Blackboard 6 Course


You will not be able to see your course in Blackboard until your instructor makes the course available to you.  The instructor might not do this until the first day of class.  Also, not every on-campus course will use Blackboard, so ask your instructor if you will be using the program for your class. If your instructor has told you that the class will use Blackboard and that the Bb site has been made available, but you still can't access it, please contact the Distance Education department staff for assistance, (DistanceEd@jtcc.edu or 804-706-5167).

To access your Blackboard course, click the link for the course in the "My Blackboard Courses" section on the "JTCC" page, (or any of the college pages that you have).

 

 

Every Blackboard course has a navigation menu on the left that enables you to access various areas of the course.  Click an item from the menu to go that area. Each course will have a different navigation menu, depending on the needs of the course, so yours will not look exactly like the one pictured. A brief description of some of the areas used in a Bb course is given below.  Your instructor might use different names for the menu items described below.

  • Announcements -- This is the first page you will see each time you enter the course.  The instructor uses this area to post important messages, updates, and reminders to the students.  Make sure you check this page every time you enter the course in case your instructor has any new information for you. By default, you will see the announcements posted within the last seven days. If you want to see older announcements, click the "View Last 30 Days" or "View All" tabs on the top of the Announcements page.
     
  • Syllabus/Course Information -- This area provides general information such as textbooks, course objectives and procedures, grading policies, etc. Make sure to visit this area to view the syllabus.
     
  • Faculty information -- This area contains the instructor's office hours, his/her contact information, and other information about the instructor.
     
  • Course Material -- This area typically contains the learning materials, lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, assignments etc. This information is generally broken down by weeks or chapters. Click the folders to view all of the course material needed for that chapter or week.
     
  • Communication -- This area contains Communication tools to allow you to communicate with your instructor and classmates.
     
    • Collaboration -- Includes the Virtual Classroom and Chat tools -- You must have Java installed to use these tools.
      • Virtual Classroom -- Allows for synchronous, (at the same time), communication through the use of a whiteboard and a chat area.
         
      • Chat -- Allows for synchronous, (at the same time), communication through the use of a chat area.
       
    • Discussion Board -- Used for asynchronous, (not at the same time), communication between the instructor and the students. For details, go to the Discussion Board page in this tutorial.
       
    • Group Pages -- Permits the instructor to group students together to work on a project. You are able to access only the group that you are in. Each group can have its own discussion board, virtual classroom, and File Exchange. (The File Exchange allows students in the group or the instructor to upload a file for others in the group to access.)
       
    • Roster -- Lists the students enrolled in the class.  You can enter a name in the text box and click the "Search" button, or you can leave the field blank and click the "Search" button to get a list of everyone in the class.  Clicking a student's name will take you to their Blackboard home page.
       
    • Send Email -- Allows you to send messages to anyone in your class. Email messages can't be read from this location, only sent.  You will need to access your VCCS email account to read the messages.  This also means that you need to copy yourself on any messages that you send because Blackboard will not allow you to read your sent messages.  If you do not copy yourself on the message, you will not have a record of the message that you sent to your instructor.

     

  • Student Tools -- This area contains interactive tools that will may use for your course.
     
    • Calendar -- If the instructor adds an event to the course Calendar, you will be able to see it in this area.  Students can create a personal event on their own Bb calendar by clicking the "Learn" tab and then clicking "Calendar" in the Tools box on the left side of the page.
       
    • Digital Drop Box -- The Digital Drop Box allows you to send files to the instructor. Please note that you have to use "Send File" and not "Add File" to send a file to the instructor. Simply adding a file to your drop box will not make it available to the instructor; only you would be able to see it.  For details go to Digital Drop Box page in this tutorial.
       
    • Homepage -- You may create your own personal web page for all of your classmates to see. To view your home page go to the Roster which is found in the Communication area.  You can enter a name in the text box and click the "Search" button, or you can leave the field blank and click the "Search" button to get a list of everyone in the class.  Click a name to view that person's Bb home page.
       
    • My Grades -- You can view your grades for the course. If a quiz was created with Blackboard, you can click your grade for that quiz to return to the page listing the results.
       
    • Personal Information -- You can change your password for all of your VCCS accounts in this area.
       
    • Tasks  --  If the instructor adds an assignment to the course Tasks area, you will be able to see it in this area.  Students can create a personal task by clicking the "Learn" tab and then clicking "Tasks" in the Tools box on the left side of the page.
       
    • User Manual -- This is the online Blackboard Student manual containing more detailed information on how to use Blackboard.

 

Next Topic:  Collaboration