Blackboard Access

Note: Not all instructors utilize the same Bb features, those shown are the most commonly used.

What is Blackboard?

Blackboard™ is the campus-wide course management system used to present course materials online. This content is accessible to students anytime, anywhere an internet connection is available.
Access the Bb start page at: http://blackboard.cmich.edu

After clicking the Login button, the Blackboard Login screen (see sample below) appears.  Blackboard authentication (log-in) requires your Global ID and password.

After logging in, a page titled "My Bb Home" appears. This is the first screen that you'll always see when you login, and you can always return to this page from anywhere in Blackboard by clicking on the My Bb Home tab. (see screen example below).
 


The page is separated into three areas: Tools, Announcements and My Courses.

The Tools area on the far left-hand side allows you to check grades for any of your Blackboard courses, send email, and view announcements, tasks, address book or calendar entries.

The Announcements area in the middle of the screen shows announcements for all of the courses you are enrolled in.

My Courses (on the right side) displays a list of all of the courses you are enrolled in. These course descriptions are hyperlinks. You must click on the underlined hyperlink to enter the course.

Note: If you do not see your specific course listed here when you first login, it may not be available.  Instructors have different policies regarding early course access. Some may allow and/or encourage access prior to the first day of the term, others do not. In any case, all courses will be set to available 72 hours prior to the start of the term.
 

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 Blackboard Navigation

After clicking the link to your course from My Bb Home page, you'll see a series of navigation buttons appear along the left side of the screen, and in most cases you'll start out on the Announcements page. However, instructors are able to change the names, layout and content of their course, so your specific course may not match the following sample screen:

 

Important!
Viewing Documents in  the Course

Make sure to look through all of the buttons, links and documents in your course to ensure you do not miss any important information.  Below is an example of what a posted document appears like within your Blackboard course. The title (Course Grading Policies) is in bold, beneath the title is a hyperlink (grading_policies_2005.rtf) to the file itself. The size of the file in bytes, appears next to the link. When you click on the link, the document should appear within the Blackboard window.

If you have any problems viewing files, download the file to your computer's hard drive and open it from that location. To do this, right-click once on the link, and from the menu that appears, choose "Save Target As", select a location (such as your Desktop), and click "Save". Once finished saving, locate the file on your computer, and double-click it to open. It should open in the appropriate program. Keep in mind, you must have the correct program installed in order to open certain files (e.g., to view .doc files you must have MS Word or the free Word viewer (downloadable from the System Check page), and to view .pdf files, you must have the Adobe Reader installed).

 Navigation Buttons
The Blackboard system allows a great deal of flexibility in the way a course is set-up and designed, so the course content and navigation buttons can vary  from course to course. Below are some of the buttons you may find within your course.

Announcements: This is the section where you'll find any announcements that have been posted by your instructor regarding due dates, chat times, technical issues, or upcoming events.

Online Information: This section contains documents regarding course technical support, information about ordering course materials through MBS (Missouri Book Store), designating a proctor for examinations, OCLS (Off-Campus Library Services, information about University Grading Policies, Withdrawals and Refunds and a link to the End of Course Survey.

Faculty/Staff Information: Biographical information and contact information about your course instructor.

Course Documents: This section is where you'll typically find documents relating to grading polices, specific textbook information, assignment/examination information and course schedules/due dates.

Assignments: This section may contain online readings, assignment information, sample quizzes, online Assessments and other instructional materials your instructor may use. Depending on how the materials have been set up, you may see individual links to each item (document) or links to folders or learning units which contain the materials.

Communication/Connections: This section contains links to Email to your classmates and instructor, Discussion Boards and Collaboration Tools (Chat and Virtual Classroom) as well as a Roster where you can see all your classmates names. Check with your instructor if you are unsure whether your course will be using any of these tools.

External Links:  In this section you will find links to any supplemental materials, websites or downloads that your instructor has made available.

Course Tools:  In this section you'll find links to tools such as My Grades, Personal Information, Pronto Address Book, and Calendar. Also included is a link to an online Blackboard Student Manual. Again, not all items in this area may be used or enabled by your instructor.

Note to Learning Package Students:

Blackboard-LP course "shells" are available for all Learning Package courses, and the Student Manual is now only available through Blackboard.  You no longer will order your Student Manual from MBS Direct.

Blackboard is used in Learning Package courses to provide access to certain course "area's" including: Announcements, Instructor Info, Student Services, Student Manual (Learning Package), Course Pack (if additional copyrighted materials are necessary for your course) and Email. (Learning Package courses will not utilize the chatroom, discussion board or grade book.) 
You may send email to your instructor and classmates by utilizing the Send EMail feature in Blackboard.