Blackboard at College of the Redwoods

Blackboard is College of the Redwoods' online, web-based learning platform. It provides faculty and students an innovative way to share information and ideas and to communicate with each other outside of the classroom experience.

It allows faculty to post class materials to a website, send email to their students, set up online quizzes or surveys, and manage and display student grades from any Internet-connected computer.

2. How do I login to Blackboard?

Blackboard is located at the following web address: http://bb.redwoods.edu
To login, enter your Username (e.g., jsmith567). Your intitial Password is your six digit birthdate (e.g., 092586).

Once you have logged in, you will notice a list of courses in which you are enrolled on the right-hand side of the screen (My Courses). Click on the appropriate course to get started.

NOTE: If none of your instructors are using Blackboard and you have not accessed Blackboard at CR before, you will not have a Blackboard account this semester.

3. How do I change my password?

After logging in to Blackboard, click on Personal Information, under Tools on the left side of your screen. Select Change Password. Enter your new password twice and click Submit.

A couple of words about passwords. Whether you are creating a password for Blackboard or your e-mail account, always try to create a password that is easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess. A few simple rules for creating a password:

Always make your password at least 6 characters.
Mix characters and numbers (e.g., blue12berry, h0bbit, 0c3an).
Mix capital and lower case letters (e.g., r3dw00d, bAtMaN21).
Don't use the same password for every account.
NEVER use your ATM Card Pin as your password.
Avoid using your birthdate, name, parents' or child's name, or their birthdates.

4. What e-mail address does my Blackboard e-mail go to?

By default, all Blackboard accounts are set up to send e-mail to the e-mail account in WebAdvisor. However, if you change your email account in WebAdvisor, you must update it in Blackboard as well (See Step #3 for updating your email address.)

5. How do I use Blackboard?

This website is designed to be a learning resource tool for you in learning how to use Blackboard. It will be updated on a regular basis with additional tips and resources. You may also expore through the CR Sample Blackboard Course (coming soon) to hands-on experience with the interface and learn about what types of content you may encounter. As well, your instructor may provide a short orientation in class early in the semester.

If you learn better by reading and/or hands-on exploration, you can download the Getting Started with Blackboard Guide (PDF) created by Blackboard.

6. How do I use the Assignment Tool?

The Assignment Tool is a modified version of the Digital Drop Box. When an Instructor adds an assignment to his/her Blackboard course, you will see a link to the the assignment description and a place to enter responses and/or to upload files. Once the Instructor has graded the assignment, you can return to this link to view not only the grade for your assignment, but also any comments that the Instructor may have included.

For a video tutorial on using the Assignment Tool, click here. (Courtesy of Blackboard)

7. How do I use the Digital Drop Box?

Many faculty are using the Digital Drop Box for assignment submission. Click here for instructions on using the Digital Drop Box.

8. How do I use the Discussion Board?

Many faculty will supplement their class by extending discussions outside of the classroom. Blackboard's built-in Discussion Board is one of the more commonly used tools.

The Discussion Board also allows for you to share files with your classmates (e.g., peer reviews, group projects).

9. How do I use the Group File Exchange?

When doing group projects, faculty will often allow students to use the Blackboard Group features. Each student group is given access to one of the Blackboard Course Group Spaces. From within this space, you can have discussions with your group mates using a private group discussion board; send e-mail to only members of the group; and share files.

10. How do I send an e-mail in Blackboard?

There are two ways to send e-mail from within Blackboard. The first is through the Communication button on your Blackboard tool bar. Click on Communication and then select Send E-mail . You will be given the option to select to whom you wish to send the message. Select All Users , to send to the entire class; All Instructors , to send to your instructor; Select Users , to send to individual users, students or faculty. Enter the Subject of your e-mail and then the Message . Once you have typed your message, click the Send Copy of Message to Self , so that you will have a record of the e-mail you sent. Click Submit to send your e-mail. A receipt will appear after the message has been sent.

The second way to send e-mail is through the Groups page. This method is very similar to Communication button method, but the options for who will receive the message is more limited.

11. How do I check my grades?

If your instructor is using the gradebook to keep track of your grades, you can easily check your progress. Begin by clicking on the Tools button (in some courses this button may read Student Tools or User Tools ). Select View Grades . A page will appear with each assignment listed down the left hand side of the screen and your grade listed down the right hand side of the screen. At the top of the screen you will see your average and other statistics. WARNING!: Averages are not accurate until the end of the semester due to the way Blackboard calculates them.

You can also check the grade on an individual assignment by returning to a given Assignment Tool link. Once you have submitted an assignment and it has been graded, the grade and any comments from your Instructor will appear. For more information, see How do I use the Assignment Tool?

12. I'm having problems reading/downloading PowerPoint files from my Blackboard course. What should I do?

If you are using a computer with Microsoft Office XP, you may need to upgrade your software. There is a known issue between the first release of Microsoft Office XP and Blackboard. This bug typically only affects PowerPoint files, but may affect other files as well. To fix this bug you will need to download the Microsoft Office XP Service Pack 2 . This is a free download from Microsoft that is available at the Microsoft Office Product Updates Site .

If you are experiencing other problems, or are using a different platform than mentioned here, please contact your instructor or the ITS Help Desk for further assistance.

13. I forgot/lost my Password. How can I get it reset?

If you can't remember your Password or lost it, click on the Forgot Your Password? link on the Blackboard Login Screen. A new screen will appear prompting you for your First Name, Last Name and either your UserID or your e-mail address. Fill in the information for one of the two prompts.

After clicking on Submit and e-mail will be sent to the e-mail account on file for you in Blackboard (your Blackboard e-mail account). Follow the directions in the e-mail to reset your Password and then login.

If after following these directions, you are still unable to login or receive an error stating that your account does not exist, please refer to the Getting Help page.

14. What if I have problems logging in, accessing a course, etc.?

If you can not access a course, please contact your professor to ensure that s/he is using Blackboard for that section and ask him/her to add you to Blackboard Course Roster.

If you are having password issues or technical problems, please refer to the Getting Help page.

15. How do I read the file that my Professor posted?

Some professors will post files other than Microsoft Word, Microsoft PowerPoint or Adobe Acrobat files. In some cases, you will need a specific piece of software to read these files (e.g., CAD software, Adobe Illustrator, Macromedia Flash). If you do not have access to these programs on your personal computer, you will need to either download the file and take it to a computer lab or download the file in a computer lab where there are computers with this software.

In other cases, you can download a browser plugin or a viewer program from the software manufacturer. Following is a list of the most common plugins and viewers available. If you need a plugin or viewer that is missing from this list, you should go to the web site of the software manufacturer to download the viewer.

Step-by-step instructions courtesy of the Eastern Washington University
and University of Philadelphia