Blackboard Help for Instructors

Here are some resources to help you use blackboard at UO more effectively:

Search the Blackboard FAQ:   FAQ examples: My course is 'unavailable'. What does that mean? How do I add my GTF to the coursesite? The next place to turn for help is the Help item in the Control Panel of your coursesite.  You'll find: Guide -- the Blackboard Instructor's Guide, fully searchable [note that a few sections of this guide reference Blackboard products that the UO does not license, e.g. Community and Content systems] On Demand -- a website provided by Blackboard, Inc. with a wide variety of information and tutorials for instructors, including links to what formerly were called "Quick Tutorials". See below for more online materials.

Assistance in person for instructors

CMET Consulting can answer blackboard questions and provide training for faculty and staff. Instructors can visit Room 19, Knight Library, use our online chat, or call 346-1942 for an appointment or the answer to a quick question.

If you need assistance with instructional design or would like to build a learning object for your course, CMET Interactive Media may also be able to assist. And you can get additional help from the Teaching Effectiveness Program in using blackboard to meet your teaching goals.  Many apparent blackboard issues are actually problems with your account or your browser configuration: get account help from the IS Help Desk; your department or college may also have tech support staff who can help with hardware and software problems.

We offer blackboard workshops for instructors by request. Schedule one for instructors in your department, customized to your specific needs. 

Instructors can also report problems or get responses to specific questions by email to our trouble ticketing system (email to blackboard@ithelp.uoregon.edu). Be sure to include complete information including your DuckID, the course, what browser you are using, and the nature of the problem.  The trouble ticketing system is monitored regularly during normal business hours.

Online assistance

Some of the online information that we've found most useful at UO includes:

• All About Blackboard: Guides from the Teaching Effectiveness Program. 
• Blackboard 9 for Instructors:  some quick tips and references about our new 2009 version.
• Using Blackboard 9.1: a guide to our current (as of 22 Dec 2010) version of Blackboard.

Blackboard Inc. Faculty Documentation has an extensive collection of vendor-written manuals and tutorials.  As of winter term 2011 see documentation for Blackboard Learn 9.1 or 9.1 SP 4.

• Blackboard 9.0 Instructor's Manual: In-depth information for instructors, PDF.
• Blackboard 9.1 Instructor's Guide:  HTML-format. Also available in HTML format on the "Help" menu of the control panel.

See in particular the Bb-provided flash based "quick tutorials," and the "quick start guides" for Release 9.1.  For example, see several "getting started" short guides:

• Making your coursesite available (flash video)
• Getting Started with the Course Environment
• Getting Started with Assignments
• Getting Started with Building a Test
• Getting Started with Course Content
• Getting Started with Groups
• Getting Started with Learning Modules
• Getting Started with the Grade Center

Some additional materials

There's lots of other material available about blackboard, both from the UO and other sites.  Try using google and search for "blackboard 9 quick tutorial".  We're starting to build a library of UO tutorials as well.  Among our additional materials:

• Inserting an image in a discussion board post (youtube video)
• Step-by-Step Guides for Blackboard (CSU)
• Blackboard Buddy, a collection of YouTube videos,  (St John Fisher College)
• Test Taking in Blackboard: suggestions for students
• Suggestions for Constructing Blackboard Tests: How instructors can build quizzes to avoid potential problems
• Blackboard and i>clicker at UO: How instructors can use blackboard with i>clicker personal response systems, including registering student clickers using a blackboard form and uploading grades from i>grader into the Blackboard grade center

Although many universities have Blackboard Learn training materials, you need to beware that they may not be updated regularly, or may include information that is specific to the other school or to a different version of Blackboard than the one at the UO.