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| ECC Home Prospective Students Current Students Academic Programs Continuing Education Distance Learning Workforce Development LRC - Library ECC Foundation Faculty and Staff | BlackBoard Frequently Asked Questions
How do I log into my Blackboard course? What is my Blackboard user name? What should I do if my user name and/or password does not work? What should I do if I don’t see my class listed after I log in? Do I have to install special software to use Blackboard? How do I communicate with my instructor? How do I communicate with my classmates? How do I use the Discussion Board? How do I use the Virtual Classroom? How do I send my assignments to my instructor? Where can I go to see my grades? What browser(s) should I use and how should I configure them? What is Blackboard? Blackboard is a web-based software system that supports the delivery of course materials and instruction over a local area network as well as the Internet. Using BlackBoard, a student can view course materials, take tests, communicate with the instructor and other students over the Internet using only a web browser such as Internet Explorer and possibly a few document viewers and browser plug-ins. Yes, online courses are difficult and not appropriate for all students. Research indicates that only 30 – 40% of community college students have the skills necessary to successfully complete an online course. The ECC Online Self-Assessment a good gauge of these skills.
How do I log into my Blackboard course? The ECC Blackboard site is located at http://blackboard.myedge.cc. You can also get to the ECC BlackBoard server from the ECC home page. Once you get to the BlackBoard login screen, login using your unique student User ID and Password. What is my Blackboard user name?
Your BlackBoard user name is the composed of the first initial last name and the last 4 digits of your Date of Birth. For example jdoe0508.(John Doe born May 8) Always be sure to use lowercase letters when typing your user name into Blackboard. [ Back to Top ] What is my password? Your Blackboard password will be you ECC Student ID - found on your registration paper. [ Back to Top ] Do I have to install special software to use Blackboard? At a minimum, you need a recent version of either Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Additionally you may need viewers for Microsoft Word and PowerPoint documents. You may also need to install a web browser plug-in call Java Run Time Environment (JRE) to use BlackBoard's virtual chat features. Depending on the course you are taking, special software may be required to complete the course. For example, CIS 110 requires that you have Office XP installed. You should check with your instructor about any special software needed for a specific course. [ Back to Top ] What should I do if my user name and/or password does not work? If your password does
not seem to work, try typing it very slowly while looking at the keys.
Also be sure your Caps Lock is not turned
on and your Num Lock key is on. 99% of
the time when students call us with password
problems they are just making a typing mistake.
Be sure to check your user name. You could have
made a mistake typing it as well. Sometimes just
shutting down and restarting your computer will
allow you to log in if you've been having
problems. If you've tried all of that and
still can't get in then you can submit
a problem report to the ECC's Blackboard Administrator
at onlinesupport. [ Back to Top ] What should I do if I don't see my class listed after I log in? When you log into Blackboard you will see a list of all classes in which you are registered. Classes are not made visible to students in BlackBoard until after the end of Final Registration. After the end of Final Registration, if you don't see your class, it is possible that you have not been added to the class roster. You should contact your instructor ASAP by email. If you don't get a response from your instructor you can contact Distance Learning at 252-823-5166 and ask for Richard Green. [ Back to Top ] How do I communicate with my instructor? The preferred way of communication with your online instructor is email. Your instructor's email address is listed on the course schedule. Keep in mind that some instructors are only part-time and are not at their computers except a couple of hours a day. Don't expect an immediate reply. Some instructors will post their phone numbers under Staff Information in your BlackBoard course but may request that you only call them for emergencies. If you have problems contacting your instructor be sure to give them ample time to reply (1 or 2 days). If you still can't get in touch with them, your next step should be to contact the head of the department under which the course is taught. Additionally you can contact Distance Learning at (252) 823-5166 and ask for Richard Green. [ Back to Top ] How do I communicate with my classmates? Once you enter Blackboard you have several options to communicate with your classmates. Click on the Communication button on the left and you will see the Send Email option. By using this option you can send email quickly to a select group of your classmates, your instructor, or all users. From the Communication page you also have the option of viewing the Student Roster. This shows you the names and email addresses of all students in the class. In addition, your instructor will most likely ask you to communicate with your classmates by using the Discussion board and/or the Virtual Classroom (chat). [ Back to Top ] How do I use the Discussion Board? The Discussion Board is located in the Communication section of Blackboard. The discussion board is limited to the people in your particular class. Your instructor will probably have already started a forum, which will appear as a link. When you click on the link, you’ll probably see a message, perhaps many messages, which you can click on to view. Notice that the subject is to the left and the author is to the right. You can reply to the messages, create a new message, or you can start a new topic altogether by pressing the Start New Thread button. Be sure to make your Subject clear and short so the other students can see if they’re interested in the topic. Please check your spelling before you Submit your message. If you Preview your message, you'll be able to look at it and Edit it if necessary. Be sure to press the Submit button so either your message or your reply become part of the discussion. When you click on the message link you’ll see the full message and you can reply if you press the Reply button. How do I use the Virtual Classroom? The Virtual Classroom is a real-time chat room that can be accessed by your instructor and your classmates. Your instructor normally schedules chat sessions for a certain date and time. From the Communication page of your Blackboard course click the Virtual Chat icon. Click the Enter Virtual Classroom link. The chat window may take several minutes to load, just be patient. Once the Chat windows loads you will see a large “whiteboard” area at the top of the screen. Below the whiteboard is a smaller white box containing the messages that have been typed. The very bottom white box is the area where you type your message. Once you’ve typed your message press the Enter key and your message will be displayed. If you experience error messages while trying to load the chat be sure your browser is either Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator version 5 or higher. If the problem isn’t with your browser version try rebooting your pc. If, after logging back in you still get error messages write the messages down and and submit a problem report to ECC's BlackBoard Technical support at onlinesupport. [ Back to Top ] How do I send my assignments to my instructor? Instructor preferences may vary but typically you will be asked to turn in your assignments via BlackBoard's Student Drop Box located in your course. You will first need to complete your assignment and save it in a file, probably in a word processing program such as Word. Again, this may vary depending on your instructor. You should ask to determine what program to use to complete your assignments. Please note that instructors at ECC typically cannot open filed done in Microsoft WORKS. Once your assignments are completed and saved you are ready to send them. To enter your Digital Drop Box:
[ Back to Top ] Where can I go to see my grades? Blackboard allows for immediate feedback from tests and quizzes. To see your grades go into the Tools section and click the link to Check Your Grade. Any test or quiz that you have taken through Blackboard will appear here as well as any other grades your instructor has entered for assignments. Not all instructors use this Online Gradebook feature. You may want to ask your instructor to be sure. [ Back to Top ] What browser(s) should I use and how should I configure them? Technically you can use any Java enabled browser to participate in a Blackboard course. However we do make several recommendations: Users of AOL and CompuServe tend to experience more problems with disconnects and viewing out of date pages than the typical user. Successful use of AOL and CompuServe with Blackboard is possible. Nevertheless, it is our recommendation that AOL and CompuServe users consider switching to a generic Internet Service Provider, especially if you begin to have problems. Blackboard is optimized for use with either Netscape Navigator 7 or Internet Explorer version 6 or higher. We recommend that you check your version prior to the start of classes and upgrade as necessary. We recommend that you configure your browser to always view the most current version of a web page. It is common for students to experience problems related to viewing an older “cached” version of a page. [ Back to Top ]
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823-5166 Rocky
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2009
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