Blackboard contains all of your course information and is known as a Virtual Learning Environment, or 'VLE'. It is used by tutors (referred to as ‘Instructors’ on Blackboard) to deliver modules and learning support materials to students.
Blackboard Ultra 2024/25We've moved to Blackboard Ultra Course View for all 2024/25 courses Find out more here. And watch the new video guides in the sections below. |
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Accessing Blackboard
To access Blackboard you need a University IT account.
Watch this 4 minute introductory guide to Blackboard Ultra and how to access it
Once logged in, you will see a page similar to this:
This is your Blackboard landing page and contains links to:
Here you can add a photograph of yourself which will appear throughout Blackboard, eg, on Discussion Board postings, within Blackboard Collaborate, etc. You can also add pronunciation to your name on this page and manage your notification settings.
This will display recent announcements and content added to all your modules. Forthcoming deadline dates will also be listed along with notifications about feedback which has been released.
These are all of the modules and/or programmes that you are currently enrolled on. You can view your courses via a List view or as Tiles. It is usual for you to be able to see your modules from previous years of study e.g. if you are in the 2nd year - your 1st year modules will still be accessible. Use the Search function to locate a course or the drop-down list to view the modules you studied within each academic year. You can also favourite courses by clicking/unclicking on the purple star.
See forthcoming deadlines on all your modules in one place. You can view via Week or Month and view your entire Schedule or just upcoming Due Dates. You can also add items to this calendar, however, these entries will just be visible to you.
Once feedback and grades have been released, you will be able to see them via the Marks area. All your modules will be listed in alphabetical order. Click on View all work to see your feedback in more detail.
Your instructor controls which tools are available to you. These are functions which are outside a course and you will only see the tools you have access to.
On every page there is a link to dedicated help for that page. Simply click the question mark to the bottom right of the page, and then go to Blackboard Help for information about that page.
All of your modules in Blackboard Ultra are based on a template that provides some standardised sections.
This 4 minute video explores how to navigate your module site.
Most assessments completed as coursework are submitted to the university through Turnitin in Blackboard. These assessments are often written essays, but can also take other formats such as presentations and academic posters.
This 5 minute video talks you through how to find out what your assessments are and also how to submit them:
The University uses Turnitin, a plagiarism detection and prevention database which will provide feedback to you on the similarity of your work compared with a worldwide collection of resources and previously submitted student work. Tutors will grade and comment upon your work within Turnitin.When all work for your group/module has been marked, provisional grades and feedback will be released for you to view within Blackboard. Final grades will not normally be confirmed until after an Assessment Board.
See Turnitin for more information about submitting your work, viewing the "originality" of the submission and retrieving feedback.
Before you submit your work for assessment, you can also use the Turnitin Test Area.
This 6 minute video guides you through how to access the Turnitin Test Area and how to interpret your similarity report.
There is also this Turnitin test area guide, if you prefer information in a document format.
Use the Turnitin Test Area alongside the resources from the Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism webpage to help develop paraphrasing, citing and referencing skills.
As well as receiving a grade for final submissions, you will also receive feedback. Watch this 4 minute video about how to access feedback via Turnitin, along with a reminder of why feedback is so useful for your development and success.
This 4 minute video guides you through getting the most out of Blackboard
Below we've shared the rest of the suite of Blackboard videos in sequence in case you want to watch them all back to back! These have also been shared in the related drop-down sections above.
The discussion board is a tool for sharing thoughts and ideas about class materials. It is also used for Flexible Distributed Learning (FDL) to allow students and lecturers to discuss topics, research findings, assignments and reflection - from distant locations.
Depending on how your instructor has set up your course, you access the discussion board from either the course menu or a course area, such as a content area, learning module, lesson plan, or folder. Your lecturer will tell you where it is located within your course.
The main Discussion Board page displays a list of available discussion forums. A forum is an area where users discuss a topic or a group of related topics.
The Blackboard discussion board allows for threaded discussions to take place in your Blackboard course. The board can be split up into Forums, which may be used to separate discussions on different topics. Within each forum users may post threads (as in “threads of a conversation”), which are the conversations themselves. A user may post a new thread (usually a question or statement calling for a response) and other users may then reply to that thread, creating a discussion.
We don’t all read and consume information in the same way as each other and this can be especially true when trying to digest new concepts or complex ideas.
Blackboard Ally is a tool that supports your tutors in making all of their content accessible, but also allows you to view or hear documents in a range of alternative formats (PDF, HTML, ePub, Audio and Braille). Blackboard Ally is available in all modules in Blackboard.
Click this Blackboard Ally link to see detailed information.
Finally, if you want to access Blackboard on your mobile: http://help.blackboardmobile.com, the Blackboard app is available for Android and Apple devices.
Click on the following buttons to go directly to the App download from your App Store:
Once installed, open the app and search for "cumbria", then select "University of Cumbria"
Click “Web Login” and then “Click to Login” on the page that follows. This will take you to the University’s Sign-in Page. Enter your details and you will then be taken into the app.
Logging into Blackboard
If you experience problems, for example you cannot log in, please check your login details and try again. It is surprising how easy it is to type the wrong letter or character when in a hurry. Also check that the Caps Lock is not on as passwords are case-sensitive.
Be aware that if you enter your login details incorrectly 3 times, your account will be locked in order to protect you and your account from non-authorised people. You'll need to contact the IT Service Desk to unlock your account.
Check your browser compatibility for Blackboard
Visit the Blackboard Browser Checker to check if your web browser is compatible with Blackboard. It can help to use a different browser on your device if something is not displaying or functioning correctly.
Operational status of Blackboard
If you can sign into the Student Hub, but not Blackboard, then there might be a problem with Blackboard that is beyond the control of the University. This Blackboard Status Page provides the most up to date information on any system outages.
If the operational status for Blackboard looks fine, you can sign into other University systems (like the Hub, email, OneSearch etc) but you still can't get into Blackboard, then contact the IT Service Desk.
Issues with logging into all university systems
If you can't sign into any university systems then there may be a problem with your account, please contact the IT Service Desk (01228 888888) itservicedesk@cumbria.ac.uk
