Q: What
is Blackboard?
A: Blackboard is a course management software package written
by a company called Blackboard,
Inc., based in Washington, DC. Princeton University
purchases a license to use the Blackboard Academic Suite, which includes the Learning System, and the Community System. The program code
runs from load-balanced, dedicated Solaris servers, while the database runs from dedicated Oracle servers. All servers are Princeton-owned and campus-based.
Users of Blackboard can only
interact
with the program by using a Web-browser based interface.
Blackboard allows creation and administration of course
content without
the need to purchase or learn a full-fledged web editing
program. It also provides access to numerous interactive
tools such
as discussion boards, e-mail lists, and online assessments
that would otherwise be rather difficult to set up.
Blackboard, Inc . is constantly adding new features, and/or improving existing ones. Instead of periodic major upgrades to new versions, upgrades are incremental through smaller Application Packages. After applying a certain number of Application Packages, the end result will be equivalent to a major version upgrade. The hope is that this method will result in improvements to Blackboard that are painless and seamless for the end user.
Princeton University creates some extensions used in Blackboard, such as the Sectioning tool and the Site Members Photos tool. We also integrate tools created by other entities.
Blackboard at Princeton is managed by Dennis Hood. It is an offering of the Educational Technology Center (ETC), which is a part of Academic Services within the Office of Information Technology (OIT).
Blackboard has its own dedicated helpline, (609) 258-0737, available during business hours. Questions may also be sent to blackboard@princeton.edu .
We will be happy to send someone to your office to consult with and train you in the use of the Blackboard and related teaching technology. To request this service, fill out our online request form at: https://winscript.princeton.edu/as/Faculty_OV_form.php or contact Academic Services at 258-7331, or send e-mail to stat@princeton.edu.
Making content areas or all of a Blackboard web site available / unavailable to guests
Click on the Control Panel button located in the lower left corner of the course web site window. This will bring up the Control Panel window. (If you do not see a Control Panel button, then you are not listed as an instructor, ta or builder for the course; please contact us at blackboard@princeton.edu , or 8-0737, for help). From the the Course Options / Organization Options area of Control Panel window click on Manage Course Menu / Manage Organization Menu . If the area you want to open / close to guest access already exists, click the Modify button at the far right of your screen that correspond to the area's name, check / uncheck the box next to Allow guest access , then click Submit . If you want to create an new area in which to place content that you do not want guests to have access to, click Add Content Area at the top of the screen, type in a name for the area, leave the Allow guest access box unchecked and click Submit . (Note: The Allow observer access option is irrelevant unless you have requested that someone be enrolled as an observer of a specific user in your site. This feature was developed for parents of the K-12 cohort.)
To make your entire site unavailable to guests, from the Course Options / Organization Options area of the Control Panel window, click on Settings , then Guest Access , then turn on the "No" radio button next to "Allow Guests" and click Submit .
We encourage faculty to use our library's eReserve system for copyrighted articles. We then automatically put a link to the course's eReserves in the menu for each course. When students access the eReserves, they are first presented with a copyright notice. At the end of the course, the link is disabled.
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