Blackboard Learn FAQ for Faculty
- What is Blackboard Learn?
Blackboard, Inc. is a company that develops Learning Management Systems. Blackboard Learn (Bb Learn) is a product that falls under Blackboard. It is a self-contained place to present content to students. Bb Learn can be used in a variety of manners, e.g., online or hybrid instruction, to enhance a traditional class, as a community for users such as the drafting community or the nursing community, honor societies, or Faculty Learning Communities, to post information relevant to all its members. The advantage of using such a system is that it is self-contained; therefore, sensitive information is not accessible to unauthorized users. - How do I get a class setup in Bb Learn?
Faculty members are responsible for creating their Bb Learn course shells in myLC Campus. The directions for this process are emailed to Faculty, Adjunct Faculty each semester with the help document attached. If you have additional questions, please contact Paula Lee at 281.425.6285 or plee@lee.edu. - Whom do I contact for instructional design questions?
Alex Nguyen is the instructional designer. He will help you with the best practices in the layout and presentation of the material to the students. Email him at thnguyen@lee.edu. The instructional designer is currently located in John Britt Hall, Room 124. - Who do I contact when things don’t work in Bb Learn?
You can contact Paula Lee at plee@lee.edu or Alex Nguyen at thnguyen@lee.edu.
If you are having difficulties logging into Blackboard, contact the Lee College Help Desk at 281.425.6952 or helpdesk@lee.edu.
Please let your students know this, as well. - How do I log into Bb Learn?
Your username and password will be the same one that you use to login to your Lee College email or onto one of the campus computers. Lee College currently started using the OneLogin portal. Blackboard Learn is behind that portal. You can find directions for setting up your OneLogin account in the IT section of this site or by contacting the Lee College help desk at 281.425.6952 or helpdesk@lee.edu. - What exactly does Bb Learn offer?
Bb Learn gives instructors a container for their course content. Some of the features inside Bb Learn include discussion boards, blogs, wikis and journals, ability to create assignments and assessments, web links, modules, how to embed videos or audio files, and a home page with information, notifications, etc., for your students' use. There is a grade center, and your students have a My Grades link where they can view posted grades, upcoming items, etc. Another feature inside of Bb Learn is SafeAssign, an anti-plagiarism program. - What other resources do instructors have access to?
We have a license for SoftChalk, which is lesson-builder software. This software lets you create interactive and engaging content for your students.
We also have Respondus and Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor. Respondus is a Windows-based authoring tool that makes it easy to create and manage exams for Bb Learn or upload publisher testbanks into Blackboard Learn. The Respondus Lockdown Browser and Monitor are products that help limit cheating on tests.
Lee College licenses Honorlock, as well. This is another test proctoring tool. It only works with Google Chrome browser, and students must install the Chrome Honorlock extension.
ShareStream is our media streaming service. Videos created by faculty members or students should be uploaded to ShareStream. Faculty-created videos can be linked to other courses and are streamed to the students. When students create a video, those are also uploaded to ShareStream, and the instructor can grade them using the Inline Grading tool.
TurnItIn is an anti-plagiarism tool that we license. This is an advanced software that does more than just check for plagiarism. Faculty members can find the link for this tool inside their courses, under Build Content.
We still have access to SafeAssign, also located in your courses. This tool is part of the Assignment tool.
Lee College also has access to Films on Demand. Will Mayer (wmayer@lee.edu) is the Distance Education and E-Resources Librarian; he can help with Films on Demand issues. - What about training?
Bb Learn training is ongoing throughout the year. Emails are sent out to let faculty members know when training will occur. You can always contact Alex Nguyen (thnguyen@lee.edu) for information and training schedules. All faculty members have access to the Faculty Resource Course in Blackboard. Documents, How-to Guides, and additional information can be found in the course. If you do not see it listed in your course list in Bb, please notify Paula Lee (plee@lee.edu). - Is there any training or orientation for students?
Yes. Students have access to an Online Student Orientation Bb Learn class. The student should see the link for this course when logging into Bb Learn. It is set up as an actual course might be. The object is to help students become familiar with Bb Learn before they actually begin their true course(s). - When are Bb Learn classes available?
The Bb Learn classes are always available for instructors. Instructors can hide the courses that they do not want to see in their course list. Instructors are encouraged to create their own backups and a download of the grade center at the end of each semester. The current year and the previous year's courses remain active on the server. After that, courses are archived and removed from the server.
Students are enrolled in the Blackboard Learn courses with a script that runs several times each day for the entire semester. The script will edit course membership based on the settings in PeopleSoft. As students add/drop courses, that will be reflected in the Grade Center in Blackboard Learn. If your grade center roster does not match your official roster in PeopleSoft, contact Paula Lee (plee@lee.edu).
Students will not be able to access their Bb Learn classes until the first day of the semester. The Bb Learn classes remain visible to the students for about a week after the semester ends. If the instructor needs a class to remain open for students who received an I, the instructor needs to contact Paula Lee (plee@lee.edu). - What do I need to do in order to teach a HY or OL class?
Faculty members and adjuncts who want to be certified to teach in a HY or OL environment must complete the Online Faculty Certification Course. Contact Alex Nguyen (thnguyen@lee.edu) for more information.