed the document, when, and how often.
Why can't I read a student's attachment?
If
a student is using WordPerfect or another wordprocessing program besides
Microsoft Word, the attachment they post might not be universally
readable. Tell the student to save the document as a "Word"
file, using the extension ".doc", or save it as a "Wordpad"
or "Text only" document, and then re-attach it. Or, go to the
site http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb%3ben-us%3b211360
which describes how to set Word to properly open ".wpd" files.
What file types can I use in Blackboard?
Usually, anything in Word, Adobe, Excel, or PowerPoint will work. For audio files, it must be a .wav file, and these can be played in Windows Media Player or RealAudio, both of which are free. For video, see us about creating “Real Media” files, as that’s the only way we can “stream” (actually progressively download) video for realistic access for students. RealOne Player is also free for students. If students don't have these programs, we have placed links in the “Course Information” section of the course from which they can download the free programs that will allow them to open (but not create) files in these programs. Just beware that the file size is not above 1 meg, or the download time starts to get very long for students (we sometimes break larger files up into "part one" and "part two" in order to keep download times to a minimum).
Everybody can open my links except one person!!
This person may get one of two error messages when he/she tries to open a link you’ve posted:
1) A little gray box pops up (looks like an error message in Windows) and says something to the effect of “UserName and Password Required for the Blackboard.sau.edu server”; or 2) the Blackboard Login page re-appears within the frame of the course as if you have to log in again.
For either one of these error messages, he or she should try re-associating the file extension (the three characters inserted after the file name) with the correct program that will open it. The directions for this are as follows:
1. Open up Windows Explorer (achieved when you click on the "My Computer" icon on your desktop.
2. Your version of Explorer might differ slightly from this explanation, but you should have an option at the top of the screen called "Tools". Click on this.
3. In that pull-down menu, you'll see "File
Options". Click on this.
4. You'll see a tab called "File Types".
Click on this.
5. You'll see a button called "New". Click
on this.
6. Next to "File Extension" type the
extension of the file you are trying to open (.ppt for a PowerPoint, .doc
for Microsoft Word, .ram for Real Media, etc.).
7. Click the "Advanced" button.
8. You'll see an "Associate File Type"
option. Use the pull-down menu to find the program you want to associate
that file with.
9. Hit "OK" and "Close".
10. Re-start your computer and try again to open the file.
How do I get Blackboard & RealOne Player to work on my Mac?
Re:
Mac users accessing Blackboard in general, and tests specifically, I would
remind them to check their browser settings re: java & javascript,
newer versions of stored pages (cache settings), and privacy (cookies)
settings. Depending on the version, these settings for Netscape may be
located under the browser’s Edit/Preferences menu. For example, under a
Windows-based version of Netscape 6.2.1, clicking on
Edit/Preferences/Advanced accesses the java & javascript enabling
settings; Edit/Preferences/Advanced/Cache brings up the option to compare
the page in the cache to the page on the network “every time” it’s
viewed; and cookies are located under Edit/Preferences/Privacy &
Security/Cookies.
The RealOne player or RealPlayer 8 has worked fine
for Mac users, provided of course they meet min sys/browser requirements
and have a 56k or better connection. Mac-related links to the Real player
download are provided below.
The
current version of RealPlayer for Mac users is accessible at:
<http://forms.real.com/real/realone/mac.html?dc=128127126>
For
those with older systems that may not meet system requirements for the
current player version, older versions of RealPlayer such as RealPlayer 8
may be accessed at:
<http://forms.real.com/real/player/blackjack.html>
What if my students can’t open Powerpoint Files?
If
the machine that a student is using does not have Powerpoint, you will need to
download the free "PowerPoint Viewer" from the microsoft
website: http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2000/Ppview97.aspx
1.
Go to https://blackboard.sau.edu
2.
Click "Login"
3.
Type in your "Username" and "Password" (that you use
for email).
4. Your course name will appear on the "My Blackboard" page (the first page that appears upon logging in) under "Courses in which you are participating".
What do I do about Add/Drops?
You need to notify BlackboardSupport@sau.edu of any add/drops so we can grant/restrict students access to your course site.
How
do I create a quiz in Blackboard?
You
have a couple of different avenues:
1. To write the quiz from scratch, go into the control panel, go to "Assessment Manager", click "Add Quiz", and go through the steps to add each question.
2. To upload a quiz you already have created, you can email me the Word file and I can upload it for you: we have a program here called "Respondus" that uploads quizzes from Word format directly into Blackboard format as long as it meets certain requirements:
- it contains multiple-choice, true-false, essay, fill in the blank, and/or multiple answer questions.
- it's saved in ".txt" format (you can do this through Word by choosing "Save as" and changing the file type to "text only")
- each number is followed by either a period -- 3. -- or a parentheses -- 3)
- question wording follows the question number with at least one space separating wording and number.
- each
answer beings with a letter from A to T and is followed by a period: A.
or a parentheses:
- correct answers are indicated with either a * next to the correct answer (leave no space between the star and the number) -- *A. -- OR place a list of correct answers at the end of the file starting with the word "answers" like this :
Answers:
1. A
2. C
3. B
Availability of Assessments
Q: In my class I have an assessment that I made available for only a certain period of time. However, I have one student who missed the quiz and I would like to allow him to make it up. Since the time period of the quiz availability has passes, the quiz can no longer be accessed. When I go to the "Set Availability" in the Assessment Manager for Quiz 1, the options to set the time that the quiz can be taken are no longer there. I can find no way to allow this student to take the quiz. Can you help?
A: Go through the control panel to the place where you stored the quiz (for example, "Course Documents" or "Assignments"). You should see it there, though the icon will be grayed-out as it is now "invisible" to students. Click the "Modify" button that appears beside the quiz. Beside "Do you want to make the content visible?" select "Yes". If you don't want other students to be able to take it again (if, for example, you've set it up for multiple tries and you don’t want them to be able to improve their grade), change the password and only give the new password to this student who missed it.
The
files I want to attach don’t seem to want to attach!
This can be a problem in email, the drop-box, or a
discussion forum. I would definitely suggest no spaces or special
characters in file names. Clear
out the dropbox and retry. Also, make sure you don’t use the “Back”
arrow in your browser when you get an error message. Leave the content
area by clicking on another area in the course (such as Announcements),
enter back into it, and try again.
From within the discussion forum, click on “Show Options” on the right-hand side of your screen above the date/time on the messages (or on the little red arrow pointing down to all the messages). Click “Select all” (or just select the ones you want to see on your printout). Click “Collect”. You’ll see the messages in a format whereby you can read them all at once, print them out, and/or “Select All”, “Copy”, and “Paste” them into another document for viewing, etc.
How do I control the order of announcements?
Oddly enough, you can't control their sequence like you can with the other content: instead, permanent announcements appear first in the order they were posted, then the "nonpermanent" announcements below them, also in the order in which they were posted. So, if you want to leave one announcement up permanently, but have other announcements appear before it, you'll need to create each new announcement as a "permanent" announcement so it'll appear first, and, as you add them, "modify" the previous announcements so they're "nonpermanent" and they'll get "bumped" back to appear in the calendar tabs for the previous weeks of the course.
What if the Virtual Classroom Won’t Open?
Make sure that your browser is set up to enable
"java applets" such as the virtual classroom. To do so, make
sure...
1) all "java" and "javascript" related settings are
enabled,
2) the "Check for newer versions of stored pages" setting is set
to "Every visit to the page,"
3) the "Privacy Settings" are set to "Low" or
"Accept All Cookies"
To assist you with browser configuration, please refer to the explanation
provided below, but do realize that different browser versions will often
have different menu headings.
In Internet Explorer, click on the Tools
menu, and then click on Internet Options.
Next, click on the Advanced tab, use the right side window scroll bar
and scroll down to the Microsoft VM category heading. Check to ensure
that all boxes regarding Java and JIT compiler are checked and
if not, check them at this time. Next, click the Apply and OK
buttons at the bottom of the window and restart your computer in order for
these settings to take effect.
With Internet Explorer running, and after clicking again on Tools and Internet Options, click on the General tab and look for the section about the middle of the page entitled Temporary Internet Files.
Click on the Settings button and then check to make sure that the box "Every Visit to the Page" is checked. If it is not, please check this box at this time and then click the OK button at the window bottom to complete the sequence and close the window.
Lastly, and again with Internet Explorer running, and having clicked on Tools and Internet Options, click on the Privacy tab. If you do not see a slider bar as displayed in the second screen shot below, click on the Default tab as indicated.
Then when the slide bar appears, move the slider down
to either the bottom "Accept All Cookies" setting or a
"Low" privacy setting.
What
is the maximum length of time a video can be?
Email
us with more questions at BlackboardSupport@sau.edu
