Distance Learning Support Kit: Welcome

Blackboard is on the web, so access is via a web browser (e.g. Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, Safari, Firefox).

You can access Blackboard directly at this web address:

http://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp

Tip

Avoid annoying timeouts in myUQ. You can also access Blackboard via myUQ, but myUQ times out every 30 minutes. This can be incredibly annoying if you’re in the middle of a chat session, an online test, or an important download.

If you access Blackboard directly from the elearning website, you won’t have to deal with timeouts.

Can’t access Blackboard?

If you can’t access Blackboard then it’s most likely you are using an outdated web browser. Blackboard recommends that you use Internet Explorer 5.5 or later, or Netscape 7 or later. You can get the latest browsers free from the UQconnect CD or from UQconnect’s website (http://uqconnect.net/helpdesk/). Note that downloads from UQconnect are not counted against your student download quota.

Log into Blackboard

Log on to Blackboard through http://blackboard.elearning.uq.edu.au and bookmark this site for easy access. Use your UQ username and password (the same ones you use for mySI-net).

The welcome screen

After logging in, you will see a Welcome screen similar to this one.

Screenshot of Blackboard welcome screen

You can return to this screen at any time by clicking the Welcome tab under the UQ logo, or the Home link in the top-right corner.

There are a series of blocks (or modules) that display information relating to various aspects of your Blackboard courses. My Announcements, for example, will display any important bulletins that your Blackboard course instructors have posted to users of their courses, while My Calendar and My Tasks will display significant upcoming events and tasks due to be completed.

My courses

The most important block is My Courses. This block will show you any courses in which you are currently enrolled. Click the name of a course to enter that course.

Screenshot of 'my courses' area in Blackboard

Among the courses you see listed under My Courses is a course called Blackboard Student Training from AskIT. This course has been set up for the specific purpose of providing a “play and explore” area for students. Feel free to access this course at any time to gain experience.

Course not listed?

If your course isn’t listed here, don’t worry – it can take up to 48 hours after enrolling for it to be registered in Blackboard. Note that if your course doesn’t have any Blackboard content it will not be listed here; not all UQ lecturers use Blackboard and some prefer to make content available on another website.

Tip

Parts of Blackboard will not work without Sun Java.

Some components of your Blackboard course (such as Chat) require some software to be loaded on your machine before they will work. This software, known as Sun Java, can be obtained in a variety of ways.

Sun Java is available on a free CD from UQconnect. To get a copy, contact UQconnect on (07) 3365 6000.

Sun Java can also be downloaded from UQ’s Information Technology Services website (http://www.its.uq.edu.au/helpdesk/support/blackboard/). Note that this is a 15 MB download, but it will not be counted against your student download quota if accessed from your UQconnect or student accounts.