Blackboard Vista (Worldclassroom) FAQs for Faculty

Logging On/Account Setup | Quizes/Assessments | Assignments | Discussions | Course Mail | Grading | Technical Requirements & Browser Issues | Tools/Menus | Learning Modules | Additional Resources

Logging On/Account Setup

When can I logon to the course(s) I am teaching to modify the content?

Courses are usually made available two weeks prior to the logon date for students (which is the Friday before the course officially begins). You will be notified by your department (the one the course falls under) when the course is available as well as be provided with any other applicable information. For any specific questions regarding dates, or if you still do not see the course and it's two weeks (and no more) before the logon date, please contact your department for any and all inquiries.

I am not seeing all of the courses I should when I logon through Connections.

When you logon through Connections and click on your Faculty tab and then the "Click here to:" link underneath the "My Courses" section, this will only show you the courses you are officially assigned through CARS to teach. Sometimes professors have special roles in other classes or modules through Vista that they are not officially "assigned" or "registered" for. If this is the case for you, then you must logon directly to Vista and not through Connections by visiting http://www.webster.edu/online and logging in there. This is also the only way you can access the demo student account that is setup along with your designer account for a particular course. If you have any questions, or still cannot see what you believe you should be seeing after logging in this way, please contact the Help Desk.

Tools/Menus

The course tools on the left have shrunk or disappeared, how do I get them back?

Simply click on the expand arrows where the course tools used to be to expand the course tools so you can see them again.  You can click the same arrows to shrink the tools to save room on your screen.

Assignments

How do I get to my student's assignment submissions?

There are two methods:

1. While in Teach tab, in Instructor Tools on the lower left, click Assignments Dropbox.  Here you can view (Submitted (ungraded), Not Submitted, Graded, and Published assignments.  Click on Submitted to view ungraded assignments.  You can select particular assignments by selecting the View by drop arrow, select the assignment to view, then click the green right arrow.   To view a submission, click on the assignment title for each student.
2. 2. Click on the link to Assignments in the left course menu in your course while in the teach tab.  Click on the action menu (the drop down menu) to the right of the assignment you want to view.  Click on view submissions.  Click on the student’s submission.  View the submission, download any files, and add any comments.

My students can't link to the Assignments I have posted.

This is likely because the release dates for the Assignments are not current. To edit release dates:

1. Go to the teach tab
2. Click on assignments
3. Click on the action menu (the drop down arrow) to the right of the assignment you want to make available.  Click on Set Release Criteria.
4. Make sure the Available Starting date is set correctly or the assignment will not be visible to students.  Also make sure the Available Until date is set to Unlimited.  This will allow students to see their grade after the assignment due date.  (Remember, the assignment due and cutoff date are set in assignment properties.  The availability (visibility) of an assignment is set using Set Release Criteria)
5. Remember after you have set your dates, click Save again on the Set Release Criteria page. 

Learning Modules

How can I change content that is inside a Learning Module?

While in the build tab, click on learning modules.  Click on the action menu (the drop down arrow) to the right of the learning module you want to edit.  Choose edit properties.  Change the title, content or goals.

How can I add a PDF file to a Learning Module?

First, click on the designer tab, then choose learning module.  Click on the module that you want to add the file to.  Click add file, then browse for files.  Click on the left where the file is.  If you choose my computer you can get files from your computer.  Find the pdf file and choose open. 

Discussions

Can I print off the Discussion messages to read offline?

Yes.  Click on the discussion section, click the all topics.  Choose the messages you want to print (if you want to choose them all, click the checkbox next to subject).   Finally click create printable view, then click on print.

How do I set a Discussion topic to Private (viewable by a limited set of students)?

1. Go to the teach tab and scroll down to the group manager tab and click on it
2. Click the create group button
3. Select the group type that you want (create custom group, create multiple groups, or create groups with sign-up sheets) and click continue
4. Create your group by clicking save or continue
5. Now click on the discussion tab
6. Pick any topic you want to make private (or in this case selectively release) and click on the corresponding action menu to the right of the item
7. Click on set release criteria
8. Click on add group criteria
9. Choose the group and click save
10. If you want to add a date criteria, click on add date criteria.  Use this if you want the discussion to be visible after a certain date.
11. Click save at the bottom of the set release criteria page

Quizes/Assessments

How can I view or change student's Assessment question scores after they have been taken?

1. Click on the teach tab. 
2. Go to the area of your course where the Assessments are taken by clicking on its link on the Homepage or Course Menu. Click on the action menu (the drop down arrow) and choose view submissions.
3. Find the row that has the student’s name that you want to edit.  Then click on the attempt.
4. You can make comments and change the score of individual responses if you wish on this page. You can overwrite individual scores on questions by using the Override score text box. If you do not wish to override individual scores and would rather change the overall score of the assessment, use the Adjust total score text box. This assessment adjustment is based on a plus or minus to the original score. For example, if the student scored a 70 and you want to give the student a 75, you would put a ‘5’ in the text box. Note: You can edit the assessment question score, but not the answer.
5. Click Update grade when you are finished.

My students can't link to their Assessments.

The available date may not be set to the current date. Available dates are not automatically updated when a course is copied for a new semester.  To update the date available complete the following:

1. Click on the teach tab
2. Click on the action menu (the drop down arrow) to the right of the assessment you want to make available
3. Choose edit properties
4. Scroll down and click on dates available
5. Change the start time and/or end time
6. Click save at the bottom of the page

Can I re-open an assessment once the available time has time has passed?

Yes, to update the date available complete the following:

1. Click on the teach tab
2. Click on the action menu (the drop down arrow) to the right of the assessment you want to make available
3. Choose edit properties
4. Scroll down and click on dates available
5. Change the start time and/or end time
6. Click save at the bottom of  the page

I want a student to take an Assessment again. How can I do this?

1. Click on the teach tab
2. Click on assessments
3. Click on the action menu (the drop down menu) of the assessment you want to have the student re-take and choose view submissions
4. Find the student you want to retake on the list
5. Click on the attempt next to the student’s name
6. Choose reset attempt. 

I want my entire class to take an Assessment again. How can I do this?

1. Click on the teach tab
2. Click on assessments
3. Click on the action menu (the drop down menu) of the assessment you want to have the class re-take and choose view submissions
4. Select all students by putting a check in the checkbox next to name
5. Click reset entire submission

Grading/Gradebook

Can I download the student's grades for viewing in Excel and printing?

Yes, to download into excel:

1. Click on the teach tab
2. Scroll down and choose Grade book on the left
3. If you want to select all the students, you can do this in the next step.  If you want to download only selected students, then put a check in the checkbox next to their names.
4. Click export to spreadsheet at the bottom of the page
5. Choose the options you want.  For instances, if you only selected a few students in step 3, then choose selected members under the members to export heading.  In most cases, we recommend leaving the comma delimited and Unicode (UTF-8) selected.
6. Click export

How can I add a column to my Student Grade book for scoring Discussion participation?

First, click on the teach tab and then click on grade book at the bottom left.  Then choose create column and choose numeric column.  Finally, click save.

Course Mail

Can I forward my Vista internal email to an external email address?

Starting in August 2007, the option to forward your Vista email to your Webster email account will be available.  You cannot forward mail to an outside email account like gmail or hotmail.  You can only forward your Webster email (that ends in @webster.edu).  To forward your mail follow these steps:

1. Once you are logged into Vista and in your class, click on My Blackboard in the upper right
2. Then click on My Settings in the upper right
3. Then choose the tab My Tool Options
4. Scroll down and put a check mark in the box that reads “Forward all mail messages to the e-mail address in my profile”
5. Click save at the bottom of the page.

Resources

Where can I find more resources for faculty members in regards to Vista?

You can find excellent resources and answers and tutorials to even more Vista issues by visiting the following site: Vista Tutorials

Technical Requirements & Browser Issues

What are the technical requirements for taking an online class?

Technical requirements can be found at: http://www.webster.edu/online/techreq_vista.php

How do I know if my browser is compatible with Worldclassroom/Blackboard Vista?

Go to http://www.vista.com/tuneup. Or, before logging in to Worldclassroom/Blackboard Vista, click on the Check Browser link located at the right of the login page. Visit the preceding link for more in depth discussions and documentation on browser compatibilities.