Frequently Asked Questions

Navigation

Why doesn't my back button work?

Many of the pages you see in Blackboard do not exist anywhere as a separate file. Instead, they are created "on the fly" out of a database. When you use the browser's back button to get to a page created in this way, you'll get a cryptic but discouraging message about "Data Missing." Blackboard expects you to navigate through its contents by using the buttons and links it provides in the pages themselves, rather than by using the browser Back button.

Read more on Navigation in Blackboard ...

Access

I've made my course available but it still shows as 'Unavailable' and students can't see it?

Even if you have made a course available under the Course Availability option in the Control Panel ... > CONTROL PANEL > COURSE SETTINGS > COURSE AVAILABILITY), it may still be unavailable (it will show "[Unavailable]" beside it in the "My courses" module on the Blackboard Portal Page when you log in), if the Continuous option is NOT selected under Course Duration ... > CONTROL PANEL > COURSE SETTINGS > COURSE DURATION. When you choose "Select Dates" under Course Duration and then select a Starting and Ending Dates, the course will be unavailable outside the selected period, even though Course Availability is set to "Yes".

Why Can't My Students Get to my Blackboard Site, When I Can?

If all of your students report the same problem, it is likely that the problem is a result of the course Web site not being available to students. Instructors can see and modify the site, but students cannot get to it. To check if this is the case, look in your "My Blackboard" list of courses to see if the course in question shows "[Unavailable]" beside it.

To make courses available:

1. open the Control Panel of the course
2. choose Course Settings in the Course Options section
3. choose Course Availability
4. click the 'Yes' option under Set Course Availability
5. click the Submit button
   (Navigation Path: ... > CONTROL PANEL > COURSE SETTINGS > COURSE AVAILABILITY)

If just a few students are having trouble accessing the site, and others can, those students may be having a problem with their Blackboard user accounts or logins.

If students cannot log in to Blackboard at all, they should contact the SCS Helpdesk (scs-help@vuw.ac.nz) to resolve their Blackboard user account problem.

If the students can login to Blackboard, but just do not see your course in their 'My Blackboard' list, the problem is probably related to the Blackboard course Web site enrolment (those students may not be enrolled in the course in Blackboard, for some reason).

In this case, first check if the students are enrolled in the course. To do this, in your course site, go to the Control Panel, select List/Modify Users, then search for each student if necessary.
If you discover that they are not enrolled in your Blackboard course, you can either add them yourself, by going to the Add Users option in the Control Panel, or log a Helpdesk call (its-service@vuw.ac.nz) to have these students added to the course.

Why Can't I Access the Course I Teach?

Although all VUW courses, listed in the University Calendar, are already created and registered in the Blackboard course catalogue, and all VUW staff members have user accounts on Blackboard, it does not mean that staff can enter courses they teach by default. To enable staff access to courses, a staff member needs to be assigned instructor rights to the specified course. This is done on request, though the ITS Service Desk (its-service@vuw.ac.nz; internal phone extension x5050). Please contact the Helpdesk with details of the course you wish to be registered for as instructor, and indicate whether you wish to use one of the University templates.

How can I add other instructors or tutors to my course?

To add a staff member as an instructors or tutor to your course, you need to add this person as a new user to the course first, and then change his/her course role to instructor, teacher's assistant, course builder, grader (for more information about course roles, you can download the Blackboard 5.5 Roles and User Availability Tip Sheet ).

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Problems logging into the Virtual Classroom?

The virtual classroom requires a browser that has java installed and enabled.

If you are having problems getting into virtual classroom try the following:

Internet Explorer > Tools >Internet Options > Click the Advanced tab > scroll down to Microsoft VM > tick Java Console enabled, Java logging and JIT compiler (so that each has a tick the box).

You will then need to reboot your PC.

Once rebooted you need to go back to IE and Tools > and click on the Security tab > click on the Custom Level button > scroll down to Microsoft VM and under Java permissions click either on Medium safety or Low safety (medium is better than low).

You then need to close the browser (you don't need to reboot the whole machine) and then go to the virtual classroom - it should be working ok.

However, if you are still having problems:

There is a recurring problem with some people who have applied previous versions of the Microsoft service pack to Internet Explorer - this has the effect of changing security settings and this seems to disturb compatability with some existing applications.

Here is what Microsoft write as recommended technical help:

Configure the security settings for the Trusted sites zone in Internet Explorer Note Only add those sites that you trust as a trusted site.

If you are not sure about a Web site, do not add the Web site to the Trusted sites list. Ensure that blackboard.vuw.ac.nz, www.blackboard.vuw.ac.nz are added as trusted sites.

1. On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, click Internet Options, and then click the Security tab.

2. Click Trusted sites, and then click Default Level.

3. Add any SSL-secured (128-Bit) Web sites to the Trusted sites zone.

To do this, follow these steps:

a. Click Sites.

b. Type the URL of the site in the Add this Web site to the zone box.

c. Click Add, click OK, and then click Apply.

Clear the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) state and the AutoComplete history

1. On the Tools menu in Internet Explorer, click Internet Options, and then click the Security tab.

2. Click the Content tab.

3. In the Certificates section, click Clear SSL State, and then click OK.

4. In the Personal information area, click AutoComplete.

5. In the Clear AutoComplete history area, click Clear Forms, and then click OK.

6. Click Clear Passwords, and then click OK three times

and lastly ensure you have allowed pop up windows - as Virtual Classroom uses these. You should get a indication saying if these have been blocked - and you will need to click to allow them.

If you have firewall software installed such as zone alarm, ensure you have not disabled pop ups.

Firewalls

Since every intranet and firewall configuration is different and beyond our control, we are unable to provide technical assistance to users accessing the Blackboard server from behind a firewall.

We can, however, provide basic information about what resources are used in the Blackboard system.

Minimally, in order to use these services, the following traffic must be permitted for machines that you will be using in your organization:

Ports 80 (HTTP) and 443 (HTTPS)
should be permitted for all machines in the vuw.ac.nz domain.

HTTP PORT: default 80
PORTAL PORT: default is 7001
Virt. Classroom (HTTP): default 7755
Virt. Classroom (TCP/IP) default 8081
(Ports 8010 and 8011 may also have to be opened)

We have had at least one instance of port 8011 needing to be opened.

Files

Why can't I upload files larger than 1 MB?

If you experience problems when trying to uploading files larger than 1 MB to Blackboard, it is likely to be related to your personal computer settings. To fix the problem please contact the ITS Service desk and ask then to ensure that the recommended proxy settings are enabled on your computer.

Read more ...

Why does the file I upload appear as gibberish in Blackboard?

If you are a Mac user, you may have forgotten to specify the extension in the file name of the file you are using.

Read more...

How do I exchange files with my students?

The Blackboard course management software includes a file exchange utility called the Digital Dropbox that allows the exchange of files between students and the instructor. Files can also be submitted as email attachments. In some cases, mailing the document or submitting it in person to the instructor makes most sense.

Assessment

Why Can't I Edit a Quiz?

You cannot modify an active quiz. To edit a quiz you need to make it unavailable.

Warning: Be aware that when you change the availability status of a quiz, all information regarding grades associated with this quiz is removed.

To change the availability status of a quiz:

1. open the Control Panel of the course
2. click on the Assessment Manager link in the Assessment section
3. choose Course Availability
4. click on the Set Availability button for the Quiz you wish to edit
5. click on the No button for the Make Assessment Available option, if you want to make your quiz unavailable. Acknowledge the warning message by clicking OK, and then click Submit.
   (Navigation Path: ... > CONTROL PANEL > ASSESSMENT MANAGER > SET AVAILABILITY

Why Can't I Edit / Modify the Online Grade Book?

There are three ways of viewing the Online Gradebook, available in the Control Panel of a course:

• Report By User
• Report By Item
• Spreadsheet View

The first two reports can be used for finding and viewing information from the Gradebook, but they do not allow you to edit the Gradebook Entries. The only view option where you can make modifications to the Gradebook, is the Spreadsheet View option.

A student says they submitted an assignment but in the gradebook it has a lock symbol alongside it and I can't open it.

At the bottom of the assignment page are three buttons. The "Cancel" button will cancel your work and the "Submit" button will send your assignment to your instructor for grading. This problem is usually caused by the "Save" button, which will save your assignment but not send it to your instructor. If you click "Save" then your instructor will see that you are working on your assignment (it will be "locked" on your instructor's page), but your instructor will not be able to view your saved files until you submit your assignment. You should go back to the assignments page and click the "Submit" button when you have completed your work in order to actually send it to your instructor.

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