What is Blackboard

Blackboard, Cal Poly Pomona's e-learning environment, provides students with the opportunity to stay connected with their instructors and classmates. Blackboard may be a component of some or all of a student's courses as either a supplement to a traditional class, as an element of a hybrid courses (partially face-to-face and partially online), or as the structure for a online or distance education courses. Using Blackboard, staff, faculty, and students have access to a feature-rich, online, customizable classroom or organization.

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Download a PDF of the Blackboard Browser Configuration Instructions.

 

Blackboard courses/organizations can include any or all of the following components:

Announcements	Post timely class announcements.
Syllabus	Post your syllabus, course requirements or other course information.
Faculty Information	Post information about yourself or other contributors to the class.
Course Documents/Materials	Post all relevant course materials, including handouts, lecture notes and study guides.
Assignments	Post class assignments and incorporate online assessments.
Communication	Includes a class address book for sending email, a virtual discussion board, a virtual classroom, and group specific communication.
Resources/External Links	Post course relevant Internet site links.
(Course)Tools	Includes a course calendar, a digital drop box for file exchange between instructor and student, and the ability for students to check their grade.

 

 

Reasons to use Blackboard:

• Building a course or organization is very easy. There is no need to have a web-design skill. Uploading handouts, syllabus, materials, and other documents is as easy as attaching a file in an email. You just need to type your material information, attach the file, select the options and hit the submit button. You can also post the assignment and determine the duration of each posting.
  
  
• Blackboard improves your class or organization communication. Blackboard provides both synchronous and asynchronous communication tools such as chat, email, and discussion board. Chat allows you and your students or organization members to meet online in a real time without being limited by space. Instead of typing every single email address, you can use email tool in Blackboard to send a message to single user, several users, particular group or all users. Discussion board allows you to engage your students or members in online forum discussion.
  
  
• Assessment tools enable you and your student to track and evaluate their progress. It includes tools to create an online test and survey with several different types of questions, post them with time restriction, create statistical reports and manage gradebook. Student can verify their grades at anytime with the privacy of a password.
  
  
• Your course or organization is accessible from anywhere as long as there is an internet connection.