Go to elearn.uta.edu and log in with your NetID and password.

Your courses are listed on the landing page once you log in to Blackboard. The landing page is called My Blackboard and you can access it any time from the My Blackboard menu item at the top left of the page. Underneath the My Blackboard menu item are several different labeled areas known as modules. The courses you are enrolled in are listed in the top left module titled Courses and may be accessed from those links.

Your department's administrative assistant will assign you to your courses in MyMav. After the assignment processes, the courses will appear on your list in Blackboard. Make sure you are listed in MyMav as the instructor of record.

Please note that courses are listed in Blackboard based on the following schedule: previous two long semesters, current semester, and one future long semester. For example, in Fall 2011, an instructor will see Spring 2011, Summer 2011, Fall 2011, and Spring 2012 course shells.

Your department's administrative assistant will assign any additional teaching staff to your course, including teaching assistants, research assistants, or co-instructors. For assistance with assigning additional staff in MyMav, see Adding TAs or contact the Help Desk.

If the co-instructor is assigned to the course as an instructor of record, your department's administrative assistant will assign the co-instructor to your course in MyMav. For assistance with assigning additional staff in MyMav, see Adding TAs or contact the Help Desk.

If the co-instructor is not assigned to the course as an instructor of record, s/he may be manually added as a Shadow Instructor. A Shadow Instructor has the same privileges within a course as the instructor of record, but is not visible to the students on the UTA Email page. Contact cdesupport@uta.edu with the course name, co-instructor name, and co-instructor NetID.

Students who receive an Incomplete will have access to the course shell in which they received the Incomplete for the duration of the course on the server, typically one year. This process will be handled automatically and does not require a request sent to CDE Support. Instructors are responsible for ensuring students complete the work within the appropriate time frame for undergraduate and graduate students.

The university policy regarding auditing classes stipulates that a student may not audit a course if access to university computer systems is required. Auditing students may not be added to the Blackboard course shell. If your course requires Blackboard access, then the student may not audit it. Refer to the university Auditing Policy for more information.

Departmental technical or distance education support persons will be added manually by CDE Support as Shadow Instructors. A Shadow Instructor has the same privileges within a course as the instructor of record, but is not visible to the students on the UTA Email page. Contact cdesupport@uta.edu with the course name, staff member's name, and staff member's NetID or 1000-number ID.

A guest lecturer will be manually added to the course by CDE Support as a Shadow Instructor. Contact cdesupport@uta.edu with the course name, guest's name, and guest's NetID or 1000-number ID.

If the guest lecturer is not affiliated or employed with the university, they cannot have access to Blackboard.

You may add new materials to your course or copy a previous course. For training on adding new materials, refer to How-To Manuals and Blackboard On Demand. To copy a previous course, refer to Course Duplication.

Refer to Section Merge Request.

E-mail your students and inform them that you are using Blackboard. Send them the link to the login page and let them know when they can access your course. It is the responsibility of the instructor to notify the students. You can send them an e-mail directly from MyMav. Access your course roster and select the "Send E-mail" button.

Below is a sample e-mail to send to your students. Please feel free to copy and paste this sample e-mail.

Dear Students,
This course will utilize Blackboard this semester.

• To access the course, go to http://elearn.uta.edu/ and log in with your NetID and password. Click on the name of the course in the upper left module after logging in.
• If you have any problems logging in, contact the Help Desk (helpdesk@uta.edu).
• Review the Student Resources page. This site contains valuable information that will acquaint you with your course and the Blackboard environment.

Refer to Making Your Course Available. All instructors are responsible for making their courses available to students.

When a student withdraws from a course in MyMav, the enrollment record is disabled in Blackboard automatically. No action is needed from the instructor. The enrollment is disabled regardless of the date of the withdrawal (add/drop period, after census date, etc.).

To view your course as a student, simply toggle the Go to Student View button in the upper right corner of the frame.  You will then be in "demo user"  mode.  This mode creates a single student user account that is tied to the course, and can be viewed in the grade center as "Demo User."  This tool is available in every course and organization you are a part of.  Each demo user account exists only in its own course or organization , and individual users have no access to its login credentials.

This mode is helpful in testing out the following items as a student:

• Viewing and submitting assignments
• Viewing and submitting tests
• Posting the discussion board as a student
• Viewing and working in groups as a student
• Verifying Adaptive Release rule logic
• Viewing the Grades page as a student

To return to Instructor view, simply toggle the Go to Instructor View button in the upper right corner of the frame. 

Some tools may not be compatible with this tool.  These tools include the following:

• SafeAssign
• Publisher materials (McGraw-Hill, Pearson MyLab)

For tips and assistance on how to utilize the Student View tool, contact CDE Training.