How do I copy material from one Blackboard module to another?
What is meant by a user's "status" in Blackboard?
Why can't my students email me from within Blackboard?
How can I make a backup of my Blackboard module?
Why should I archive my module and how do I do it?
How do I copy material from one Blackboard module to another?
Blackboard offers you the facility to copy learning material between modules. A typical scenario is where you might want to copy material from an existing or "extinct" module into a new module shell that you have just requested for the start of the next academic session. You can copy all the material from one Blackboard course to another Blackboard course. [tell me how].
What is meant by a user's "status" in Blackboard?
The types of task that users of Blackboard will be able to perform is dictated by their user status. The commonly-used categories are 'Student', 'Instructor' and 'Teaching Assistant'. Any user (staff or student) can be enrolled with 'student' status on a module to which they are entitled to access. Most staff who are going to be actively engaged in operating a Blackboard module will need to have 'Instructor' status. Staff who are enrolled with 'Teaching Assistant' status have slightly fewer operational privileges than those given to an 'Instructor'. For example, staff with 'Teaching Assistant' status cannot enrol a user. Staff requesting a Blackboard shell for a module [tell me how] are usually given 'Instructor' status. Staff who are already enrolled as an 'Instructor' on a module can enrol other staff and set the user status of these staff [tell me how].
Why can't my students email me from within Blackboard?
If your students claim that they can't email you using Blackboard's email facility, it may be because Blackboard doesn't know your email address. Check this by:
1. logging into your Blackboard module
2. under the Control Panel menu select Users and Groups
3. then select Users from the dropdown menu
4. Locate yourself as a user and click the down chevron by your username.
5. Select Edit from the drop down menu. Under Personal Information check your DMU email address. If the email against your name says 'nomail@dmu.ac.uk', request that this be corrected by emailing itmsservicedesk@dmu.ac.uk, with the word Blackboard in the subject line, and provide them with:
a) your first name
b) your surname
c) your employer ID (from your payslip)
d) your DMU email address (not a private email address).
How can I make a backup of my Blackboard module?
You can keep a backup of your module on, say, the hard disk of your computer by logging into your Blackboard module and choosing to Export or Archive your Blackboard module.
Export creates a package of course content that can later be imported into the same course or a different course.
Archive creates a permanent record of a course, including all the content and user interactions available at the time the Archive is created. [tell me how]
Why should I archive my module and how do I do it?
The Blackboard server is currently backed up on a daily basis. However, there is no easy process for recovering an individual module or a file within a module, should you mistakenly delete anything. By making an archive of your module, Blackboard makes a copy of it in the form of a zip file and you save it to a suitable location, e.g. your PC's hard disk. If the existing module on Blackboard then becomes corrupted, it can be replaced by your archived copy. Making an archive of your module is also useful for QAA purposes, since it can be put back on the Blackboard server at a later date [tell me how].