Using Blackboard

ALL courses, whether online or on-ground, will have Blackboard shells
created automatically!!

For instructions on how to use the Blackboard interface for creating & modifying course content, and some of the upgraded features, here are some helpful documents:

Blackboard Learn (9) Instructor Manual

Blackboard Learn (9) Video Tutorial Modules to download from iTunes U

Copying previous/current course content into new/empty course shells

Exporting/Importing course content from different servers (URL's)

Fixing missing Content Links in new Blackboard system after Importing course. (Tests, SafeAssign, etc.)

Using Safe Assign

Respondus Test Authoring Software Site License

Respondus LockDown Browser (for tests)

New Blackboard Grade Center Information (8 & 9)
The above link takes you to the online manual - click on Grade Center in left side menu.

• Faculty use the same Login & password for Blackboard as for MySierra.
• Once students have registered, their accounts will be uploaded into your
  Blackboard course shells through an automatic process within a few hours.
• Inform your students that they should review the Blackboard Tutorial, located on
  the Distance Learning website, so they know how to log in and navigate through
  the course. They will also use their MySierra username & password to log into Blackboard, all lowercase.
  
• The URL for the Bb tutorial is http://lrc.sierra.cc.ca.us/dl/orientation/index.html
• Please note that all Blackboard shells are created with the default of "Unavailable", meaning that it is invisible to your students so that you can add & modify your content until you are ready for students to access it. You must make
  the course available for students to be able to see it when you are ready, by going into your course shell's Control Panel, then to Settings, then Course Availability,
  then select Yes.
• You can add other content, such as the syllabus, handouts, discussion questions, etc, all through the Control Panel of each course shell.

Copying course content from your current course into a new or empty course
To copy the content from a previous/current shell into a new/empty one(s), please follow the steps below, or CLICK HERE for a short video of the process:

1. Go into your old Blackboard course Control Panel, select Packages & Utilities, and select Copy Course from that menu.
2. In the next screen, browse to find your destination course (the new course with no content). A window pops up to browse for the new course - hit Search with NO criteria to bring up all your courses and select the empty course that you
   are copying content into.
3. Back in the main window, check the boxes for all the areas you wish to copy, & hit Submit.
4. Two things to note: It does take a few minutes to fully integrate, so if you don't see all of your content right away, just give it a few more minutes.
5. Also, keep in mind that every time you copy from one course to another, it ADDS to the existing content in the new course, it doesn't remove or overwrite what's already there. It is best to get the original course content how you want and then run the copy process once so you don't end up with lots of duplication.
6. Remember to go into the new course(s) and modify availability dates, and to make the course available when you are ready for students to see it! That can be done through the Control Panel, then select Settings, then Course Availability, then select Yes & hit Submit.

If you have any questions, please email cbirdsong@sierracollege.edu, or sdavenport@sierracollege.edu.