Blackboard FAQ for RCC Faculty
- Are students automatically enrolled in my Blackboard course?
- How do I make my courses unavailable/available to the students?
- Some of my students are having problems downloading assignments in Blackboard. Is there a universal file format that will enable students to open an attached course document in Word, WordPerfect, or Works?
- How do I archive a forum in the Discussion Board?
- How do I export a course?
- One of my students had technical problems and was unable to complete a quiz. How do I reset it so he can retake it?
- Can I copy content from my old course site to my current course site?
- How can I download a copy of the Online Gradebook?
- Some of my students are having problems downloading assignments in Blackboard. Is there a universal file format that will enable students to open an attached course document in Word, WordPerfect, or Works?
- What type of files can I upload to Blackboard?
Are students automatically enrolled in my Blackboard course?
Yes, all official courses offered through the College are automatically populated with the correct students based on information from the Registrar's database.
How do I make my courses unavailable/available to the students?
Students have access to a course until you make it unavailable. You may want to make a course unavailable to students approximately two weeks after grades are submitted. To make a course unavailable:
- Login to Blackboard
- Click on the course you want to make unavailable
- Click Control Panel
- Click Settings in Course Options box
- Click Course Availability
- Make course available - select No
- Click Submit
The course will be listed in your course list, but will no longer show to the students who are enrolled. You may wish to make your courses unavailable while you prepare them. You can then make the courses available when you are ready to use Blackboard by following the steps above and selecting Yes to make course available.
Some of my students are having problems downloading assignments in Blackboard. Is there a universal file format that will enable students to open an attached course document in Word, WordPerfect, or Works?
Yes. If you will save all of your online course documents in Rich Text Format (.rtf), students will be able to open them regardless of the word processing program they are using. (Open the document in Word and click on File, Save As… to select Save as type: Rich Text Format. "Save as type" is found directly below the file name field in the Save As dialog box.) This process also works in reverse. If you will ask your students to save all of their assignments in Rich Text Format, you will be able to open their files in your word processor.
How do I archive a forum in the Discussion Board?
Go to Control Panel > Course Tools > Discussion Board.
Click on the link for the forum that you want to archive.
Scroll down to locate the [Archives] link and follow the instructions on the next screen.
How do I archive a course?
Remember, when you archive a course, you are saving all of the information in the course including student names, grades, discussion postings, etc. This function is not to be used as a back-up for later use in another course. Follow these steps to archive a course:
- Login to Blackboard
- Select the course
- Click Control Panel
- Click Archive Course in the Course Options box
- Click Submit
Depending on the size of your course, this may take a minute. You will receive a receipt with the archive log. Next, you need to save the file.
- Click Click the right mouse button and select Save As
- You will be asked to Open or Save the file, click Save
- Select the file location
- Click Save
- Click OK in Blackboard to return to the Control Panel
Remember, the export function saves the course content in a zip file. Use this function for future use of the course content in another course. Follow these steps to export your course content:
-
Login to Blackboard
-
Select the course
-
Click Control Panel
-
Click Export Course in the Course Options box
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Select materials to include in the export
-
Click Submit
-
You will receive a message showing an export log. Next, you need to save the file.
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Click the right mouse button and select Save As OR right click on the link, select Save Target As and go to step 9
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You will be asked to Open or Save the file, click Save
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Select the file location
-
Click Save
-
Click OK in Blackboard to return to the Control Panel
****Note: Do NOT unzip this file or remove files from the folder! If you do, you will not be able to import the zip file into a Blackboard course.
One of my students had technical problems and was unable to complete a quiz. How do I reset it so he can retake it?
If a student's technical problems submitting a quiz, the instructor can reset the quiz grade and allow the student to retake the quiz through "Control Panel > Gradebook". Once in the gradebook click on the red question mark. Click the "View" button to the right of the quiz information. Then click "Clear Attempt".
Can I copy content from my old course site to my current course site?
Yes, if you have an instructor role in both the old course site and the new course site you can copy the content:
From the Control Panel of the course whose content you wish to copy (e.g., old course site), click on "Course Copy" under the Course Options section.
Click on "Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course."
Click on the Browse button, enter the destination course ID, your NetID, or the title of the course and click "Search."
Click "Select" next to the desired course on the list of courses that appears.
Place a check mark next to the content materials you would like to copy over and click "Submit."
How can I download a copy of the Online Gradebook?
Go to the Control Panel.
Click on Gradebook.
Click on Download Grades.
Select the Delimiter Type for the downloaded file: Comma or Tab (Note: Choose Comma if you would like to download it as a .csv file and open it in MS Excel).
Click the download button.
Select the location in your computer where you want to store the file.
Some of my students are having problems downloading assignments in Blackboard. Is there a universal file format that will enable students to open an attached course document in Word, WordPerfect, or Works?
Yes. If you will save all of your online course documents in Rich Text Format (.rtf), students will be able to open them regardless of the word processing program they are using. (Open the document in Word and click on File, Save As… to select Save as type: Rich Text Format. "Save as type" is found directly below the file name field in the Save As dialog box.) This process also works in reverse. If you will ask your students to save all of their assignments in Rich Text Format, you will be able to open their files in your word processor.
What type of files can I upload to Blackboard?
Almost any type of file can be uploaded to Blackboard including Word, PowerPoint, html, PDF, plain text, rtf, audio and video files.
Include viewers for students who may not have the proper software. Please contact
Technology Support Services for assistance.
