Navigation & Editing

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General Layout & Navigation

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  • Carefully review the screen shot below to become familiar with the various icons you may click on while navigating through your Blackboard course.

Blackboard Navigation

Can't find what you're looking for?
There are several possibilities:
  1. Is it on the next page? See the Paging Preference tip.
  2. Are you looking in the correct tab (Build, Teach, Graded, Submitted, etc.)

Build Tab: Design & Edit

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Use the Build tab to create and edit the content of your Blackboard course. Under this tab you may add or remove tools, create and modify assessments, assignments, learning modules, etc, and manage your files with the File Manager.

  • To edit your web site, click on the Build tab.

  • The Formatting Menu on the top of a page in the Build Tab allows you to make changes to the current page.


Adding a New Tool

  • Click on Manage Course, then click Tools.

  • From the list of tools, click on the check box next to the name of the tool you wish to add.
  • Click Save.


 

Editing the Course Menu

  • To edit the Course Menu click Manage Course (located on the left), go to Course Menu.

  • The General Settings menu will allow you to:
    • Select whether to display the links as Icons, Text or both.
    • Orient the Course Menu.
    • Display or hide the Course Content map on the Menu.
  • From here, the Order and Visibility section will allow you to:
    • Re-arrange links.
    • Show or hide links.


 

Add/Edit Content

  • Many Blackboard tools provide a form field in which you may add descriptions, instructions, and general content. Content added to these form fields is treated as plain text unless you check the Use HTML box provided or press the Enable the HTML Creator button to enter your content using the built in HTML editor. Please read the Session Timeout information provided below to learn the preferred way to create and modify content for delivery to an Internet application such as Blackboard.

WARNING: Avoid using special characters ( @ # % & ; ) in filenames and titles.

Session Timeout
WARNING: Blackboard sessions timeout after 30 minutes of inactivity. Web Browsers DO NOT register typing as activity. If you're typing an assignment, assessment, or discussion submission for longer than 30 minutes, the session may timeout when the submit button is pressed. This means that you may lose your work.

TIP: To prevent lost work, create your content in a word processor,
         and then copy & paste the content into Blackboard.

 

Add/Edit Content containing HTML Formatting

Many Blackboard tools have an HTML Editor built in. This allows you to create and edit web content with normal "Word processor-like" functionality (i.e. bold, change colors, insert images, choose fonts, etc.)

Bb HTML Editor Known Issues
Bb's Advanced HTML Creator is enabled for instructors, but is currently disabled for students because, under certain limited circumstances, it does not function correctly.

For Windows XP, the HTML Creator works with both Internet Explorer (IE) and Firefox, however certain browser add-ons such as the Google Toolbar under Firefox 2 cause conflicts. Disabling these add-ons fixes this issue.

Macintosh Safari users may use the HTML Creator safely EXCEPT in the Discussion area where problems continue to exist.

Please check your settings to make sure the HTML editor does not come on by default: My Settings > My Tool Options > Uncheck “Start the HTML Creator by default”
  •  From an edit screen, press the Enable HTML Creator button

  • An important feature of the HTML Editor is the Full Screen mode. To access it press the Frame Window Mode icon.

  • A resizable window will pop-up for you to work in.

  • When you're finished, press the Leave Window Mode button on your original Blackboard Screen, or just close the editing Window.
  • Your content will automatically be transferred to the original page.

 

  • Press Save (or Send/Post depending on the tool) to complete the edits.

Teach Tab: Teach & Grade

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Use the Teach tab to access the teaching and grading features of Blackboard. Through this tab, you will be able to work with the grade book, grade assessments and assignments, track your student's progress, manage groups, maintain selective release settings, and reset your course at the end of each semester.

  • To edit grades and other teaching functions, click on the Teach tab.

Student View Tab

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The Student View tab allows you to see and interact with Blackboard exactly as your students do. Blackboard provides each course with a Demo Student Account for testing. This demo account is used when you take quizzes and submit assignments while in the Student View tab. In the student view, you are able to see exactly what your students see including the My Grades area. Use the Student View tab whenever you have a question about how your students will view and work in your Blackboard course.

  • To preview a Web Page as the students will see it, click on the Student View tab.

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