Blackboard FAQs

Q:  How do I log into Blackboard?

A:

Your username is your first initial and last name, and your password is initially set to your campus-wide ID. Do not capitalize anything. If this does not work, please contact the Blackboard administrator to have your password reset.

Q:  I have a student calling to say they don’t see their course in Blackboard. They are on my roster. What do I tell them?

A:

First, be sure they are accessing the new Blackboard system and not the old one. Courses are available to students beginning the first day of class. They will not see it until then. If it is after the first day of class and they are still having trouble, refer them to the Blackboard system administrator.

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Q:  Do you have any training for how to use Blackboard?

A:

Yes. A list of available Blackboard training for faculty is available here. Face-to-face training's will be available periodically as well. Contact the Blackboard administrator for a schedule.

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Q:  Why are my student’s names reversed in my roster?

A:

This was caused when students were manually entered and has now been permanently corrected in the system, but a few students may have slipped through the cracks. If you send the Blackboard Administrator the names of students still affected by this problem, we will ensure the problem is corrected.

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Q:  How do I add a new course to Blackboard?

A:

New courses are added through Banner. Contact Admissions to add the course to Banner. The course will be added to Blackboard automatically the next time the system is updated.

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Q:  How do I move content from my old Blackboard (WebCT) course into the new Blackboard course?

A:

The procedure for this can be found by viewing Migrating_to_BB9.pdf. There is also a video demonstration of this procedure located here. This procedure will not work if the size of your backup file exceeds 100MB. Contact the Blackboard administrator for assistance.

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Q:  Can I copy the content from one Blackboard Learn 9.1 course to another?

A:

Yes. Open the source course. In the Control Panel, select Packages and Utilities>Course Copy. In the dropdown box, select Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course. Click Browse to select the destination course. Check the box beside each item you wish to copy into the destination course. Click Submit.

A video demonstrating this process is available here.

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Q:  I am teaching two sessions of the same course. Can you combine these for me?

A:

The courses can be merged. Submit your request to the Blackboard administrator, and indicate which session should be the primary course. Be sure to notify students in the merged section to use the primary course.

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Q:  Can I keep my course running past the end of the semester? My students need additional time to complete the work.

A:

Courses are available for 10 days after the semester ends. If your students need more time than this, contact the Blackboard administrator. Please be sure to follow campus procedures for students who do not complete a course.

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Q:  How do I make a course unavailable?

A:

Under the Control Panel, select Customization>Properties. In Section 3 - Make Course Available, check the box next to No. Click Submit. This hides the course from all students. If you wish to hide it on your list of courses, contact the Blackboard administrator.

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Q:  I can’t see the assignment (discussion board forum, etc.) I just created. Where did it go?

A:

Most likely you have assigned a range of available dates to the content or the content page. When you click on an item which is not available, you will get an error message. To view the content, go to the folder where the content is located, click the down arrow icon  next to the name of the content, and select Edit. This will allow you to preview the content.

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Q:  Why can’t I see the due dates for the assignments I’ve created in the calendar? Why are the assignments not showing up in To Do?

A:

Assignment and assessment due dates do not apply to the instructor. Since you are logged into Blackboard as you, you will not see due dates in the calendar or the To Do module (even with Edit Mode off). To see what the student sees, use the Student View tool.

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Q:  Where is the Assignment drop box?

A:

You can create an assignment with its own attached drop box. From any content page, click Create Assessment>Assignment to create an assignment. Give it a title and add student instructions. Provide the dates available and due date, assign a point value and upload a grading rubric if desired. Click Submit. Students will get assignment instructions and attach the assignment right to this page. You will be notified in the Grade Center (located in the Control Panel) when an assignment is ready for grading.

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Q:  How do I link to an electronic resource from our library?

A:

Copy the URL as you would for any online resource, but when you paste it into the URL field in Blackboard, you will need to preface it with our Proxy link so that students located off-campus will be able to access it. Paste the following text in front of the current URL: http://dbproxy.tamut.edu/login?url=

This will create a very long URL which looks something like this: http://dbproxy.tamut.edu/login?url=http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?sid=a9b11003-38ae-4953-8550-7216ee6720c4%40sessionmgr114&vid=8&hid=104

If students are on campus, the web browser will ignore the proxy link and go straight to the document. Students located off-campus will first be redirected to the proxy server and then to the resource so they are able to view it.

NOTE: This procedure is being replaced with our new LibGuides. Contact Teri Stover in the library for more details.

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Q:  I created an assessment in Blackboard. How do I deploy it?

A:

Once you create the assessment, you need to place it in a content folder. Go to the content page where you want the assessment to appear, and clickCreate Assessment>Test. Select the assessment from the list next to Add Test and click Submit. Set options for your assessment such as the dates to display it, the due date, the number of attempts a student has, etc. Click Submit. The test is now located in the content folder and will be available subject to dates and availability set by you.

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Q:  How do I assign a due date to discussion postings?

A:

Blackboard does not have an option for this. You can make a discussion forum have a limited date availability which will display it only for the designated period of time. If you want students to be alerted to a discussion due date, create a course event in the calendar. See instructions on how to do this:

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Q:  How do I add an event to the course calendar?

A:

From the Control Panel, select Course Tools>Course Calendar. Click Create Course Event. Give the event a name and select the event date and time. Click Submit.

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Q:  Why are my student’s names not showing up in the Message Center?

A:

Student names do not show up until the first day of class. Once the course becomes available for the students, you will be able to send them a message.

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Q:  How do I prevent my students from getting an email in their Ace mail account every time I create or update an announcement?

A:

Do not check the box that says Send Immediately when creating the announcement. This option sends students an email in addition to creating the announcement.

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Q:  How do I create a demo student?

A:

Use our new Student View Tool. This will create a demo student and switch you into the student view mode. After using this tool once, you will see a new student enrolled in your course with user name bb_demo_#### where #### is a randomly assigned number. You can treat this demo student like any other student, assigning grades, taking tests as the students, or using the adaptive release feature.

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Q:  Is Blackboard Learn available on my mobile device?

A:

The Blackboard Mobile Learn App is currently available for free download on the following devices:

• iPhone®, iPod Touch®, and iPad™
• Android OS devices

To access Texas A&M University - Texarkana, there is an individual license fee of $1.99 per year or $5.99 lifetime. This fee gives you access to the university from all your (same platform) devices; it is not necessary to pay the fee for each device you own.

To download and start using Blackboard Mobile Learn:

1. Search for “Blackboard Mobile Learn” in your App Store or scan the code below:
   
2. Once Blackboard Mobile Learn is installed, search for Texas A & M University - Texarkana using the search bar that automatically appears when you open the app.
3. Select Texas A & M University - Texarkana.
4. Log in using the same username and password you normally use to access Blackboard

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