How do I find which version of Blackboard Learning System I'm using?
Once you have logged into Blackboard, look in either the Check Browser or Blackboard Help. The information will appear in one of those two places depending on the version at your institution.

Can I add co-designers to my course?
In most cases, you must contact your Blackboard Administrator about this. However, some institutions do allow designers to add users to their courses. If you are uncertain, please contact your Blackboard administrator.

If you have administrative privileges:

1. Go to User Management > User > Add
2. Enter a Blackboard ID, password, first and last name for the co-designer.

How do I set up Shared Designer Access?
On the homepage of the course:

1. Click Course Management
2. Click Course Functions
3. Click Shared Access (only the Main Designer has this button)
4. Enter the WebCT ID of the shared-access designer
5. Click Add

Repeat the process for however many additional designers you want to assign.

Do you have any online resources for new Blackboard Learning System users?
Additional resources can be found in Behind the Blackboard, the Blackboard Wiki Knowledge Base, and the Reference Center.

You may also wish to join the mailing list.It will put you in touch with other designers and administrators, as well as developers and support staff at Blackboard.

How do I view both the designer and student view at once?

1. If you have both Internet Explorer and Netscape (or any two different browsers) installed on your computer:

   First, you will need to add a student to your course by clicking:

   Course Management -> Student Management -> Students -> Add.

   Enter a new test student identity. Once you have done this, open a different browser (e.g. if you're already logged in as Designer on Netscape, open an Internet Explorer browser window, or vice versa) and login as the student.

2. If you only have one browser installed on your computer, or prefer to use only one browser:

   Another way to see a Student View is to add an icon to your course that links to a student view, but is actually hidden from the students.
   
   To add the student view link to the course homepage, click:

   Organize Icons --> Add --> URL
   
   Enter a title such as Student View, choose an icon, and enter the URL of your server. The URL for this icon must be the opposite format from the address that you usually use to login on: e.g. if I normally login to:

   http://www.webct.com:8900

   for the Student View link I would enter the IP address*:

   http://405.331.205.14:8900

If the reverse case is true, that I use the IP address normally, I would have to use the alias of the webpage (http://www.webct.com:8900) for the Student View link. Once the field have been filled in, select "New browser window", and click Add. Now, clicking this icon causes a new browser window to be opened and when the user clicks on my WebCT or a course in the course listing, they will be prompted for their login information. Simply enter the login of a test student added to the course, and you enter the student view.

This new Icon should be set to "hidden" so that only the course designer will be able to see it.

*In order to find out what your IP address, you can "ping" the server.

How can I find the IP address of my server? Or said another way, how do I "ping" the server?

There is a way to have both a designer view and student view running simultaneously within the same browser session. This is a little bit involved, however, you only have to do this once within your course.

• First, return to your course home page and click on Organize Icons. Now click Add, then URL. In the title field, enter something like Student View or Login as a Student. In the Icon Filename field, you can either browse the File Manager for a file, or leave it blank; if it's blank the title will act as the icon.
  
  
• Now here's the tricky part-the URL. First you will need to find the IP of the server. If you are using Windows, click on Start , then Programs, then MS DOS Command Prompt. Type in ping [server name]

  Example: ping myschoolserver.webct.com

  Of course, use your own server. This information is the first part in the URL you use to connect to your course. It should return a series of numbers. This is the numeric IP address of your server. So the URL will be:

  http://[numeric IP address]:[port number]/SCRIPT/[course ID]/scripts/serve_home

  Example: http://165.34.43.233:8900/SCRIPT/mycourse01/scripts/serve_home

• Now that you have found the IP you can enter in the URL. Click on the option button that selects "New browser window", then click on Add.
  
  
• Now click on Back, select the option button beside your new icon, and click on Hide. This means your students won't be able to see it as it would only confuse them.
  
  
• Now when you click on this icon, a new window should appear prompting you for a user name and password. Enter a valid student user name and password, and you will see your course from their perspective.

How do I remove a quiz column in the student management area?
When you delete a quiz, the column still remains in Student Management. You can only delete a quiz column in Student Management if the associated quiz has been deleted.

To delete a quiz, go to the Quiz homepage (i.e.. click the Quiz icon), select the quiz you would like to delete, and click Delete in the bottom frame.

When you now go back to Student Management, you should be able to delete the quiz column: from the homepage, click

Course Management --> Student Mgmt --> Columns

This will bring you to the Column Editor screen. Select the quiz column and click Delete.

Why can't I batch upload users as a Designer?

Unfortunately, as a course Designer, you can't batch upload users. However, if you are the WebCT Administrator for your server, you can batch upload a global database by completing the following steps:

1. Log on as the Administrator.
2. Click User Management
3. Click Upload
4. Browse and select the file which is your comma-delimited database file (text format) that contains your Global ID information.
5. Click Continue.

How do I backup and restore a WebCT course?
To make a backup of a WebCT course:

1. Log on to the course that you want to back up.
2. Create a backup of the course by clicking on the following buttons from the course homepage:
   Course Management -> Course Functions -> Course Backup -> Create Backup
3. Download the backup to your computer by clicking on the backup filename and then on Download.

You can only restore a backup to an existing course. Note that restoring the backup will override all information in the existing course. To restore a backup:

1. Log on to the course that you want to override with the backup
2. Upload the backup by clicking on the following buttons from the course homepage: Course Management -> Course Functions -> Course Backup -> Upload Backup
3. Restore the backup by clicking on the backup filename and then on Restore. All data (content, students, icons, discussions, etc) previously held in the course will be replaced with the data in the backup course.
4. Update Student View

Note: You must update the student view after restoring a course. WebCT must regenerate the static student pages for all the links to work properly in the new course.

How can students create a "Guest" account in a Blackboard Learning System Course?
Enter the course as the designer to set up guest account access. You will want the guest account to be set as:
(Access Control: Allow any person to create a student account for this course).

The instruction you will give to students are:

Instructions to student: with Global ID

Have the student click on "Course Listing" and chose the guest triangle next to the chosen new course. This will take the student to the web page: Guest Account Creation " which will ask " Have you already set up My Blackboard? Have the student choose " Yes", where they will be prompted to enter their Global ID and password. This will add the new course to the students course listing on their MyBlackboard homepage.

Instructions to student: new to Blackboard Learning System 

If the student is new to Blackboard they will click on "Course Listing" and chose the guest triangle next to the chosen new course. This will take the student to the web page: "Guest Account Creation" which will ask "Have you already set up my Blackboard?" where they will choose "No" and proceed through setting up their Global ID.

How can I manually enter student grades?
You can manually enter students grade in grade book through the override area, which can be accessed from:
Course Management ->Student Management: click on the student's underlined name

Click on "Override" in the Grade book area to access the " Letter Grade Override"; from here you can enter a letter grade for the student.

Also, if a student has taken a quiz, in Student Management you can click on Submissions. This will then allow you to override marks and provide comments on student results by using the Override Mark and Comment text boxes beneath each question.

You can also adjust overall quiz results by using the Quiz Mark Adjustment text box at the bottom of the quiz. To affect all your changes click Update Grade. Click Reset Attempt to allow the students submission to be attempted again.

For your student who has not submitted through Blackboard, you can make a dummy submission on their behalf and adjust their grade as above.

How can I let students see their own grades?

You must make the grades visible to the students in Course Management -> Student Management -> Column: Column Editor.

The table indicates a column's current status. Toggle Released to "Y" to show this column to your students.

Why can't my students view their quiz grades?
There are several reasons why your students may not be able to view their grades:

1. The quiz column may not be released to the students. When a quiz is created a column for that quiz is automatically created in your Student Management area. As a default the column is not released for the students. You must release the column for your students to see their marks.

1. From your course homepage click [Course Management] on your designer toolbar.
2. Click [Student Management]
3. Click [Columns...]

You will see the status for each column in the Released row of the Column Editor. "Y" means that the column is released and the students can view their marks. "N" means the column is not released and students will not be able to view their marks. The Hidden toggle works in a similar fashion, except that if a column is Hidden it means that it does not display on your (designer's) Student Management page. To change the status for any column select the box above the appropriate column, or columns, and click the [Released] button on you designer toolbar.

2. The quiz settings mat be set to not release the students' scores. There may be paragraph questions in the quiz that need to be marked by an instructor or grader before the quiz score can be released. To view the setting for your quiz, go to the Quiz/Survey Management area for your course.

1. Open the Quiz Editor by clicking on the Quiz hyperlink.
2. Click Settings on your designer toolbar.
3. Beneath the Results section you can see the settings for Student Score release. If it is set such that the students score is not released you will need to change it to "release the score once the quiz has been submitted" and click Update to save this change.
4. Click Back on your designer toolbar to return to the Quiz/Survey Management screen.
5. Click the Submissions link for the appropriate quiz.
6. Click Mark All, and then Regrade on your designer toolbar. This will regrade each students quiz submission so that their marks will now be viewable. Please note that if you have manually overridden any students' grades, the Regrade function will reset the grades to their original values.

3. Paragraph questions must be marked before the quiz results can be made available for students. To grade paragraph questions go to Quiz/Survey Management area for your course.

1. Click the Submissions link for the appropriate quiz.
2. To view a student's quiz, click the number link in the submissions column.
3. Grade the paragraph question, or questions, by entering a grade into the appropriate mark box and clicking Update to save these changes.

Where do I find online content from Blackboard's publishing partners?

Blackboard has developed partnerships with top educational publishers to create e-Packs, which are ready-made Blackboard Learning system courses covering a huge variety of subjects and levels. You can browse currently available e-Packs in Blackboard's Content Showcase.

How should I configure my browser(s)? Why do I need to configure my browser?
For the most up-to-date information on browser requirements and recommendations, visit the  Blackboard Browser Tune-up.

Where can I get WebCT Training?
For information about our training courses, our certification programs, public workshops hosted by WebCT, a training request form, and other training-related information, see the Blackboard Services area of our website.

If you want to speak to us about training internal support staff, please send an e-mail to cevtraining@blackboard.com.

Instructional events follow a defined curriculum where learning outcomes focus on the acquisition of technical skills and a deeper understanding of the pedagogical benefits of the WebCT platform. Training may use a combination of lecture and hands-on activities.

Demos empower participants to judge whether WebCT is a suitable platform for a client's teaching and learning application. The focus of a demo is the nature and depth of the product's feature set and functionality. During a demo, the WebCT interface is usually under the control of the demonstrator, whereas during training, the interface is controlled by the participants. In certain situations, prospective clients may request a hands-on session to test out the features of the product. However, these sessions are commonly short (less than four hours), and no specified curriculum is attached to the session.

How do I edit the course syllabus in my e-Pack?
Click on the Syllabus icon and note of the name of the syllabus file--it will likely be something like syllabus.htm, but its actual name will be the last part in the URL line of your browser. (Tip-this is a handy way to know the actual name of any file that you access in your course) Close the Syllabus frame and click on the File Manager button. The File Manager is a tool that allows you to organize, upload, download, and edit the files in your course.

If you are at all acquainted with HTML, you can edit your syllabus right here in the File Manager. Click on the syllabus.htm file (or whatever it's actually called in your course). The file title will appear in the left frame of the screen, and the syllabus page itself will display in the right. Click on the edit link located to the right of the file title. You will now be viewing the HTML code for the page. HTML is the language that web pages are actually written in. Now you can add your own information. Ensure you click on the save button above the editing box to save your changes.

If you prefer, you can download the file and edit it with your favorite HTML editing program, rather than editing the code directly. Most word processing programs allow you to create and edit HTML pages. Just click on Back, and then click in the check box beside the file you want to download, then click Download. Your browser will then prompt you on where you want to save this file. Once it is downloaded, you can open it with an HTML editor, make your changes, save it, and then upload it again. If you keep the file name the same (and you should-if you want a backup of the original file copy it into another directory or rename it) you will be asked if you want to overwrite the existing file. Hit Continue, and the file will be updated with your edits. Click on Home, and then click on the Syllabus icon (or equivalent). The new, updated copy of your syllabus should appear.

Tip-sometimes when you open a file such as this in an HTML editing program, you will receive a warning stating that the stylesheet was not found. A stylesheet is a reference file that controls the appearance of a page, such as fonts, banners, highlights and so forth. That's OK-just go ahead with your edits and upload the file. Once it has been uploaded, your new file will locate the stylesheet in your course and these features should display correctly.

How do I restore my Publisher Course to our WebCT server? OR How do I restore any WebCT course to another WebCT course as a designer?

As a designer, you can restore a course only if you have designer access to a pre-existing course (whether this be a blank course, a default course, or any other course). Restoring in this case will totally overwrite the existing course (as WebCT warns). To restore a course in this case:

1. Click Course Management
2. Click Course Function
3. Click Course Backup
4. Click Upload Backup
5. Select the course backup (a zip file) from your local machine
6. Click Continue. This process may take from a few minutes to an hour, depending on the size of the backup file and the speed of your connection to the internet.
7. Click View Backups
8. Click on the hyperlinked backup name
9. Click Restore. As mentioned, this will completely overwrite any data contained in your existing course. A restore should only be performed on a blank or default course to avoid irretrievably losing course information.

There are two stages in this process that can prevent a successful restore and both are caused by the same problem: a time-out by the WebCT server. This can happen at step 6 when the course backup (e-Pack) is being uploaded. It can also happen at step 9 when the course backup is being restored (i.e. unzipped and put in place by WebCT). This often happens with large course backups (i.e. 50 MB files or larger). If this happens, please check the knowledge base entry on avoiding server time outs.

As the WebCT Administrator, there are two ways to restore a course from a course backup. The first:

1. Copy the course backup into the install_dir/webct/webct/generic/admin/backup directory.
2. Login as the WebCT Administrator
3. Click Course Management
4. Click Backups
5. Click Restore Backups
6. S elect the backup to restore
7. Click Continue
8. Select the category to restore to and, if required, enter a courseID for the course
9. Click Continue

How do I create short (2-10 minute) audio files and put them in my WebCT course?

A popular and reliable tool is Real Producer Basic (V8.5), which is a free download from http://www.real.com. It produces files in .RM (Real Media) format. These files are very small and you can configure them for different target modems.

Here is a quick list of Real.com's free downloads, which may also be useful:

• RealSlideshow 2.0, free, creates basic Web slide shows. http://proforma.real.com/rn/tools/slideshow/index.html
• RealProducer Basic, free, creates basic RealAudio 8 and RealVideo 8. http://proforma.real.com/rn/tools/producer/index.html
• RealPresenter Basic, free version, lets you create streaming Microsoft PowerPoint presentations and serve them from your desktop. http://proforma.real.com/rn/tools/presenter/index.html
• Studio Basic for RealVideo, a free software download, lets you edit digital video files and export RealVideo. Make sure you have an OHCI-compliant DV board on your computer, you'll need it to capture video to your PC. http://proforma.real.com/rn/misc/pinnacle/index.html

You can see all of Real.com's media creation offerings at http://www.realnetworks.com/developers/index.html Real.com also has some "Getting Started" pages at http://www.realnetworks.com/getstarted/index.html

On the Microsoft site, there is a free download of On Demand Producer at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/en/technologies/tools/ondemand.asp It converts WAV to WMA and AVI to ASF. You can control the bandwidth if you wish, but many of the existing templates are really good enough.

WebCT has a feature that allows you to create a linked list of audio files associated with a page in a content module. You can find information on that in the online help. However, most people prefer to have audio more tightly integrated with the content of the page, either playing it automatically when a page loads or when a link with the page text is clicked or passed over with the mouse.

I keep getting kicked out of my Blackboard Learning System course and have to log on again.
This problem sounds like it's related to the cookies in the Blackboard ticket-based authentication and, specifically, how the cookies are handled by your browser, personal firewalls, and your institution's firewalls.

Your institution probably upgraded its version of Blackboard Learning System recently. Newer versions of Blackboard Learning System have replaced server-based authentication with ticket-based authentication. Sometimes, users, Blackboard administrators and network administrators do not fully understand the impact of ticket-based authentication with cookies. It's possible that your Blackboard administrator has left the default settings in place for this authentication, which may not be the best choice for your instance of Blackboard Learning System. For example, I have seen problems at a couple of institutions because cookies were being "crunched" by the firewall/proxy server.

My recommendation contact your institution's Blackboard Administrator and let them know about the problem. If they can't solve it with adjustments to your browser or the institution's network, then they can contact Blackboard Support. Unfortunately, this problem has no universal solution, since each installation of Blackboard Learning System is unique, and users have different browsers and settings.