Who can use Blackboard?

Blackboard is a web-based course management system CCC uses to deliver almost all of its online courses. It is also used in face-to-face classes to supplement traditional classroom activities.

Students registered for Clackamas Community College courses can have access to the Blackboard system.

In addition, the system allows for guest access so that prospective students can preview some of Clackamas' offerings.

Blackboard recommends the following browsers for use with its system:

• Internet Explorer 5.5
• Netscape 4.78 (not version 6.0)

If you are using Internet Explorer 6 and are experiencing problems with Blackboard, we don't recommend that you downgrade to IE 5.5; this action may cause problems with your operating system. We recommend that you use Netscape 4.78 instead.

Blackboard does not recommend the use of AOL's, CompuServe's, or Prodigy's browsers. Users that connect through these services should read our recommendations for connecting through AOL, CompuServe, or Prodigy.

It is strongly recommended that you have a computer available to you on a regular basis so that you will have enough time to complete your work in Blackboard; much of what you'll be doing for your online classes will be done on the computer.

That said, computers are available for student use at Streeter Lab on the Oregon City campus.

A limited number are also available in the Library in the Dye Building on the Oregon City campus.

For directions to these buildings, see our campus map.

Follow these steps to create a Blackboard account:

• Go to http://clackamas.blackboard.com
• Click on the “Create Account” button
• Fill in the information requested (name, e-mail address, and desired login/password are all that are required)
• Click on the “Submit” button at the bottom of the page.
• Click “OK” on the next screen.

Next, you'll need to locate your class in the Blackboard system.

For a complete set of instructions for creating an account, locating your classes, and then enrolling in the classes, see our quick guide to getting started in Blackboard.

You only need to have one account in Blackboard, no matter how many classes you take. Blackboard keeps track of each class you've enrolled in until the instructor removes you, usually because you've completed the course or dropped it.

No, you can access Blackboard using a guest account:

• Go to http://clackamas.blackboard.com
• Click on the "Login" button
• Click on the "Preview" button (this will log you into Blackboard as a guest)
• Continue on into Blackboard as a regular account holder would by finding the Blackboard classes you wish to preview in the Blackboard course catalog.
• When you locate the Blackboard classes in the Blackboard course catalog, you'll see a "Preview" button to the far right of each class.
• Click on the "Preview" button to get a "sneak peek" at the class.

Note that instructors have the ability to disable guest access to their classes. If you do not see a "Preview" button, you won't be able to view the class before enrolling.

If you try to enroll in a class while signed in as a guest, Blackboard will prompt you to create an actual Blackboard account. You cannot enroll in a Blackboard class while signed in as a guest.

Please note the following steps will only work if you have access to the e-mail account you entered when you created your Blackboard account. If you no longer have access to that account, you'll need to contact your instructor to have him/her reset your password.

If you do have access to the e-mail address on record for you in Blackboard, complete the following steps to gain access to Blackboard:

• Go to http://clackamas.blackboard.com
• Click on the "Login" button.
• Beneath the fields where you usually type your login and password is a link that says "Forgot your password?" Click on this link.
• Enter your first name, last name, and Blackboard user name
  ---- OR -----
  enter your first name, last name, and e-mail address (it has to match the e-mail address you entered when you created your Blackboard account).
• Click on the "Submit" button in the lower right of your screen.
• Blackboard will send an e-mail message to you at the e-mail address you used to create your Blackboard account.
• When you receive this message click on the URL provided (or copy and paste the URL exactly as it appears into your browser).
• A screen will appear giving you the opportunity to enter a new password (in essence, resetting your password to make it whatever you want it to be). Enter your new password twice and click on the "Submit" button.
• Click "OK" on the next screen

Please note that your password will now be whatever you entered in the above steps.

If you've forgotten your login, look at the URL Blackboard sent you. You'll find your login name listed in the middle of the URL, right after "user_id=".

So, if your login was johndoe, Blackboard would send you a URL that look like this:

http://clackamas.blackboard.com:80/bin/common/password.pl?user_id=johndoe&passdate=2001-9-32&passcode=7fg74hk65j5k66jf9g8ftrtr656t

You don't have to give Blackboard an accurate e-mail address when you create your account. You can just enter something that looks like an e-mail address; for example, enter bogusemail@yahoo.com

If you don't give an accurate e-mail address, however, the following features will be unavailable to you:

• Blackboard won't be able to deliver its welcome e-mail telling you that you have been successfully admitted to the course;
• Your instructor won't be able to e-mail you with important communications during the course;
• If you ever forget your login/password, Blackboard won't be able to send you the information you need to reset your password

Complete the following steps to find your class in Blackboard:

• Go to http://clackamas.blackboard.com
• Create your account OR login with your account name and password
• Click on the green "courses" tab near the top of your screen
• On the right side of the screen (under “Course Catalog”), click on the appropriate category for your course (usually it will be the current term, followed by subcategories representing subject areas);
  OR
  search for your course by title or number in the “Course Search” box on the left of the screen.
• After you've browsed categories or conducted a search, a list of courses will appear. Locate the name of your course in this list.

Next, you'll want to either "Preview" the class or "Enroll" in the class.

For a complete set of instructions for creating an account, locating your classes, and then enrolling in the classes, see our quick guide to getting started in Blackboard.

The reason for this is that you've probably not yet enrolled in any courses in the Blackboard software (remember that enrolling in Blackboard is not the same thing as officially enrolling with the college).

Go through the steps for finding your classes in Blackboard and enrolling in Blackboard classes; your courses will appear under "Courses in which you're participating" once you've completed those steps.

The instructor probably hasn't made his/her course available in Blackboard yet. Check back in a few days (or at the beginning of the term) and the course should be available.

If the class isn't available yet and it's past the beginning of the term, make sure you've completed all the steps for finding your course in Blackboard and enrolling in Blackboard classes and then (if it's still not available), contact the Distance Learning office at 503-657-6958 x2462.

Instructors usually "clean out" their Blackboard courses at the end of each term to remove students who have completed the course(s). But sometimes, this does not happen.

If you are seeing old classes in your list of "classes in which you are participating," the instructor has not taken care of this housekeeping detail.

You can contact your instructor to get yourself removed from the class.

"Previewing" a class means that you get to take a look at some of the course materials before committing to taking the class. The instructor doesn't get contacted if you are just previewing the class.

To "preview" a class, you need to click on the "preview" button beside the course name in the Blackboard course catalog.

You will only be able to see limited areas of the course, and some instructors disable this ability altogether.

"Enrolling" in a class means that you are planning to take the class and you want to request that the instructor grant you access to the course. Clicking on the "enroll" button generates an e-mail to the instructor asking to be enrolled in the Blackboard software (this is not the same as officially enrolling with the college, however).

To "enroll" in a class, you need to click on the "enroll" button beside the course name in the Blackboard course catalog.

More information about enrolling in Blackboard courses is available here.

First, you'll want to be sure that you've created your Blackboard account and that you've located your class in Blackboard.

Then, you'll need to complete the following steps to get enrolled in that class:

• Locate the name of your course in the course catalog, and click on the gray “Enroll” button to the right of the course’s name.
• Click on the “Submit” button at the bottom of the next page. This will send an enrollment request to your instructor by e-mail
• Please note: Blackboard will give you a message telling you that your enrollment request has FAILED. This is not accurate, however, and you should not be concerned; your enrollment request is proceeding as you intended.
• You will receive an e-mail message indicating that your instructor has enrolled you in the course.
• Once you receive this e-mail, login to Blackboard (http://clackamas.blackboard.com) again; a link to your course will be provided under “Courses in which you are participating.”
• A direct link to your course will also be provided for you in the e-mail from your instructor.
• If you do not receive an e-mail within a few days (giving your instructor time to respond to your e-mail request), check back in Blackboard to see if you’ve been enrolled

For a complete set of instructions for creating an account, locating your classes, and then enrolling in the classes, see our quick guide to getting started in Blackboard.

The "enroll" button in Blackboard has nothing to do with enrollment at the college. Blackboard's "enroll" button only serves to get users signed into the software; it does not guarantee students a place in an online or face-to-face course at Clackamas, nor does it generate a bill to you from the school. Enrollment with the college is a separate process.

Information about registration with the college is available at http://www.clackamas.cc.or.us/reg/

You must be both registered with the college and "enrolled" in a Blackboard class to gain full access to a Blackboard course.

The "enroll" button in Blackboard is not related to official college enrollment. Blackboard does not in any way communicate with the registrar's office, the cashier's office, or financial aid.

When you click on the "enroll" button in Blackboard, you are merely signing yourself into the software—and indicating you wish to participate in a particular class. Blackboard has chosen the term "enroll" because it's a concept students are familiar with; however, it is actually misleading to students, since they think they are enrolling officially with the college.

If you don't click on the "enroll" button, you won't be able to access the materials for much of your Blackboard class.

So click that "enroll" button, even if you're already registered at CCC!

When you click on the "enroll" button, Blackboard sends an e-mail to the instructor telling him/her you are wanting access to the class. The instructor then grants or denies that access.

In the meantime, though, Blackboard tells you that your enrollment request has failed. This is not entirely accurate, however; the message "Receipt: Failure" simply means that you cannot enroll yourself in a Blackboard course. Your instructor will need to process that request before you can proceed.

Once you've clicked the "enroll" button, wait for an e-mail response from your instructor (assuming you entered an accurate e-mail address when you created your Blackboard account).

If you do not receive an e-mail within a few days (giving your instructor time to respond to your request), check back in Blackboard to see if you’ve been enrolled.

If you get a "pending enrollment" message when you try to enroll, this means that you've already submitted a request and the instructor has not yet taken action on it. It may take instructors a couple of days to process enrollment requests.

Blackboard only lets you send one enrollment request at a time to an instructor. This is designed to keep students from bombarding the instructor with duplicate requests.

Wait a few days for an e-mail from your instructor (assuming you entered an accurate e-mail address when you created your Blackboard account).

If a few days go by and you've not received an e-mail back from the instructor, you should try logging into Blackboard to see whether you've been admitted to the course. If you have been admitted, a link to the course will appear on your screen once you've logged in.

Usually, an instructor declines your enrollment request because of one of the following reasons:

• You do not appear on the instructor's roster of students registered for the course;
• You've been dropped from the class
• The class has been canceled

To find out why an instructor may have declined your enrollment, you can contact the instructor directly.

Complete the following steps to contact your instructor:

• Enter your Blackboard class
• Click on the "Communication" button
• Click on "Send e-mail"
• Click on "All Instructors"
• Write your e-mail message
• Click on "Submit" in the lower right-hand corner

This will send an e-mail message to your instructor.

Note that some instructors may have disabled the "communication" or "send e-mail" area. In this case, you will not be able to send e-mail through Blackboard; you'll need to follow the instructions for how to contact an instructor outside of Blackboard.

If your class is a distance learning (online) class, your instructor's e-mail address and phone number will probably be listed on the Distance Learning website at http://dl.clackamas.cc.or.us/CourseCatalog.htm

If you don't know your instructor's name, you can try checking the college schedule. Faculty names are often listed with the class; however, part-time instructors may not be listed. Also, be aware that changes in an instructor's course assignments may make this information inaccurate.

Or, if you know your instructor's name you can try searching CCC's database of faculty contact information at http://www.clackamas.cc.or.us/phonebk/index.htm (this only includes full-time faculty)

You may also be able to find out the instructor's name and contact information by visiting the department website. A list of the departmental websites is available at http://depts.clackamas.cc.or.us/

A final option is to contact the Distance Learning office at online@clackamas.edu or 503-657-5958 x2462.

Blackboard doesn't recommend the use of any of these browsers (the site may not work correctly if you do); however, you can still use these services to connect to the Internet. You'll just want to use a recommended browser to access Blackboard.

Do the following:

• Sign on through AOL as you usually do (this will get you connected to the Internet);
• Minimize your AOL browser (click on the little "_" in the upper right-hand corner of your screen);
• Open a recommended browser (such as Netscape of Internet Explorer);
• Go to http://clackamas.blackboard.com and begin working in Blackboard

The likelihood is that you either made typos when you entered your e-mail address in Blackboard, or that you no longer are using the same e-mail account that Blackboard has on record.

If either of these situations has occurred, you won't be able to reset your own password using the "Forgot your password?" link on the Blackboard login page.

You should, instead, contact your instructor for assistance; they can reset your password for you.

A searchable student support site is available at http://company.blackboard.com/Bb5/manuals/Bb5-LevelOne-Student

Answers to general questions about online learning are available at http://dl.clackamas.cc.or.us/StartHere.htm

If your question is not answered here, send your question to online@clackamas.edu. We will get it answered as soon as possible.