Assistant Instructor
Resume:
Suffolk County Community College
Blackboard Learn 9.1
Student Guide
Office of Instructional Technology
Robin Hill, Coordinator of Instructional Design
Michelle Fowler, Coordinator of Instructional Development Christina Johnston, Instructional Technologist
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Contents
What is Blackboard? 2 Technical Requirements 3 Hardware 3 Software 3 Internet Connectivity 3 Browser Settings 3 Accessing Blackboard 3 Activate Your MySCCC Account 4 Logging In to Blackboard 4 Bookmark Blackboard 5 Student Orientation 5 Online Success Strategies 6 Traits of Successful Online Students 6 Online Course Myths 7 Tips for Online Success 7 Netiquette Guidelines 8 Help and Resources 8 Library Resources 8 Off Campus Access to Library Resources 9 Library Links and Phone Numbers 9 Accessibility 9 Disability Services Offices 9 Finding Help 9 Navigating Blackboard 10 Tabs 10 Suffolk Online 10 Courses 10 Content Collection 11 My Blackboard 12 Notifications 13 2
Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Edit Notification Settings 14 Individual Notifications and Email Notifications 15 Course Menu 15 Breadcrumb Trail 16 Blackboard Courses 16 Email 17 Sending Email 17 Course Content 18 Types of Content 18 Learning Modules 19 Discussion Board 20 Create a Thread 21 Reply to a Post 21 Assignments 21 Tests 22 Tips for Taking a Test 22 Taking a Test 23 Timed Tests 23 Feedback and Grades 23 Retaking a Test 23 My Grades 24 Blackboard Collaborate 25 What is Blackboard?
Blackboard is an online software tool that your instructor might use to teach all or part of a course. Depending on how your instructor sets up their course, through Blackboard you can:
View course materials
Hand in assignments
Take quizzes and tests
Participate in discussions
View your grades
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Technical Requirements
Hardware
Blackboard is a web-based application and will therefore work reliably on almost any computer that is capable of accessing the Internet. Older computers may run slower or may not be able to handle some of the media in certain courses, but should suffice if a new computer is not available. Software
Windows:
Internet Explorer 9 or 10
Firefox 3.6 and higher
Google Chrome
Mac OS:
Safari 4.0 or 5.0
Firefox 3.6 and higher
Google Chrome
All other browsers are not recommended and can potentially impact the user's experience. More information can be found in the SLN Knowledge Base article SLN Online Course Browser Compatibility. Internet Connectivity
SCCC recommends a broadband internet connection such as DSL or Cable for best results with online courses. Access to a computer with a dial-up connection is an absolute minimum. Browser Settings
Internet Cookies: Your web browser needs to be set to allow for cookies from the suny.edu domain. Instructions for adjusting cookie settings can be found in the SLN Knowledge Base article How to adjust browser cookie settings.
Pop-up Blocker: The Pop-up Blocker in your web browser needs to be set to allow pop-up windows from the sln.suny.edu domain. Instructions for adjusting pop-up settings can be found in the SLN Knowledge Base article How to adjust browser pop-up blockers. Java: Java is required for the use of Blackboard's Web Equation Editor as well as the Virtual Classroom and Text Chat. Click the following link to you have the latest version of Java installed on your computer. http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp
Accessing Blackboard
Accessing Blackboard is essential for students whose instructors are using for their courses. Students who are taking an Online Course may be required to log in to Blackboard at least once a week for attendance purposes. Follow the instructions on how to Activate your MySCCC account if you haven’t done so during your Student Orientation and then on how to Log into Blackboard. If you have any difficulties, please contact SLN HelpDesk at 1-844-***-**** or via email at addw28@r.postjobfree.com. 4
Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Activate Your MySCCC Account
Students must have a Suffolk Community College or MySCCC user account set-up in order to log into Blackboard. If you need to set up a MySCCC account, click on the Create a Username and Password link under New Students on the MySCCC login page.
Please note: All new MySCCC accounts may take up to 24 hours to be registered in Blackboard. Logging In to Blackboard
1. Log into MySCCC
2. Go to the Suffolk Online tab
3. Click on the Blackboard Icon and a new browser tab/window will open 4. Click on the Blackboard Login Icon
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide 5. After you have successfully logged in, you will see three tabs: Suffolk Online, Courses and Content Collection.
Bookmark Blackboard
After logging into Blackboard, add it to the Bookmarks or Favorites of the browser you’re using for quick access. Student Orientation
In order to familiarize yourself with Blackboard, it is recommended that you go through the Student Orientation course. By joining the course, you will be able to practice navigating and using Blackboard tools without having to worry about grades. Follow the instructions below to self-enroll in the Student Orientation course and being participating in it.
1. Click on the Student Orientation link in the horizontal menu below the tabs. 2. Click on Open SUNY Student Orientation link in the module. 3. A new screen appears, click on + Enroll
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide 4. Click on Submit
5. A message stating that the enrollment was successful should appear. Click on the OK button to complete the enrollment and continue to the course. 6. Begin participating in the course by clicking on the Start Here menu button (left of page). 7. Click on the Course or Suffolk Online tab to exit the Student Orientation course. Online Success Strategies
Online courses can be a great way to get the education that you need in a format that is convenient to busy lifestyles. However, an online class is neither easier nor less work than an on-campus class! Online students who wish to be successful must be aware of some fundamental truths and some pervasive myths about taking online courses.
Traits of Successful Online Students
Students who are highly successful online share a set of common traits that allow them to navigate the online environment.
These traits include:
A high level of individual motivation and self-discipline: When you take a course online, you don't have the additional weight of an instructor you see every week pushing you to get your work done, nor do you have the immediate feedback of your classmates to talk to after class. An online student must be ready to ask their own questions instead of waiting for their classmates to ask, and must be ready to reach out to the instructor and other students in the class when help is required. Time management skills and organization: You must plan your time carefully when taking an online course. There is no scheduled class meeting time or instructor intervention, so you must be responsible 7
Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide for knowing and meeting all deadlines. If you have difficulty keeping up with homework and assignments in an on-campus class, than online classes may be even more difficult! Excellent reading comprehension and writing skills: In an online course, everything you do is written, from interacting with your classmates, to submitting assignments and contacting your instructor. If you have difficulty with reading and writing skills, it may have an adverse effect on your success in an online class.
Technical ability: An online student must be comfortable with technology. If you have difficulty installing programs or get frustrated with common technology problems, you may want to rethink your choice of an online course. You may be required to upgrade your web browser to use Blackboard effectively. Your instructor may require you to install specific programs for their course. The internet may be down when you want to work on your assignments. If these types of problems give you the heebie-jeebies, you may wish to take your course on-campus instead. Online Course Myths
Online courses are a godsend to people with hectic lifestyles, family obligations, or inflexible work schedules. Online courses were first developed to help people like this get the education they both need and deserve. As you go through this guide, think about why you decided to take this course online. Online courses are easier: This is not true! Online courses are just as difficult as on-campus courses, and may even be more difficult due to the format of the class. I can do course work at my own pace: Most online courses follow the school calendar and have strict deadlines for submission of class work. Online courses are rarely self-paced. I need this course to fulfill my program requirements and I can't fit it in on-campus: Taking "the last course I need" in an online format, especially if this is your first time taking online courses, may be setting yourself up for disaster. Many students have been successful in this situation, but you must keep the traits and skills needed for success in mind and be ready to push yourself if needed! I don't feel like coming to campus this semester: This reason is rarely a good reason to take online courses. Taking a full load online will usually mean more work, and possibly much more, than a full load on-campus. Think carefully!
Tips for Online Success
These are some simple tips and strategies that will help you keep it together and be successful. Don't Procrastinate: Check the objectives for each module and each assignment at the beginning of each week and plan your attack! Don't leave your work until the last minute. Unexpected technical issues may pop up! Don't get caught short if you need help, because technical assistance and your instructor are rarely available at 11:59pm.
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Participate: Your interaction with your classmates in an online course comes from the discussions and assignments you work on together. Don't wait to post your thoughts. Post early and often, and make sure to read the directions for each discussion. Ask questions and interact - who knows, you may learn something!
Pace Yourself: Plan out your due dates. Use a calendar. Don't try to cram all of your work into one session a week. If you pretend your online class meets at specific times three times a week, just like an on-campus class, and you sign in and work during those times, you will be much more successful and less stressed.
Talk to Your Instructor: If you are having a problem, need an extension, or just have a question, make sure you contact your instructor sooner rather than later. The quicker you discuss a problem with them, the quicker it can be resolved.
Netiquette Guidelines
Netiquette are the rules of etiquette that apply when communicating on the internet. Your instructor may provide their own netiquette for you to follow. The guidelines provided below are general rules to follow when communicating online.
Adapted from The Core Rules of Netiquette Shea, V. (1994).
Remember the Human
Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
Know where you are in cyberspace
Respect other people’s time and bandwidth
Make yourself look good online
Share expert knowledge
Help keep flam wars under control
Respect other people’s privacy
Don’t abuse your power
Be forgiving of other people’s mistakes
Help and Resources
Library Resources
The libraries at Suffolk County Community College offer services and resources for students enrolled in distance education courses. SCCC students enrolled in online classes have full borrowing privileges for the library and full access to online resources.
The library provides the following to all SCCC students including those enrolled in online courses:
Borrowing privileges at all 3 campus libraries
Interlibrary and intercampus loan
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide
Online access to database, journals, newspapers, streaming media, and e-books
Access to online assistance via email
Access to online library tutorials and research guides
Open access at all SUNY libraries
Off Campus Access to Library Resources
To gain access to Online Library Resources from an off campus computer, enter in your MySCCC username and password whenever prompted to.
Library Links and Phone Numbers
Homepage: http://www.sunysuffolk.edu/Students/library.asp Ask a Librarian: http://sunysuffolk.libanswers.com/ Research Guides: http://libguides.sunysuffolk.edu/ Ammerman: 631-***-**** Eastern: 631-***-**** Grant: 631-***-**** Accessibility
Blackboard is in conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and has Gold Level Certification for Non-Visual Access issued by the national Federation of the Blind. Blackboard ensures that their platform contains no barriers for users with disabilities and is both usable and accessible by everyone, regardless of age, ability or situation. Suffolk County Community College has a wide variety of adaptive equipment available in classrooms, campus libraries, computer labs, and the learning and academic skills centers. Contact the disability services office on your home campus for specific locations. Disability Services Offices
Ammerman Campus
Room: Ammerman Building 202
Phone: 631-***-****
Fax: 631-***-****
Email: disabilityserv-
addw28@r.postjobfree.com
Hours: Monday – Friday
9am – 5pm
Eastern Campus
Room: Peconic Building 122
Phone: 631-***-****
Fax: 631-***-****
Email: disabilityserv-
addw28@r.postjobfree.com
Hours: Monday – Friday
9am – 5pm
Grant Campus
Room: Caumsett Hall 20
Phone: 631-***-****
Fax: 631-***-****
Email: disabilityserv-
addw28@r.postjobfree.com
Hours: Monday – Friday
9am – 5pm
Finding Help
There are several different ways you can find help with your online course. Use these suggested issues to determine who you should contact with your specific problem. I don’t understand an assignment I’ve had a technical error and accidentally submitted a test I need help with course materials:
Please contact your instructor for any assistance of this nature. While SLN HelpDesk will be able to help 10
Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide with almost any problem, they cannot reset a test for you without permission of the instructor. To find contact information for your instructor, please check your course syllabus. I’m not sure how to do something in Blackboard I need general technical assistance My course has disappeared from My Courses:
For assistance of this nature, please contact the SLN HelpDesk at 1-844-***-****, via email at addw28@r.postjobfree.com or online at http://open.suny.edu/support/contact-us/current-students/. HelpDesk hours (EST):
Monday – Thursday 8am – 9pm
Friday 8am – 5pm
Saturday 10am – 5pm
Sunday 1pm – 9pm
Navigating Blackboard
Tabs
Once logged in, tabs along the top of the Blackboard page should appear. Each tab contains different information and tools that are available to you. In addition some of the information displayed on the tabs is unique for your profile.
Suffolk Online
The Suffolk Online tab contains modules displaying information such as Institution and Course announcements, Notifications, Tools that include your Personal Information, Tasks and Grades, and then Information where you can get help.
Courses
The Courses tabs contains Notifications, a To Do list, Alerts and your Course List. The Course List is where you will access the courses you are enrolled in. Just click on the course’s link to access that course’s page.
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Content Collection
This area is a virtual hard drive that allows faculty and students to store, manage and share content. Files stored here can be accessed from any computer just by logging into Blackboard. Uploading Files: Your files can be uploaded either through a ZIP file or by using the Upload Multiple Files and Folders feature. Please note uploading multiple files and folders requires the Java plugin, version 1.5 or later. If the plugin is not available, use the single file option to add files one at a time. 1. Start by clicking on Upload in the Content Collection. Select either Upload Files or Upload ZIP Package.
a. Upload Files – Click Browse to Upload one file at a time or Drag and Drop files into the area provided. Click on Submit to complete your upload. 12
Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide b. Upload ZIP Package – Browse for the Zip file and click Submit to upload it. Organization: Your files can be organized by putting them into folders. To create a folder in your Content Collection, click on Create Folder, then type in the name of the folder and click on Submit. Permissions: You can choose to share your files or folders with other students or instructors so that they may see it or make changes to it.
1. To set Permissions click on the Permissions Icon next to the file or folder. 2. Select who you want to give permissions to.
a. Select Specific Users – Type in the person’s username, Set the Permissions and click Submit.
b. Select Specific Users by Place – Select the Course or Course Group to give permissions to, Select the Roles that will be given permission, Set the Permissions and click Submit.
My Blackboard
The My Blackboard menu is accessed by clicking on the down arrow next to your name in the top right corner.
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide The following table contains a list of the tools that can be accessed through the My Blackboard menu and a description of their functions.
Icon Tool Description
Profile Your profile that you present to your peers, classmates and instructors in Blackboard.
Bb Home This gives you an overview of the items that are due and recently graded.
Posts This page displays the latest posts in the courses and organizations you are enrolled in and follow.
Updates Review a list of notifications alerting you to important events and information.
My Grades View your grades for each assignment, test or activity in all of your courses.
My Calendar Review everything you have due and be
reminded of when you need to complete it.
People Find and interact with peers, classmates and instructors.
Notifications
From the user menu in the global navigation, you can manage notification settings for all of the courses and organizations you are enrolled in. The notification system is a framework for the delivery of notifications to Blackboard Learn users. You are notified when an event occurs in the system, such as availability of a new assignment, submission of a survey, or a test due date passing. All enabled notifications are generated automatically whenever their associated event occurs. For example, when your instructor creates an assignment and makes it available, the system automatically creates the appropriate notifications.
Notifications are delivered in the following ways:
If your school licenses community engagement, access notifications on the Notifications Dashboard on the home page of each course and on the My Institution tab.
Browse all notifications on the Updates page found in My Blackboard.
Receive notifications by email or on your mobile device. 14
Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide A. Edit General Settings: Define the general notification settings such as email format, deletion schedule, and reminder schedule for courses and organizations. B. Edit Individual Course Settings: Displays the current notification settings for courses you are enrolled in. You can make changes to the notification settings for a specific course. C. Bulk Edit Notification Settings: Select a set of courses or organizations to update and change the notification settings for them in one step.
D. Edit Individual Organization Settings: Displays the current notification settings for organizations you are enrolled in. You can make changes to the notification settings for a specific organization. Edit Notification Settings
1. On the Edit Notification Settings page, click Edit General Settings. 2. On the General Settings page, select to receive an email for each notification or select to receive a daily digest email that contains information on all of the notifications for that day. You can set the time for the daily digest.
o Individual Messages: Emails will be sent for each notification. However, the digest selection is necessary for Early Warning System/Retention Center details (instructor tools only), unread discussion board messages, unread blog posts, and unread journal entries.
o Daily Email Digest: All notifications will be collected and sent in a daily digest. 3. Set the number of days until a notification is removed automatically. 4. Select Yes to set due date reminders for notifications. Set the number of days before the due date to send an email. This reminder is emailed as a digest email or as individual emails, depending upon the option you select.
5. Click Submit.
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Individual Notifications and Email Notifications
You can select specific notification types and which to receive emails about. By default, all notification types are turned on to display on the dashboard.
By default, all email notification types are turned off. If you turn on the notification for a specific tool or feature, an email is sent out corresponding to that notification. For the following items, email notifications are sent out only if daily digest email is selected:
Early Warning System/Retention Center rule details
Unread discussion board messages
Unread blog posts
Unread journal entries
After selecting the appropriate settings, click Submit to save these settings. Course Menu
The course menu appears on the left side of a course and contains links to materials and tools within the course. Your instructor can customize the look of the course menu, the organization, the links and the tools available to you. Below is an example of a Course Menu, but it may look very different depending on how your instructor customizes it.
The course menu can be collapsed and expanded by moving your pointer near the right edge of the menu and clicking on the arrow that appears.
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Breadcrumb Trail
A breadcrumb trail tracks your "clicks" through course content levels. The breadcrumb trail is located at the top of each page, right under Blackboard's tabs. Each time you click to a page or activity in a folder or module, that link is added to the trail. It's easy to go back one level or all the way back to the beginning using this feature.
The image below shows an example of a Breadcrumb Trail. The first breadcrumb shows that the user clicked on the Blackboard Orientation course (Home). The second shows that the user then clicked to open a folder called "Start Here!". The third breadcrumb shows that the user then opened a page titled "Navigating My Online Course". From the breadcrumb trail, this user could go back to "Start Here!" module or the course homepage (by clicking on the house icon).
Blackboard Courses
Each course in Blackboard will be unique depending on how the instructor decides to use Blackboard and its tools to teach and assess the course material but the following contains information about the various tools that you may encounter during your Blackboard experience. 17
Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Email
Blackboard uses SCCC student and faculty email addresses (Ex. addw28@r.postjobfree.com ). Emails that are sent from Blackboard are NOT saved in Blackboard, students must check their SCCC Email to read, write and reply to email sent from Blackboard. Sending Email
1. On the Course Menu, click Course Tools and then click Send Email Or
On the Suffolk Online Tab, click on Email in the top Menu and click on a Course Link 2. Select who you want to send the email to.
a. All Users – Send email to all of the users in the Course b. All Groups – Send email to all of the Groups in the Course c. All Teaching Assistant Users – Send email to all of the Teaching Assistant users in the Course
d. All Student Users – Send email to all of the Student users in the Course e. All Instructor Users – Send email to all of the Instructor users in the Course f. Select Users – Select which users will receive the email Select the user’s name and click on the arrows to add or remove them to the Selected list. Users in the Selected list box will receive the email. Tip: For Windows, to select multiple users in a list, press and hold the SHIFT key and click the first and last users. To select users out of sequence, press and hold the CTRL key and click each user needed. For Macs, use the COMMAND key instead of the CTRL key. You can also use the Select All function to send an email to all users. g. Select Groups – Select which Groups will receive the email. 3. Type in a Subject line
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide 4. Type in a Message
5. Optionally click on the Attach a file link to include a file in the email 6. Click on Submit to send the email
Course Content
An instructor has the ability to add content to their Blackboard course for the student’s learning experience. This content can come in many forms such as text, images, video, links and documents. The organization and availability of the course content can vary based on how the instructor wants to present it to the student.
By default, course content can be found by clicking on the Course Content link from the Course Menu but the instructor has the ability to change the link name as well as add additional course content links. Types of Content
There are different types of content that can be added to a course. The following table contains a list of the different kinds that can be found.
Icon Content Type Description
Item A general piece of content, such as a file,
image, text, or link. A description and
other items can be attached.
File An HTML file used in the course. These
files are viewed as a page within the
course or as a separate piece of content
in a separate browser window.
Audio Audio file played in a page. If Autostart
and Loop are both set to Yes, the audio
file plays when you open the page and
continues to play until you stop it or
navigate away from the page.
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Image Image file shown on the page.
Video Video file viewed from the page. The
video player appears directly on the
page.
URL Link to a website or resource to provide
a quick access point to relevant
materials.
Learning Module A set of content that focuses on a specific subject with its own navigation.
Your instructor sets the navigation so
you must view content in a specific
order, or permits you to view the
content in any order. All types of
content, including text, images,
multimedia, assignments, and tests can
be found in a learning module.
Course Link A shortcut to an item, tool, or area in a course. A course link provides a quick
access point to relevant materials and
tools.
Content Folder A content folder is a way of organizing content items. Content folders and
subfolders set up a hierarchy to group
related material together. Content
folders are used to group material based
on a theme, such as media clips.
Content folders are used to group
material based on a schedule, for
example, placing all items for "week 1"
together. Using folders to organize
content items makes materials easier to
find and reduces the length of a content
area page.
Learning Modules
A learning module allows for an instructor to present content items in a structured path. A learning module can contain the various pieces of content such as Items, Links and Videos. The instructor can decide whether or not to enforce a sequential progression through the materials. If while navigating through a learning module, only the next page is available to navigate to, then Sequential Viewing is turned on. Otherwise all pages will be available.
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Navigate through a Learning Module by clicking on the Page arrows or by clicking on the Content Links. Discussion Board
The Discussion Board is a place for students and the instructors to post questions or topics for conversation and others can respond to them. Depending on how your instructor plans to use the Discussion Board, it might be used for grading or just as a way to for students to interact with each other.
Discussion Boards are composed of Forums, Threads and Posts. The Forums are used to organize the Discussion Board into topics or units. Threads are the specific topics of conversations in a Forum and Posts are the responses in the Threads.
Below is an example view of a Discussion Board with the links to the different Forums on the right column. From this view you can see a Description of the Forum, the Total Posts and the number of Unread Posts in the Forum.
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Suffolk County Community College Blackboard Learn 9.1 Student Guide Click on a Forum Link to view or create Threads within that Forum. Once in a Forum, if your instructor has made it available, you can create a Thread or open a Thread to read and respond to posts.
Create a Thread
1. Once in a Forum, click on Create Thread in the top left menu and a
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