Blackboard Learn Student Quick Start Guide
Who to Contact for Help
IT Services
- Phone: (608) 789-6266
- Email: pcservices@westerntc.edu
Accessing Blackboard
To log into Blackboard, go to https://blackboard.westerntc.edu
Login Information:
Username = Enter your Student ID number.
Password = Use the same password as your My Western account.
Logout: Make sure you always Logout by clicking the Logout icon at the top of right of the Blackboard.
Show Blackboard Course Menu
If you find that your left-side Blackboard course menu is missing in Blackboard, just hover your cursor over the far left side of your web browser window to reveal the Show Course Menu option arrow and click it. The menu will then slide out to reveal itself.
Blackboard Features
When you first log into Blackboard, you will see your My Institution dashboard. You will see Bb Tools available to you, a list of Announcements from all of the courses you are enrolled in, and the list of Blackboard Courses you are enrolled in.
The Updates section has important course announcements and updates.In Each Blackboard Course
The Course Menu appears on the left and contains links to items and tools for the course. Click on a link in the Course Menu to have the information pertaining to this link appear in the area to the right.
The Announcements section contains updates from your instructor.
The Assignments section contains your course assignments.
The Contact Information area has contact information for your instructor and other Western resources.
The My Grades section is where you go to view all of the grade information for the course.
The Syllabus and Schedule area will have your course syllabus and a schedule for the course if your instructor has created one to share with you.
The Tools section is where you can find links to the Bb tools available to you such as Discussion Boards, Journals, Wikis, etc.
Course Tools
(Your instructor may decide to not use all of the Course Tools.)Announcements: Only instructors have permission to post announcements.
Blogs: A blog can be an assignment for the class. The instructor and class members may add comments to your blog.
Calendar: Course Calendar events will appear to everyone enrolled in the course.
Contacts: Your instructor’s contact information and Western resources are found here.
Discussion Board: This tool is for sharing thoughts about a topic posted by the instructor and replying to the posts of others.
Email: You may only send email from Blackboard to other students in your class and your instructor.
Journals: This is where your instructor can assign a private space for you to communicate with them. The instructor can make journals public to all students in the course.
My Grades: All of your course grade information in one place.
Roster: This allows you to search for other students in your course.
Tasks: This area allows instructors to assign projects on an individual or group basis.
Wikis: This is an area where instructors can assign students to modify and collaborate on pages of course-related materials.
Working With Files
Open a File for Editing
Right-click to select the file name. Select Save Link As. Choose a name for the file and a location to save the file to (My Documents, Desktop, etc.). Click Save. Navigate to where the file is saved. Open the file and make the necessary changes. Then go to File > Save to save your edits.
Printing PowerPoint Slides
Open the PowerPoint file. From the File menu select Print. Choose the printer you will print to. Select how many slides per page you want on each sheet of paper. Handouts with three slides per page is common. Choose Print on Both Sides and Grayscale from the last drop-down menu. Then click Print.
Blackboard Help Information
Go to https://help.blackboard.com/student/index.htm for help information.
This site provides step-by-step instructions for using the various features and tools in Blackboard. Use the Table of Contents section on the left to navigate to the area you need assistance with.
From Western’s Blackboard login page, you can access the Blackboard Learn Help for Students website and Blackboard Learn: For Students videos on YouTube.
Using Discussion Boards
To Add a New Thread: Open a Discussion Board Forum. Click the Create Thread button. Enter a Subject and a Message. Click Submit to post the new thread.
To Respond to a Thread: Open a Thread in a Forum. Click the Reply button next to the original thread name. Enter your message in the text box. Click Submit to post the response.
To Respond to a Response Posting: Click on the response posting you want to respond to. In the box below the listing of posts, click the Reply button. Enter your message in the text box. Click Submit to post your response.
Working With Email
To Send an E-mail
Go to Tools > Send Email > Select Users. Select from the list of available recipients and use the arrow icon to move users to the Selected window. Add a Subject and your Message.
To Attach a File: Click the Attach a File link at the bottom of the message text box. Click Browse to find the file. Click on the file name. Click Open. Attach more than one file to a message by choosing Attach Another File. Click Remove to remove an attachment.
Click Submit to send your email.
If you need further assistance please contact the PC Service Help Desk at 608-789-6266 or pcservice@westerntc.edu.