Blackboard

Blackboard is Stony Brook University's learning management system (LMS), which allows instructors to supplement face-to-face classes, or launch online classes. Blackboard includes a variety of features that allow instructors to do anything from uploading course documents, to posting an announcement, to collecting and grading assignments. For students, Blackboard offers an easy way to contact instructors, download and access course documents, and check grades.

Launch Blackboard Student Guide Faculty Guide School of Nursing Blackboard Site

Blackboard Basics

All courses are put into Blackboard, but instructors need to activate the course before students will be able to access it. All registered students (undergraduate and graduate) receive a Blackboard account at the beginning of their first semester at Stony Brook University.

Logging In

To log into Blackboard, go to blackboard.stonybrook.edu in your web browser. (NOTE: no “www” in this address.)

Enter your NetID and NetID password.

Once you have entered your credentials, click Login.

Launch Blackboard

Blackboard Mobile

For Students:

The Blackboard App gives students mobile access to their Blackboard courses and allows them to keep on track with their courses on the go.

Blackboard App for Students

For Faculty:

Blackboard Instructor gives faculty the ability to manage their courses, reply to discussions, post announcements and more from their phone or tablet.

Blackboard App for Instructors

Privacy Note

Blackboard allows students to set their privacy settings, which shows/hides personal information from other Blackboard users. Changing privacy settings on Blackboard allows users to show/hide their personal information which includes being listed in the Blackboard directory and on course rosters that are visible to other students. Changing your privacy options only applies to other students. Instructors for courses you are taking will always be able to see information (email address, Stony Brook University ID number, NetID, etc.), even if it is hidden from other users.

Student Guide to Blackboard

Blackboard is a web-based course management system that is used as a tool to deliver a course completely online and/or to supplement face-to-face classes. Blackboard is available to all Stony Brook University students 24/7, from any computer with Internet access.

Students use Blackboard for:

• Viewing course documents (ex: syllabi, handouts, presentations, etc...)
• Submitting course assignments
• Send emails to instructors or other students
• Posting threads to online discussions
• Viewing grades
• Taking online exams
• Participating in group projects

And much more...

Student FAQs

Why can't I change my email in Blackboard?

Emails and announcements that instructors send through Blackboard are automatically directed to your Stony Brook University email address. It is your responsibility to make sure that you read these emails as they contain important information regarding your courses. For most students, your official University email account is Google Apps for Education but you may verify your official Electronic Post Office (EPO) address.

If you choose to forward your official University email to a personal email account, the University will not be responsible for any messages marked as undeliverable. You can set up email forwarding using these DoIT-provided instructions.

What are the technical requirements and compatible browsers for Blackboard?

Technical Requirements

Find out what the tech requirements are for your courses to run smoothly.

Java is required to run Blackboard. Java.com allows you to test your computer to see if you are running java and if it is up to date. Java can also be installed or upgraded from this site.
Mac OS X Lion no longer comes with Java installed. Java can be downloaded and installed from Apple's support site.

Which browsers are compatible with Blackboard?

Blackboard has compiled a compatibility matrix to show which browsers work with your operating system.

If you are on an older version of Mac OS X or Safari. Please make sure to check the compatilibty matrix above.

Clearing out your Cache will clear the browser's temporary memory and allow you to download a new set of cookies.

NOTE to Safari users: make sure cookies are always enabled. To do this, open Preferences > Click the Privacy tab > Under Cookies and website data, select Always Allow.

How do I hide or rearrange courses in Blackboard?

As you teach or attend class for several semesters, the list of courses on the My Institution page will grow longer. You can hide old courses from this list to make it easier to find your current courses.

On the My Institution page, click on the gear icon in the upper right corner of My Courses.
By default, the boxes beneath Display Course Name and Display Announcements are checked. To completely hide past courses, uncheck both boxes.
You can also rearrange the courses in your list by clicking and dragging the double-arrow icon to the left of each course up or down.
Click Submit.
When you go back to the My Institution page, the classes you unchecked will be hidden. If you rearranged them, they will appear in their new order. Don’t worry, the hidden courses have not been erased. If you need to access them in the future, simply click on the Courses tab at the top of the screen. All courses, hidden or not, will be listed there.

Why can't I log into Blackboard?

Some questions to ask yourself when you are not able to log into blackboard:
1. Have I set up my netID?
If you are not sure, you can check this by logging into solar. On the right hand side when you log in, under Security and Personal Data, there is an option that says "NetID Maintenance." You can proceed to set up your netID and netID password.

2. Did you accidentally lock yourself out of your blackboard account?
If you have 10 failed attempts into blackboard, the system will automatically lock your account for about 10-15 minutes. To avoid this issue in the future, if you are unsure of your password, you can log into solar. On the right hand side when you log in, under Security and Personal Data, there is an option that says "NetID Maintenance." There is an option that says "Test Your NetID Password." If you are still unable to get the password, you can reset your password by clicking "Click here to set or change your netID password on the netID maintanence page. You must answer a security question that you have previously set up. Then you will have the option to change your netID password. If you are not able to answer your security question, you need to submit a ticket on ITSM.

3. You have forgotten your netID password completely?
You can log into solar. On the right hand side when you log in, under Security and Personal Data, there is an option that says "NetID Maintenance." There is an option that says "Test Your NetID Password." If you are still unable to get the password, you can reset your password by clicking "Click here to set or change your netID password on the netID maintanence page. You must answer a security question that you have previously set up. Then you will have the option to change your netID password. If you are not able to answer your security question, you need to submit a ticket on ITSM.

Please refer to this link for visual instructions.

Instructor Guide to Blackboard

Instructors use Blackboard to:

• Post online announcements
• Post course content (ex: syllabi, handouts, presentations, etc...)
• Send emails to students
• Pose questions for online discussions
• Collect and grade assignments/assessments
• Manage grades and/or make them visible to students
• Create groups for discussions and projects

And much more...

Instructor Support

Instructors that need help with Blackboard can contact the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching directly via phone or email.

(631) 632-2358

blackboard@stonybrook.edu

Setting Up Your Course on Blackboard

Navigate/Manage

Navigating your Blackboard site for the first time can be tricky. Layouts vary and the site can be changed to match a variety of different layouts and appearances. This documentation will help you learn the basics about Course Site layout in Blackboard and how to adjust the layout of your course to make it work for you. This document covers:

Navigate & Manage Your Site

Course Content

Course content is one of Blackboard's main features that allows instructors to post course documents for online distribution. Putting documents on Blackboard allows instructors to put all their course materials in one place, and allows students to read these materials online and print them only if necessary. There are a variety of documents that instructors can post. These include but are not limited to syllabi, PDF documents, course readings, links to online content and much more.

Course Content FAQ

Creating Assignments

One of Blackboard's key features is the ability to create and collect assignments online. Through Blackboard's assignment feature, instructors can collect assignments, check for plagarism, grade assignments and return submissions to students with comments and feedback.

For more information on the following Blackboard features, click the corresponding link.

Assigments & Assessments

Test Creation & Management

Discussion Board

A key feature of Blackboard is the Discussion Board. The Discussion Board is designed to facilitate online discussion and allows students to create new threads and respond to other students' posts. Discussion Boards are often used to supplement in-class discussions for face-to-face courses, and serves as a major tool for communication in online courses.

Discussion Board FAQ

Communication

Instructors have the ability to communicate with their students on Blackboard in a variety of ways. Whether through announcements or emails, instructors can disseminate information on everything from cancelling classes to changes in assignments.

Communication FAQ

Grades and Grading

Through the Grade Center, instructors can organize their grades into columns, each representing a different assignment, as well as create calculated columns to run functions such as finding an average quiz grade or for finding a student's weighted total based on specific grading criteria.

Division of Information Technology