Blackboard Help for SBU Students
What is my Blackboard ID and password?
How do I change my Blackboard password?
How do I change my e-mail address within my Blackboard account?
What computer software do I need for Blackboard?
What Operating System should I be using for Blackboard?
What is the best Internet browser to use with Blackboard?
What settings does my browser need to properly access Blackboard?
What are the guidelines for taking quizzes in Blackboard?
What happens when I add or drop a course?
How long will I have access to the course material?
What are Collaboration Tools, and how do I use them?
What requirements do I need to meet for successful use of Collaboration Tools?
What is Blackboard?
Blackboard is a software application which allows faculty to easily upload course content; manage course communication; test students online; host multimedia materials; manage student grades online, and many other course-related functions. Using a web browser, such as Internet Explorer, students can access materials from home or work at their convenience.
Blackboard can also be used by Staff to communicate within their department, or find employee documents.
What is my Blackboard ID and password?
Your account is now generated for you. This means you are automatically enrolled into the Blackboard courses that you enrolled in through SBU. Your username is your student number (no leading zeros, so 0123456 becomes 123456) and your initial password is your eight digit birthday, MMDDYYYY (ex. 02031971 for Feb. 3rd 1971).
How do I change my Blackboard password?
You can change your Blackboard password through your student e-mail (Netmail). To access this e-mail account you can go to http://netmail.sbuniv.edu, or go to SBU’s homepage, http://www.sbuniv.edu, My SBU, and then click the link that reads Netmail. The User Name and Password for your e-mail is the same as your Network login. Once you put in your Username and Password, you will get a screen that contains your mail and if you look at the top left-hand corner you will find three boxes, you need to check on the box in the middle (settings). Choose the password tab. You will get a screen that allows you to change your password. Make sure that you input the old password, create a new one that is at least eight characters in length, and hit the save button at the bottom of the page. Once you have done this, your password will be that same password that you created for your Network Login, your Blackboard Login, and your Netmail Login. If you have tried these steps and still need assistance, you can call the helpdesk at 417-328-1782.
How do I change my e-mail address within my Blackboard account?
Change of the e-mail address associated with your Bb account is controlled by the individual student. Your address information includes a Personal E-mail Address field. If this field is blank, the SBU-provided e-mail address will be used. Otherwise, if you provide something that looks like a valid e-mail address (eg. a@b.com), then this address will be used on your Bb account.
NOTE: Typos on this, or a change of what you have for an e-mail address, could cause communication problems if the e-mail is used from within your Bb courses.
To change your e-mail address in Blackboard, you have to change your e-mail address through WebAdvisor. To do this you can click on the link in Blackboard that says Personal Information in the Tools box on the left side of the My SBU tab page, then go to edit personal information. Or use the WebAdvisor link in the SBU Online Technology Suite box, also on the left side of the My SBU tab page. If you have not used WebAdvisor before, you can click on the links at the bottom of the page that say: What’s my user ID?, What’s my password?, or I am new to WebAdvisor. These links will help you get logged into WebAdvisor so that you can edit your personal information such as e-mail address. WebAdvisor will also give you access to grade and transcript-type information.
How can I get a course to show up when I am not listed on Blackboard as being enrolled in that course?
Make sure that you are at the correct URL to access your courses, http://my.sbuniv.edu and not http://courses.sbuniv.edu. You can access this by going to www.sbuniv.edu and clicking on MY SBU, and then going to Blackboard directly. Once you have logged into Blackboard, if your course is not showing check with the registrar’s office to make sure that you have enrolled in that course. Your account on Blackboard is automatically generated with the classes that you have enrolled in.
What computer software do I need for Blackboard?
Microsoft Word, and Excel is recommended by SBU because faculty members frequently use Word and Excel for their course documents. Microsoft PowerPoint or a free download of the PowerPoint Viewer are suggested to provide easy access to instructor presentations. Another free download, Adobe Acrobat Reader, will be needed if the instructor uses files in PDF format. Other software may be requested by individual instructors to access their course files.
What Operating System should I be using for Blackboard?
Blackboard recommends that participants use either Windows 98, ME, 2000, or XP; or Macintosh OS 9 or X.
What is the best Internet browser to use with Blackboard?
Blackboard recommends that participants use the Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher web browser. Netscape 7.0/8.0 and Mozilla Firefox 1.00.7 may work with Blackboard 6, but your experience with Blackboard will not be optimized using these browsers. Blackboard will function with Safari for Macintosh OS X. You may access the Internet through your ISP; e.g. AOL, MSN, AT&T, etc.; however, to access Blackboard properly, minimize the ISP browser after you reach the Internet, open Internet Explorer (IE), and use it to access Blackboard.
What settings does my browser need to properly access Blackboard?
Required browser settings for logging into Blackboard include the following:
Accept all cookies
Security Level set to Medium
Enable JavaScript
In Internet Explorer you may reset these settings by clicking on Tools in the menu bar at the top of your browser. Next click on Internet Options and find and set proper features under the Security tab and Custom Level button. If your instructor is using the Blackboard Virtual Classroom (Chat), Java must be installed and enabled. Macintosh Netscape users will need Java MJR 2.2.5
What are the guidelines for taking quizzes in Blackboard?
Before starting a quiz on Blackboard:
- Do not take the quiz until you are ready.
- Close down other programs running on the computer. Avoid distraction; you should focus only on the quiz until it is finished.
- Do not wait until the last second to take the quiz. If something goes wrong there won't be enough time resolve the issue and allow you to take the test.
- Use Internet Explorer 6.0 or higher to take the quiz. Other browsers can cause problems.
If you are working on a dial-up connection, make sure your ISP time-out settings are set to the maximum allowed time. - Do not resize or refresh your screen after loading the quiz. Make sure it is the size you want before going into the quiz. Most browsers refresh the page when you resize the screen. This means it will try to reload the quiz.
While loading and taking the quiz:
- When entering the quiz, only click the ok button once. Sometimes it takes a while to load the quiz (give it at least a full minute). If, after clicking once, nothing happens for a while, then contact the proctor or e-mail your instructor immediately. Do not keep clicking. If you click twice, then you will get a message saying you already took the quiz and you will not be able to get in again. If something goes wrong contact your test proctor or e-mail your instructor immediately. If you are not ready to begin the test you can click on the Cancel button.
- Do not use the back and forward buttons on the Internet browser to move to and from the quiz; instead use the arrow keys to navigate.
- Save buttons and the Question Completion Status bar There is a Save button for each question, as well as a Save button at the end of the test. Clicking the Save button will open a new small window, that confirms your answer for the question has been saved. Between the test information at the top and the first question is the Question Completion Status bar.
- To view it, click the triangle at the left. There will be a list of numbers, one for each question. As you save your answers, a floppy icon will appear next to the numbers, to let you know what questions you have completed.
- Do not click on the button to submit the quiz until you are either done or have run out of time.
- Click Submit when you are finished.
What happens when I add or drop a course?
Your course list will be automatically updated based on the official student registration information available at the time of the update. In most circumstances the updates for official courses will occur twice a day at 6:00a.m. and at 1:30p.m. When you add a course, you will see it in your course list when updated. When you drop a course, your course status will be changed to "inactive" and you will no longer have access to it. At the end of the add/drop period, you will be purged from the course that you have dropped.
How long will I have access to the course material?
This is up to the individual instructor. When the instructor makes the course “available” then you will have access to that course, until the instructor has made it “unavailable”.
What are Collaboration Tools, and how do I use them?
The Collaboration Tools allow students to participate in real-time lessons and discussions. Examples of these sessions include real-time, online classroom discussions, TA sessions, and live question and answer forums. Archives of previous sessions are also available for review. Students can search for and join Collaboration Sessions and view session archives.
To open the Collaboration Sessions page, please follow these steps; first, click Communication on the Course Menu in a Course. Then, select Collaboration. Here you will find the two types of Collaboration Tools:
* Virtual Classroom: Users engage in a real-time discussion with other users, access the Web, and engage in question and answer sessions. Users may also access the Whiteboard to display text and images.
* Chat: Chat is part of the Virtual Classroom. It can also be accessed separately. Chat allows users to open just the chat function.
What requirements do I need to meet for successful use of Collaboration Tools?
The Java 2 Run Time Environment 1.3.1_04 or higher is required to use the Collaboration Tools. The plug-in may be downloaded from the page that appears when a user Joins a Collaboration Session, or may be found at:
http://java.com/en/download/manual.jsp
Take care to uninstall any existing Java plug-ins before installing a new version.
How do I use the Discussion Board?
Login to Blackboard at: http://my.sbuniv.edu, you can get to Blackboard by going to www.sbuniv.edu, and then going to MY SBU, and then click on the Blackboard link for students.
Go to your class that uses Discussion Board, under My Courses, click on the link of your course.
Enter the Discussion Board area in one of two ways:
1. Communications | Discussion Board
2. Discussion Board
**Depending on how the class is configured, one or both buttons will be available. Keep in mind that Discussion Board works like a bulletin board that you post messages on by sending the board email messages. You may or may not be able to add forums (topic areas), depending on the instructor’s configuration of the class. But you can at least go to a forum and make replies to posts by your instructor. You may even be able to start new threads in a forum.
When you are finished, your posting will look like this:
To reply to someone else’s posting, simply click on there subject that was posted, and hit reply at the bottom of the page:
How do I send an attachment in the discussion board?
Click on the Browse button beside the attachment window and search for your file that you want to attach. Once you find the file – Click on the Submit button and the file will be attached to your discussion board thread.
