When to Use?
Quick, official resources for faculty who are brand-new to Blackboard.
Procedure
Blackboard 101
If you are a faculty member or instructor new to Blackboard, begin by selecting two or three links below that best align with your immediate teaching needs. Each resource connects directly to Blackboard’s official help site or video library, and you can access them without needing to log in or create an account.
START HERE
Walks new instructors through signing in, setting up a profile, and finding their way around Blackboard LMS.
A step-by-step checklist for getting an account and a course ready before students begin participating in the course.
Introduces the Content, Calendar, Discussions, Gradebook, and Messages tabs inside a Blackboard course.
A quick primer on the accessibility tools built into Blackboard LMS and how they support every learner.
Update due dates, visibility, or delete settings across many content items at once instead of editing them one by one.
BUILD A COURSE
Explains the tools and workflows available for organizing a course, including documents, folders, and learning modules.
Covers the different ways to bring materials into a course, from typing text to uploading files and linking cloud storage.
Generates a starting course structure, content, and questions directly inside a course to speed up setup.
See It Like a Student
Lets an instructor access a course as a student to check content, grades, and activities exactly as a learner would see them.
Engage with Students
Post course-wide updates that appear to every student as soon as they log in.
Online discussions provide unique benefits. Because students can take time to ponder before they post ideas, you may see more thoughtful conversations. You can observe as students demonstrate their grasp of the material and correct misconceptions. You can extend your office hours and reach students more often during the week so that learning is continuous.
A sense of community among students is crucial for a successful online experience. With online discussions, course members can replicate the robust discussions that take place in the traditional classroom.
For smaller course groups, you can also offer group discussions where only members of the group may access the discussion.
You can access discussions from the Discussions tab of your course. A purple speech bubble icon on a discussion indicates an unread discussion reply.
A built-in messaging tool for one-on-one or group conversations with students, separate from email.
Covers creating and managing student groups for projects, discussions, and group assignments.
Grade with Confidence
Introduces the Blackboard Gradebook, where instructors view, calculate, and post grades.
Explains how to build or auto-generate a rubric and attach it to an assignment for consistent grading.
Walks through setting up an assignment, including due dates, attempts, and accepted file types.
A single page that lists everything currently waiting to be graded across all of a faculty member's courses.
Watch & Learn
Short, official Blackboard videos that demonstrate features in action, organized into topic-based playlists.
A curated YouTube playlist of official Blackboard instructor tutorials — a good option for a lunch-break crash course.
PDF Quick Fixes Guide (attached)
Look to the right side of the article to find the guide to download.