If you want to add or modify content to your Blackboard 6 course, you will use the Control Panel.

1. Begin by clicking on the "Control Panel" link on the navigation frame in your course:

   Note: You can use either the button style or text style for your navigation frame. To change the style, click on the "Control Panel" link and then the "Settings" link in the "Course Options" area. In the "Setting" area, click on the "Course Design" link and then the "Course Design" area where you can modify the navigation style for your course.

2. At this point the "Control Panel" page will appear:

   

   

3. Content Areas: Use one of the Content Areas to add to or modify the content of the course.

   

   • Course Information: Use this section to list your course syllabus and other course policies.
   • Course Documents: Use this section to provide students with text material or other reading assignments.
   • Assignments: Use this section to create assignments. These can include links to the Discussion Board and Groups, tests, links to other parts of the course or Web sites external to your course.
   • External Links: Use this section to create a list of links to Web sites that would be useful to your students.
   
   
4. Course Tools: The Course Tools section contains communication and collaboration tools that enhance interaction between Students and Instructors with asynchronous discussion boards and synchronous chat tools.

   

   These tools allow users to do the following:

   • Announcements post timely information critical to course success. You can add, modify, and remove announcements from the Announcements page. This is an ideal place to post time-sensitive material such as
     • when assignments are due
     • changes in the syllabus
     • corrections/clarifications of materials
     • exam schedules
     When viewed through an individual course, only the Announcements page for that particular course is visible. Announcements for the institution or other courses and organizations must be viewed through Announcements in the Tools box when first entering Blackboard or when clicking the "Quick Tools" tab at the top of each Blackboard page.
   • Instructors can use the Calendar to indicate important course related events. The dates and events that appear on the Course Calendar are for all students registered in a specific course. Some typical items Instructors may include in the calendar are assignment due dates, exams, holidays, and other important events through the course are the semester.
   • The Staff Information page allows Instructors to post information about themselves, Teaching Assistants, guest speakers, and other Course leaders. The page gives users a resource to look up names, email addresses, office hours, and photographs.
   • The Tasks page organizes projects or activities (referred to as tasks) by defining task priority and tracking task status. A user can create tasks and post them to the Tasks page. Each user can post personal tasks to their page, Instructors and Managers can post tasks to users participating in their courses and organizations, and System Administrators can post tasks to all users’ Tasks pages. Task information is arranged in columns that display the priority, task name, status, and due date.
   • The Discussion Board is a communication medium for posting and responding to messages. This feature is similar to the Collaboration Tool, but is designed for asynchronous use; meaning users are not present at the same time to converse on-line. Email, for example, is asynchronous. An advantage of the Discussion Board is that conversations are logged and organized. Conversations are grouped in threads that contain a main posting and all related replies. You can create discussion forums and modify those forums in this area or from the course itself when you click the "Discussion Board" button or link on the home page of the course.
   • Instructors can send email to individuals who participate in the course or organization from the Send Email page in the Control Panel or via the "Email" link after the instructor clicks the "Communication" button or link on the home page of the course. Emails can be sent to individual users or to groups of users within the course, such as all Teaching Assistants. Instructors cannot send email to others via the Internet with the Send Email function; however, Instructors can use the Web email function to email via the Internet. This option may not be available at every college that uses Blackboard.
   • The Collaboration Tools allow the Instructor and Students to participate in real time lessons and discussions and also view archives of previous Collaboration sessions. The Collaboration Tools can be used to hold real-time, online classroom discussions, TA sessions, and office hour type question/answer forums. Guest speakers and subject matter experts can also communicate with the class using the Collaboration Tools. The following Collaboration Tools are available:
     • The Virtual Classroom is a Collaboration Tool that allows instructors and students to participate in real time lessons and discussions and also view archives of previous Collaboration sessions.The main area of the Virtual Classroom includes all of the functions available to users. From this area instructors can manage the session through the system controls, interact with participants, and use the Whiteboard to post content, open Web pages, and draw. The instructor has the ability to control access and functionality for other participants in the session.
     • The Lightweight Chat allows participants to interact with each other and the Instructor via a text-based chat region. This region is part of the Virtual Classroom, but can also be accessed separately without the rest of the tools that make up the Virtual Classroom.
     For more information on using the Collaboration Tools, click the Manual link inside the Support area of the Control Panel.
   • The Digital Drop Box is a tool that the instructor and students can use to exchange files. The Digital Drop Box works by uploading a file from a disk or a computer to a depository. Files can be sent back and forth from the instructor’s Drop Box to the Drop Box of other users in the course. Individual student access to the Drop Box is available from the Digital Drop Box area located in the Course menu on the course Web site. Instructors must access their Drop Box from the Course Control Panel.
   
   
5. Course Options: The Instructor uses the Course Options area to manage all aspects of the course. Instructors can set the availability and accessibility of a course, as well as manage the appearance of course features. They can also archive and recycle courses, in addition to importing course content and course cartridges.
   
   • Manage Course Menu
     Explains how to select which course areas will appear in the Course menu. You can also add additional area by selecting either a "content" area or a "tools" area as listed in Step 2 above. Once you click the "Manage Course Menu" link, you can then click the "modify" button beside a course area, such as Announcements, and select whether you want to allow guest access or make the are available for Student/Participant users.

     Archive Course

     Provides information on how to create course archive files.

     Recycle Course

     Explains how a course is recycled by selecting areas to keep and areas to remove.

     Manage Tools

     Details how to enable Blackboard Learning System, System Extension, and Content tools.

     Settings

     Explains the options for establishing the availability and accessibility of a course.

     Import Course Cartridge

     Details how to import a Course Cartridge into this course.

     Import Package

     Explains how to import a piece of content from another course to use within the current course.

     Resources

     Provides information on accessing the BlackboardResourceCenter.

     Course Copy

     Explains how to copy sections of a course into another course taught by the same Instructor.

     Export Course

     Provides information on exporting course areas to save and use at a later time.
   
   
6. User Management: enables instructors to manage the users in their course Web site, depending upon the privileges granted to instructors by individual institutions:
   
   • Add and drop individuals or groups of students to and from a course.
   • Create new users
   • Create groups of users within in a course. In this section, the instructor assigns a name and a description of the group, assigns users to the group, and selects functions of the group, such as Group Discussion Board, Group Email, etc. The instructor must then enter the Group Pages area through the Communication button on the home page of the course to set up the forums in each Group Discussion Board.
   
   
7. Assessment: Instructors use Assessments to test student knowledge, measure student progress, and gather information from students. There are two types of Assessments:
   1. Tests – Tests are created to check the knowledge and skill level of users enrolled in the course. Tests permit the Instructor to assign point values to each question on exams or quizzes. When a Student completes a Test it is submitted for grading, and the results are recorded in the Gradebook.
   2. Surveys – Surveys are useful for polling purposes, evaluations, and random checks of knowledge. They function in the same way as Tests and offer most of the same options. Questions on Surveys are not assigned a point value, and Surveys are not graded.
   
   
   The Assessment area allows instructors to
   • follow a simple, step-by-step process to create Tests and Surveys
   • create several different types of questions
   • include multimedia or other attachments with Assessment and Survey questions
   • re-use questions from Pools and previous Tests
   • provide password-protected Tests, timed Tests, and instant feedback to students
   • create statistical reports of Student answers.
   Instructors can create tests one question at a time or by first creating a pool or pools of questions and drawing specific questions from one or more pools or other tests or by drawing questions at random from one or more pools. Once a test is created, the instructor will make the test available through the "Test" button in any Assignments or Course Documents area. At that point the instructor can set test options, including permitting students to save the test in case their Internet connection is interrupted. Creating a Test in Blackboard 6 gives further instructions on creating a test in Blackboard 6 or making a test (quiz) created in Blackboard 5.5 available to students in the new Blackboard 6 course.
   
   
8. Support

   This section of the Control Panel provides various levels of support.
   

   • Click the "Support" to create an account in the "Behind the Blackboard" Web site, which will then open in a separate browser window
   • Click the Manual link for the Blackboard 6 online manual that provides further instructions for using all the features of Blackboard.
   • Click the "Contact System Administrator" link to send email to the System Administrator at your institution for support.