Blackboard FAQ

Site Management:

Control panel

Sectioning/Precept Building Tool

The Sectioning Preference Tool for Students

Multi-Language Support

Control panel

Q: Why don't I have a Control Panel button in my Blackboard site?

A: Unless your role in the course is that of instructor/ leader, instructional staff/ assistant, course builder/ builder, or grader, you will not have Control Panel access (the Control Panel being the page for editing and managing the site).

Primary instructor(s) enrollment in the course sites is automated, and reflects the instructor assignments found in the registrar's Online Course Offering. Should the information therein be incorrect, please contact your department manager to have it rectified in the PeopleSoft Course Information System. This adjustment will then be reflected in Blackboard the next business day.

Course staff can be added by instructors through the course control panel. Under Course Tools, select Enroll Staff, enter the username (if you do not know it, find it using the Browse button), select the role from the dropdown box, then Submit.

As Blackboard has no way of knowing from semester to semester which department personnel should be registered in which courses and in which roles (Instructional Staff, course builder, or grader), this information should be sent to blackboard@princeton.edu is acceptable). It is a good idea for academic managers to provide a list of departmental staff to be added to the Blackboard sites before the start of the semester.

User management

Q: How do I add users to my Blackboard site?

A: Following are instructions for adding various types of users.

Official Instructors and AIs: This should be done through the PeopleSoft Course Information System (PS CIS).Please remember that the way AIs are added to the PS CIS changed starting with the fall of 2008. You should bring classes in as Schedule Only = Y, which will just bring in the scheduling information. This is the most efficient way to make changes to your instructor fields and assign AIs to all of your sections. Using Schedule Only = Y, you can then Post the changes directly back to the Schedule of Classes, bypassing any approval process. This does only work for the fields on that second Schedule CUP tab, but it is definitely the fastest way to get those types of changes back to Blackboard.

Un-official Instructors, AIs, other staff: If you are a course Instructor, Instructional Staff, or Course Builder, you can add unofficial Instructors and AI's (aka TA's and Instructional Staff), as well as Builders and Graders to your Blackboard course site by clicking the Add Users by Role link under the Course Tools area of your control panel and entering their NetIDs. Add multiple users with the same role by entering all their NetIDs, separated by commas, then selecting the role, then Submit.

Departmental and Program Staff for Multiple Courses: Contact blackboard@princeton.edu( (Note that these requests must be made each semester.)

Graduate and undergraduate students: Graduate and undergraduate student enrollment is automated through the registrar's office. When a student add/drops a course the changes are picked up by Blackboard in a timely manner. During regular business hours, these changes should be reflected in Blackboard within a couple hours; changes made after business hours and on weekends will not be reflected in Blackbaord until the start of the next business day.

Adding graduate students during "shopping period": Graduate students who wish to access your Blackboard site during their "shopping period" should use SCORE to enroll in the course. Graduate students are allowed to add and drop courses during the 'shopping period' via SCORE at no charge.

Princeton Theological Seminary Students and high school students:Click this text for more information.

Community auditors: Community auditors are added automatically by the Community Auditor Office. Click this text for more information.

Special Students: To add special students, such as unoffical auditors, send e-mail to blackboard@princeton.edu.

(Note: we will no longer add students to courses who can be enrolled through SCORE.)

Users in Organizations: For Organization sites, users in all roles may be added by Leaders using the My Organizations Plus module found under the My Blackboard tab.

Add User by Role Instructions (for instructors, instructional staff, and course builders)

NOTE: The Browse function for finding NetIDs does not work; you must know the NetIDs when you begin.

Go to your Blackboard course and click the control panel link. In the area labeled Course Tools or Organization Tools, click the Add Users by Role link.

In the Add User by Role page that appears, enter all the Net ID's, separated by commas, of the people you want to assign to a particular role (you can only do one role at a time). Then select the role from the dropdown box and Submit.

The Net ID is the part of the Princeton email address that precedes @princeton.edu.

Role choices for course sites are Instructor, Teachig Assistant (displays elsewhere as Instructional Staff) Course Builder, and Grader; for organization sites, Leader, Assistant, Organization Builder, Grader, and Participant.

USER ROLES AND PRIVILEGES

Courses / Organizations
Instructor / Leader
Instructional Staff / Assistant
Course Builder / Organization Builder
Grader / Grader
Student / Participant

Each user can have only one user role per Bb site. These roles are site-specific, so a single user could be assigned the Instructor role in one Bb site, but be assigned the Student role in another Bb site.

Instructor / Leader
The Instructor / Leader role has the highest level of privilege within a course. Typically, the Instructor / Leader is the person teaching the course or leading the organization. The Instructor / Leader has access to everything in the Control Panel.

Instructional Staff / Assistant
The role of Instructional Staff / Assistant is the rough equivalent of the Instructor / Leader. This role would be assigned to a user who will be significantly participating in the teaching of the class or management of the site, but is not listed in the PeopleSoft Course Information System Catalog as a primary instructor. The Instructional Staff / Assistant role has access to everything in the Control Panel except for the ability to remove an Instructor / Leader from the site, or change the Instructor / Leader's role.

Course Builder / Organization Builder
The Course Builder / Organization Builder role has access to the course's Control Panel, but not to the Grade Center and course statistics. An Instructor / Leader would assign someone the Builder role so that person could assist in the creation of content and in some of the management. As with the Assistant role, access within the User management section is limited to prevent the Builder from removing Instructors, modifying user properties, etc.

Grader / Grader
The Grader role has access to the Control Panel, but only to the Assessment section. A Grader would assist the Instructor / Leader in the creation, management, delivery, grading or evaluating online assessments and surveys delivered through Blackboard.

Student / Participant
The Student / Participant role is the default role. A user with the Course User role of Student / Participant has no access to the course's Control Panel.

Q: How often do enrollments get updated?

A:When an instructor or AI is added to a course in the PeopleSoft Course Information system, a process begins that results in adding that individual to the corresponding Blackboard course site. If it is done in a manner that does not throw the course into pending status (see note), the change should be reflect in 2 - 3 hours during the work day, and by 11:00pm if the change is made after 5:00pm.

Student enrollment changes made through SCORE are updated in Blackboard every 3 - 4 hours, beginning at 6:30am and ending at 8:30pm.

Q: How do I remove users from my Blackboard site?

A: FOR COURSE SITES:

When a student add/drops a course, the Registrar's Office first must process the changes, which may take two or three business days. Once they have processed the changes, the Blackboard records are updated the following morning. However, if the user was added through the add user form that is accessed through the Control Panel or the Help tab, or added by e-mail request, the user must be removed manually. Please send e-mail to blackboard@princeton.edu to request such removals, or follow the instructions in the following paragraph to make the site unavailable to the user.

If you do not wish to wait for the automated drop process to complete, or the user was not added through the Registrar's course enrollment process, you can make your site unavailable to specific users. Select List All Users under Course Tools in the Control Panel > check the box next to the users you wish to make unavailable >click Make Unavailable in the gray tool bar at the top of the page. When that user attempts to enter your site, s/he will receive this message: Access Denied -- Your access has been disabled. Users made unavailable will also be removed from the site's e-mail, though exclusion from e-mail sent through to course e-lists from your e-mail client may take up to 24 hours.

A: FOR ORGANIZATION SITES:

Leaders may control user access through the My Organizations Plus module found under the My Blackboard tab. In the section of the module labeled Organizations you are leading, click [Edit Users]. For further instructions on using the tool, click the Help link in the tool bar on the page that comes up.

Q: Why is a student, "Library Blackboard Zzzzz" (username "pubserv"), enrolled in my course web site?

A: To facilitate the work of the librarians, who have been getting requests for assistance from students regarding information and assignments in the sites, as of the Spring 2001 term we have provided them with student access to all Blackboard web sites as "ghost" students (they will not receive class e-mail, nor will they have access to the Control Panel). The last name is "Zzzzz" to avoid interference with the sequence in your Grade Center. To hide this user in your Grade Center, bput your cursor over the "Zzzzz," click the double down arrows, and click on Hide Users.

If you would rather the librarians not have access to your course materials, you can make the site unavailable to them by going to Control Panel > List/Modify Users > Search > Properties (next to entry for Blackboard, Library) then select "No" under Available, then Submit. Or just e-mail us at blackboard@princeton.edu.

Please note that refusing the library staff access will hinder their efforts to assist you and your students in case of questions or problems with e-reserves.

Q: Can I change a user's role in my Blackboard site?

A: Yes.. Select List All Users under Course Tools in the Control Panel . To the right of the user listing, select the Modify button, under area 3, Account Management, select the new role and Submit.

Q: How can I see the photos of my students?

A: In the Control Panel under Course Tools, you will find a link labeled Site Members photos. Clicking it will bring you (if you are an Instructor or Instructional Staff in the course site) to a page that displays the photos of all the students enrolled in the course, with clickable e-mail links. If you have Groups defined in your course site, you can sort the students according to these Groups.

Click this text for an PDF document for more details on Site Member Photos.

Q: What privileges are associated with the various Blackboard site roles?

A: User roles determine the level of access to a site.
There are five user roles:

Courses / Organizations
Instructor / Leader
Instructional Staff / Assistant
Course Builder / Organization Builder
Grader / Grader
Student / Participant

Student / Participant
The Student / Participant role is the default role. A user with the Course User role of Student / Participant has no access to the course's Control Panel.

User participation

Q: How do I know if my students are using my Blackboard site?

A: There are several of checking which students are using the site, and how frequently.

The fastest and most convenient is through a portal module called User Participation. This module also facilitates emailing the students to remind them to use the site. It is access under the "My Blackboard" tab at the top of you Blackboard screen. If the module is not visible, click the Content button found under the tabs in the upper left corner of the page. Scroll down to the list presented to User Participation, check the box next to it, then click Submit.

After locating the module on the My Blackboard page, click the Course/Organization link found in it, then click on the name of the course or organization you want to check for participation. The names of the students will be listed, along with a color-coded legend indicating range of time since last logon. You can then check the boxes next to the names of the students you wish to remind by email to use the site and click Submit.

You can get much more detailed and specific information about use of your site by clicking the Course Statistics link found in the "Assessment" section of your site's control panel.

The Performance Dashboard is a course tool that allows Instructors to see key information and outcomes for all course users. It displays the last time users logged in, their course role, content availability by user based on Adaptive Release criteria, Review Status for content items, and a direct link to the Gradebook: User Grade List page for individual users.

Site access options

Q: How do I keep visitors out of my Blackboard site?

A: In the Control Panel go to Course Options > Settings > Guest Access, turn on the "No" radio button, then click Submit.

Q: The semester is over and I no longer want people to be able to access my Blackboard site. What can I do?

A: In the Control Panel go to Course/Organization Options > Settings > Course/Organization Availability, turn on the "No" radio button, then click Submit. Students/Participants will not be able to access the site, but instructors/leaders, ta's, builders, and graders will.

Sectioning Tool

Q: Is there an easy way to assign students to Blackboard groups according to precept?

A: The Sectioning Tool is a course management utility designed to help faculty and staff manage the assignment of students into course sections, including:

• Precepts
• Drills
• Ear trainings
• Films
• Classes (related to a lecture or seminar) – at the request of the department
• Labs (related to a lecture or seminar) – at the request of the department

There are two means of assigning students to sections using the Blackboard Sectioning Tool:

• Automatic sorting, which is based on preferences expressed by students through the Student Preference Tool, and
• Manual sorting

Both methods of section assignment are described in more detail, later in this document.

In addition to the sorting capabilities of the Sectioning Tool, its interface with Blackboard provides the means for those with Blackboard course roles of instructor, ta, and course builder to communicate with respective section members through e-mail, as a single group.

Note that only one user is permitted to use the sectioning tool for a particular course at a time.

Click here for the complete instruction brochure (pdf).

The Sectioning Preference Tool for students

Click here for the complete instruction brochure (pdf).

Q: Where do I find the sectioning tool?

A: The sectioning tool is available through the Blackboard course management site at: www.princeton.edu/blackboard
It is located in the Control Panel among the Course Tools.

Q: Who can use this tool?

A:The sectioning tool is available to those with Blackboard course roles of instructor, ta, and course builder. Only one user is permitted access to the sectioning tool for a particular course at a time.

Q: What do I do when I receive an alert that there is a scheduling conflict?

A: If you encounter a scheduling conflict when assigning a student to a section, you can click the OK button to add the student to the section despite the alert. To remove the student from the assigned section, highlight the student’s name in the assigned section and click the Remove from Group List button.

Q: What about students who enroll in a course during or after the Student Preference dates?

A: Students who enroll in a course after the dates have been set for the Student Preference part of the tool will receive an email from Blackboard informing them of the dates for indicating their section preferences. Students who enroll in a course after the End Date for the Student Preferences must be manually assigned to a section.

Student Use Instructions for the Sectioning Preference Tool for students

Q: How and when will I know which section I'm in?

A: You will receive an email message notifying you of the section you've been placed in. If the instructor runs the sorting preference tool and you are placed into a section prior to the close date, you will also see a message in the section preference tool notifying you of such.

Q: What happens if I can't get my selected section(s)?

A: You will placed in a section that does not conflict with your known courses. In the event you need to change your section, contact your instructor.

Q: I dropped a course today but the section preference I chose is still showing a conflict with that dropped course.

A: The dropped course may not have been removed in Blackboard yet. You can still choose the sections you wanted and ignore the conflict.

Q: Do I have to order all the sections or only the ones I want?

A: You can put in order as many or as few of the sections you want. You do not have to place in order those sections that you know conflict with your schedule.

Q: If I only choose the one section that I prefer, will I be guaranteed to get that section?

A: No. The sorting tool that your instructor runs is random - not first come first serve (unless the instructor runs the sorting tool every day). If there are 200 students in your course and all those students have selected the same section that may have only 20 openings, the tool will look to see what your next choice is, check your schedule and that section's availability when it tries to place you. If your second choice isn't available, it will go to your third choice and so on. You will not be placed in a section that conflicts with your schedule, but you may be placed in a section that you did not indicate any preference for.

Multi-Language Support

Q: Is English the only language I can access Blackboard in?

A: As of Fall 2006, the Blackboard Academic Suite is available in Spanish, French, Italian, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Traditional Chinese, and Arabic. The Arabic Language Pack does not include right to left display. The entire system can be set in a specific language, or a language may be offered as a preference for users. To support cross-border education, as well as foreign language courses, Instructors can set the language of the course independently from the language setting of the overall system.

Individual users can set a language (locale, in Blackboard speak) for a the entire Blackboard site following these steps:

1. Open Personal Information. This is tool is available on tabs and within courses.
2. Click Set Locale.
3. Select a Locale from the drop-down list.
4. Click Submit.

(Note: If an instructor has set a language for a particular site and selected Enforce Locale, that site will not be impacted by an individual's locale setting.

Instructors can set a language (locale, in Blackboard speak) for a course following these steps:

1. Click Settings from the Control Panel.
2. Click Set Locale.
3. Select a Locale from the drop-down list.
4. Click Enforce Locale to always display this course in the selected locale.
5. Click Submit.
If a locale is not chosen for a course the course will display in the user’s preferred locale or, if the
user has not set a preferred locale, in the system default locale.

Q: Are all areas of a course impacted by Locale settings?

A: Almost all-- Course Areas not Impacted by Locale Selections:

For the most part, the Control Panel appears in the selected locale of a course; it does not appear in the locale selected for the user. In a few spots within a course, the page will display using the
system default or the user’s preferred locale rather than the course locale. The following pages will not display in the selected course locale:

Control Panel > Course Information > Modify Item, Copy Item, Add Item, Remove Item

Control Panel > Copy Files to CS

Control Panel > Discussion Board > Add Forum

Control Panel > Announcements > Confirmation receipt.

Q: Does Spell Check work with all the language choices?

A: At this time, no. The Spell Check tool supports American English, Great Britain English, French, and Spanish. The Spell Check tool will not work with other locales. If Spell Check does not recognize the locale it will use a supported dictionary.

August 20, 2008

Disclaimer: Some information in this archive may have changed due to feature upgrades to the Blackboard software and/or new discoveries about the capabilities of Blackboard.