This section is to help students get started with Blackboard. To access Blackboard login to https://blackboard.qatar.cmu.edu with your username and password. You will see the following screen:
This section will cover the following topics:
- How to Access a Blackboard Course
- Course Navigation
- Communication Tools Available
- How to View & Submit Assignments
- How to Submit Turnitin Assignments
- How to Check Grades
Once enrolled in a course, students are given access to the Blackboard course data. Students can interact with configured course tools, manage assignment submissions, and view grades.
How to Access a Blackboard Course
- Open a browser and navigate to the Blackboard home page at https://blackboard.qatar.cmu.edu.
- Authenticate using the Carnegie Mellon single sign-on system with an Andrew ID and password. (Make sure @QATAR.CMU.EDU selected from the dropdown menu).
- When redirected to the Blackboard application, select a course to manage from the “My Courses” panel.
Note: If a course is missing from the “My Courses” panel, contact the instructor directly to resolve the problem.
Course Navigation
The “Course Menu” is configured for each Blackboard course to reflect the tools and content to which students should have access. All course tools, assignments, and assessments should be available through the course menu.
Communication Tools Available
Students can use the set of communication tools provided within the “Tools” area to contact each other or the instructor via email, participate in a discussion board forum, view student pages found in the class roster, and work in groups.
Send Email
The “Send Email” utility sends email to the instructor and other enrolled students from within the Blackboard application. It lacks many features of dedicated email clients, including:
- Saving sent messages
- Performing spell check
- Providing a “CC:” list of recipients
Discussion Boards
Use a discussion board to participate in course-related discussion outside of class. Conversations are logged and organized by forums set by the instructor that contain threads of all related replies. The instructor may also choose to provide a forum where students are able to post anonymously.
Note: Discussion boards have limited search capability. Select a meaningful subject line to facilitate notice and response.
Course Roster
Retrieve a list of users enrolled in the course. Based on an enrolled user’s privacy configuration, their contact information can be retrieved from the Carnegie Mellon Directory.
Group Pages
Students enrolled in a course can be divided into project or study groups, and the instructor can provision the group with tools (e.g. blogs, calendars, discussion boards, tasks) accessible via the “Groups” tool.
How to View & Submit Assignments
The default location for assignments is a link named “Assignments” under the “Course Menu”. The instructor will need to communicate the new location if that link is renamed or moved. Students will use this link to view assignment instructions, download files provided by the instructor, and submit the completed assignment to the instructor.
- Select an assignment under the assignments area to view instructions and download any assignment files provided by the instructor.
- Enter and/or upload assignment materials.
- When prepared to submit work for grading, click “Submit”
— or —
To save for future submission, click “Save as Draft”
Note: The instructor will not have access to the completed assignment until the user clicks “Submit”.
Warning: Remove any special characters and spaces from the filename and add/confirm an appropriate file extension suffix before uploading the file to Blackboard or the grader may not be able to open it.
How to Submit Turnitin Assignments
Instructors use the Turnitin service to detect plagiarism. Assignment submission is integrated into Blackboard and similar to a default Blackboard assignment submission.
Note: Do not include personally identifiable information like a name in an assignment submitted through Turnitin. The service retains all submissions externally, and students need not sacrifice their FERPA-awarded rights to submit assignments. Instructors and other course staff will have a mapping of student to assignment submissions.
Locate the assignment within the course content or assignment pages as discussed in the
Click “View/Complete” below the assignment.
The Turnitin dashboard will appear. Click “Submit” next to the assignment to be handed in.
Add a title and select a file to upload.
Review the uploaded document and click “Submit”.
A confirmation message will appear along with a preview of the submitted assignment.
How to Check Grades
When the instructor manages grades within Blackboard and permits student access, grades are available for review within the “My Grades” utility under the “Tools” area.
“My Grades” includes grade data like the grade item name, item details, due date, last submitted, grade value, points possible, and any instructor comments.
