Blackboard Quick Help for Students

Click on the link that best describe the problem you are having or the information you are looking for:

What is my Username and Password?

Your username and password are emailed to you at the beginning of the course. If you can not locate login information or have any problem login to the Blackboard, please contact at 217-244-0942 or crp5@uiuc.edu.

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How do I login to Blackboard?

  1. Go to http://blackboard.cites.uiuc.edu
  2. You will see the Blackboard Main page. Click on Login button

 

  1. You will see the login page. Fill in your Username and Password, then click Login button.

 

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What will I see after I log in to Blackboard 5?

After you log in, you will see a customized page for your login. This is called a "Portal Page". It is categorized under the tab called "My Institution."

Your generic view will always be this portal page. It has six distinct areas to it. These arease are: The Tabs ("My Institution" and "Courses"), Tools, Today's Announcements, My Courses, Today's Tasks and Today's Calendar.

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How do I change my password?

If it is your first time in Blackboard, select a unique password:

  1. Click on Personal Information in the Tools box.
  2. Click on Change Password
  3. Reset your password and click the Submit button.

To change a password while inside a course:

  1. Click on the Tools button from the menu.
  2. Click on Personal Information
  3. Click on Change Password
  4. Reset your password and click the Submit button.

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Common Tasks in Blackboard

Click on Announcements to view recent messages posted by the instructor.

Your Blackboard courses for the current semester are listed in the My Courses box. Click the course link to view course content for that course.

Click on Communication
- to Send Email (to external email addresses, e.g., UIUC Pine accounts)
- for the course Discussion Board
- to chat
- and more . . .

Click on Tools
- for the Digital Drop Box (send files to your instructor; receive files from your instructor)
- to check your grades
- to change your personal (student) information (password, email address, etc)
- to view the Blackboard user's manual
- and more . . .

Click on External Links to go to hyperlinks specified by your instructor

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Using Discussion Board

  1. Click on Discussion Board from the main menu on the left from the course main page.

 

  1. You will see the list of forum show up. Click on the appropriate forum link you want to access.

 

  1. You will see the messages on the forum. Click on the subject link to view the message. To post your message, click on ADD NEW THREAD button.
  1. Once you click on ADD NEW THREAD button, you will see a Create New Message Window show up. Fill in the information of your message.

Note: If you have problem losing your message while working on your assignment, here is the recommendation:

1. Use the MS Word or any word processor program to write your homework and save it to your computer.
2. Go to discussion board, you can either (1) cut and paste your text from the word file in to the Message box or (2)submit it as attachment to your message.

This way if you have problem with posting your assignment, you still have the copy of your assignment.

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View the Text and Presentation in Course Material

  1. Click on COURSE MATERIAL menu from the course main page.
  1. Click on the link of specific lesson that you want.
  1. Each week has a reading material. The reading is available in 2 formats: (1)Word documnet format and (2)Rich text format. When you click each week, you are able to see two attachments under each topic. If you prefer rich text format to word document format, please click on a link with rtf or rich text format.

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View Assignment

  1. Click on ASSIGNMENTS menu from the course main page.
  1. There are two field assignment options. You can choose any of them. Please follow the instructions given in the each option and finish your assignments.

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Send Email to Other Users or Instructors

  1. Click on Communication Menu from the course main page.
  1. On the right frame, click on "Send E-mail" link.
  1. On the right frame, click on any option that you want to perform.
  1. If you choose "select users", a new window allows you to select users whom you want to send an email to. Type the subject and message. You can also attach a file by clicking on "add" if you need. Please click on "Submit" when you are done with composing the email message.



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Log in to Chatroom for Live Chat Session

  1. Click on Communication Menu from the course main page.
  1. On the right frame, click on VIRTUAL CLASSROOM link.
  1. Click on the ENTER VIRTUAL CLASSROOM link
  1. You will see the Virtual Class show up in a separate window.

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How do I log off of Blackboard?

To log off of Blackboard:

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Where can I find documentation or other help for Blackboard?

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Last Revised:March 31, 2004