Blackboard®FOR

DUMmIES‰

by Howie Southworth, Kemal Cakici,Yianna Vovides, Susan Zvacek

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Blackboard®FOR

DUMmIES‰

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Blackboard®FOR

DUMmIES‰

by Howie Southworth, Kemal Cakici,Yianna Vovides, Susan Zvacek

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Blackboard® For Dummies®

Published byWiley Publishing, Inc.111 River StreetHoboken, NJ 07030-5774www.wiley.com

Copyright © 2006 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form orby any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permit-ted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior writtenpermission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to theCopyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600.Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Legal Department, Wiley Publishing,Inc., 10475 Crosspoint Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46256, (317) 572-3447, fax (317) 572-4355, or online athttp://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Trademarks: Wiley, the Wiley Publishing logo, For Dummies, the Dummies Man logo, A Reference for theRest of Us!, The Dummies Way, Dummies Daily, The Fun and Easy Way, Dummies.com, and related tradedress are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the UnitedStates and other countries, and may not be used without written permission. Blackboard is a registeredtrademark of Blackboard, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. WileyPublishing, Inc., is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

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About the AuthorsHowie Southworth is an experienced teacher, trainer, and facilitator with a background in both student and instructor development. His academicdegrees are in computer science (BA) and higher education administration(MA). He has been consulting on the use of online course management sys-tems for the past 5 years, and teaching people how to teach for the past 15.Howie has been invited to teach across the United States, Asia, and Europe.He is the director of education for the Disaster Recovery InstituteInternational in Washington, D.C.

Yianna Vovides holds a PhD in instructional design and technology andworks at The George Washington University, Washington, D.C. Dr. Vovidesassists faculty with the integration of instructional technologies in teachingand learning. She is the lead instructor in the use of the Blackboard LearningSystem and Blackboard Content System and designs and implements learningenvironments for both blended-hybrid and fully online courses.

Kemal Cakici has expertise in designing and implementing information sys-tems solutions in the contexts of education and healthcare and has workedas a consultant in industry. He has taught business, information systems, and engineering courses as a faculty member. His academic degrees are inmechanical engineering (BS and MS). He is completing his doctoral studies ininformation and decision systems focusing on predicting the acceptance andusage of Web-based information systems. Kemal is working as a senior con-sultant for IMS Government Solutions.

Susan M. Zvacek, director of instructional development and support at theUniversity of Kansas, has been involved with educational technology formore than 20 years and has worked in community college, university, andcorporate training environments. Dr. Zvacek’s teaching experience includesfaculty and dissertation advisor positions at the University of NorthernColorado, Old Dominion University, and Nova Southeastern University.

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Authors’ AcknowledgmentsSusan Zvacek wishes to acknowledge the support, patience, andgood humor of her husband, Tony Miller, along with her exemplarystaff in instructional development and support at the University ofKansas.

Kemal Cakici wishes to acknowledge the endless friendships of hisco-authors Yianna Vovides and Howie Southworth and the long-distance moral support of his mother, Zehra Cakici, and hisbrother, Husam Cakici.

Yianna Vovides wishes to acknowledge her family and her col-leagues at The George Washington University’s InstructionalTechnology Lab. Go, gang!

Howie Southworth wishes to acknowledge his family — Floridian,Nor’easter, and Canine included. He would especially like to thankhis wife, Jessica Finnefrock, for supporting the work of a few realDummies!

All the authors also want to thank one another for a balancedamount of hard work and lots of laughs! To reflect this apprecia-tion, the order of authorship was randomly assigned (or we weretoo tired to remember the alphabet). Together, we also want tothank the Blackboard, Inc., family for all their support. One exam-ple is their gracious permission to use a sample Oceanographycourse that they put together for software documentation. Wesimply could not have had this opportunity without them!

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Publisher’s AcknowledgmentsWe’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our online registration formlocated at www.dummies.com/register/.

Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:

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Contents at a GlanceIntroduction .................................................................1

Part I: What’s Blackboard All About?.............................7Chapter 1: Your First Look at Blackboard .......................................................................9Chapter 2: The Course-Development Process..............................................................23

Part II: Easing into Blackboard....................................43Chapter 3: Got Learners? (Getting People into Your Course) ....................................45Chapter 4: Making the Course Your Own ......................................................................61Chapter 5: Building Your Class Materials......................................................................85Chapter 6: Connecting with Learners ..........................................................................113

Part III: Earning Your Blackboard Black Belt .............147Chapter 7: Getting the Most from Blackboard............................................................149Chapter 8: Assessing Learner Progress .......................................................................161Chapter 9: Course Implementation ..............................................................................227Chapter 10: Course Management .................................................................................253

Part IV: The Part of Tens ...........................................271Chapter 11: Ten Superimportant “Think Abouts” for Building Your Course..........273Chapter 12: Ten Strategies for Organizing an

Outstanding Course in Blackboard............................................................................279Chapter 13: Ten Ways to Keep Learners Involved by

Using Blackboard Communication Features ............................................................287Chapter 14: Ten Ways to Assess Learning...................................................................295Chapter 15: Ten Questions to Ask Your Blackboard System Administrator...........301Chapter 16: Ten Things to Look Forward to in

Blackboard Learning System 7.1................................................................................307

Part V: Appendixes ...................................................311Appendix A: Real-Life Issues in Teaching with Technology......................................313Appendix B: An Overview of the Blackboard Content System.................................319Appendix C: A Blackboard Course-Building Checklist ..............................................323Appendix D: Additional Resources on the Web..........................................................327

Glossary...................................................................329

Index .......................................................................333

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Table of ContentsIntroduction..................................................................1

Who Should Buy This Book?...........................................................................1Foolish Assumptions .......................................................................................2What’s in This Book? .......................................................................................3

Part I: What’s Blackboard All About?...................................................3Part II: Easing into Blackboard .............................................................3Part III: Earning Your Blackboard Black Belt.......................................4Part IV: The Part of Tens........................................................................4Part V: Appendixes.................................................................................4

Conventions Used in This Book .....................................................................4Icons Used in This Book..................................................................................6Where to Go from Here....................................................................................6

Part I: What’s Blackboard All About? .............................7

Chapter 1: Your First Look at Blackboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Logging In to Blackboard ..............................................................................10Navigating Your Way Around Blackboard...................................................11

Traversing the course Control Panel .................................................12Comparing Edit view and Display view .............................................19

Chapter 2: The Course-Development Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23A Quick-Start Guide: Get on the Fast Track with the Fab Four ................24

Post your syllabus................................................................................25Give online assignments......................................................................27Set up your Gradebook........................................................................28Start discussion topics ........................................................................30The bridge .............................................................................................31

Starting a Brand-New Course........................................................................33Facilitating a Course ......................................................................................38Ending the Party: Life in the After-Course ..................................................40

Part II: Easing into Blackboard ....................................43

Chapter 3: Got Learners? (Getting People into Your Course) . . . . . . . .45Managing Learner Accounts .........................................................................45Enrolling Users ...............................................................................................48“Who’s in My Course?” ..................................................................................50

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Deciding on a User’s Role..............................................................................51Removing Users..............................................................................................54Managing Groups ...........................................................................................55

Adding users to a group ......................................................................58Listing users in a group .......................................................................59Removing users from a group.............................................................60

Chapter 4: Making the Course Your Own . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .61Managing the Course Menu ..........................................................................62

Choosing menu items ..........................................................................63Customizing the look and feel of your course menu .......................72

Managing the Blackboard Tools...................................................................76Surfing the sea of tools ........................................................................77Opting in or out of Blackboard tools .................................................80Choosing what the learner gets..........................................................83

Chapter 5: Building Your Class Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85Managing Content in a Content Area...........................................................86

Creating content in the Visual Text Box Editor ................................86Adding content created elsewhere ....................................................89Editing with ease by using the Display view and Edit view ............92Adding World Wide Web links.............................................................94Organizing your content......................................................................96Moving, copying, modifying, and deleting items............................100

Determining Content Availability...............................................................103All content, all the time .....................................................................103Timing the release of content ...........................................................103Exploring Adaptive Release of Content ...........................................104

Chapter 6: Connecting with Learners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .113Distinguishing Communication Types.......................................................114Communicating Nonverbally Online..........................................................115Making Announcements..............................................................................116Giving Out Your Contact Information........................................................119

Posting your profile............................................................................119Adding and managing multiple profiles...........................................120

Conducting Online Asynchronous Discussions .......................................121Setting up discussion forums ...........................................................122Posting and replying to threads .......................................................124Collecting, locking, and removing threads......................................126Archiving old discussions .................................................................128

Chatting with Learners................................................................................129Joining and adding collaboration sessions.....................................130The Virtual Classroom.......................................................................132Chat ......................................................................................................135Collaboration session ........................................................................136

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Sending E-Mail ..............................................................................................137Sending e-mail by using the All options ..........................................138Sending e-mail by using the Single and Select options..................139

Delivering Messages (No, Not E-Mail!) ......................................................141Creating messages..............................................................................141Viewing and managing messages .....................................................142

Part III: Earning Your Blackboard Black Belt ..............147

Chapter 7: Getting the Most from Blackboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .149Staying on Track with the Course Calendar .............................................150Assigning Tasks ............................................................................................152

Doling out the work............................................................................152Ensuring learner progress.................................................................153

Collecting Files with the Digital Dropbox..................................................154Adding and sending files ...................................................................155Removing a file ...................................................................................156

Using Glossary Manager..............................................................................157Entering terms ....................................................................................157Uploading Glossary terms.................................................................159Downloading the Glossary ................................................................160

Chapter 8: Assessing Learner Progress . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .161Creating and Deploying Tests.....................................................................162

Establishing the test framework and its settings ...........................163Understanding common elements in test questions .....................166

Taking a Look at Question Types ...............................................................168Calculated formula .............................................................................170Calculated numeric ............................................................................175Either/Or or True/False .....................................................................176Essay or short answer .......................................................................178File response .......................................................................................179Fill in multiple blanks.........................................................................179Fill in the blank ...................................................................................182Hot spot ...............................................................................................183Jumbled sentence...............................................................................185Matching..............................................................................................187Multiple answer or multiple choice .................................................189Opinion scale or Likert ......................................................................190Ordering...............................................................................................192Quiz Bowl ............................................................................................194Using questions from a pool or another test ..................................195Using questions from a text file ........................................................198Making changes to questions and the question display order ....201Using the Pool Manager.....................................................................202Sharing test questions among your Blackboard courses..............207

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Using Tests in Blackboard...........................................................................209Deploying a test ..................................................................................209Viewing test results ............................................................................213Removing a test ..................................................................................214Ensuring test security........................................................................214

Creating and Using Surveys........................................................................215Deploying a survey.............................................................................216Viewing survey results.......................................................................218Clearing a learner’s survey attempt.................................................219Removing a survey.............................................................................220

Discovering the Joys of the Assignment Manager ...................................220Creating assignments.........................................................................220Providing feedback to learners.........................................................222Downloading assignments in bulk....................................................223Clearing a learner’s assignment in the Gradebook ........................224

Using Other Blackboard Tools for Assessment Purposes ......................224Discussions .........................................................................................224Chat assessments...............................................................................225Learner group work............................................................................225

Chapter 9: Course Implementation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .227Managing Your Gradebook..........................................................................228

Creating graded items........................................................................228Managing items...................................................................................231Making your Gradebook settings .....................................................233Determining whether you’re “weighting” too long ........................236Downloading and uploading grades ................................................238Entering grades manually..................................................................240Sorting and filtering ...........................................................................241Viewing the Gradebook differently ..................................................242

Taking Advantage of the Performance Dashboard ..................................244Using Course Statistics................................................................................246

Filtering Course Statistics .................................................................247Choosing your reports.......................................................................249Using the Course Statistics information..........................................250

Tracking Views .............................................................................................251Discovering tracking information.....................................................251Sharing tracking info with learners..................................................252

Chapter 10: Course Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .253Reducing, Reusing, and Recycling Your Course.......................................254Copying a Course, Copying a Course ........................................................256

Copying into a new course................................................................256Copying into an existing course .......................................................259Making an exact copy ........................................................................262

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Exporting and Importing the Goods ..........................................................263Exporting a course .............................................................................263Importing a package...........................................................................266

Creating an Archive .....................................................................................270

Part IV: The Part of Tens............................................271

Chapter 11: Ten Superimportant “Think Abouts” for Building Your Course . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .273

Where Are Your Learners: At a Distance or with You?............................273What Are the Learning Styles of Your Learners? .....................................274What Do Learners Know about Your Content

before They Arrive in Class? ...................................................................276What Are Your Learning Goals and Objectives? ......................................276How Is Your Course Organized? .................................................................277How Accessible Are You to Your Learners?..............................................277How Do You Communicate with Learners?...............................................278How Do You Assess Your Learners? ..........................................................278

Chapter 12: Ten Strategies for Organizing an Outstanding Course in Blackboard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .279

Plan, Plan, and Then Plan Some More.......................................................279Get to Know Blackboard Inside and Out...................................................281Consider Learners’ First Impression of Your Blackboard Course .........281Brainstorm about Your Course Structure .................................................282Organize It! ....................................................................................................283Create Your Course Structure.....................................................................283Develop Your Course ...................................................................................284Take Your Course for a Test-Drive .............................................................284Make Adjustments .......................................................................................285Plan, Plan, and Then Plan Some More (Reprise)......................................285

Chapter 13: Ten Ways to Keep Learners Involved by Using Blackboard Communication Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .287

Let Learners Practice with Communication Tools Early in the Course...................................................................................287

Put Learners in Charge (Sort of) ................................................................288Use a Rubric to Grade Discussion Forum Postings .................................289Provide a Model “Excellent Posting” .........................................................289Determine Your Presence in Discussion Forums .....................................290Use Disagreements or Conflicts As Teachable Moments........................290Hold Learners Accountable for Topics Discussed within Blackboard..291Use the Blackboard Collaboration Tools for Online Office Hours .........291

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Ask Questions of Specific Learners During Collaboration Sessions......292Remember the Rules of Online Engagement ............................................292

Chapter 14: Ten Ways to Assess Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .295Create Online Tests for Frequent Self-Assessment ..................................295Post Assignments to the Discussion Forums ...........................................296Use a Virtual Classroom or Chat for “Oral Exams”..................................296Set Up Learner Groups for Projects...........................................................297Use a Rubric for Discussion Forum Postings ...........................................297Have Learners Come Up with Test Questions..........................................298Use Adaptive Release to Structure Your Courses....................................298Require Learners to Submit Assignments in Progressive Sections .......298Gather “Muddiest Point” or “One-Minute” Papers

with Messaging or E-Mail.........................................................................299Collect Long-Term Reflections with Journals ...........................................299

Chapter 15: Ten Questions to Ask Your Blackboard System Administrator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .301

“How Do I Generate a Blackboard Course?” .............................................301“How Do Learners Gain Access to My Blackboard Course?” .................302“What’s the Policy Regarding Access to My Blackboard Course?” .......302“How Far in Advance Will Learners Have Access to My Course?” ........302“How Do My Learners Change Their E-Mail Addresses

in the Blackboard System?” ....................................................................303“How Long After the Semester Ends Will Learners

Have Access to My Course?”...................................................................303“Can I Use One Blackboard Course for Multiple Sections

of the Same Course?” ...............................................................................304“What Happens to My Blackboard Course

at the End of the Semester?”...................................................................304“Does My Blackboard Course Have a Maximum Size?”...........................304“If I Leave This Institution, Can I Take

My Blackboard Course with Me?” ..........................................................305

Chapter 16: Ten Things to Look Forward to in Blackboard Learning System 7.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .307

A Cross-Browser, Cross-Platform Visual Text Box Editor .......................307An Extra-Credit Option in Tests .................................................................308Multiple Attempts in the Gradebook .........................................................308An Enhanced Discussion Board .................................................................308The Availability of Discussion Board Statistics........................................309Discussion Board Grading...........................................................................309Customized Feedback for Tests .................................................................309Test and Survey Managers Import and Export ........................................309

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Submission Reports for Verification..........................................................309New Language Packs....................................................................................310

Part V: Appendixes ....................................................311

Appendix A: Real-Life Issues in Teaching with Technology . . . . . . .313Who Owns Your Stuff? .................................................................................313Copyright Issues...........................................................................................314Online Privacy Rights ..................................................................................316Academic Dishonesty ..................................................................................316

Appendix B: An Overview of the Blackboard Content System . . . . .319Managing Files and Content........................................................................319Using Versioning to Keep Track of Files....................................................320Putting e-Portfolios to Good Use................................................................320Tracking Activity Progress with Workflow................................................320Using Collaborative, Web-Enabled File Storage .......................................320Cataloging Learning Objects.......................................................................321Searching for Shared Files, Folders, and E-Portfolios..............................321Gaining Library Know-How through E-Reserves......................................321

Appendix C: A Blackboard Course-Building Checklist . . . . . . . . . . .323Announcements (refer to Chapter 6) ........................................................323Faculty and staff information (refer to Chapter 6) ..................................323Syllabus (refer to Chapter 4) ......................................................................324Course content (refer to Chapter 5) ..........................................................324Assessment (refer to Chapter 8) ................................................................325Communication (refer to Chapter 6) .........................................................325Evaluation (refer to Chapter 8) ..................................................................325

Appendix D: Additional Resources on the Web . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .327Help from the Folks at Blackboard, Inc. ....................................................327Course Materials from Around the Web....................................................327Good Practices for Teaching Online ..........................................................328Necessary Knowledge about Online Copyright Protection....................328

Glossary ...................................................................329

Index........................................................................333

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Introduction

On your way to class with another three-foot stack of handouts to doleout? Just told to add a 16th office hour to your already hectic calendar?Wrist cramping from grading all those exams? The Blackboard LearningSystem can help you out! This rich, online course-management system pro-vides you, the instructor, with the tools to easily present class materials onthe Web, communicate online with an entire class, and track what the heckthey’re learning in there — from the comfort of your laptop, if that’s whereyou’re working. Blackboard For Dummies is a kinder, gentler way to learn howto use Blackboard as an instructor. This book isn’t designed to be read fromcover to cover (we won’t tell anyone if you really want to, though) — it’s thehandy desk reference you’ve been looking for. Feel free to skip right to theessentials!

Who Should Buy This Book?The real answer to this question is everyone. This book has terrific charac-ters and edge-of-your-seat suspense, and it’s a real page-turner. The yellow-and-black motif goes superbly with your collection of bumblebees. Okay,seriously, whether you’re teaching a fully online course, a hybrid course(part classroom, part online), or a fully live course (with online dreams),Blackboard For Dummies provides you with the necessary tools of the trade.

Those who have access to teaching with Blackboard probably already knowit. Typically, your school’s, university’s, or organization’s contract withBlackboard, Inc., gives you the access you need. The following list describesthe types of Blackboard licenses you might have within your reach:

� The Blackboard Learning System is otherwise known as the Enterpriseedition (although it has nothing to do with Captain Kirk). The systemallows for the complete integration of Blackboard software with othercollections of information and data within your place of business, suchas an enrollment or course registration system. This edition can also beexpanded with many third-party software applications, called BuildingBlocks (see Chapter 4). Everything covered in this book can be used inthe Enterprise edition.

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� The Blackboard Learning System Basic Edition is the lightweight coun-terpart to the Enterprise edition we just mentioned. (It’s normally a bitcheaper too.) You can do 98 percent of what’s in this book. What doesn’texist in Basic Edition is some Adaptive Release of Content (see Chapter5) and internal Blackboard messages (see Chapter 6). Basic Editiondoesn’t tie in to other sources of student information within your institu-tion and has limited ability with Building Blocks.

� The Blackboard Learning System via Course Sites is one of those little-known value buys of the universe. Did you know that any industriousinstructor, teacher, or trainer with access to the Internet and a few hun-dred bucks can develop, completely on her own, a fully loaded courseusing the Blackboard Learning System? Course Sites is a one-at-a-time,fee-based product to get adventurous teachers using Blackboard ontheir own (see Appendix D).

Foolish AssumptionsIn grade school you might have learned the consequences of making assump-tions. In the following list of assumptions we make about you, we brave thosewaters and throw caution to the wind. Although Blackboard For Dummies is akinder and gentler reference guide, we have to let you know where we drawthe line:

� You know how to access the Internet from your home and from work.That might sound simplistic, but we have to make sure that you’re read-ing the right Dummies book. Blackboard is an online program, andonline you must be.

� You know that when we refer to Blackboard, we’re not talking aboutthe dusty, chalky, please-don’t-scrape-your-fingernails-against-it thing.We don’t really like dust, that scraping noise drives us mad, and acouple of us have bad memories of having to stay after school to spongedown that darned chalkboard. Having said that, just let us write aboutonline education — a lot — and we’ll be okay.

� You know where to find files on your computer. We don’t talk muchabout the Windows or Macintosh operating systems, and we don’tpreach about the good things that come along with healthy folder organization (well, maybe just a little). You should locate your files and course materials before going into this whole Blackboard world.Seriously.

� Your institution or organization has access to the Blackboard LearningSystem, or you have access through Blackboard Course Sites. This bookwouldn’t be a good buy just for great bedtime reading. It might producethe best dreams ever, but, seriously, you should go to sleep reading aboutdream-type subjects.

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� You’re responsible for putting together a course, a training workshop,or something close to education. We’re all about helping you in the heatof the moment while you’re pulling together materials, setting up yourenvironment, and communicating with those about to learn somethingfrom you. If you’re not teaching until next semester and won’t be devel-oping your course until a month from now, we’re still happy to see youbuy this book. Just don’t forget where you put it. (Maybe that’s why it’sthe color of sunrays.)

� Depending on how Blackboard is laid out or managed at your institu-tion, you might or might not have access to a feature or two that wedescribe in this book. Some institutions take on administrative tasksthemselves and don’t need instructors to enroll their own learners intheir courses, for example. We wrote this book on the assumption thatall features are turned on. If you start to try something out and noticethat it doesn’t work, simply go to your Blackboard system administrator(your best friend) and find out what else might be turned off.

What’s in This Book?Blackboard For Dummies attempts to make the Blackboard Learning Systemeasy to understand and use for all instructors, everywhere. It’s written tokeep the average user from pulling out what’s left of his hair, the mid-leveluser from forgetting where everything is, and the advanced user from losinginterest as she starts using the newest version of the program. We won’t gotoo deep, and we promise that it won’t hurt a bit.

Part I: What’s Blackboard All About?Quick — call the course-creation squad! Ah, it’s the stuff of dreams. Assumingthat you’re building a course on your own and (like most of the civilizedworld) might not have lots of time on your hands, you need one or twothings: a guide to get you moving quickly and perhaps a suggested path tocomplete course development for the Web. The first part of this book handsover these two solutions on a silver platter and gets you going in a meaning-ful (and heartfelt) way. You’ll walk into Part I with a vision and walk out withthe start of a beautiful product.

Part II: Easing into BlackboardEver wonder how all those news articles, wedding albums, and randomgarage-fare on eBay find their way onto the Internet? You’re about to find out.This part of the book focuses on how to get your stuff organized, uploaded,

3Introduction

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and beamed out to the screens of your audience without reinventing thewheel. We start out nice and easy with the topic of getting learners online andrarin’ to go. We continue with the nuts and bolts of uploading course materi-als. Then, we round out everything with a stirring rendition about how tocommunicate with your class through Blackboard.

Part III: Earning Your Blackboard Black BeltYou’ve done well, young grasshopper. You have grabbed the fly with yourchopsticks and will now be quickly be transformed into a Blackboard Master.This part of the book takes you beyond the program’s simple features andempowers you to leverage Blackboard to improve learning. It’s huge. You’llalso figure out how to give out a quiz that you don’t have to grade by hand.After presenting a virtual laundry list of additional tools, we’ll show you themagic that is online grading and demonstrate how to reuse the same courseover and over again. To quizzes . . . and beyond!

Part IV: The Part of TensThis traditional part of a For Dummies book is chock-full of additional tipsfrom the twisted brains of the authors. This part extols the virtues of a well-tuned course menu, the true value of good organization (don’t stop readingjust because of that one), the best questions to ask your system administra-tor, and the “vroom vroom” effect of good online communication, amongother tried-and-true ideas from the minds of genius.

Part V: AppendixesThe appendixes in the back of this book supplement your Blackboard experi-ence by adding all kinds of useful information. You can read about teachingwith the help of technology, get an overview of the Blackboard ContentSystem, and fill out a handy checklist of items you might have forgotten orwant to add later. We even give you a guide to handy resources on the Web so that you can continue to add to your information arsenal. Finally, the glossary clues you in to the meaning of all kinds of Blackboard terms.

Conventions Used in This BookTo get the maximum benefit from this book, you need to understand theterms and concepts we list in this section.

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Whenever we point out something in the text that you see on your screen, weuse a special font, like this. Whenever we want you to type something in aset of steps, we use a boldface font.

We write steps showing you how to use Blackboard features by using theControl Panel as a springboard. Everything we do starts there. In any chapterthat has steps in it, we begin with a Tip paragraph that covers how to get backto the Control Panel if you get lost or get logged out of Blackboard. We placeheavy emphasis on the Control Panel as your headquarters because you cansimply do everything important from there. To save yourself one click, how-ever, you can also use the Edit View for Content Areas option. Although Editview allows you to skip the step of going to the Control Panel, to be honest,we believe that the Control Panel brings you, the instructor, a relaxed, at-home type of feeling.

When we refer to learners throughout this book, we mean students. “Why,”you might ask, “are you using such a weird word to spell out a simple con-cept?” Within higher education, grades K–12, and sometimes in the trainingworld, student means one thing; in corporate life, most training worlds, andcertification realms, however, many people prefer to go by some other word:trainee, test-taker, team member, or perhaps “mentee.” We have found thatthe generic term learner meets with approval from most people because,after all, what’s going on (you hope) inside this application? Learning.

We refer to your Blackboard system administrator as your “best friend” manytimes in this book. We realize that you might not have a Blackboard systemadministrator using that exact title, and that person might not truly be yourbest friend, if he or she even exists. You do, however, have support whenusing Blackboard. You might receive that support from the help desk staff, theteaching and learning center, the supersmart techie down the hall, or evenBlackboard, Inc., when it provides you with direct support for Course Sites.

The cursor, or pointer, is the arrow that moves around the screen as youmove your mouse around the mouse pad. The cursor might also refer to the I-beam that appears in the text in such a way that when you click and dragalong a line of text, you highlight (or select) the text. A drop-down menu is thepart of a Blackboard form that’s used to select from a list of choices, such aswhen you choose a question type to add to a Blackboard test. When you clickone of those menus, a list descends from the top and you see your choices.Although it all makes sense when you begin to use the program, we wantedto give you a head’s-up about these terms.

Clicking means pressing, just once, the leftmost button on top of your mouseand releasing it. In case you’re using a Macintosh single-button mouse, left-most still means leftmost, which in the case of a single button is also therightmost button. Don’t get confused. When we refer to clicking something, itusually means pointing the cursor to and activating a button, menu, or linkon the screen. Double-clicking means clicking twice in rapid succession. Youusually do this when you’re selecting a file in a folder in Windows or in theMacintosh operating system.

5Introduction

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Icons Used in This BookAbove and beyond our step-by-step instructions for using Blackboard lies aset of great ideas from your dutiful authors. We look at these tips like icing onthe cake. (When was the last time you scraped icing off your cake?) We thinkthat they’re wonderful.

Like the Tip icon, the Remember icon points you toward key ingredients tousing Blackboard in a smart way. These paragraphs mostly point out thingswe think you should always keep in mind.

If we think that you might mess something up, we warn you. Trust us. Wetrust you quite a bit, mostly because you’re reading, or considering reading,this book, so we throw in only a scant few warnings for good measurethroughout the text. Frankly, a few tasks within Blackboard qualify as tricky,and we want only the best for your experience.

This icon doesn’t appear much, and it’s not for the weak of heart. Are youscared yet? The technical stuff we talk about usually refers to something out-side of Blackboard that might affect the way things work inside Blackboard.One example is the types of files you might want to upload, and another isthe way Blackboard handles filenames differently on PCs and Macs.

You’re not alone in the universe. Blackboard is being used in higher educa-tion, in K–12 education, in the military, in corporate life, and on Mars, withthe unfortunate but suspicious exception of that last one. In addition to get-ting tips from your lovely yet rugged authors, throughout this book you canfind ideas contributed by instructors, teachers, and trainers from around theglobe. You might even read the wisdom of an instructor just like you. How’sthat for service?

Where to Go from HereWe know that you’re chomping at the bit to start using Blackboard. After get-ting information from your institution about how to access your BlackboardWeb site (just ask someone there to tell you the Internet address), flip onyour Internet-connected computer and prepare to wow your colleagues, aweyour friends, impress your family, and take your learners to the next level.Part I has your quick-start guide, and you’ll know quickly if that’s whereyou’re comfortable starting out. Good luck and blast off!

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Part IWhat’s Blackboard

All About?

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In this part . . .

This part of the book is only the beginning of some-thing wonderful for both you and your learners. Trustus, and we’ll make your life easy (at least the online partof your academic life!). The inaugural part of BlackboardFor Dummies starts you off nice and easy with a first-timer’slook at the real deal and finishes off with a loud round ofapplause from you, the reader. We’ll take you to a placewhere you’re the superorganized instructor, prepared todelve into the very heart of every Blackboard use.

Chapter 1 hands to you a brief overview of what you seeon the inside of Blackboard. Call it a geography coursethat presents a visual guide through the elements on yourBlackboard screen that you’ll want to know about beforediving in. What does your Control Panel look like? Whatare bread crumbs, anyhow? Look forward to answers tothese questions and many more.

Chapter 2 begins with a quick-start guide to usingBlackboard at a minimum, from uploading a syllabus fileto entering grades into the Gradebook. The chapter con-cludes by giving you a methodical path to walk thatincludes all the grand details of planning a comprehensiveBlackboard course, from soup to nuts.

Let’s get this party started!

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Chapter 1

Your First Look at BlackboardIn This Chapter� Introducing Blackboard

� Finding your way in the course

� Mapping out the Control Panel

� Discovering a few shortcuts

We understand that finding how to use a new application or even stay-ing up-to-date with upgrades and new features can be overwhelming,especially with Web-based applications. You may ask, “Why is that?” Thereason is that, depending on which browser you use, you may or may notencounter problems for some items versus others, and some features aresupported in one browser and not in another. The list of issues can seem endless at times.

You may also be wondering why we’re starting out this chapter with a less-than-motivational introduction. The reason is that what you will love aboutBlackboard may also be the source of some frustration, much like in otherWeb-based applications you may be using. Remember that you’re working onthe Web, and keep in mind the four concepts in the following list. (The firstletter of each concept combines to create, sort of, the acronym AKA Bb — or“also known as Blackboard” — so we use that as a mnemonic device to helpyou remember.) Here’s our list:

� Access — get connected: To access Blackboard, you need to haveInternet access. That’s the beauty of Web-based applications such asBlackboard: After you get connected to the Internet, you can accessyour Blackboard account from any Internet-connected computer anywhere.

� Knowledge — know your browser: Get comfortable with the options inyour browser, such as enlarging or reducing text size, locating or settingyour default folder for downloading files, and enabling or disabling yourpop-up blocker. Allowing pop-ups is important because Blackboard uti-lizes pop-ups for some of its functions.

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� Address — remember your Blackboard URL: You probably know manyways to access your Blackboard login page and have already book-marked all of them, right? Just in case your memory fails you, writedown your Blackboard Web address and keep it in your back pocket sothat you can access it from any Internet-connected computer anywhere.Also keep your institution’s IT help desk number handy, just in case youhave no idea what the address is.

� Be aware and beware. Make yourself aware of the instructional toolsthat Blackboard offers, and keep in mind that you should test yourcourse environment thoroughly before releasing it to your learners.

If you haven’t taught online, be sure to consult the appendixes in this bookfor some additional support in using Blackboard effectively. Blackboard isdesigned to offer you much flexibility in your course design, so take advan-tage of it!

Logging In to BlackboardBlackboard is a secure Web-based application that requires all its users toenter their unique login information (username and password) in order toaccess the courses they are either teaching or are enrolled in (see Figure 1-1).To be able to log in to Blackboard at your institution, find out what that logininformation is. Your Blackboard administrator or your institution’s IT helpdesk should be able to provide you with this information. While you’re at it,find out what the URL is for the Blackboard login page at your institution. You need to have these two key pieces of information at hand to get your first look at Blackboard.

The Visual Text Box Editor (WYSIWYG) editor in Blackboard works only withInternet Explorer. Although Blackboard supports all major browsers for allother functionalities, the Visual Text Box Editor doesn’t display all availablefunctions if you use another browser to access Blackboard.

Figure 1-1:Logging

in toBlackboard.

10 Part I: What’s Blackboard All About?

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