Blackboard Tips from the Faculty Discussion: Tips for your Students: Final tip:
While system problems are likely to play some part in our use of and dependence on technology, the impact can be significantly reduced by good planning and a calm reaction.  Don't panic.		 Blackboard How-To's:

Backing up your work in Blackboard:

  • Make an archived copy of your course by using the Export facility. Do this as often as you like, but any time you make substantive changes to your course. 

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  • Back up your student gradebook. Do this every time grades are posted. This saves a copy of your Blackboard gradebook outside of Blackboard on your hard drive or a floppy diskette.

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  • If you use the discussion Board for grading purposes, make a copy of the Discussion Board outside of Blackboard.

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  • Find instruction on E-Study Tools site under "Course Management How-To's."
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    Creating Assignments
     

  • Don't type things directly into text boxes in Blackboard. 

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  • Create your pages and assignments in your word processor and then cut and paste into Blackboard. 

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    That way, if the system goes down you can email course materials to students or could reproduce it if necessary. You are also less tied to a particular courseware product (such as Blackboard). Movement to alternative delivery methods becomes much less of a problem.

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    Exporting Email Addresses
     

  • Print or save your students' email addresses outside of the Bb system. 
  • Bb provides instructors access to a list of student email. The list can be found by going to Control Panel and selecting List/Modify users. The list can be printed. 

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  • You can also copy the page and paste it into a word document for an electronic version. This process will permit you to contact your students even if you are subjected to a wide range of system problems. 
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    Removing Students
     

  • The safest way to remove a student from the class is to make the student "unavailable". 

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    An unavailable user cannot get into the course, but all gradebook and other user information is still retained. Deleting users will remove all user information. 
     

  • To make a user unavailable: go to the Control Panel, select "List/Modify Users" and click "Properties". User Role is at the bottom of that form. 
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    Virus Protection

    Learn to use the university's virus protection software. Acquire antivirus software and keep it updated on your computer at home.

    Students should be informed that they must maintain virus protection on their computers. Early notification of this requirement will help position students so that they may submit assignments and avoid losing data. It will reduce your risk as well.

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    Access Problems

    Legitimate student access problems can be caused by a number of reasons. To avoid mid-semester problems provide system requirements information to students at beginning of semester. Blackboard requires that JavaScript and cookies be enabled and that users access  the system via version 4 and above of Internet Explorer or Netscape. AOL is not recommended. If students continue to have access problems, have them contact TLT by emailing e.study@murraystate.edu, or through Blackboard support at 6116.

    Remind students early in the semester that system outages are possible. Assignments should never be left to the last minute.

    Even if students are having personal computer problems (e.g. their computer becomes inoperable) access should be possible (but perhaps not convenient). The university maintains public labs that are open till 4:00 am most days. Public libraries in Ky (and most other states), by policy maintain Internet accessible computers for public use.

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    Bookmarking Classes

    Instruct your students to get to their class by going through RacerNet and selecting E-study (http://racernet.murraystate.edu). Students who are instructed to bookmark the course page may find the link doesn't work when the server changes. Additionally, notification of planned system outages as well as updates of system problems are maintained on RacerNet helping the student stay better informed.

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    Saving and Printing Receipts

    Instruct students to save everything they submit including discussion board postings. If there is a problem with what they have turned in, then they will not have lost anything.
    Instruct students to print the "receipt" that they receive when they have placed something in the drop box. That is their proof that they submitted it.

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    Changing Email Addresses

    Student MUST update their email in Blackboard to an email address that they read. The system does not require that this be a Murray State address - it just needs to be a mailbox that the student regularly reads. All students should verify that the mail address is appropriate. They can do this from the Tools button in Blackboard. 

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    Answering Questions

    Student questions regarding the use of the Discussion board, DropBox submission and many other elements can be answered by directing them to the Student Manual. The student manual appears under Tools for student logins, and in the Control Panel for faculty reference. (If you login as a faculty member, the faculty manual will be what is seen in the Tools section). 
     
     
     

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    RacerNet | E-Study Center | Murray State Homepage

     
    Created and maintained by the Center for Teaching, Learning & Technology (TLT) at Murray State University. Questions and comments should be directed to e.study@murraystate.edu

    Last updated October 25, 2001