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Blackboard: Help & Guidance
Solving problems experienced when using
Blackboard 9.1
STUDENT GUIDE
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Introduction
This document covers Internet Explorer 7 (or later. We do not currently support Internet Explorer 9 as we have found it to work very inconsistently with University systems), Firefox 3 (or later) and Google Chrome.
For the most up-to-date support ensure you have the latest software updates on your computer. This includes:
• Browsers – Internet Explorer
• Java (http://java.com)
• Video and Audio players (Windows Media Player, Quicktime, VLC…)
• PDF Viewers (Adobe Acrobat-recommended, CutePDF…)
• MS Office Viewers for 2003 and 2007
Contents
Usernames and Passwords ... 3
Software Firewall ... 3
Alternative Browser – Firefox or Chrome ... 3
Security Certificates ... 4
Pop-up Blockers ... 5
Java Version Check ... 7
Clearing Web Browser Cache and Cookies ... 7
Internet Explorer ... 7
Firefox ... 9
Chrome ... 10
Formats for opening documents and links ... 13
OFFICE 2007 OPENER ... 13
WORD DOCUMENTS (.DOC/.DOCX) ... 13
EXCEL DOCUMENTS (.XLS/.XLSX) ... 13
POWERPOINT DOCUMENTS (.PPT/.PPTX) ... 13
ADOBE READER (.PDF) ... 14
WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER (.WMA/.WMV) ... 14
QUICKTIME PLAYER (.MOV) ... 14
Allowing automatic downloads ... 15
Java and Learning Edge ... 16
PDFs in Learning Edge ... 17
Viewing PDFs using Safari / Chrome on a Mac ... 21
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Usernames and Passwords
At Edge Hill University the username and password you will need to access Blackboard is the same network username and password which you use to login to other Edge Hill University services such as: Edge Hill campus computers, the GO Portal and Edge Hill email. If you change your password or have forgotten it and reset it, it may take up to 20 minutes for the university systems to synchronise with the change. Please be patient when trying to access Blackboard after altering your password. For any queries relating to your username or password please contact the Learning Services Helpdesk (contact details are available at the end of this guide).
Software Firewall
If you are using a firewall on your computer (such as Norton, McAfee, etc) please ensure that the following websites are set as trusted sites within your firewall software:
http://*edgehill.ac.uk https://*edgehill.ac.uk
Please note - trusted websites may also be set from within your browser.
Alternative Browser – Firefox or Chrome
You may also wish to try using an alternative web browser such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome instead of Internet Explorer to see if this solves any access problems. This can be downloaded from:
4 Firefox
Chrome
http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox http://www.google.com/chrome
Security Certificates
For Blackboard to work correctly you may need to accept the Blackboard ‘Digital Security Certificate’ before beginning your Blackboard session. If, when you first login to Blackboard you see a ‘pop up’ box with the following warning, please check ‘Always trust content from this publisher’ and click ‘Run’.
If you are unsure as to which option you picked, or may have cancelled the screen rather than clicked ‘Run’, clear the cache, cookies and browsing history in your browser and then close it (see page 7 for how to clear your internet browser). Then re-open the browser and navigate to Blackboard. Allow the window to pop-up and follow the above procedure.
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Pop-up Blockers
Firstly it is good to mention the aspect of pop-up blockers when using Blackboard.
Blackboard uses pop-ups for a number of reasons throughout its functioning. If pop-ups are
‘blocked’ then some functionality of Blackboard will be lost, for example it is likely that you will be unable to carry out tasks such as attach documents, create new discussions, use assessments, assignments, chat, or any other activity which involves a new window to be opened.
You may initially be presented with the following screen when you try to access Blackboard:
Click ‘OK’ and you will see a pale yellow tab across the top of your browser.
Ensure that you select the option to “Allow pop-ups for ………..”
(There maybe a different address depending on how you accessed Blackboard).
Edge Hill Blackboard will now be accepted as being a site to allow pop-ups, so this means you don’t have to allow pop-ups on every site you access on the internet.
6 In Chrome, to allow pop ups for Learning Edge:
Click on the ‘Spanner’ in the top right-hand corner.
Click on ‘Under the Hood’
Click on ‘Content Settings’
Under ‘Pop ups’ click on ‘Manage exceptions’
Add ‘learningedge.edgehill.ac.uk’
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Java Version Check
If you experience difficulties when trying to upload or download a document, this could be related to you not having the latest version of Java installed (or not having it installed at all).
Having Java up to date is important as some parts of Blackboard cannot function properly without it. You can check what version of Java you have here:
http://java.com/en/download/installed.jsp
If there is a newer version available you will be notified and will be able to download the newer version from this website.
Clearing Web Browser Cache and Cookies
At times your problem with Blackboard will be solved by clearing your cache and cookies in your browser.
Internet Explorer
Go to ‘Tools’ > ‘Internet Options’
8 Under ‘Browsing History’ click ‘Delete’
Ensure ‘Temporary Internet Files’, ‘Cookies’ and ‘History’ are checked, then click ‘Delete’.
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Firefox
Go to ‘Tools’ and then ‘Clear Recent History’
Ensure ‘Browsing and Download History’, ‘Form & Search History’, ‘Cookies’ and ‘Cache’
are checked, then click ‘Clear Now’.
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Chrome
Click on the ‘Spanner’ in the top right-hand corner.
Click on ‘Under the Hood’
Click on ‘Clear Browsing Data’
Confirm what you want to clear (check all boxes to clear all data).
Click on ‘Clear browsing data’
Anything else I can try?
(Clearing Java Cache)
On very rare occasions you may need to clear Java’s cache if a file becomes corrupt.
To clear the Java cache:
Start > Settings > Control Panel > Java
11 Click on ‘Settings…’
12 Click on ‘Delete Files…’
Click ‘OK’
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Formats for opening documents and links
If you are having trouble opening or viewing files in the Blackboard modules it may be that your computer doesn't have the correct applications to show the files. Use the links below to download and install the appropriate programs to open different file types.
OFFICE 2007 OPENER
http://bit.ly/1Sn5mJ
WORD DOCUMENTS (.DOC/.DOCX)
2007 viewer http://bit.ly/6a6lk
1997-2003 viewer http://bit.ly/3aoVeS
EXCEL DOCUMENTS (.XLS/.XLSX)
2007 viewer
http://bit.ly/dccpne
1997-2003 viewer http://bit.ly/3rSKrL
POWERPOINT DOCUMENTS (.PPT/.PPTX)
2007 viewer http://bit.ly/ZbEZ
14 1997-2003 viewer
http://bit.ly/qvehQu
ADOBE READER (.PDF)
http://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
WINDOWS MEDIA PLAYER (.WMA/.WMV)
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/player/10/default.aspx
QUICKTIME PLAYER (.MOV)
http://quicktime-download.info/
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Allowing automatic downloads
By default, Internet Explorer 6 and 7 blocks downloads of files from Web sites - and uses a tool called the Information Bar to alert users when files are blocked. This feature may prevent you from being able to download files from Blackboard.
To configure your IE Security Settings to enable Automatic prompting for file downloads:
Open > Internet Explorer Select > Tools
Select > Internet Options View the Security Tab
Click on the > Custom Level button.
16 Locate Downloads in the list and adjust the
settings to Enable:
Switch the setting to Enable for ‘Automatic prompting for file downloads’ - to stop receiving the Information Bar warning in IE.
Switch the setting to Enable for ‘File download’
– to allow the downloading of files.
Click OK and click OK to close Internet Options.
Close all of your active browser sessions
*NOTE: Changing this setting will allow you to download files from ALL Internet sites. Based on your web browsing habits, this setting may present a security risk to your computer.
for the changes to take affect. With these settings, all future downloads will start automatically instead of presenting the Information Bar warning message.
Java and Learning Edge
You may see a yellow bar appear at the top of your browser when you first come to access Learning Edge. Always ensure you ‘allow Java to run’ otherwise you may find some functionality is lost.
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PDFs in Learning Edge
You may find that some browsers won’t show PDFs. At the time of writing this document, this was particularly in the case of Google Chrome.
You may also find that even if the PDF shows that you lose functionality, such as the toolbar or navigation means. If this is the case you could initially try a different browser.
You may also wish to check that the version of the PDF viewer you are using is up-to-date.
We recommend using Adobe Acrobat Reader for best results.
Within your browser you can also check to ensure you have a PDF viewer set to open the PDFs in the Learning Edge window.
Internet Explorer
Click on ‘Tools’ > ‘Internet Options’.
Click on ‘Programs’.
Click on ‘Manage Add-Ons’.
Ensure that under Adobe Systems, Incorporated, that Adobe PDF is not disabled.
Firefox
18 Click on ‘Tools’ > ‘Options’ > ‘Applications’
Ensure you have a PDF viewer installed.
If you have not got a PDF viewer installed, please visit http://www.adobe.com to download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader.
19 Chrome
Chrome comes with its own PDF viewer, but unfortunately it has limited functionality.
To see the toolbar for a PDF you are viewing in Learning Edge:
Type in ‘chrome://plugins/’ into the address bar
It will take you to the ‘Plugins’ page.
Ensure you have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed
Click to Enable Adobe Acrobat and Disable Chrome PDF Viewer. You will now find you can see the PDF toolbar.
20 These instructions apply if using Adobe Acrobat Reader
If you would prefer PDFs to open in Adobe Acrobat Reader instead of the browser:
Open up Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Click on ‘Edit’
Click on ‘Preferences’
Click on ‘Internet’
Uncheck the box that says ‘Display in Browser’
Click ‘OK’
The PDF will now open in Adobe Reader instead of within the browser/Learning Edge.
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Viewing PDFs using Safari / Chrome on a Mac
There may be an instance of Mac users not being able to view PDFs. Safari may state that there is a missing plugin. To rectify the problem try following the instructions on this page:
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/333/333545.html
If you are still experiencing difficulty, try installing and using Google Chrome for Mac.
Unfortunately at time of writing, the basic PDF viewer in Chrome does not have a toolbar to enable page turns, zooming and save and print icons etc. You can however, simply right click on the PDF once loaded and choose to either ‘Save’ to your desktop where you can use a more substantial PDF viewer to navigate the PDF or you can right click and choose ‘Print’
and simply print off the PDF.
NB. Please do not try to print a PDF whilst still in the Blackboard window (using the browser ‘Print’ function). This results in a blank page being printed.
22 Other Sources of Help and support for Students
- The ‘Help’ function within Learning Edge
Click the ‘Help’ link near the ‘My Places’ link at the top of the Learning Edge page to access ‘Blackboard Help for Students’.
- Learning Services Helpdesk
Contact the Learning Services Helpdesk if you need further assistance or have any further queries.
Visit a helpdesk in person: at the Learning Resource Centre (LRC) and the Learning innovation Centre (LINC) - Ormskirk, Learning Resource Centre (LRC) - Woodlands or the Learning & Information Resource Centre (LIRC) – Aintree.
Telephone: 01695 584286 Email: [email protected]
If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact Learning Technology Development, on 01695 650754 or email [email protected]
LTD4020 Version: 1 Date: Oct 2011
