Blackboard 6 offers you easy access to course materials, resources, and personal tools from any computer connected to the Internet. Only introductory information about this system is included here.    

Please note that all users must adhere to LPSB’s Acceptable Use Policy on the use of Information Technology. 

Getting Started

 Users must be an employee of the Livingston Parish School Board.  

1.       Open http://blackboard.lpsb.org in a web browser.

2.       Click on the “Login” button.

3.       Enter your Blackboard username and password and click on the “Submit” button.

4.       User name is first initial, last name, and the last two digits of your social security number.

5.       User Passwords are the same as Novell password, first initial, last initial, last four digits of social security number.

6.       You will see the "My Institution” page in your Blackboard account.

Forgotten Password

If you have forgotten your password, click on the “Forgot your password?” link at the bottom of the login box.  Fill in the requested information and click on the “Submit” button. A message will be sent to the e-mail address registered for the user name with instructions on how to change the password. If this is not a valid e-mail address, you will not receive an email or be able to change your password. 

Using Blackboard 6

Once you log into your Bb6 account, you will see the “My Institution” page in your browser window.  You can always return to this page by clicking the “My Institution” tab at the top of your screen.  This screen lists all of the courses you are taking, announcements posted by your instructors, and other information in boxes called “modules” that can be changed or customized by each user.

To go right into your courses, simply click on the name of the course you wish to enter on the right side of your screen in the “My Courses” box.  From there, navigate through the course by clicking the buttons or text labels on the left side of the screen.

Customizing Your Account

Bb6 allows you to customize the way your “My Institution” screen appears by changing the color scheme and which “modules” (or boxes) display when you first log in.  To customize the look of the modules, click the “Contents” or “Layout” buttons in the upper right hand corner of the My Institution page.  You can change features of an individual module by clicking on the pencil in the upper right corner.

You can also edit your user profile by clicking the Personal Information link in the Tools section of the  “My Institution” page on the left side of the screen.  From here you can:

1.       Edit Personal Information – change your name, email address, and other information that appears in your user profile.

2.       Change Password - manage your account password. It is recommended that you change your password periodically to ensure security. It is also a good idea to have a password that incorporates numbers or other characters so that your password is not easy to guess.

3.       Set Privacy Options – specify what personal profile information appears in the User Directory. (Default setting excludes the user profile from the User Directory.)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q)   I have forgotten my username and/or password or I am having trouble logging on.  What do I do?
A)   Usernames and passwords are case sensitive so make sure you are typing the information correctly.  Also, make sure that you are logging in to the proper machine address of http://blackboard.lpsb.org and not the commercial site for Blackboard.com.  For password help, see “Forgotten Password”.

Q)   How do I use Assignments to send files to my instructor?
A) Students complete the assignment in a separate file and send it back to the instructor through their course menu.  To send an assignment to your instructor:
1.       Click on the “View/Complete” link for the Assignment file within your course.
2.       Enter any comments for the instructor in the Comments box.
3.       Click “Browse” and locate the file to attach.  (You can also add more than one file to your assignment.)
4.       Click “Save” to submit your assignment later, or
5.       Click “Submit” to send your assignment.
NOTE:  Once an assignment is submitted to your instructor, it is no longer available.   

Q)   How do I use the Digital Drop Box?
A) Sending documents using the Digital Drop Box can now be a one-step process.  You should already have your document created and saved on your hard drive or floppy disk.  To send it to your instructor:
1.       Click on the “Student Tools” button and then in the next screen choose the “Digital Drop Box.”
2.       Click the “Send File” button.
3.       Under File Information, enter a title for the document you wish to send. 
4.       Next, browse for the file you wish to send to your instructor and then select the file by clicking the “Open” button.
5.       Once all the information is complete, click the Submit button.   It will return you to the Digital Drop Box where you will see an entry stating that your file was submitted.   

 Q)    How do I use the Discussion Board?
A)    The Discussion Board allows students and instructors to post messages and share “threaded” discussions.  To post a message:
1.       Click the “Communication” button and then in the next screen choose “Discussion Boards.”
2.       Click on the forum title (link) where you want to post a message.
3.       Click the “Add New Thread” button in the upper left-hand side of the screen.
4.       Enter a subject line for your post and then type your message in the text box.
5.       If you want to attach a file or post a paper with your message, click the “Browse” button at the bottom of the screen and select the file you wish to attach.
6.       Click the “Submit” button at the bottom of the screen to save the changes to Blackboard.

Q)  How do I use the Collaboration Tools (chat)?
A)  There are two tools used for collaboration:  the Virtual Classroom and the Lightweight Chat.  Both allow real time discussions between users in the course.  To use either of the tools:
1.       Click the “Communication” button and then in the next screen choose “Collaboration.”
2.       At the Collaboration Sessions screen, the sessions list will be displayed listing the name of the session, the tool used (or type of session - Virtual Classroom or Lightweight Chat), the start date, and end date.
3.       To enter a session, click on the “Join” button to the far right of the session name.
4.       The Blackboard Launch Tool will appear and then a new dialogue box will appear in a new screen.
5.       To participate in the discussion, type your text in the “compose” dialogue box under the white board area on the right hand side and then hit the “send” button

Send Mail

Students can send email to individuals who participate in a particular course or organization from the Send Email page. Emails can be sent to individual users or to groups of users within the course, such as all Users. Students cannot send email to users not in their course list from the course COMMUNICATIONS  > SEND E-MAIL tool.

From My Institution area:

1.       Click on Send E-mail from Tools area.

2.       Fill in Subject and Message fields.

3.       Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the Submit button.

Edit Your Homepage

 The Edit Your Homepage tool allows you to create and modify a simple homepage that other members of your course or organization can see by using the Class Roster tool.  This homepage is different for each course and organization of which you are a member.

 Note: The homepage you create is visible to all your classmates, not just your instructor.

 Creating a Homepage

   1.       Click on the Edit Your Homepage link.

2.       Type an introduction in the Introductory Message field.

3.       Type any personal information (e.g., biographical information) into the Personal Information field. 

4.       Click the Browse button next to the New Image field, if you wish to upload a picture of yourself.

5.       Select the file you wish to upload and click the Open button.

6.       Enter the name of the site (e.g., The New York Times) in the Site Title field.

7.       Enter the URL for the site (e.g., “www.nytimes.com”) in the Site URL field. 

8.       Enter a description of the website you are linking to in the Description field.

9.       Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.

 Viewing Your Homepage

                 1.       Click on the Roster link.

2.       Enter your last name in the Search field.

3.       Click the Search button.

4.       Click on your name’s link.

 Editing Your Homepage 

1.       Click on the Edit Your Homepage link.

2.       The form you originally used to create the homepage will appear.  Make any changes or additions here.

3.       Click on the Browse button next to the New Image field if you wish to alter any image files..

4.       Select the file you wish to upload and click the Open button.

5.        Check the Remove this Image checkbox to remove an image that you have uploaded without replacing it.

6.       Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.

Getting Help

For detailed instructions on how to use the application, use the “Help” button, located at the top of every page.

If you still have questions about Blackboard or your account, or if you need technical assistance, please call or email:

LPSB Blackboard Support Team

686-4233

Tasha.Christmas@lpsb.org

Elaine.Dalton@lpsb.org

You may also report the issue to your school technology coordinator.