Recently in Blackboard Category

Out with the Old, and in with the New!
In order to make room for new courses in Blackboard, the Teaching, Learning, and Technology Center will carry out a master deletion of Blackboard courses listed with the University Registrar for the Spring 2007, Summer 2007, Fall 2007, Spring 2008, and Summer 2008 semesters on December 10, 2009.

Once the process is complete on December 10, 2009, these courses will no longer be available on Blackboard. If any of these courses contain information you would like to safeguard for the future, you will need to export or archive your Blackboard course.

Click here for more instructions on how to archive your Blackboard courses or click here to register for training session.

Students and faculty have the option of hiding and displaying their view of the navigation menu in any Blackboard course in which they are enrolled. To hide the navigation menu, simply click the arrow beside the menu. To display the menu again once it has been hidden, click the arrow again .

1. Downloading files from Blackboard using Internet Explorer:
To download files (i.e., Word or PowerPoint) from a Blackboard course using Internet Explorer, follow the instructions below:

1. Within Internet Explorer, click Tools on the main menu bar, and then click Internet Options.


2. Click the Security tab and then click Custom Level.


3. Scroll to the Downloads section of the list. Under Automatic Prompting for File Downloads, click Enable.

3. Displaying a list of users enrolled in a course or organization:
Within the Course or Organization Management area, click the heading "Users and Groups" and then click "Users". Type the percent symbol (%) in the Search box and click Go.

4. Sorting Discussion Board forums:
By default, Discussion Board forums are listed in alphabetical order, rather than in the order you specify. Sorting alphabetically is a new feature in the Discussion Board. If you prefer a different order, you can precede each forum title with a number (01, 02, 03, etc.), a letter (A, B, C), or the date (2009-09-02).

5. Course copies must be done twice:
Temporarily, you must do the steps for course copy twice in order for it to work. A fix for this is in progress, but the current process for performing a course copy is described below:

1. First, go to the old course that contains all of the materials you want to copy.


2. Click Packages and Utilities in the Control Panel area.


3. Click Course Copy.


4. Complete the fields, and then click Submit.


5. Blackboard will clear the form and take you back to the page to complete for the Course Copy.


6. Complete the fields again, and click Submit.

Additional Note: To access old documents that you had in the digital drop box, log into Blackboard and then click the following link: http://myweb.shu.edu/webapps/blackboard/execute/ddb.

To download files (i.e., Word or PowerPoint) from a Blackboard course using Internet Explorer, follow the instructions below:
1. Within Internet Explorer, click Tools on the main menu bar, and then click Internet Options.
2. Click the Security tab and then click Custom Level.
3. Scroll to the Downloads section of the list. Under Automatic Prompting for File Downloads, click Enable.

Faculty can use the Assignment Tool within Blackboard to allow students to upload a document that is required for one of the course assignments. The tutorial link below will guide students through the steps of submitting their documents through Blackboard to ensure that the instructor receives it.

Assignment Tool Tutorial for Students

The basic process involves students locating the link in their Blackboard course (instructors should provide this information to students). Once students have located the link, they will click on the link and read any instructions that the instructor has provided. Finally, students will browse to locate the file on their computer and then select it. An important step to remember is to click the "Attach File" button below the name of their file that they have browsed and selected. The file will not be attached to the assignment unless students click this button. Students will also have the opportunity to send comments to the instructor on this page. The last step is to click the Submit button. Students will retrieve their grade for the assignment and any instructor comments and feedback by going to the My Grades area in Blackboard.

Take advantage of the training opportunities available though the TLT Center to learn how to use the new features of Blackboard 9. Please visit our current workshop schedule for available training dates and times. To accommodate your schedule both instructor led and on-line sessions are available.

This summer, the Teaching, Learning and Technology Center will upgrade Blackboard to the latest version. For more information on what's new and improved in Blackboard 9, attend a training session or to see a preview click HERE.

It's time to gear up for the highly anticipated release of Blackboard 9 this July! Take advantage of these newly created courses that will highlight the major changes taking place in Blackboard.

This summer the Teaching, Learning and Technology Center will be offering courses to soothe the transition to the newly updated interface by holding a series of courses centered on technology in teaching and learning through the use of Blackboard. The series of classes will be offered on Mondays and Wednesdays throughout the summer as both online webex sessions and instructor led sessions.

You can chose from any one of the following dates:

Type: Bb 9 Training (Instructor-led Session)
Dates: Monday, July 6
Wednesday, July 15
Wednesday, July 29
Monday, August 3
Time: 11am-12pm
Place: ITV Room, 1st floor of the Walsh Library

Type: Bb 9 Training WebEx Session (On-line Session)
Dates: Wednesday, July 8
Monday, July 27
Wednesday, August 5
Time: 11am-12pm

To register for a face-to-face session today, go to http://tltc.shu.edu/projects/bbtraining!

To register for an on-line web-ex session, click here to e-mail the instructor with your name, department, e-mail address, and CWID number.

We hope to see you there!

It's time to gear up for the highly anticipated release of Blackboard 9 this July! Take advantage of these newly created courses that will highlight the major changes taking place in Blackboard 9. This summer the Teaching, Learning and Technology Center will be offering courses to soothe the transition to the newly updated interface by holding a series of courses centered on technology in teaching and learning through the use of Blackboard. The series of classes will be offered on Mondays and Thursdays throughout the month of June. To register today go to http://tltc.shu.edu/projects/bbtraining!
We hope to see you there.

With the upgrade to Blackboard version 9 this summer, you will see several new features that will help you to work more efficiently in your Blackboard course. Some of the main enhancements include "drag and drop" functionality, which allows you to easily change the order of announcements, discussion board forums, test questions, and items within a content area of your course. Additionally, the Control Panel is now accessible from any page in your course without requiring you to click several times to get to the desired location. Drop-down menus now enable you to access any area quickly and efficiently!

There is a new "course homepage" feature which allows you to customize what the students see upon entering your course. Options include a "To Do" and "Tasks" area, alerting the students to items that need to be completed or are due in the near future. Also, students will be notified of changes and updates made to the course so that they can stay updated on all the latest information in the course.

Stay tuned for more detailed information about Blackboard 9 and upcoming training sessions!

New possibilities and exciting changes will be available when the University moves to the newest release of Blackboard. This summer, the Teaching, Learning and Technology Center will upgrade Blackboard, Seton Hall University's course management system, from version 8.0 to version 9.0.

As we move to Blackboard 9, you will find a fresh new look - one that features fewer clicks to navigate and to complete course setup options. The new version offers new and improved social learning tools such as blogs and journals, and other Web 2.0 technologies that allow for greater interactivity and collaboration in a web-based environment. It offers the ability to customize course pages by "dragging and dropping". Navigation is easier with the new drop down menus. And that's just the begining!

For more information on What's new in Blackboard 9 and see a preview click HERE. Stay tuned for more information about additional features, training dates and the actual upgrade schedule.

Summer and Fall 2009 courses are now available in Blackboard. Fee free to explore your course shell by making it more unique to your course and you. Change themes, colors, toolbar options, and etc. Upload your syllabus and any other assignments for all those anxious students who are just dying to know what's in store for them in the upcomming semester. If you are in need of some instructional training, courses will be held on April 30th (reading day) in the ITV room on the 1st floor of the Walsh Library. See below for a list of available courses. Hope to see you all there!

9:30-10:30am: The Grade Center-
Explore the ability to enter student scores much more efficiently, select dual display of Grade Center data, access audit/grade history changes, provide Gradebook comments, and so much more. The new and improved, easy to use Grade Center increases efficiency and enables new customization, powerful analysis and flexibility capabilities. Join us for this class in learning the basics of the Grade Center, from creating, modifying, and grading assignments, to giving your student's feedback, to creating categories, weighting grades, and really using the Grade Center to your advantage. To register, simply click here!

10:45-11:45am: Spring Cleaning for your Course-
Are you teaching the same course again next semester? Do you want to reuse content, assignments, and other manipulations including Grade Center, Discussion Board, and Group pages? Explore the functions of Archive, Export, and Course Copy in this class designed to give you all the tools you need to clean up your current course shell in preparation for the end of the semester. Whether you choose to recycle your course again or not, all will find this class particularly helpful in organizing content and safe guarding student work by creating a permanent record of your Spring 2009 course. To register, simply click here!

3:00-4:00pm: Open Lab
Are you unsure which course to take, if any? Do you have specific quesions relating to your Blackboard course and want answers? In this non-instructional course, you bring questions you have with you and our team of techs will solve any issue you might encounter! To register, simply click here!

Blackboard 9 is the latest release of the Academic Suite and part of a multi-year, multi-release rollout. This release:

• Builds on the student engagement tools in earlier releases,


• Improves the performance of the software,


• Enhances the entire user interface to make it easier to use,


• and brings new features such as extended group tools, multiple attempt assignments, new instructor and student dashbaords, and a new blog tool.

Check out Blackboard release 9

More information will be coming soon!

Here are some tips to clean up you Bb courses:

• Copy material from old courses into new ones.

• Archive course material you don't want to lose.

• Save space in your email by collecting students' work using the assignment tool

• Download your grade center to save grade information.

Are you new to Blackboard and unfamiliar with the various tools at your disposable? Learning to use the available tools on Blackboard will surely enhance your teaching and your students' learning experiences. This training session covers all of the tools in Blackboard to help you get started in any course. This includes all of the file management capabilities, communications tools, assignments and discussion board, and organization tools. Learn to manage your courses by disabling and enabling course tools. You can manage files by creating folders to organize content items; backup files; use the Content System to Add Items, Links, Bookmarks, Files, Folders, and Search; and learn how to download and install the Webdrive program. In addition, we will be covering topics related to issuing and collecting assignments and interacting with the Discussion Board.

This course is being offered as a face-to-face session on Monday, February 23rd from 4:00-5:00pm in the CTC Lab of the Walsh Library. Please click HERE to register.

This course is also being offered as a WebEx Session on February 24th from 10-11am. Click HERE to register.

Are you worried that your students aren't producing their own work? Or maybe they have never been taught how to cite properly? SafeAssign allows you to protect the originality of work and ensure a fair playing ground for all of your students. SafeAssign is integrated with the Blackboard Learning System products, enabling you to prevent plagiarism by detecting unoriginal content in student papers right within your existing teaching and learning environment. SafeAssign can also further deter plagiarism by helping to create opportunities to educate students on proper attribution and citations and help them to effectively take advantage of the wealth of information out there.

This course is being offered as a face-to-face instruction on Monday, February 9th from 4:00-5:00pm. To register for this course at the CTC Lab in the lower level of the Walsh Library, please click HERE.

To register for the WebEx Session on February 10th from 10-11am, please click HERE.

Notice anything new about the Grade Book? Well for starters, it is now called the Grade Center! If you are eager to learn all there is to know about the big change in the newest edition of Blackboard 8.0, then come one come all to the training session held on Thursday, January 29th from 12:00-1:00pm in the new CTC Classroom Iocated in the Walsh Library. Accessible through the control panel, the Grade Center takes its name from the previous Grade Book available to instructors on Blackboard. However, the name isn't the only new thing; in fact the entire Grade Center has been revamped to make it not only easier to navigate, but also more manageable and comprehensive. During this course, you will be able to manipulate your own courses in Blackboard, learning how to enter grades for assignments and tests, manage/ weight grades, e-mail students, generate reports, create smart views, return assignments with feedback, create grading schemes, and etc. Registration is simple! Just click on the link below:

Some useful handouts are attached below. Hope to see you there!
Outline_for_Blackboard_Mastering_the_Grade_Center_Session.doc

Are you fairly savvy with Blackboard but would like some more advanced instructional training? Participants having some previous knowledge of Blackboard would greatly benefit from attending the Blackboard Advanced Training Session on January 27th from 10:30-11:30am in the CTC Classroom of the Walsh Library. Some topics that will be covered include managing your courses; creating, deploying and reviewing tests and surveys; creating accountability and monitoring performance; sharing and collaboration content, and etc.

This instructor-led workshop provides intensive, hands-on instruction covering the teaching and learning functions in Blackboard for both web-enhanced and distance education environments. Registration is simple! Just click the link below:

Some useful handouts are attached below. Hope to see you there!

Outline_for_Blackboard_Advanced_Training_Session.doc

A new and exciting course entitled Blackboard Essentials Training is being offered on Thursday, January 22nd from 9:30-10:30am in the CTC Training Room on the first floor of the Walsh Library. Get a taste of the abundant plethora of options available to enhance and manage any course on Blackboard. Some areas that will be covered include file management capabilities, communications tools, announcements, assignments and discussion board, organization tools, and an overview of the Grade Center. Bring your syllabus and learn how to upload documents, create forums for discussion, add assignments, save content, add announcements, and etc. If you have a basic idea of how to use Blackboard, want to review some skills, or are just starting from scratch, then this is the course for you.

If you are unable to attend this class, it is also being offered on Tuesday, January 27th from 4:30-5:30pm. Registration is simple! Just click the link below:

Some useful handouts are attached below. Hope to see you there!

Outline_for_Blackboard_Essentials_Training_Session.doc

The Teaching, Learning and Technology Center is once again holding its Winter Workshops in January 2009. This year we will be offering Web 2.0 Tools, Digital Storytelling, and Blackboard. Follow the links below to register for a workshop:

Web 2.0 Tools for 21st Century Teaching & Learning
Tuesday, January 6th 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Location: CTC (Ground floor of Walsh)
Click HERE to register for this workshop

Digital Storytelling
Wednesday, January 7th 9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Location: ITV Room (Ground floor of Walsh)
Click HERE to register for this workshop

Preparing your Blackboard Course for the Spring Semester
Thursday, January 8th 9:00 am - 10:30 am
Location: CTC (Ground floor of Walsh)
Click HERE to register for this workshop

Blackboard Grade Center
Thursday, January 8th 10:30 am - 12:00 pm
Location: CTC (Ground floor of Walsh)
Click HERE to register for this workshop

Blackboard Open Lab
Thursday, January 8th 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Location: ITV Room (Ground floor of Walsh)
Click HERE to register for this workshop
**Please bring your laptop to this session**

As the end of 2008 approaches and you start thinking of your 2009 New Year's resolutions, I suggest you take care of a few technology issues BEFORE the Christmas break. Getting these few things done by the end of this semester will help relieve you of some stress and make your holidays a lot more enjoyable.

For faculty, after the final student grades have been calculated, download the Grade Center from all your Blackboard courses to your computer. The Excel file that gets created can then be easily accessed by you if any questions arise at a future date. Also, if you are teaching the same course next semester, you can copy all or part of this semester's course into next semester's course shell very easily. You can then make any necessary changes to next semester's course and you are all set to go long before students arrive back on campus.

These next two tips are for everyone. First, take some time and go through the files on your computer. Get rid of the ones you don't need, organize the ones you want to hold onto placing them into folders and make certain that you back up the files you cannot afford to lose! Make use of an external hard drive, the Blackboard Content System, CD's, etc. to back those files up.

Second, administrators and faculty will be moving to a new e-mail system during the Spring 2009 semester, so doing a little preparation now will help make the transition nice and smooth. Again, take the time to go through your Lotus Notes e-mails and, one, delete any documents you don't need or, two, archive old documents that you wish to retain. I'm sure we all have tons of old e-mails that could either be deleted or archived so this is a good thing to accomplish now.

I hope these suggestions give you some "year-end" incentive and if you need help with any of these procedures, please contact me at otskeybi@shu.edu or at x2161. Have a great holiday break!

Blackboard course shells for the Spring 09 semester have been created for all courses listed with the University Registrar. Use materials from other courses that you have already developed to develop your Spring 09 course. Click here for instructions on importing, exporting, copying and archiving a course.

With the Wiki tool in Blackboard, creating a sign-up sheet that the entire class can edit and update is a snap!

Click on the link below to download a quick guide on creating, deploying, and editing a Wiki in Blackboard!

Blackboard Wiki_SignUp Sheet.pdf


For further assistance with utilizing Wiki's in your class, please contact your instructional designer.

The Teaching, Learning and Technology Center is now offering online training sessions. You can now attend an instructional Blackboard session from your office, home or favorite coffee shop. In order to register for an online training session please choose from the list of times and dates below:

Topic: Mastering the Grade Center
Description: The grade book has been transformed into the Grade Center. Enter scores much more efficiently, select dual display of Gradebook data, access audit/grade history changes, provide Gradebook comments, and so much more.

Date: Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Time: 10:30 am, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)
Click here and register.*

Date: Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Time: 1:00 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)
Click here and register.*

Date: Monday, October 20, 2008
Time: 2:30 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)
Click here and register.*

Date: Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Time: 10:30 pm, Eastern Daylight Time (GMT -04:00, New York)
Click here and register.

*Once you register, you will receive a confirmation email with instructions for joining the session.

For the Vista users out there I just found out something that may elevate your experience... So, fortunately, "Vista Concluded" wasn't my last look into Vista afterall... In passing, I hear a little blurb about how an attachment from webmail can't be opened/saved, and I'm thinking to myself (there's gotta be something on the computer... spyware, virus, whatever...) Then, I hear a few more times after and realize theres something more to it... So, in digging up for an answer... it hits me... it's only not working in Internet Explorer! I know some of you are thinking, "What's new?!?"... but... Internet Explorer, in this case, was only trying to help.
What's causing this hiccup for some people is "Protected Mode" - It was designed to setup a barrier against suspicious downloads. Now, when attempting to open/save a file, there is extra "credential information" that Internet Explorer has overlooked, hence the problem. By default, any Seton Hall laptop with Vista has had "Protected Mode" disabled to prevent this issue; however, due to microsoft updates/users turning it on/and users with non-Seton Hall laptops, there are people being affected. So it all boils down to just having to disable it in IE7 via Tools->Internet Options->Security Tab and everything will be as right as rain...

All those who attended Blackboard Tools Training on Wednesday, September 17th got a taste of the abundant plethora of options available to them to enhance and manage any course on Blackboard. Some areas that were discussed included file management capabilities, communications tools, announcements, assignments and discussion board, organization tools, and an overview of the Grade Center. Some participants went as far as uploading their syllabi, creating forums for discussion, adding assignments, saving content, adding announcements, and etc. If you have a basic idea of how to use Blackboard, want to review some skills, or are just starting from scratch, then this is the course for you.

Another course on Blackboard Tools will be offered on Thursday, September 25th from 9:00am - 10:30am in the new CTC Classroom in the Walsh Library. Feel free to read the course outline posted below to see if this is the right place for you! Hope to see everyone again soon!
Outline for Blackboard Tools Training.doc

On Tuesday, September 16th faculty members got their first taste of the new and improved Grade Center during the the first fall TLTC Faculty Bootcamp sesson. Held in the new CTC classroom in the Walsh Library, participants were eager to learn all there is to know about the big change in the newest edition of Blackboard 8.0: The Grade Center. Accessible through the control panel, the Grade Center takes its name from the previous Grade Book available to instructors on Blackboard. However, the name isn't the only new thing; infact the entire Grade Center has been revamped to make it not only easier to navigate, but also more managable and comprehensive. Participants were able to manipulate their own courses in Blackboard, with some even creating assignments, managing/ weighting grades, and e-mailing students. If you missed this class, another will be offered on the Grade Center on Wednesday, September 24th from 3:00 - 4:30pm in the CTC Classroom. Some useful handouts are attached below. Hope to see you there!
Getting Started With the Grade Center.pdf
Grade Center Manual.pdf

Prepare for the upcoming semester by attending sessions on using Blackboard.

Blackboard 8 - New Features focuses on the Grade Center (formally the grade book).

Preparing Your Blackboard Course focuses on using Blackboard to organizing your documents with the Content System, communicating with students via Announcements & e-Mail, setting up regular assignments & safe assignments, organizing online discussions and much more.

BlackBoard 8 - New Features
08/25/2008 10:00 AM Register

Preparing Your BlackBoard Course
08/25/2008 01:00 PM Register

Preparing Your BlackBoard Course
08/26/2008 10:00 AM Register

BlackBoard 8 - New Features
08/26/2008 01:00 PM Register

BlackBoard 8 - New Features
08/27/2008 10:00 AM Register

Preparing Your BlackBoard Course
08/27/2008 01:00 PM Register

BlackBoard 8 - New Features
09/02/2008 10:00 AM Register

Preparing Your BlackBoard Course
09/02/2008 01:00 PM Register

We have successfully upgraded from version 7.3 to Blackboard 8.

Blackboard 8 brings two major feature enhancements: The Grade Center (formerly known as the gradebook) and student Self/Peer Assessments. For more information and resources to make the transition as smooth as possible, click here.

On Sunday, August 10, the Department of Information Technology will upgrade MyWeb.shu.edu (Blackboard) to the version 8, latest release,). The upgrade will require Blackboard to be unavailable for use on Sunday, August 10, 2008 during the normal maintenance window of 12:01 AM through 8:00 AM. There will be access to webmail but not Banner during this upgrade period.

Blackboard 8 brings two major feature enhancements: The Grade Center (formerly known as the gradebook) and student Self/Peer Assessments. For more information and resources to make the transition as smooth as possible, click here.

Looking for new a storage space now that the Novell "Z" drive has been replaced? Use MyWeb(Blackboard) Content System. Faculty, Staff and Admin have 2 GB of storage. The Blackboard Content system allows you to access documents from any location over the Internet, store course documents in a central place, and share folders or documents with other people - even people from another campus!

Looking for easier ways to add/remove documents, edit/manage documents, and send documents as email attachments stored in the Blackboard Content System? Want it work the same as you're old Novell "Z"drive? Use WebDrive! The Department of Information Technology has acquired this application to make the experience of using Blackboard Content System more familiar.

To download WebDrive, log in to MyWeb(Blackboard), navigate to the Tech@SHU tab, locate the Get Web Drive! Module, click the WebDrive image to download the software and than click the link to follow instruction how to make it work for you.

WebDrive is not required in order to access your documents stored in the Blackboard Content System. Rather, it allows you to assign a Windows drive letter to your Blackboard Content System Web folder.

To learn more information about the MyWeb (Blackboard) Content System click here

On Monday, May 12, 2008 the Teaching, Learning, & Technology Center will carry out a master deletion of Blackboard courses listed with the University Registrar for the Spring 06, Summer 06 and Fall 06 semesters. Once the process is complete these courses will no longer be available on MyWeb.shu.edu.

If you would like to have access to your 2006 Blackboard course materials in the future you will need to archive or export your course(s) before the master deletion on Monday, May 12th. Click here for instructions on how to archive your Blackboard courses.

To assist you with this process we are offering training sessions called Course and File Management in the Computer Training Center. Please register by visiting http://tltc.shu.edu/register

Using the Assignment tool streamlines the process of assignment submission, grading, and feedback. No more email attachments getting lost in cyberspace! From your gradebook you can tell who has submitted an assignment, who has taken a look at the assignment and who has never accessed it!

The Teaching, Learning and Technology Center is delighted to announce an enhanced social learning tool that will allow you to use Podcasts in MyWeb@SHU. With the new Podcast, tool you can easily add audio and video content to your course and deliver that content to your students via a podcast subscription.

Click to create, click to subscribe
Faculty can simply click to create and add episodes (i.e. content). For students it is just as simple to click and subscribe. Students and faculty can listen to the uploaded episodes from within MyWeb@SHU or offline. The material can also be downloaded to almost any portable device.

Podcast tool is fully integrated with course materials
Since Podcast is fully integrated within MyWeb@SHU, this content resides right alongside other course content. Students have access to the audio and videos without having to search in external locations or learn new software interfaces.

To learn more about the exciting new Podcasting tool visit - Faculty Resources , or feel free to contact your Instructional Designer at the Teaching, Learning & Technology Center.