Getting Started with a Blackboard Course


Getting Started Quick Guide

GetStarted.pdf is a quick checklist of things to think about at the beginning of the semester.

The more inclusive Intro to Blackboard document contains much more information - all the basics for getting started and for later.

 

Login Help - All Users*

You will need to use UM Directory ID and password to gain access to BB courses and other spaces. You also need to setup valid email address in order to receive messages sent from BB. Click for details.  

 

Course Request - Term-based Courses and Other BB Spaces

Course instructors are required to request term-based Blackboard courses every semester using ELMS Management Tool. To request your course(s): Login to Blackboard, go to Faculty Resources tab, then Request a Course or Organization Space. View details here. 

You can also request other non-term based BB courses and Organization spaces for variable purposes.

 

  IMPORTANT: UM Course Availability Policy for STUDENTS*

All term-based courses (excepts Graduate courses) will be Unavailability to students 3-weeks after a semester is over. So, STUDENTS: If there are any course contents you want to keep longer, you need to save the documents from your course to your local computer as soon as you can, any time before the course is Unavailable for you. 

If you or the students have concerns regarding this policy, please send email to Registrar Customer Service at <rr-cs@deans.umd.edu> and campus OIT at <elms@umd.edu>.

Note that sometime instructors may set a course site or any section of materials unavailable to students, for contents managing purpose.

 

  COURSE REMOVAL POLICY:

With OIT's policy, All term-based courses that are 2-years or older will be purged from BB system, once a year in Summer. To be specific, ALL Calendar year 2007 courses - Winter 2007 through Fall 2007 will be COMPLETELY REMOVED during Summer 2010. So, both Faculty and Students: If you want to save any course documents, PLEASE be prepared in advance. There is NO Way to get your course documents back once the course be removed.

 

Adding Users to Your Course - TAs, Course Builders (pdf)

Instructor can request to add TA, Course Builder to their courses.   

If you need to add paid TA or Co-Instructor to course, please contact <scheduling@rhsmith.umd.edu>, those users will need to be added from SIS. To add other users to your term-based course, such as a staff member who will help build course material, a guest lecturer, an observer, mentor, or someone you are mentoring, please send email to Smith IT at <bbhelp@rhsmith.umd.edu>, along with a brief/short description about why the user needs such access. Click for details .  

 

Set Your Elms-Faculty Account Password - Access Your Own Course as a Student

 Course Instructors are given a Student account access automatically when the course is created. This account is intended to allow faculty to access their Blackboard courses from the student perspective (rather than Instructor). The login ID will be "elms-faculty-yourUID". This account password will expire at end of each semester, and you can reset it by going to BB system > Faculty Resources tab > Common Tasks for Instructors frame > Set your elms-faculty account password.