Student

Blackboard
Guide

Learning Technologies Department

July 2014

Blackboard Guide for Students

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What is Blackboard?
Technical Requirements
How do I login to Blackboard?
My Course site
My Blackboard Overview
Blackboard Mobile
Blackboard FAQs
General Contacts

What is Blackboard?
Blackboard is our Virtual Learning Environment at Cranfield Campus.

Blackboard makes it possible to access learning materials

over the internet, in lectures and at home.
The software (Blackboard Learn 9.1) contains information about your course and modules and allows
you to communicate with lecturers and other learners. You have access to learning materials, course
notes, information and activities online. You can log in when you are off-campus so that you can easily
catch up or revise materials covered in lectures.
Some courses use interactive materials and streamed videos. Information and resources available in
Blackboard can include:

Course announcements
Manuals
Timetables
Lecture notes and hand-outs
Discussion boards
Online resources, Blogs, Wikis
Lecture recordings
Access to EVE

Your course administrator or lecturer can give you further information about how Blackboard is used in
your courses.

Blackboard Guide for Students

When you register for a course at Cranfield University you will automatically be enrolled onto the
Blackboard(s) for that particular course. If you cannot see one of your courses listed see later in the
section on How do I login to Blackboard.

Technical requirements
What is Blackboard?
You can use any computer which has access to the internet at our IT teaching rooms, PC Labs,
personal devices and from home or at work. Blackboard is available 24/7.

Wherever you access Blackboard from, you will need your

Cranfield network username and password.
When accessing Blackboard from home or work, we advise the following:
A broadband internet connection
Browsers
o When using a PC, you can use Internet Explorer 8 onwards. The latest stable versions of
Firefox and Google Chrome are supported by Blackboard Learn.
o When using a MAC, Safari version 5.0 onwards. The latest stable versions of Firefox and
Google Chrome are supported by Blackboard.
For full details on recommended browsers please see the information provided by Blackboard:

https://help.blackboard.com/en-us/Learn/9.1_SP_14/Student/015_Browser_Support

Does Blackboard work with pop-up blockers, firewalls,

antivirus, and browser toolbars?
You may experience problems accessing and working in Blackboard if you have any pop-up blockers,
firewalls, antivirus, and browser toolbars enabled on your computer.
Make sure pop-ups are not blocked when using Blackboard as it uses these for announcements,
discussion postings, and downloading links.
We recommend you add our Blackboard Web site (http://bb.cranfield.ac.uk) to a list of trusted sites
using the tools menu of your browser, and set the security level to a lower setting. This will
automatically enable many features in Blackboard to work smoothly. Be sure only trusted sites are
added to this list.

Blackboard Guide for Students

Contact the IT Support desk if you have problems accessing Blackboard (01234
75 4199)

How do I login to Blackboard?

Blackboard can be accessed at https://bb.cranfield.ac.uk
Enter your Cranfield network username and Password
carefully in the Username and password boxes.
Click Login

Having trouble logging in?

Blackboard Guide for Students

1) Check that you have entered your username and password correctly, notepassword is case
sensitive. If you enter it incorrectly three times you will be locked out. Leave it for hour then try
again.
2) Check Caps Lock is off
3) Do not access via the Extranetuse the URL https://bb.cranfield.ac.uk ONLY
4) Forget your password? Click on the Forget your password link to reset it.
5) Do you have a company firewall if you are external user? Contact your company IT department in the
first instance for advice.
6) If you still cannot log in contact servicedesk@cranfield.ac.uk (01234 75) 4199

After log in you will see the My Learning home page with all your courses and modules listed in the
My Courses block. To relocate this block, left click on the blue header panel to drag to new position.
Each course or module in the list (example circled in red) is a link to a separate Blackboard course site
containing course specific information and documents as well as links to external sites, assessments and
supporting materials.

Cant see all your courses or modules listed in My Courses?

If you cannot see your course name in your list, contact your course administrator who may be able to
enrol you manually. Otherwise contact servicedesk@cranfield.ac.uk (01234 75) 4199.

My course site
After you have selected the course or module by clicking on the
course link, your course site will open.

You will see several links in the left side bar called the Navigation panel. They provide access to learning
material content which opens in the main window in the right. For example, click on Lecture Material
to view the course content material.

Blackboard Guide for Students

Note - these navigation link names may vary slightly from course to course

Within the content area there may be files to open by clicking in the
name link (underlined in blue). Clicking on the file will display it
(usually within your web browser).
There may be also access to external web pages or video material.
If any of these do not open or run correctly please contact your
administrator.

My Blackboard overview
Click on your name at the top right of the Blackboard screen to access
My Blackboard overview.
The drop down menu lists your recently accessed courses. Use the icons down
the left side to select different overviews (listed below). This overview screen is
called the Global navigation menu and shows a current overview of all your
discussion posts, calendar items, grades, and notifications across all your
courses / modules in one place. You can also interact; such as reply to
discussions, comment on blogs, or change calendar items.

Overview of the activity in all your courses and modules (Calendar and Posts only)

Blackboard Guide for Students

Stay up-to-date and engaged with all the conversations going on across your courses. The tool
consolidates posts from all of your courses and modules so posts from Discussion Boards, Journals,
Wikis, and Blogs as well as the comments and replies to those posts

Updated content updates you on course announcements, when new content or assignments are
added to a course, when an assignment or assessment is due (currently only non-Turnitin), and much
more.
My Grades consolidates all your grades from across all your courses into one view. Theres no need to
go in and out of all your courses to check your grades (NOTE this does not show Turnitin marks unless
your supervisor grades online)
Calendar events (such as assignment due dates, timetable events)

Blackboard Mobile
Blackboard Mobile Learn gives you access to your courses and content on a
variety of mobile devices, including iOS, Android, and Palm webOS
devices.

Receive push notifications of course activity

Post to Discussions
Attach files from Dropbox or your device
Access documents in multiple formats
Read Announcements
View Assignments
Comment on Blogs and Journals

The Blackboard Mobile Learn app can be purchased at a small cost for unlimited
access. It is free to download from online app stores such as iTunes and Google Play
and you pay at point of use.
You can already view your course in Blackboard without the Blackboard Mobile Learn app simply by
using your mobile device's browser but the app has been designed to provide a better viewing
experience.
To access your course using the App on your mobile device

Enter Cranfield University into the search bar that automatically appears when you open the
application.
Type in your Cranfield network ID and password

To reduce the number of visible courses or modules you can edit and hide those not required

Blackboard Guide for Students

More information at - https://intranet.cranfield.ac.uk/it/Pages/BBMobile.aspx

Blackboard FAQs
I have forgotten my password!
Your Blackboard password is your Cranfield network
password. Select the option shown in red and follow
instructions.

I can't see my course listed in My Courses in Blackboard

Ask your course administrator to check you are enrolled correctly and also if the course has been made
available to students yet.

I can't see the Navigation panel on the left of my screen!

You might have accidentally minimised the panel. Hover your mouse down the edge
of the left hand side of your screen to reveal a tiny little tab with a > sign on it.
Click on the > to expand the navigation menu.

Can I have an Avatar?

YesClick on your name at top right of screen > My Learning tab > Tools module > Select Personal
Information > Personalise My Settings > 1. Avatar image - upload a photo (small)

Can I access Blackboard on my mobile device?

Yeseither in the browser window or simply purchase and download the Blackboard Learn App.
See more details at https://intranet.cranfield.ac.uk/it/Pages/BBMobile.aspx
For videos and guides about Blackboardvisit our intranet pages

https://intranet.cranfield.ac.uk/it/Pages/BBstudents.aspx

Blackboard Guide for Students

General contacts

Your course administrator or course lecturers can help you with any queries about your course material.
For any other general queries about training, technical problems, connecting to wifi with your
equipment, online tools or facilities, contact the Help Desk in the IT department, Building 63:
or email service desk@cranfield.ac.uk, or phone (01234 75) 4199
IT intranet web site https://intranet.cranfield.ac.uk/it/Pages/Learning.aspx

We use Turnitin for the majority of assessment submissions. To see how to submit go
to https://intranet.cranfield.ac.uk/it/Pages/TurnitinStudents.aspx