• Login to Your Course
• Avoid Login Problems
  
  
  

Login to your course correctly

• Students
  1. Login on the first day of the semester. You will be able to login to your Internet course on the first day of the semester after 12:00pm by following the steps below. If your on-campus course uses Blackboard as a supplement to instruction your instructor will let you know when the site is available.

Note: You cannot login to your course until the first day of the semester after you have officially registered for and paid for the course. If you register late for the course, you will not be able to login until one day after you have registered and paid for the course.

• Find Your Username - Click Account Information in the lower right corner. Then click What's my User ID?
  
  
• The new user format will be the full last name and the fri st character of the first name. All characters are in lower case format.

Example: John Q. Public - Birth date February 4, 1980
Username = publicj
Password =020480

• If there are duplicates when using this format, then s sequential number will be added to the user name until a unique user value id determined.

Example: John Q. Public
Username = publicj2

• Click the "Blackboard Login" button.
  
  
• Enter your username: Be sure not to press the spacebar after any characters. Then you would press the "enter" key or click the "login" button.

Avoid Login Problems

• Always use the Internet Explorer browser instead of the AOL or CompuServe Browser.
  • If you are an AOL customer and you use the AOL browser, you will have difficulty using Blackboard for Internet courses. Instead, connect to the internet with AOL as you usually do, minimize your AOL browser screen as shown below, and then open Internet Explorer and use it to connect to your course:

  

• Install and maintain an anti-virus program. To make sure that your computer is not infected with a computer virus, especially if you download software from the Internet from sources other than updates to your operating system and anti-virus updates, you must install an effective anti-virus program. Traditional ones are Norton and McAfee.
  
  
• Use the appropriate screen resolution. To make sure that your screen resolution is best, you should minimize all of your open programs by clicking on the "minus" button in the upper right corner of all open programs until you return to your opening desktop screen (the one with icons on it). To change the screen resolution right click on the Desktop and click on the Properties from the pop-up menu. Then click on the "Settings" tab at the top of the Display Properties dialog box.
  
  
  • If you are using a 15-inch monitor, your "desktop area" should be set at 650 X 480 with the highest "color palette" setting that your system will support.
    
    
  • If you are using a 17-inch monitor, your "desktop area" should be set at 800 X 600 with the highest "color palette" setting that your system will support.
    
    
  • If you are using a 19-inch monitor or larger, your "desktop area" should be at the largest setting (1024 X 768) unless you like larger images on the screen. If so, choose 800 X 600. In any case, use the highest "color palette" setting that your system will support.
    
    
• Avoid login, browser, and software problems.
  If you are denied login to Blackboard on your first attempt to enter your username and password and have entered your username and password correctly, or if you have problems taking tests or sending or receiving email from the course, be sure that you follow these guidelines:

  1. Use an up-to-date Internet Explorer browser. Check your browser version and download the latest version of IE (IE6, SP1), if necessary, from Microsoft Download. Note: To determine your version, click "Help" on your IE menu bar and then "About Internet Explorer."
     
     
  2. Be sure to accept "cookies." Click "Tools" on the Internet Explorer menu bar and then click "Internet Options":

     

     Then click the "Privacy" tab on the "Internet Options" dialog box:

     

     Then click and move the slider to "accept cookies," but no higher than "medium." Finally, click the "OK" button:

     

  3. Save the correct Blackboard login page in your "Favorites." In order to avoid this problem, always begin your login attempt from the page that displays the following image and save the address of that page in your "Favorites":

     

     Remember: Save the address of the page that displays the login image in your "Favorites." After you click the "login" button, you will go to the next page, which displays this login dialog box:

     

     Do not save the address of the page that displays the above dialog box or the page that displays your course. You must begin your login process from the page that displays the previous Blackboard login image.

  4. Be sure that you have paid your bill to your Internet Service Provider.
     
     
  5. Maintain the appropriate settings if you use a firewall. If you have installed a firewall on your computer, be sure that your firewall permits your Distance Learning login page as noted above.
     
     
  6. Use the required programs or plug-ins. Blackboard requires the Java client program to be installed on your computer since it uses "Java Applets" in its login procedure, text editor, and certain types of online tests. If you are using Windows XP, it probably does not contain the Java program. If that is the case, Blackboard will install the program on your computer unless you have blocked the ability of another program to install programs on your computer if if you are using a computer in a network environment whose firewall does not permit Blackboard to install the Java program on your computer. If you are unable to login or access tests, you may need to install the Java program yourself. The following link will give you a connection and directions to download the "Java Runtime Environment" and other plug-ins for using sound and video files: Download Center.
     
     
  7. Check the settings if you use a pop-up blocker. If you are using a "pop-up" blocker," be sure to set it to permit access to each page within the Blackboard course site or within Blackboard Support. Pop-up blockers will prevent Blackboard discussion forums or quizzes from appearing in a new window.
     
     
  8. Check the settings if you use a spam blocker. If you are using a "spam blocker," be sure to give it access to your Blackboard course and any email received from your course. Otherwise, you will have to turn off or disable any "spam blockers" before you attempt to login. Spam blockers will prevent your instructor from sending an email message to you from the course.