Faculty Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is Blackboard?
2. How do I log in?
3. How do I learn to use it?
4. How do I get a Blackboard site for a course I'm teaching?
5. Can I reuse material from another class?
6. How will students be enrolled in the Blackboard site for my class?
7. What sort of hardware and software will I need?
8. Common log-in problems
9. Common problems accessing online chat (Virtual Classroom)
10. Where is the Digital Dropbox in the new version of Blackboard?
11. Students are having problems taking tests and quizzes
12. How can I stop students from being able to print out tests/quizzes?
13. Problems with text editing
14. I've linked to a journal article, but my students can't access it from off-campus.
15. One of my students has posted a file, but no one can open it
16. How do I change the way my name appears in Blackboard?
17. How do I change my Blackboard password?
18. Can I have my Blackboard email go to a different email address?
19. How do I print a document from within Blackboard?
20. My students tell me that none of them is able to see my course site
21. Can I change the order in which my class announcements appear?
22. My students say that they cannot post to my site's discussion board
23. How do I unenroll students who have dropped my course?
24. What do those strange symbols in my Gradebook mean?
25. Can I add non-UMKC people to my class site as instructors or guests?
26. What happens to old course sites?
27. I have a question that isn't listed
    
     

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Instructors: Throughout the academic year, Instructional Technologies offers individualized instruction for faculty and instructors. Please call the Blackboard support staff at 816-235-6700 and we will be happy to schedule a time to meet with you one-on-one.

Departments:  If you would like to arrange a group Blackboard orientation for instructors in your department, please contact us. Presentations range in length from a one hour general overview of features to a more extensive "How to" introduction, depending on your group's needs. 

Students: Most students find Blackboard to be fairly intuitive to use. Once you are logged in, you will see a list of the courses you are taking that are using Blackboard. To enter a course's website, click on the name of the course in the list. Once in the course area, use the menu on the left-hand side of the page to navigate to different areas of the class site. Please see the Online Student Orientation for detailed information about the different course areas, and if you have any questions, do not hesitate to call or email the Information Services Call Center (816-235-2000 / callcenter@umkc.edu) for assistance.

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To allow students and instructors to take full advantage of Blackboard’s functionality, UMKC Instructional Technologies strongly advises that computers meet the minimum standards listed below. Users whose computers fail to meet one or more standards may still be able to use most Blackboard tools; however, some advanced features may not be accessible.

 Hardware 

• Memory: 256 Mb of RAM or more
• Free disk space on hard drive:  1 Gb or more
• Processor speed:  800 MHz or faster
• Monitor: 800 X 600 resolution or greater
• Soundcard, microphone, headset/speakers, and video camera may be required for students enrolled in courses using videoconferencing or virtual classroom technology.

Supported Operating Systems

• PC: Windows 2000, XP, or Vista (install all patches and updates)
• Macintosh: MacOS 10.3 or higher

 Internet Connection

• A high-speed internet connection is strongly recommended. Broadband access is required for instructors presenting content via Wimba Live Classroom and may be required for students enrolled in courses using videoconferencing or virtual classroom technology.

Browser 

• PC:
  • Firefox: 1.0.xxx or higher
  • Internet Explorer: 6.0 or higher (install all patches and updates)
  • Netscape: Netscape Navigator 7.1 or higher
     
• Mac:
  • Safari: 1.2 or higher. For users with Intel-based Macintoshes, Safari is currently the only browser supported for Wimba Live Classroom. Safari users are advised to disable the Visual Text Editor in their Blackboard preferences in order to avoid problems with tests and discussion boards. To do this, go to My UMKC Bb tab > Tools > Personal Information > Set Visual Text Box Editor Options and set the VTE as unavailable.)
  • Firefox: 1.0.xxx or higher
  • Netscape Navigator: 7.1 or higher.
  • Internet Explorer: 5.2 or higher

For fullest functionality, recommended settings are: (1) Browser set to accept all cookies; (2) Browser security level set at Medium; (3) Browser set to enable JavaScript; (4) Browser set to enable Java; (5) Firewall set to permit full access to websites in the umkc.edu domain.

 Other Software 

• Microsoft Office 2000 (or later.) For Office 2000, XP, and 2003 users, we advise installation of the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack. The Compatibility Pack allows you to open files saved with Office Vista and to save files in a Vista-compatible format.
• Adobe Acrobat Reader (free download)
• Up-to-date anti-virus software (free download for UMKC students)

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UMKC upgraded to Blackboard 7.1 at the beginning of Fall 2006. Bb 7.1 offers a number of significant improvements over Bb 6.3, particularly in the discussion board and gradebook areas. For information about new features and improvements, please see the "New Features and Enhancements in Blackboard 7.1" page.

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If you (or your students) have problems getting logged in, please look below for the specific error message you are receiving. If the given solutions do not help or if you are getting an error message that is not listed, please call the Blackboard support staff at 816-235-6700.

• Error Message: "Error: Could not login. The specified user name does not exist in the system."
  
  Cause #1: You have recently enrolled at UMKC -- it takes up to 24 hours for you to get into the system.
  
  Cause #2: You are logging in with your complete email address as the username (abc123@umkc.edu). The email system allows this, but Blackboard does not.
  
  Cause #3: You have multiple Exchange accounts and are using the "wrong" one. This problem is particularly common among international students and students who have at any time changed or corrected the Federal Identification Number (SSN) at use at UMKC.
  
  Cause #4: The program that automatically enrolls students in the proper Blackboard course sites is not working. Please contact the Call Center (callcenter@umkc.edu or 816-235-2000.)
  
   
• Error Message: "An error occurred while the system was processing this login request."
  
  Cause #1: You are mistyping your username. Check your username and try again.
  
   
• Error Message: "An error occurred in the authentication module: Error occurred while trying to lookup the current session."
  
  Cause #1: umkc.edu is listed as a restricted site in your IE security settings.
  
  Cause #2: Cookies are disabled entirely (under "privacy" in internet options in IE)
  
   

  To enable cookies: If you have one of the required browser versions, you can enable cookies with the following steps:

  Netscape Navigator 4.01 or higher:
  Select Edit->Preferences->Advanced
  Click on the checkbox next to the words "Accept all cookies that get sent back to the originating server", then click "OK." (see screen shot)

  Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher:
  Select Tools->Internet Options->Security->Custom Level
  Scroll down until you see the "Cookies" entry. Click the "Always accept cookies" selection, then click "OK."
   

  Cause #3 (rare): If you get this error message on a campus computer (e.g. in a computer lab) it is possible that your profile is corrupted and will need to be reset. A corrupted profile may prevent you from logging into any site requiring authentication, even if the security settings on the PC permit cookies. Please call the Call Center at 816-235-2000 to discuss this possibility. Resetting your profile to correct the problem may cause some personal files and data to be lost, so make sure that the Call Center helps you to back up needed information before they reset your profile.
  
   

• Error Message: "Could not login. You have not provided valid authentication credentials."
  
  Cause #1: Plain, old, bad password. Check that your "Caps Lock" key is not on and verify your password by logging in to Outlook Web Access. If necessary, reset your password.
  
  Cause #2: Password is expired (or pre-expired). Same solution as above.
  
  Cause #3: You've typed the wrong password three times in a row and your account is locked. Call the Call Center (816-235-2000) to have your account unlocked or wait 60 minutes for the account lock to time out.
   

• Error Message: "Alert! This client does not contain support for HTTPS URL's"
  
  Cause: Browser does not meet minimum requirements for Blackboard. Update to a more recent version of the Browser.
  
   
• Error Message: "No Authentication credentials were provided with the request"
  
  Cause: JavaScript is disabled in your browser or your security level is set too high. In IE, go to Tools > Internet Options > Security > Internet Zone. Click "Custom Level" and scroll down to the "Scripting" section (near the bottom.) Make sure "Active Scripting" is set to Enable.

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General Virtual Classroom Information

Blackboard is generally easy to use, but the Virtual Classroom tool is the one area where students and instructors may run into problems. The good news is, once you get access to the Virtual Classroom area for the first time, you should not have experience further problems.

A good chat troubleshooting page

If you can't get Virtual Classroom to load:

Most probable cause: Java is not enabled or needs to be updated. Check to be sure that Java is enabled. In Internet Explorer, click on Start > Settings > Control Panel and select Internet Properties. Click on the Advanced tab and scroll through the settings to make sure that JIT compiler for virtual machine enabled is checked. Under "Java" in the list, make sure JRE 1.4.1 or higher is installed and functioning.

Other possible causes:

• Browser doesn't meet minimum requirements. Solution: Update your browser.
   
• A firewall is preventing you from accessing online chat. For people who access Blackboard from the workplace, especially, this tends to be a problem. Many corporate and/or personal firewalls block ports required by Virtual Classroom. If the IT folks in charge of network security in the location from which you are accessing Blackboard are willing, unblocking the following ports may allow access: 80, 443, 1433, 1376, 8000, 8007, and 8443. Another possible solution is the use of a VPN.
   
• Windows needs to be updated. Go to Microsoft's site http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com . Download the "Critical Updates." You should also consider downloading the "Recommended Updates." This will help with the performance of your PC and also improve security issues.
  
   

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• Where is the Digital Dropbox in the new version of Blackboard?

Digital Dropbox is not enabled in the new installation of Blackboard. We recommend that instructors use the Assignments tool in its place.  Assignments provides increased functionality for instructors and has proved much less problematic for students to use.

More information about Assignments

 

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• A student gets an error message when submitting a quiz:
  
  Cause #1: Make certain that students know to hit the "save" or "submit" button only once. Double-clicking may cause an error message and may also delay submission of their answers.
  
   
• Students click on the quiz, but nothing happens:
  
  Cause: They may need to turn off their pop-up blocker software.
  
   
• Students are not able to see the timer in a timed quiz:
  
  Cause: Browser settings are preventing the status bar from displaying the timer.

Internet Explorer 7 fix: Tools > Internet Options > Security Tab > [Select Internet Zone] > Custom Level > Allow Status Bar Updates via Script (under the scripting
section)

Firefox fix: Tools > Options > [Content Tab] > Advanced > Change Status Bar Text
 

• When students try to access an online quiz, they get a message saying that they have already taken it.
  
  Cause #1: Depending on students' PC and internet connection speed, it may take a little while to load a quiz. Make sure that, when accessing a quiz, they know to only click the link once. If they click a second time (on the "keep-pushing-the-button-to-make-the-elevator-arrive-quicker" principle) they may find themselves locked out.
  
  Cause #2: Students should not resize their screen after entering a quiz. Some browsers will refresh the screen when you resize the window.
  
  Cause #3: Students should not use their browser's "Back" button, the <Backspace> key, or <ALT> + Left Arrow to navigate to a previous page; they need to use Blackboard's navigation tools instead.
  
  Cause #4: Students should be cautious about using the <Backspace> key to correct errors in entered text. They need to make certain that their cursor is within the text-entry field before hitting <Backspace> or the browser may attempt to return to the previously-displayed page.
  
  Cause #5: Depending on the settings for the quiz, students who attempt to view material on another website or in another area of the Blackboard course site may find themselves unable to return to complete the quiz. Instructors using restrictive quiz settings need to make sure that they are communicating these restrictions to their students in the quiz instructions.
  
   

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Unfortunately, there is no foolproof way to prevent a determined student from printing, capturing, or otherwise saving a copy of the exam, but there are some things you can do to make it more difficult.

One simple thing you can do is to set up the exam so that it displays only one question at a time. It's considerably more trouble to print 100 pages with one question each, than to print a single page containing 100 questions. To change this setting, go into the content area where the test is deployed and click "Modify," then "Modify the Test Options."

Presenting the questions in random order and drawing questions randomly from a large pool of possible questions are also good strategies, since no two students will have the same exam.

If it is necessary to arrange for an online exam to be proctored, the UMKC Testing Center can help. Their phone number is 816-235-1226.

 

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• (Macintosh users) Text I have attempted to post on my Blackboard site does not appear!
  
  There is a known issue with Mac OS 10.4.6 and Safari 2.0.3. Users of this version of Safari are not able to submit text if the Visual Text Editor is enabled. One way we've seen this manifested in a number of instances is in discussion board postings. The user's message will be posted with subject line intact, but there will be no text in the message body.
  
  There are two possible workarounds. The first is to discontinue use of Safari for Bb-related work and use the current version of Firefox instead. The other workaround is for the user to disable the Visual Text Editor. To do this, user needs to go to My UMKC Bb tab > Tools > Personal Information > Set Visual Text Box Editor Options and set the VTE as unavailable.
  
   
• Can't right-click and copy/paste text in the editing window
  
  Workaround: Use the keyboard shortcuts to copy and paste text. To copy text in the editing window, select it and use Ctrl-Insert or Ctrl-C. To paste text, use Shift-Insert or Ctrl-V.
  
   
• When accessing a page with a text editing window, you get a message prompting you to insert your Office 2000 CD
  
  This happens to some Blackboard users when they access anything that uses the DHTML Edit control (basically, any page with the fancy text editing window.) The problem is related to the way in which Office 2000 was installed on your PC. The quickest way to fix it is simply to insert the CD, if you have it to hand. Microsoft has a web page detailing the steps to fix the problem without the CD. If this is a UMKC computer (e.g. in your office or in a campus lab) you can call the Call Center at 235-2000 and they will arrange for someone to fix the problem for you.
   

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If you have a link to a journal article or online database that's accessed through Miller Nichols Library, be aware that in many cases subscriber access to these paid services is controlled by IP address. If you link to an article or database with the URL with which you access it from on campus, off-campus student will not be able to access the file because their home IP address will not be within UMKC's address range.

To give your off-campus students access, use this special link format: insert ".ezproxy.mnl.umkc.edu" after the server name portion of the URL you use to link the file.

For example:

On-campus URL: http://www.someplace.com/some-directory/some-file.txt

Off-campus URL: http://www.someplace.com.ezproxy.mnl.umkc.edu/some-directory/some-file.txt

This will let your off-campus students access the file through Miller Nichols Library's proxy server. Links with this format are also accessible from on-campus.
 

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For Office 2000, XP, and 2003 users, we advise installation of the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack. The Compatibility Pack allows these users to open files saved with Office Vista and to save files in a Vista-compatible format.

In addition, all Blackboard users should make certain that the names of files they upload to Blackboard do not contain any characters other than the standard letters, numbers, hyphens, and underscores. Other characters (apostrophes, #'s, /'s, etc.) in file names may cause people who try to access the posted file to get an error message "Requested file could not be found." This is a good file-naming practice for all users, not just for students. Avoiding special characters in the names of files you post to your own site will help avoid errors when contents are copied to a new site -- for instance, if you plan on recycling course materials for a new semester.

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Starting WS2007, Blackboard course sites are automatically created for all regular academic courses. It is no longer necessary to request the creation of Bb sites for courses you are teaching.

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Absolutely. If you've taught a class on Blackboard in the past and want to re-use the course content in a new course site, the Blackboard support staff will be happy to copy all (or any portion) of the course material and site settings to the new site for you. Please use the "Copy Request" tool to request this. The Copy Request tool is part of the new integrated request system, accessible by logging into Blackboard and clicking the "Request System" tab.

You can also copy material and settings from one site to another yourself:

To copy individual items, go into the content area in which the files you want to copy are located. Next to each item, you will see a "copy" button. Click that button, and you will see a screen that allows you to choose the destination course and folder to which you want to copy the item. Click the "submit" button at the bottom of the screen, and the item should be copied into the other course site. If you run into any problems, contact the Blackboard support staff.

To copy all of a site's content and settings, you need to first create an archive of the source course site:

1. Click Archive Course in site control panel.
2. Click the Archive button in the toolbar at the top of the page
3. Click Submit. You will receive an automated email when the course site archive is completed.

Next, you'll need to download the archive file you just created:

1. Click Archive Course in the site control panel. You'll see the new archive file in the listing.
2. Right-click on the archive link and select “Save Link As” (Firefox) or “Save Target As” (Internet Explorer) to save the archive file to your local drive.

Finally, you'll need to import the content and settings into the target course site:

1. In the control panel of the target site, click Import Package.
2. Browse to the archive file you just saved, select the material to be copied, and click Submit.
3. You’ll receive an email when the import has completed. Depending on the size of your course and the number of imports in Blackboard’s queue, completion time may range from a few minutes to an hour or more.

If you run into any problems, contact the Blackboard support staff.

 

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Students are automatically enrolled in course sites seven days prior to the start of the semester. Enrollment is based on information in the registration database.

Course site enrollment is updated several times a day, to make certain that it is always as up-to-date as possible. After a student registers for a class, she or he should be added to the Blackboard course site within about 24 hours.

If more than 48 hours have passed since registration and a student is not showing up on the Blackboard roster, please check the latest version of the online roster for your class. If the student does not appear on the online SIS roster, refer them to Registration to verify their enrollment.

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Cause #2: Your Blackboard site has duration dates set. To check this, go to "Settings" in the course control panel and click on "Course Duration." Normally, your duration should be set to "Continuous."

Cause #3: There's been a problem with the Blackboard enrollment program. If you check the class roster and no names are displayed, this is probably the case. Contact us right away at 816-235-6700 or its@umkc.edu and we'll enroll your registered students.
 

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(Information taken from a Blackboard Inc. "Tip Sheet")

Dash ("-")	A dash shows that a student has not yet begun to take an assessment. Clicking on the dash will allow you to manually enter a grade for the student.
Exclamation point ("!")	In the case of assessments, an exclamation point signifies that the assessment has been taken but grading requires an instructor's intervention. Usually this means one of two things: The assessment includes essay questions for which a grade cannot automatically be given. The instructor or grader can click on the icon and enter the appropriate points for each essay question, after which Blackboard will automatically calculate and display the final grade The assessment had a time limit which the student exceeded. When you click on the icon, the student's time will be displayed at the top of the test attempt. In the case of assignments, the exclamation point signifies that the assignment has been submitted and needs to be graded by the instructor.
Padlock ()	A padlock indicates that the student has begun the assessment but has not yet clicked "submit." The padlock icon will also appear if the student experienced network or browser problems while taking the assessment and was unable to complete the assessment. If this is the case, you can click on the icon and choose "Clear Attempt" to reset the test for the student. Do not reset the attempt unless you are certain that the student is not currently taking the test, as resetting the attempt while the test is being taken will prevent the student from submitting her results.
Question mark ("?")	A question mark signifies that there has been some sort of problem with an assessment. The student began to take the test more than three days ago and has never completed it. The student may have experienced network or browser problems that prevented him from returning to the test, may have resized the window while taking a test in Netscape Navigator, or may have accessed a quiz but left without submitting any answers. The instructor can click on the icon and clear the test attempt, if desired.
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Old course sites will be removed from the active server two weeks after the start of the new semester. This is done to conserve disk space, to optimize database performance, and to keep users' course listings from becoming cluttered with several semesters' worth of old courses. New term sites are created four weeks before the end of the previous semester, so this schedule allows a sufficient overlap period for content to be copied from one term's site to the next.

Instructors will be given advance notice of the date when course sites will be made inactive. Prior to this date, please save a copy of the gradebook for your own records.

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