Blackboard For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

Use the quick-start guide to create your course in a flash


Post course materials, give quizzes, facilitate discussions, and handle grades

You're an educator, not a psychic, so how would you know how to use Blackboard with no instructions? These step-by-step examples show you how to set up a Blackboard classroom, put your materials on the Internet, communicate online with students, and even evaluate their performance.

Discover how to
* Navigate the Blackboard environment
* Customize your course menu
* Add and organize course materials
* Give online assignments
* Conduct online discussions and chat rooms
* Keep track of grades

User review
Good for Getting Started on Blackboard
I found this book to be very helpful when I began teaching on Blackboard. Sure, it's incomplete as previous reviewers have noted, and Blackboard is constantly evolving, so this book may not have the latest/greatest bells and whistles, but it serves a solid purpose as an introduction to Blackboard.

Tim Warneka
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User review
Useful book with shortcomings
In purchasing this book, I had hoped to find methods of enhancing the blackboard program with graphics, multimedia, and other web-based and hyperlinked enhancements to make my course more interesting. I did not find these topics. What I did find was some helpful hints in navigating the blackboard system which is largely found in the all of the 'blackboard faculty guidelines'. For example, utilized the 'personal information tool' you can use most of the windows text enhancements like color bold, underline, etc,,,, but not mentioned in the book. Consider these topics for another edtion or book.

User review
A good book for instructors using Blackboard
I'm a Blackboard system administrator, so I read this book looking for things that I would like for our faculty members to know. I thought it did a very good job of providing them with basic explanations of features and ideas for using those features. I also enjoyed the paragraphs from instructors who made comments and suggestions.

User review
Some Corrections
The review by Someone's Mom appears to contain some factual errors. The banner feature is discussed on pages 75 - 76. Creating a learning unit is discussed on pages 98 - 100. Whether these entries would satisfy the previous reviewer is another matter, but the topics are addressed. There may be other errors as well in that review, but these two just jumped out at me. I agree that the authors couldn't seem to decide whether they wanted to write a technical book about Blackboard or a book focused on pedagogy and the use Blackboard. Nevertheless, there is useful content in this book, particularly for someone who is new to the use of course management systems.