The Contacts Tool can be very useful.
The Contacts Tool is a tool for instructors to post contact information for students. Instructors can post contact information on themselves or other support staff like the Help Desk. Just be aware that students can't post their own profiles there.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Monday, June 28, 2010
More Known Issues With Blackboard 9.1
More regarding IE8 compatibility with Blackboard
We discovered today, that instructors and students might have problems viewing Discussion items in IE8 if the Compatibility View is not “ON”. Additionally, when downloading files from the Course Content feature, IE8 would only work in the Compatibility View. Both of these steps worked in Firefox and Chrome.
For further information about Internet Explorer’s Compatibility View check out my earlier post on this blog or visit the Microsoft Website.
Suggestions for Blackboard
If you would like to make a suggestion to Blackboard on design or features please visit http://suggestions.blackboard.com and click Recommendations. CSM's Blackboard version is called Learn.
We discovered today, that instructors and students might have problems viewing Discussion items in IE8 if the Compatibility View is not “ON”. Additionally, when downloading files from the Course Content feature, IE8 would only work in the Compatibility View. Both of these steps worked in Firefox and Chrome.
For further information about Internet Explorer’s Compatibility View check out my earlier post on this blog or visit the Microsoft Website.
Suggestions for Blackboard
If you would like to make a suggestion to Blackboard on design or features please visit http://suggestions.blackboard.com and click Recommendations. CSM's Blackboard version is called Learn.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Problems Opening Files Like PowerPoints
If you are having problems opening or viewing files in Blackboard and you are using Internet Explorer, it may be because of security settings in Internet Explorer.
When you click a link to a file, if you are not prompted to open or save the file, look for the information bar at the top of the screen. It appears as a pale yellow bar just above the content of the web page. Then when you click "Download File", you are kicked out of your course and back to My Institution page. Users will need to go back into your class and click the file again. This time, when you see the Information bar, you will be able to choose Download file and be prompted to Save or Open the file.
You can permanently disable this feature, however be cautious because it is for your protection and will affect all web pages you visit.
To disable:
1.Click Tools > Internet Options.
2.Click the Security Tab.
3.Click the Custom Level button.
4.Scroll to the Downloads section.
5.Under Automatic prompting for file downloads, select Enable and click OK.
6.Click Yes on the confirmation dialog box.
7.Click OK on the Internet Options box to close it.
We have also noticed we don't have the problem opening these files with Firefox and Chrome browsers. So if it does not work, try a different browser.
When you click a link to a file, if you are not prompted to open or save the file, look for the information bar at the top of the screen. It appears as a pale yellow bar just above the content of the web page. Then when you click "Download File", you are kicked out of your course and back to My Institution page. Users will need to go back into your class and click the file again. This time, when you see the Information bar, you will be able to choose Download file and be prompted to Save or Open the file.
You can permanently disable this feature, however be cautious because it is for your protection and will affect all web pages you visit.
To disable:
1.Click Tools > Internet Options.
2.Click the Security Tab.
3.Click the Custom Level button.
4.Scroll to the Downloads section.
5.Under Automatic prompting for file downloads, select Enable and click OK.
6.Click Yes on the confirmation dialog box.
7.Click OK on the Internet Options box to close it.
We have also noticed we don't have the problem opening these files with Firefox and Chrome browsers. So if it does not work, try a different browser.
Thursday, June 17, 2010
Blackboard and Java
Part of ensuring your browser is configured properly to view all the content in your Blackboard course, you must check to see if you have the proper version of Java installed on your computer. You should check your Java because if you don't have the latest version you might not be able to access quiz questions properly or use the visual text editor.
To determine if you have the latest version of Java click here for a Java version detector.There are times when you do have the most current version but you still encounter problems. In this case, it's a good idea to reinstall your Java.
For a quick tutorial check out Robert Morris University ETC YourTube Video on "Check Java™ version on Windows XP'.
To determine if you have the latest version of Java click here for a Java version detector.There are times when you do have the most current version but you still encounter problems. In this case, it's a good idea to reinstall your Java.
For a quick tutorial check out Robert Morris University ETC YourTube Video on "Check Java™ version on Windows XP'.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Internet Explorer Settings in Blackboard 9
There appears to be some compatibility issues for Blackboard 9
Using Internet Explorer 8 with Blackboard 9 may cause problems for those of you attempting to open Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Excel documents. One workaround is to use Mozilla Firefox. We have Mozilla Firefox installed in all of the labs and Library at CSM.
Another workaround is to change the Compatibility Mode in IE8.
To do so, you must be in Internet Explorer. Click on "Tools" then "Compatibility View Settings" then check "Display all websites in Compatibility View".
You will need to restart you IE8 browser before the change takes effect.
Hopefully we will have this problem resolved soon.
Using Internet Explorer 8 with Blackboard 9 may cause problems for those of you attempting to open Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or Excel documents. One workaround is to use Mozilla Firefox. We have Mozilla Firefox installed in all of the labs and Library at CSM.
Another workaround is to change the Compatibility Mode in IE8.
To do so, you must be in Internet Explorer. Click on "Tools" then "Compatibility View Settings" then check "Display all websites in Compatibility View".
You will need to restart you IE8 browser before the change takes effect.
Hopefully we will have this problem resolved soon.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Welcome
Your course at the College of Southern Maryland will be delivered in our new Learning Management System (LMS), Blackboard Learn. Blackboard Learn is our next generation teaching and learning platform with new and exciting social learning and teaching tools that foster and active learning opportunities for students. The new user interface creates and delivers content with an intuitive, easy-to-use and visually engaging manner.
We are sure you will have a good experience with this new LMS. To assist you along the way, we will post tutorial and items of interest in this Blog. So please check back on a regular basis.
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