E1A Bb Tutorials Spring 2011

Blackboard Student Guide

I. Getting Started: Logging onto Blackboard
Step 1: Enter www.collegeofthedesert.edu in the address bar (Mozilla Firefox is the preferred browser for
Blackboard—for free download of Firefox, go to http://www.getfirefox.com/ ) Go to and select the Blackboard icon
in the MyCOD box in the upper right-hand corner of the COD homepage.

Step 2: Your Blackboard username is the same as your WebAdvisor username.

Your Blackboard password is initially set to your birth date in 'mmddyy' format. We suggest that you change
this password the first time you log in.
 E1A Bb Tutorials Spring 2011

Step 3: Change Your Password

(1) Under My Institution Tab Select Personal Information under Tools.

(2) Click Change Password.

(3) Update Password and select Submit—NOTE: You should choose a secure password that you will easily
remember! In the event that you forget your password, please contact me/come see me in office hours so I can change
your password for you.

II. How to Upload a Document to the Discussion

Board
Step 1: Open the Discussion Board

Access the Discussion Board by clicking on the Discussion Board button located in the navigation
pane on the left side of screen in your Blackboard course.

(Note: Our Navigation Pane is in the buttons style & has

different headings)

Step 2: Upload your Document. Check to make sure that your document is saved in one of the compatible formats
—doc, docx or rtf. Using MS Word, choose “Save As” (note: DO NOT choose the disc icon to save!), then choose
either “Word Document” (for doc or docx) or “Other Formats” (for Rich Text Format), under the file name (name of
your document), from the Save as Type drop-down menu, choose Rich Text Format and save.
 E1A Bb Tutorials Spring 2011

When you have saved your document to your desktop/traveldrive (I recommend BOTH), and you are ready to post
on Blackboard, click on the title of the Discussion to open it:

Click on Add New Thread:

Enter a Subject and a Message (description) for your post—IMPORTANT NOTE! If you want to make sure that
your assignment is read-compatible for your professor AND classmates, you may cut-and-paste the entire
text of your document in the Message box (some MLA formatting may be lost if you do this but that is why
you are attaching your document!)

Scroll down and click on the Browse button:

 E1A Bb Tutorials Spring 2011

Browse to your file by selecting the Destination (“Look in”)—REMEMBER, your document MUST be in either
doc, docx or rtf format in order to be Blackboard compatible! Rich Text Format is the format to use if you aren’t
using MS Word. If you do not have MS Word, my recommendation is that you either purchase MS for Students or
use the available software in the ASC (remember, ASC 100 is free to COD students and only requires a professor’s
signature to add). Not having the proper technology may result in your assignments being not being graded/on time!

Next, select your document by clicking on it:

Click Open:
 E1A Bb Tutorials Spring 2011

Click Submit:

If you have successfully uploaded a document to the Discussion Board, you will see a paper clip icon next to the
subject of your post.

III. How to Post Essays on SafeAssign

Step 1: Click “Essay Assignments” from the Navigation menu on the top left-hand side of our Bb class page.
 E1A Bb Tutorials Spring 2011

Step 2: Find the assignment (e.g., “E1,”E2,” etc.).

Step 3: Click the link.

Step 4: Upload your paper in step 2:

Step 5: Check if you wish to have your paper submitted to the Global Reference Database in step 3.

Blackboard's Global Reference Database is a separate database where students voluntarily donate copies of their
papers to help prevent plagiarism. It is separated from each institution's internal database, where all papers are stored
by each corresponding institution, and students are free to select the option to check their papers without submitting
them to the Global Reference Database.

Step 6: Click

Step 7: You will see a green submission receipt across the top of the screen.

There is a processing time before reports are generated; generally within a few hours.

Step 8: If the course is set up to allow students to view the originality report, click on the link again.
 E1A Bb Tutorials Spring 2011

This will open the View SafeAssignment results page:

The results page shows:

 The grade posted by your professor (please allow up to one week for grading on SE assignments).
 Feedback and an attachment with the commented draft of the final submitted paper from me, your
professor, will be available:

 The matching or originality percentage is displayed—remember you should not have more than 25%
quoted content here—see syllabus for more details about this.
 Date and time stamp of submission to SafeAssign is posted—NOTE: The link to submit an assignment will
close (that is, no submissions may be posted past the due date/time) at 11:59 pm for all assignments due
before MIDNIGHT.
 A link to the SafeAssign report is available.
 E1A Bb Tutorials Spring 2011

IV. How to Check Your Grades

Step 1: Log onto Blackboard. You will initially be directed to the “My Institution” tab, which is also your
“Welcome Page.”

(1) Under My Institution Tab, Select My Grades under Tools.

(2) The View Grade table displays the student's grades posted by the professor. The format of the grade will vary
for each professor (i.e., score, letter, percentage, etc.). The View Grades table displays the Item Name, Due Date,
Submission Date/Time, Grade, Points Possible, and Comments for each assignment.

 
(A) Last Submitted, Modified or Graded: This field will show the last activity for this assignment. For example,
if the assignment was submitted but hasn't been graded, it will display the submission date and time.
(B) Score: When the assignment has been graded, the score will be displayed. When an assignment was submitted
(document attached) or an online test taken by the student, the score will be bold and underlined. This means the
student can click the link to access the Assignment Review page.
(C) Not Graded (Green Exclamation Point): When the bold green exclamation point is displayed, it means that
the assignment was submitted by the student and needs to be graded by the instructor.
(D) Comments: If the instructor provided feedback on the assignment, it will show in the Comments column. Please
note that comments on individual test essay questions are viewed in the graded test.

NOTE: SafeAssignments are different than regular assignments. The only way to view your submitted assignment
and instructor comments is to access the original assignment link. In many cases, the instructor will remove the link
once the assignment due date has passed. The instructor will need to make the link available once grading is
completed in order for you to see their comments and your submission.

(3) Once you are finished viewing your grades, click the OK button.
 E1A Bb Tutorials Spring 2011

For a video tutorial on how to check grades on Bb, click on the following link (note, you must have Real
Player to view this video):
http://www.unf.edu/cirt/bb/training/Blackboard_9_Video_Tutorials.aspx#