First time teaching online with Blackboard?

Blackboard is the most popular course structure interface at UIS. Blackboard has an easy to navigate interface for students and a simple file upload process that requires no knowledge of HTML coding or web-based formatting. However, if you are comfortable with HTML you can use the programming language to structure and enhance your course within Blackboard.

Blackboard allows faculty members 24/7 access to their course for instructional updates and design.

Need a new Blackboard course site?
Creation of new Blackboard courses is handled through the Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning (OTEL) 206-7317. To request a new Blackboard course complete the Blackboard Request form at http://edtech.uis.edu/otel. You will need to login to the request form with your current Blackboard username and password. Once your course has been created on the server, you are ready to upload content to your courseware. The Office of Technology-Enhanced Learning (OTEL) can assist you in this process. OTEL offers on-campus training sessions for students and faculty at the beginning of each semester or individual department or instructor training sessions can be made by appointment. OTEL's office number is 217-206-7317.

Assistance in designing your course for online instruction is also offered by the OTEL staff. Please give them a call if you have any questions. To aid you in the process, take a look at the Preparing For Online Instruction Worksheet.

Students
Students register for online classes through UIS Admissions Office. Application for admission to UIS is a requirement for all courses at UIS. The time it takes to be admitted to the University varies for each student depending up prior education, residency, and other factors.  The global Blackboard user database is updated daily with information obtained from registration records. 

Students are notified and enrolled by the instructor
Students who have been admitted to the University and enrolled in your course are eligible to be added to your Blackboard or other courseware site. Instructors who have requested a Blackboard via the online Blackboard Request form, will have registered students automatically enrolled into the Blackboard course roster. Beginning with the first day of the semester, drop notices are also sent to instructors who have requested their Blackboard site via the Blackboard Requests Form. It is important to note that students are not automatically removed. We do not remove students from courses automatically because course grades in the Blackboard grade book are removed along with the student.

Approximately one week prior to the start of a new semester, you should contact the students who have enrolled in your online course. The UIS course catalog is available online. Check the course catalog for your course reference number. Once you have the course reference number, use that number to search the student course status information displayed online. The course status page lists the address, phone number, and UIS e-mail address and through the email address the NetID of each student currently enrolled in your course.   Due to the confidential nature of the information a password is required to view student enrollment information. Further information on how to obtain access to the online student enrollment information is available through UIS admissions. 

Access
UIS students and faculty access all Blackboard courseware through the same portal---
http://bb.uis.edu Additional information on how to log into Blackboard is available at http://online.uis.edu/bb6/help.htm