Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get a course in Blackboard?

Courses can only be created by one of the System Administrators. Please refer to the Help Contacts section.


What's the best way to organise my course in Blackboard?

Most staff find it best to have a separate Blackboard course for each unit - having a number of different units within the same course can get very confusing. Within the course, organise your resources in a meaningful way - perhaps for example a folder for each major topic or learning outcome. If in doubt, discuss this with any of the eLearning staff.

How do I put materials into my course?

Any kind of changes to your course can either be made via the Control Panel, which is only available to Instructors on a course, or from within Course Documents click on the "Edit" button (top right of the window).
If, for example, you want to add a Word document, go to the Control Panel, then open the folder into which you want to place the document (e.g. Course Documents). Next, click the Add Item button. Enter a title for the document (this is the title as it will appear in your course, not the file name). Scroll down to section 2, click Browse and find the file. When you have done that, scroll down and click Submit.
The procedure is the same for most files, but if you are uploading a "zip" file packaged in CourseGenie, remember at Section 2 to select "Unpackage this file".
The above comments are intended only as a brief reminder. If you want to find out how to set up and run a course in Blackboard, your really need to attend one of the staff development sessions that are held regularly throughout the year.

How do I add students to my course?

First ensure that the students have had a Blackboard account created for them - in most cases they will need to register themselves by clicking the link in the Login Here window that appears on their home page when they run Internet Explorer.
Adding a single user: In your course, from the Control Panel select Enroll User. In the search box enter either the surname or the username (e.g. AA1234-1) of the student, select the appropriate button below and then click Search. If you have searched by Surname, a list of names might appear. Identify the student you want to add, click the Add box, scroll down if necessary and click Submit.

Adding multiple users: This assumes that the students you want to add share a common course code for their username (e.g. AA1234-1, AA1234-2, AA1234-3, etc). When at the Search stage, select Username and enter AA1234. This should return a list of all students with that course code. Click the Add button for all students that you want to add, then Submit.
If you want to add students who have different course codes, you will have to repeat the above procedure for each individual, or for each sub-group that share a course code.

How do I remove students from my course?


In your course, from the Control Panel select Remove Users from Course. In the search box enter either the surname or the username (e.g. AA1234-1) of the student, select the appropriate button below and then click Search. If you have searched by Surname, a list of names might appear. Identify the student you want to remove, click the box beside their name and type "Yes" (case sensitive) in the confirmation box, scroll down if necessary and click Submit.

Can I add other members of staff to my course?

Yes, to do this search for the member of staff in the same way as shown above when adding a student, except that you will search by surname. Then add them in the same way as you add a student (see above).
When you add a member of staff however, they are enrolled on your course as a student. This means that they do not have access to the Control Panel and cannot add or change any course materials. You will need to ask a member of the elearning team to change their status to lecturer on the course.

How do I use assessments in Blackboard?

You can set up tests in Blackboard that students can work through as part of their course. Depending on the type of question they can be given immediate feedback and the results of the test are available for the students and you to review at any time.
To find out how to do this contact someone in the elearning team.

How do I know if students are using my course?

In your course, from the Control Panel select Course Statistics. Make sure that the date period covers the period you want to search. Select either all users, or select the individual(s) that you want to search for. Click Submit, and you will now see a summary that shows when each user has accessed Blackboard.

Can I change the layout of my Blackboard pages?

To some extent, yes. If the page has at the top right the links "Modify Content" and "Modify Layout", then you can, with some restrictions change the modules that appear, their appearance and their layout.
For example, if you click Content, you are presented with a list of modules. You can opt to have a module added to, or removed from, your page by adding or clearing a tick against the module. The only exceptions are those ticked in red (e.g. My Announcements) - they cannot be removed.
Similarly, if you select Layout, you can choose whether a module appears on the left or right of the page, and the vertical order of modules. You can also choose from a range of colour schemes.
Pages without "Modify Content" or "Modify Layout" cannot be altered.