Frequently Asked Questions
- How do I login to Blackboard?
- How do I request a new Blackboard course site?
- Can I combine multiple CRNs into one Blackboard course?
- Why can't I open an attachment?
- Why do only the navigation buttons print when I try to print a Blackboard screen?
- Students are complaining that they can't see my course. What do I do?
- How long will my Blackboard course be maintained before it is deleted?
- What support is available for resolving technical problems in BlackBoard?
- What professional development support is available for implementing BlackBoard resources effectively to achieve specific teaching and learning objectives
How do I login to Blackboard?
- Open your web browser, then type the following address in the Location box with your web browser:
http://courses.wwu.edu - Select Login. Enter your username and password:
- Username: is your universal username, usually the same username you use for your Novell login and Outlook accounts.
- Password: your password is the same as for your Novell login. If you are having problems with your password, you can contact ATUS Helpdesk at (360) 650-3333, or atushelpdesk@wwu.edu
- Select Login. You will be directed to your Blackboard courses page, which lists all of the current Blackboard courses that you are instructor for. To access one of these courses, simply click on the link to that course.
Tip: It is a good idea to add the Blackboard site to your Favorites or Bookmarks to save you time. Check your web browser's online help for more details.
How do I request a new Blackboard course site?
Blackboard courses must be requested before the start of each new quarter, even if you already have an existing Blackboard site for that course . The reason for creating a new class each quarter is that enrollment is tied to the class by the course CRN. Because enrollment changes every quarter, a new class is required. If you teach the same class from quarter to quarter, you can still re-use the content from the previous site by indicating you would like that course copied.
To have a Blackboard course set up for you, simply fill out the online course creation form. If you want to use content from a previous course, fill out the form for re-using an existing course. If you want to create a new Blackboard course, fill out the form for creating a new course.
Can I combine multiple CRNs into a single Blackboard course?
If you have multiple sections of the same course, it is sometimes helpful to create one Blackboard course and use it for all of those sections. The advantages of this are that it allows you to consolidate your course content into a single location, making it a comprehensive and consistent resource.
This is also a very effective way to integrate the students in both the on- and off-campus sections of your course into a single community-of-practice. They can communicate and collaborate with each other (using discussions and projects) regardless of their physical location.
Be aware that the GradeBook does not currently have the ability to organize students by course sections so if you do choose to integrate in this way - regardless of how you assign students to Discussion Forums and Group projects - they will appear in a single alphabetic sequence in the Gradebook.
Why can't I open an attachment?
This may happen because you either don't have the right software program to open the file, or the version of the software you have is too old.
If the file is Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, you can download a free viewer that will allow you to open, print, and download documents, but not edit.
- Windows - http://office.microsoft.com
- Macintosh - http://mactopia.com
- Unix users - will need to download and install a software package such as AbiWord, KOffice, or StarOffice.
You may need a plug-in for your browser, particularly for sound, movie, or Adobe Acrobat files. It is a good idea to install the most recent versions of Flash Player, Quicktime, Windows Media Player, Real One Player, and Adobe Acrobat Reader on your computer.
Attachments may not open if the file name uses special characters. When sending attachments through Blackboard, it is important to avoid using characters such as #, $,%, &, and *. These characters when used in file names can create problems when trying to download them from Blackboard.
Why do only the navigation buttons print when I try to print a Blackboard screen?
Blackboard uses frames for the layout of its screens. Within the Blackboard course area three frames are used - the general navigation buttons (including home, help and logout) appear at the top within one frame; the frame on the left includes the course navigation buttons (announcements, discussion board, communication, etc), with the right hand frame used for displaying the content of selections.
Only one frame is active at a time, and this is the frame that is printed. In order to print the main Blackboard frame where the content is located at, simply select something in that frame with your cursor. This will establish that frame as the active frame and allow you to print the contents.
Students are complaining that they can't see my course. What do I do?
When Blackboard courses are created, they are automatically set to be unavailable to students. Before students can access your Blackboard course, you need to set the course to become available. You can do this by going to the control panel and then selecting settings. Select course availability and then set make course available to yes. Click OK and your course is now available to students.
How long will my Blackboard course be maintained before it is deleted?
Blackboard sites will remain on the server for 8 quarters. After that we archive each course for that term and then delete the courses off the server to make room for the more current courses.
Note that if you wish to retain old copies of courses, you can always make your own archive of the course and save it to your hard drive or to CD. For instructions and other options, visit our archiving instructions . The completed archive is a .zip file of all the course data. Contact WebHelp if you ever wish to restore a course, or use bFree to view it on your desktop.