Blackboard Learn? Administrator Guide for Release 9.1
Publication Date: March 29, 2010
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Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
No part of the contents of this manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher, Blackboard Inc.
? 2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. Copyright
U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138. Additional Patents Pending.
Contents
About the Blackboard Learn Administrator Guide ..................................................................................... 8 Guide Conventions ............................................................................................................................... 8 Using this Guide ................................................................................................................................... 8 Guide Updates ...................................................................................................................................... 8 Courses .................................................................................................................................................... 9 Course Properties ................................................................................................................................ 10 List or Edit Courses......................................................................................................................... 11 Search for Courses .......................................................................................................................... 12 Add Users to Course ....................................................................................................................... 13 List or Edit Users in Course............................................................................................................. 14 Remove Users from Course ............................................................................................................. 15 Course Properties ............................................................................................................................ 16 Categorize Courses ......................................................................................................................... 18 Course Access Reports .................................................................................................................... 19 Bulk Delete ..................................................................................................................................... 20 Course Quotas Override .................................................................................................................. 21 Create Courses and Enroll Users ......................................................................................................... 22 Create Course ................................................................................................................................. 23 Course Creation Wizard .................................................................................................................. 25 Course Creation Wizard - Course Information ................................................................................. 26
Course Creation Wizard - Course Materials ..................................................................................... 27
Course Creation Wizard - Course Style ........................................................................................... 28
Course Creation Wizard - Course Menu .......................................................................................... 29
Course Creation Wizard – Availability and Duration ....................................................................... 30
Course Creation Wizard – Course Enrollment .................................................................................. 32
Create a Template ........................................................................................................................... 33 Batch Create Courses ...................................................................................................................... 34 Batch Enroll Users .......................................................................................................................... 35 Course Utilities ................................................................................................................................... 36 Delete Course ................................................................................................................................. 38 Copy Course ................................................................................................................................... 39 Copy Course Materials into a New Course....................................................................................... 41
Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course ............................................................................... 44
Copy Course with Users (Exact Copy)............................................................................................. 47
Import Course ................................................................................................................................. 49 Export / Archive Manager ............................................................................................................... 53 Export Course ................................................................................................................................. 54 Archive Course ............................................................................................................................... 57 Restore Course ................................................................................................................................ 59 Batch Import/Export/Archive/Restore Course .................................................................................. 61
Batch Copy Course ......................................................................................................................... 63 Batch Create Courses ...................................................................................................................... 64 Batch Create Users .......................................................................................................................... 65 Batch Enroll Users .......................................................................................................................... 66 Batch Delete Users from the System ................................................................................................ 67
Batch File Guidelines ...................................................................................................................... 68 Add File Types for Use with Course Content Items ......................................................................... 70
Course Configuration Options ............................................................................................................. 72 Set Default Course Properties .......................................................................................................... 73 Set Default Course Menu ................................................................................................................ 74 Course Menu and Tool Panel Display Options ................................................................................. 75
Add New Area—Content Area ........................................................................................................ 76
Add New Area—Tool Link ............................................................................................................. 77
Add New Area—External Link ....................................................................................................... 78
? 2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. Copyright
U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138. Additional Patents Pending.
Course Tools ................................................................................................................................... 79 Course Disk Quotas ........................................................................................................................ 80 Set Course Images........................................................................................................................... 81 Select Icon Themes ......................................................................................................................... 83 Course Catalog ................................................................................................................................... 84 Manage Catalog .............................................................................................................................. 85 Create or Edit a Category ................................................................................................................ 86 Course Catalog Options................................................................................................................... 87 Course Files ........................................................................................................................................ 87 About Course Files ......................................................................................................................... 89 Manage Course Files ....................................................................................................................... 92 Course Files Package Size ............................................................................................................... 93 Course Files Command Line Tools .................................................................................................. 94 Move Files to Course Files ............................................................................................................ 100 Search Settings ............................................................................................................................. 102 Web Folders ................................................................................................................................. 104 Enable Persistent Cookies ............................................................................................................. 106 Users .................................................................................................................................................... 107 User Accounts .................................................................................................................................. 108 List or Edit Users .......................................................................................................................... 109 Unavailable and Disabled Records ................................................................................................ 110 User Properties ............................................................................................................................. 111 Customize User Information.......................................................................................................... 113 Avatars ......................................................................................................................................... 115 Change Password .......................................................................................................................... 116 Personalize My Places ................................................................................................................... 117 View Course Information for a User .............................................................................................. 118 Create User ................................................................................................................................... 119 Observers...................................................................................................................................... 121 Delete Users from the System ....................................................................................................... 122 Admin User Accounts Created at Install ........................................................................................ 123
Course/Organization Roles................................................................................................................ 124 About Course/Organization Roles ................................................................................................. 125 Edit Course/Organization Roles..................................................................................................... 128 Manage Course/Organization Role Privileges ................................................................................ 130
Manage Custom Course/Organization Roles .................................................................................. 131
System Roles .................................................................................................................................... 133 About System Roles ...................................................................................................................... 134 Create a System Role .................................................................................................................... 135 Manage System Role Privileges .................................................................................................... 136 Assign System Roles to Users ....................................................................................................... 137 Institution Roles ............................................................................................................................... 138 About Institution Roles ................................................................................................................. 139 Features of Institution Roles .......................................................................................................... 140 Planning Institution Roles ............................................................................................................. 141 Create an Institution Role .............................................................................................................. 143 Assign Institution Roles to Users ................................................................................................... 144 Assign Institution Roles through Snapshot ..................................................................................... 146
Delete an Institution Role .............................................................................................................. 147 Apply Institution Roles to Community Features ............................................................................. 148
Community Areas................................................................................................................................. 149 Tabs ................................................................................................................................................. 150 Manage Tab Groups ...................................................................................................................... 151 Manage Tabs ................................................................................................................................ 153 Create Module Tab ....................................................................................................................... 154 Create Tool Tab ............................................................................................................................ 155 ? 2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. Copyright
U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138. Additional Patents Pending.
Create Link Tab ............................................................................................................................ 156 Edit a Tab ..................................................................................................................................... 157 Tab Properties ............................................................................................................................... 158 Manage Hot Link Content ............................................................................................................. 159 Create or Edit Hot Link Content .................................................................................................... 160 Manage Hot Spots ......................................................................................................................... 161 Manage Default Content ............................................................................................................... 162 Edit the Default Layout ................................................................................................................. 163 Preview by Institution Role ........................................................................................................... 164 Manage Services ........................................................................................................................... 165 Create or Edit Services Folders...................................................................................................... 166 Create Services Link ..................................................................................................................... 167 Modules ........................................................................................................................................... 168 Manage Modules........................................................................................................................... 169 Create a New Module.................................................................................................................... 170 Edit Module Properties.................................................................................................................. 171 Login Module ............................................................................................................................... 173 Login Module Contents ................................................................................................................. 175 Course Creation Module ............................................................................................................... 176 Discussion Board Creation Module ............................................................................................... 178 What's New? Module .................................................................................................................... 179 My Courses Module ...................................................................................................................... 180 Module Contents: Course List Modules ......................................................................................... 181 Channel Module............................................................................................................................ 182 HTML Module ............................................................................................................................. 183 URL Module ................................................................................................................................. 184 Multi-Section Module ................................................................................................................... 185 Add or Edit Section in a Multi-Section Module ............................................................................. 186
Opinion Poll Module ..................................................................................................................... 187 Multiple Choice Poll Module ........................................................................................................ 188 Image Module ............................................................................................................................... 189 External Link Module ................................................................................................................... 190 Export Modules ............................................................................................................................ 191 Channels........................................................................................................................................... 192 Manage Channels .......................................................................................................................... 193 Create or Edit Channel .................................................................................................................. 194 Brands and Themes........................................................................................................................... 195 Branding ....................................................................................................................................... 196 Login Page Customization............................................................................................................. 197 Customize Default Brand .............................................................................................................. 199 Manage Brands ............................................................................................................................. 201 Theme and Palette Catalog ............................................................................................................ 202 Manage Color Palettes .................................................................................................................. 203 Default Course Design .................................................................................................................. 204 Default Organization Design ......................................................................................................... 205 Create Brand or Edit Brand Properties ........................................................................................... 206 Brand Modules and Tabs with Direct Access ................................................................................. 207
Tool Panel ........................................................................................................................................ 208 Manage Tool Panel ....................................................................................................................... 209 Add or Edit Tool ........................................................................................................................... 210 Create or Edit a Tool Panel for an External Link ............................................................................ 211
Communities Settings ....................................................................................................................... 212 Hot Links ...................................................................................................................................... 213 Manage Hot Links......................................................................................................................... 214 Add or Edit a Hot Link Tool.......................................................................................................... 215 Create or Edit an External Link ..................................................................................................... 216
? 2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. Copyright
U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138. Additional Patents Pending.
Set Frame Size .............................................................................................................................. 217 System Management............................................................................................................................. 218 Authentication and Integration .......................................................................................................... 219 Authentication Configuration ........................................................................................................ 220 Enable Persistent Cookies ............................................................................................................. 221 Manage Context Encryption Keys ................................................................................................. 222
Download the Context Encryption Key.......................................................................................... 223
Create a Context Encryption Key .................................................................................................. 224 Deciphering Encrypted Context ..................................................................................................... 225 Edit the Integration Password ........................................................................................................ 227 Reports ............................................................................................................................................. 228 Statistics ....................................................................................................................................... 229 View Reports ................................................................................................................................ 230 Advanced System Reporting ......................................................................................................... 231 Advanced System Reporting Database Attributes .......................................................................... 233
Auto-Reporting Options ................................................................................................................ 250 Send System Statistics to Blackboard ............................................................................................ 251
System Information .......................................................................................................................... 252 About System Information ............................................................................................................ 253 Registration Information ............................................................................................................... 254 System Performance Settings ........................................................................................................ 255 Logs ................................................................................................................................................. 256 About Logs ................................................................................................................................... 257 Send System Logs ......................................................................................................................... 258 Download Individual System Logs ................................................................................................ 259
Manage Log Rotation .................................................................................................................... 260 Log Descriptions ........................................................................................................................... 261 Cartridge Import Status ................................................................................................................. 263 Background Tasks ......................................................................................................................... 264 Designating Local Support Contact ............................................................................................... 265
System Tools ........................................................................................................................................ 266 Building Blocks ................................................................................................................................ 267 Manage Building Blocks ............................................................................................................... 268 Install and Uninstall Building Blocks............................................................................................. 269 B2Manager Command Line Tool .................................................................................................. 271
Mashup Building Blocks ............................................................................................................... 274 The Open Standards Content Player .............................................................................................. 276
Web Services .................................................................................................................................... 278 Proxy Tools ...................................................................................................................................... 280 Registering Proxy Tools ................................................................................................................ 281 System-wide Announcements and Events .......................................................................................... 283
Announcements ............................................................................................................................ 284 Create or Edit an Announcement ................................................................................................... 285 Institution Calendar ....................................................................................................................... 287 Create or Edit Calendar Event ....................................................................................................... 288 Calendar Quick Jump .................................................................................................................... 289 Email ................................................................................................................................................ 290 Messages .......................................................................................................................................... 291 Permit or Restrict File Attachments and Private Folders ................................................................. 292
Notifications ..................................................................................................................................... 293 About the Notifications System ..................................................................................................... 294 Notifications Dashboard ................................................................................................................ 296 Notification Categories ................................................................................................................. 298 Notification Types ........................................................................................................................ 299 Mass Notifications ........................................................................................................................ 304 Notifications Settings .................................................................................................................... 306 ? 2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. Copyright
U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138. Additional Patents Pending.
Notifications System Architecture ................................................................................................. 308 Notification Cleanup ..................................................................................................................... 309 Notification Data Model ................................................................................................................ 310 Notifications Performance ............................................................................................................. 314 Standards and Alignments ................................................................................................................. 317 Text Editor and Spell Check.............................................................................................................. 318 Manage Text Editor ...................................................................................................................... 319 About Spell Check ........................................................................................................................ 321 Manage Spell Check ..................................................................................................................... 322 Upload Word List ......................................................................................................................... 323 Download Word List ..................................................................................................................... 324 System Discussion Boards ................................................................................................................ 325 About System Discussion Boards .................................................................................................. 326 Manage Forum Users .................................................................................................................... 327 Tools ................................................................................................................................................ 328 Tools ............................................................................................................................................ 329 Adaptive Release Tool .................................................................................................................. 330 Performance Dashboard ................................................................................................................ 331 Review Status ............................................................................................................................... 332 Chalk Titles ...................................................................................................................................... 333 About Chalk Titles ........................................................................................................................ 334 Manage Chalk Titles ..................................................................................................................... 335 Security ................................................................................................................................................ 336 Security Options ............................................................................................................................... 337 SSL Choice ................................................................................................................................... 338 Manage All Privileges ................................................................................................................... 339 Session Fingerprint Settings .......................................................................................................... 340 Shibboleth Integration ................................................................................................................... 341 Login and Gateway Pages ................................................................................................................. 344 Login Page Customization............................................................................................................. 345 Gateway Page Customization ........................................................................................................ 347 Domains ........................................................................................................................................... 349 About Domains ............................................................................................................................. 350 Structuring a Flexible and Secure Administration Model Using Domains ....................................... 352
Create Domains ............................................................................................................................ 356 Define a Collection ....................................................................................................................... 357 Setup Domain Administrators ....................................................................................................... 359 Content Management ............................................................................................................................ 360 Manage Content ............................................................................................................................... 361 About Content Management .......................................................................................................... 362 Manage the Removal of Users and Courses ................................................................................... 363
Manage Orphaned Content ............................................................................................................ 364 Manage Recycle Bins .................................................................................................................... 365 Organize Content .............................................................................................................................. 367 Organize Content in Folders .......................................................................................................... 368 Organize Folder Permissions ......................................................................................................... 370 Tools for Sharing and Finding Content .......................................................................................... 371 Organize Course Content .............................................................................................................. 373 Organize Institution Folders .......................................................................................................... 375 User Interface ................................................................................................................................... 377 Factors to Consider During Customization..................................................................................... 378
Tools and Actions ......................................................................................................................... 379 System Availability and Display Options ....................................................................................... 380
Manage Folder View ..................................................................................................................... 381 Managing Operations on the Action Bar ........................................................................................ 382
Library ............................................................................................................................................. 383 ? 2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. Copyright
U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138. Additional Patents Pending.
Library Contents ........................................................................................................................... 384 Managing eReserves ..................................................................................................................... 385 Librarians ..................................................................................................................................... 387 Portfolios .......................................................................................................................................... 388 About Portfolios............................................................................................................................ 389 Manage Portfolios ......................................................................................................................... 390 Personal Portfolio Templates ......................................................................................................... 391 Basic Portfolio Templates ............................................................................................................. 393 Create a Basic Portfolio Template ................................................................................................. 394 Portfolio Settings .......................................................................................................................... 395 Learning Objects Catalog .................................................................................................................. 396 Catalog Management Options ....................................................................................................... 397 Catalog Availability ...................................................................................................................... 398 Catalog Entry Options ................................................................................................................... 399 Display Options ................................................................................................................................ 400 Content List Display Options ........................................................................................................ 401 Menu Display Options .................................................................................................................. 402 Manage Shortcut View .................................................................................................................. 403 Shortcut Properties ........................................................................................................................ 404 Folder View Properties.................................................................................................................. 405 Content Management Settings ........................................................................................................... 406 Privacy Settings ............................................................................................................................ 407 e-Reserve Settings ......................................................................................................................... 408 Virtual Hard Drive Settings ........................................................................................................... 410 Manage User Lists ........................................................................................................................ 411 Technical Settings............................................................................................................................. 412 Global Schema Settings................................................................................................................. 413 Performance Settings .................................................................................................................... 414 Log Settings .................................................................................................................................. 415 Document Stores ........................................................................................................................... 415 Bandwidth Settings ....................................................................................................................... 420 Bandwidth Restrictions ................................................................................................................. 421 Content Area Management ................................................................................................................ 422 Default Folder Creation Settings.................................................................................................... 423 Content Area Availability.............................................................................................................. 425 Manage Recycle Bins .................................................................................................................... 426 Recycle Bin Settings ..................................................................................................................... 428 Feature and Tool Management .......................................................................................................... 429 Feature and Tool Availability ........................................................................................................ 430 Workflow Model Sharing .............................................................................................................. 432 Metadata Templates ...................................................................................................................... 433 Web Folders ................................................................................................................................. 434
? 2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. Copyright
U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138. Additional Patents Pending.
About the Blackboard Learn
Administrator Guide
The Blackboard Learn Administrator Guide details the tools and functions accessible through the Administrator Panel and using command line tools.
The other Blackboard Learn guides detail the education features that Instructors, Students, and a wide variety of other users access through Blackboard Learn?. The advanced integration and data management features available with Blackboard Learn are documented in the Blackboard
Learn Advanced Integration and Data Management Guide.
Guide Conventions
To make this guide easier to use a number of conventions have been put in place.
Font Description
Bold type A button or field name.
Courier font Text that users should type and path and file names.
[r] Required field
Using this Guide
This guide should be used as a reference guide. It is not necessary to read this guide from cover to cover.
Guide Updates
This guide is updated periodically. Check the Publication Date to ensure that it is the most recent
copy.
? 2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. Copyright
U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138. Additional Patents Pending.
Courses
The Courses features include the tools and functions available to Administrators for creating and
overseeing individual Courses as well as setting parameters for all Courses. This part includes the following sections.
Chapter Description
Updating Course Properties This section reviews the options for administering a Course.
Creating Courses and This section reviews the tools for creating Courses and Enrolling Users enrolling users.
Course Utilities This section reviews the tools for reusing Courses and
making incremental backups.
Course Configuration Options This section reviews the settings that can be applied to all
Courses.
Course Catalog This section reviews management of the Course Catalog.
? 2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. Copyright
U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138. Additional Patents Pending.
Course Properties
Administrators can change the settings, enrollments, and availability of an individual Course. All
of the features available to an Administrator to manage an individual Course are described in this
chapter.
In this chapter
Updating Course Properties includes the following topics.
Topic Description
List or Edit This topic covers the List/Edit Courses page. Select a Course from this Courses page to edit the Course Properties.
Search for This topic describes the search function.
Courses
Add Users to This topic covers the Add Users to Course page. Administrators can enroll Course users in the Course or assign staff to the Course from this page.
List or Edit This topic covers the List/Edit Users in Course page. This page lists all the
Users in users participating in the Course. From this page an Administrator can Course make changes to the user account including the user’s role in the Course.
Remove Users This topic covers the Remove Users from Course page. Use this page to
from Course disenroll users from a Course.
Course This topic covers the Course Properties page. From this page an Properties Administrator can change the name and description of a Course.
Categorize This topic covers the Categorize Courses page. Administrators assign Courses Courses to categories in the catalog.
Course Access This Topic covers the Course Access Statistics page. Administrators can
Statistics view how the Course is being used.
Bulk Delete This topic covers the Bulk Delete page. Bulk Deleting a Course removes
enrollments and other areas so that the same Course may be taught to a
new group of Students.
Course Quotas This topic covers the Course Quotas Override page. Administrators can Override set a disk space limit for the Course from this page.
? 2010 Blackboard Inc. Proprietary and Confidential. Copyright
U.S. Patent No. 6,988,138. Additional Patents Pending.