Q1 - What is Blackboard?

Blackboard is a Learning Management System that allows administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of educational courses or training programs.

Faculty memeber can add teaching contents for students to access online using Blackboard.

Powerpoint, Video, Audio, Animation and other contents that are created outside of Blackboard can be added into Blackboard courses to enhance teaching and learning experience.

Q2 - How can I log in as an Instructor?

Go to https://blackboard.snu.edu.in/ 

OR

Visit SNU Links - https://snulinks.snu.edu.in/ and click on the "Blackboard" icon. 

Use your NetID and password to log into Blackboard.

You can write to IT Help Desk ([email protected]) in case of any issue. 

Q3 - Can I access Blackboard from my home/ outside campus?

Yes, Blackboard can be accessed from anywhere over the Internet.

Q4 - Whom should I contact if I need help?

Please write to [email protected] in case of any query or clarfication. 

Q5 - How can I upload files to Blackboard and attach those file to my course?

Follow the instructions in this video, Adding Files to Course Files, to upload files to Blackboard. Then watch Attach Files from Course Files to see how the files can be made available to students.

Watch Attaching a Syllabus to learn how to add your syllabus as an attachment in your Blackboard course.

If you have HTML files in a folder and want to keep the file structure intact, please view this video, Add File to Deploy HTML Package

Q6 - Are there any file naming rules that I should be aware of?

File names can NOT contain any special characters including (but not limited to): # $ & % ! { } [ ] ( ) /

Acceptable file names include upper and lower case letters, numbers, hyphens and underscores only (A-Z, a-z, 0-9, -, _ ).  Due to current Blackboard functionality, the file name must be under 72 characters long. File names that are over that length will be accepted by Blackboard, but errors will be encountered when the instructor attempts to download them for grading. For best results, please do not use spaces in your file names.

Q7 - What type of files can I upload to Blackboard?

You can upload almost any type of file to Blackboard including Word, PowerPoint, html, PDF, plain text, rtf, audio and video files.

Q8 - Do I need to Export my course?

Yes you should export your course on a regular interval. It will download a zip file, save it to your hard drive.

If needed, you can use the "Import Package" option to upload the whole course content into Blackboard.

Q9 - Should I archive my course?

The Archive Course is used to create a back-up file. It contains all the content and user interactions including course work submissions, discussion messages and scores in the Grade Center.This archived course can be restored if required. Restoration of course creates a complete course as of the time the archive was made. The "Restore" operation can only be done by a Blackboard administrator. Please contact the Helpdesk for assistance if you need to restore an archived course.

Q10 - How can I collect homework in Blackboard?

You can use assignment tool to send and receive documents. You can also use blogs, journals, wikis, and the discussion board to collect homework assignments.

Q11 - How can I make my course available so that students can access the course material?

To make your course available to students

• Go to the “Control Panel” button of your course (click on the link to the course and then look on the left hand side for the “Control Panel” link, under the “Course Management” area)
• Click the “Customization” option and then “Properties”.
• Under option 3 (Set Availability), choose “Yes” for the “Make Course Available” and then “Submit”.

Watch this video to find out how to make your course available

Q12 - Why aren't all of my students not available in the Blackboard?

However all the students registered with the course in Peoplesoft will also be available in Blackboard, yet on rare occasion, students might not be listed in the Blackboard because registration in Blackboard is a manual process and there might be some lag in registration in Blackboard. 

The student or faculty may contact Dean UG's Office for any assitance.  

Q13 - How can I hide previous semester courses?

After login in to Blackboard, go to the “My courses” module, on the “Home” tab and click on the circle icon on the right hand side of the module, on the title bar (it is called “Manage My Courses Module Settings”).

In the next screen uncheck the boxes located under the “Display Course Menu” and “Display Announcements” columns for the courses you would like to hide.

Click Submit.

Please note that you can bring the hidden courses back any time you want.

Q14 - How can I download the course Grade Center?

To download the Grade Center:

• Open a course in Blackboard and navigate to the Control Panel
• In the Grade Center section, open the Full Grade Center
• After the Grade Center opens, click Work Offline (far right) and select Download
• The "Download Grades" screen will appear. In Section 1, under Select Data to Download, click the radio button, Full Grade Center
• In Section 2, be sure Tab is selected.
• Click the Submit button
• On the next screen, click the Download button. A dialog box asks if you want to open or save the file
• Click Open. 
• Excel will open with the class roster and grades

Q15 - How can I allow a guest to access my course?

Guest Access provides limited course access to students who are not enrolled in a course, or external visitors not affiliated with Blackboard. The areas that cannot be accessed with Guest Access include communication areas such as discussion board, journals, wikis, blogs, Grade Center, tests, surveys, and assignments.

By default, guest access is turned off for all Blackboard courses. To enable guest access:

1. Go the course Control Panel.
2. Under Customization, open Guest and Observer Access
3. On the Guest and Observer Access screen, select Yes for Allow Guests.
4. Click Submit

Next, the instructor must select what areas of the course that guests will be permitted to view.

1. On the Customization screen, click Tool Availability.
2. Use the check boxes to select available areas for Guests.
3. Click Submit.

Finally, the instructor sets access to the individual areas that can be reached using the Course Menu.

1. Turn Edit Mode ON
2. On the course menu, click the chevron next to a content area name, such as Syllabus, to display the sub-menu.
3. On the sub-menu, set access:
   • Click the link, Permit guests, to allow guest to view the item.
   • To disallow guest display of the item, click the link, Deny guests.
   • If neither of these options displays, this area is not available to guests (such as Discussion Board).

The course must be set to Available in order for students (and guests) to view course materials.

Please refer to Blackboard Video for more guidance:  Guest and Observer Access

Q16 - How can I remove guest access from my course?

Follow steps give below to remove guest access from your course:

1. Go the course Control Panel.
2. Under Customization, open Guest and Observer Access
3. On the Guest and Observer Access screen, select No for Allow Guests.
4. Click Submit

Q17 - Is there a Blackboard manual available for quick reference and FAQs?

Refer to Blackboard help for Instructors and Blackboard Help for Students  for detailed manual for Instructors and Students respectively.