Blackboard Communities
Blackboard Communities are online environments for formal and informal organizations and clubs at the university. Communities have the
same features for presenting information and communicating with other users that are found in
courses, and are also managed in a similar way.
Requesting a Blackboard Community
Complete details regarding requesting a Blackboard community are available at http://www.niu.edu/its/blackboard/blackboard_community.shtml. For additional information, call 815.753.8100 or email helpdesk@niu.edu.
Accessing Communities
To access your communities, login to Blackboard by going to http://webcourses.niu.edu.
- Click the Yes button to bypass security window if one appears.
- Login using your NIU AccountID as username and the corresponding password as Blackboard password. Students use their Z-ID and password for Blackboard login.
- Then click the Community tab located near the top of the page.
Note: The communities you are enrolled in appear under My Organizations.
To enter a community, click the name of the community in the list.
Enrolling Users
To enroll users manually:
- Click the Control Panel button on the left side of the screen in your Community homepage.
- Under User Management click Enroll User.
- Enter the user's last name and then click the Search button.
Note: You can also search by Username or Email. To list all the members of the community, click the List All tab.
- Click the Add box next to the user you wish to add .
- Click the Submit button.
Modifying Status of Participants to be Leaders
- Click the Control Panel button on the left side of the screen in your Community homepage.
- Under User Management click List / Modify Users.
- Enter the user's last name and then click the Search button.
Note: You can also search by Username or Email. To list all the members of the community, click the List All tab.
- From the list of users displayed, click the Properties button next to the user whose status you want to modify.
- Under Role and Availability , click Leader.
- Click the Submit button.
Adding Folders and/or Documents
Adding a Folder
- Click the Control Panel button on the left side of the screen in your Community homepage.
- Under Content Areas, click Documents.
- Click the Folder button to add a new folder.
- Enter the folder name and description.
- Click the Submit button.
Adding a File
- Click the Control Panel button on the left side of the screen in your Community homepage.
- Under Content Areas, click Documents.
- Click the Item button to add a file.
- Enter the file name and description.
- Under Content click the Browse button to locate the file.
- Locate and click on the name of the file in your computer and click the Open button.
- Enter a name for the link to this file.
- Click the Submit button.
Creating a Community Discussion Forum
- Click Communication located in the left menu in your Community homepage.
- Click Discussion Board.
- Click the Forum button to add a new forum.
- Enter the forum name and description .
- Modify the Forum Settings if needed.
Allow anonymous posts - Users can submit their posts without revealing their identity.
Allow author to remove own posts - This option allows authors of posts to delete their own posts.
Allow author to modify own published posts - Users can modify their posts after submission.
Allow file attachments - Users can attach a file with their posts.
Allow members to create new threads - Users can create new discussion threads in the forum. If this option is not enabled, the community leader will have to create a thread, and participants will be able to respond only to that thread.
Allow members to subscribe to threads - When a user subscribes to a thread, he or she receives email notification each time a new post is added to the thread. The notification is sent to the email address stored in the user’s personal information.
Allow members to rate posts - Users can rate posts in the forum on a scale of one to five stars. If enabled, it is a simple and effective tool for peer review.
Force moderation of posts - If this option is checked, when a user other than a Moderator or Manager submits a post, the post is saved to the Moderation Queue for review and publication by the Moderator. The community leader is the default moderator; however, other members of the community can be assigned that role.
- Click the Submit button.
Changing Availability Settings
- Click the Control Panel button on the left side of the screen in your Community homepage.
- Under Organization Options, click Settings.
- Under Settings, click Organization Availability.
- Under Organization Availability, click Yes/No as applicable.
- Click the Submit button.
Creating Groups
- Click the Control Panel button on the left side of the screen in your Community homepage.
- Under User Management, click Manage Groups.
- Click Add Group.
- Enter the name and description for the group.
- Select relevant group options by clicking on the check boxes beside each option.
- Click the Submit button.
Adding Users to Groups
Note: A group already needs to exist in order to add users to group.
- Click the Control Panel button on the left side of the screen in your Community homepage.
- Under User Management, click Manage Groups.
- Click the Modify button to add users to that group.
- Click Add Users to Group.
- Enter the user's last name and then click the Search button.
Note: You can also search by Username or Email. To list all the members of the community, click the List All tab.
- Click the add box next to the user you wish to add .
- Click the Submit button.
Last Updated: 04/02/2008
