Blackboard Information for 2023/24

Orientation Video Guides for Students

Please check our video playlist below for guides on getting started with Blackboard.

• Video Guides for Students

Creating Your 2023/24 Modules and Adding Content

Below are some guides to help staff add content quickly to their modules. Visit the Staff Help section within Blackboard for more comprehensive guides.

• Video Overview (5 mins)
• Adding Content Quick Guide
• Structuring Your Module Menu - Interactive Guide
• Getting started with Blackboard

Rollover (Module Copy) Guides for 2023/24

Access rollover (module copy) guides for 2023/24

Online Assessment and Communication Guides

Visit the Staff Help and Student Help sections in Blackboard for general guides on using assessments including Blackboard assignments, Turnitin, Collaborate, tests, blogs, journals and forums. For guides specific to online exams, please visit our online assessment hub page.

Access and Module Creation & Enrolment

TCD Blackboard (mymodule.tcd.ie) requires an active TCD computer account for access. If you are not enrolled to a module check with your school office to ensure you are timetabled for it in CMIS (the College timetable system). Students are automatically enrolled to their Blackboard modules as long as they are listed on my.tcd.ie (SITS). IT Services cannot manually enrol academic staff and students - the enrolments must come from CMIS or SITS.

Staff enrolment: Academics and teaching staff please check with your school office that you are timetabled to the modules in CMIS (the College timetable system) and you will be automatically enrolled in the corresponding Blackboard modules for 2023/24. Administrative staff who require access can complete the form on the Access and Enrolment page.

Module creation and enrolment: Modules are created automatically in Blackboard based on the information in SITS (my.tcd.ie); please ensure the required modules are set up correctly in SITS for 2023/24 if they are not appearing in Blackboard. However if you don't see a module listed, it may just be that you are not enrolled to it - see enrolment details above.

Student enrolment: Student enrolments in Blackboard are automated and are based on their SITS (my.tcd.ie) student record. Do not manually enrol students who are taking your module for credit directly via Blackboard. Instead, if a student is not enrolled to your module check with your school administrator to ensure their student record is correct.

Accessibility

Blackboard Ally analyses the academic content uploaded into the Blackboard against accessibility standards and provides step-by-step guidance to academics on how to improve the accessibility of the content if needed. Blackboard Ally also provides alternative accessibility formats for any files you upload, which are accessible by your students for their convenience.

Information on creating accessible content is also available on the Trinity Inclusive Learning and the Disability Awareness Information for Teaching and Professional Staff pages.

Professional Development and Resources

Visit the Technology-Enhanced Learning Webinar Series page for details of upcoming professional development events and webinars run by IT Services. You can also visit the 'Staff Help' section when you log in to Blackboard for guides on other aspects of Blackboard. Academic Practice also have a wide range of professional development events and resources.

Blackboard Apps

Students and staff can access Blackboard on their mobile device using the Blackboard App.

Please note: the app is primarily designed for viewing content - to access the majority of Blackboard features you will need to log in via a web browser. The app can be used to complete tests and submit assignments from a mobile device, but we strongly recommend against using it for these purposes. For more details please visit our Blackboard App page.

Linking to Library Reading Lists and Electronic Resources from Blackboard

MyReadingList lets staff create dynamic and up-to-date reading lists for their students through the Library website. Staff can now add MyReadingList to their Blackboard module to provide students with easy access to your module's reading list.

Benefits of Using MyReadingList in Blackboard Modules

Please see the Library website to view step-by-step video guides and to hear from Trinity academics who are using MyReadingList.

Linking to Electronic Resources:

Please see the Library website for a guide on how to link to Electronic Resources from Blackboard.

Browser Support and Panopto or Collaborate Logout Issues

Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox web browsers are recommended for Blackboard. Other browsers such as Microsoft Edge or Apple Safari may work in the majority of scenarios but if you encounter issues please try with Chrome or Firefox.

Internet Explorer is no longer supported by Blackboard and you will encounter issues accessing content, uploading files or using the different tools available in Blackboard; please try Chrome or Firefox instead.

If you get logged out or have loading issues when using Panopto or Collaborate please ensure your browser allows third-party cookies.

More details on browser support are available on the Blackboard website.

Enrolling Teaching Assistants and Colleagues

If you are an academic staff member who needs access to modules, the standard process is to check with your school office to ensure you are timetabled for them in CMIS (the College timetable system). The enrolment information will come across from CMIS into Blackboard overnight. If you are an administrative staff member and need access to modules please complete the form on the IT Services website.

In cases where these two options are not possible (for example adding Teaching Assistants), the steps below outline how existing module instructors can enrol colleagues.

Important: Do not use this option to enrol a student manually in your module; instead check with your school office if a student is not enrolled. Student enrolments must come from SITS (my.tcd.ie) in all cases to ensure students are properly registered for the modules via their student record on SITS. Enrolments from SITS to Blackboard update overnight.

I would like to enroll another staff member on my module as an Instructor or Teaching Assistant – how can I do this?

• You will need your colleague 's username (the short version of their email address without @tcd.ie).
• Log on to the relevant module.
• Go to the Module Management panel then click on Users and Groups, then click Users.
• On the next screen select Find Users to Enrol.
• On the next screen type in the username (the short version of their email address without the @tcd.ie).
• Do not click the browse button.
• Select the role, e.g. Instructor or Teaching Assistant.
• Click on the SUBMIT button and your colleague will be enrolled in the module.

Linking Modules Together for Erasmus Student Codes etc.

All module codes in Blackboard (mymodule.tcd.ie) are created automatically based on information from SITS (my.tcd.ie). In SITS some students (for example Erasmus students) are assigned to different codes than their classmates. This means that they cannot see the same content when logging in to Blackboard. In these scenarios it is necessary to link the modules together so that students can see the correct content.

These linkings are not rolled over from year to year so need to be requested again each year.

At the bottom of this section is an example to clarify where this linking might be necessary. If you have any modules which need to be linked as 'parent and child ' modules please check with your school office and ask them to email itservicedesk@tcd.ie with the following details clearly separating each set of modules to be linked (or via an Excel file if there are a large number); for example:

Set 1:

Parent module code and name: e.g. BUS1234-A-YEAR1-202324 (Introduction to Business)

Child module code and name: e.g. BUS1234C-A-YEAR1-202324 (Introduction to Business (Visiting))

Set 2:

(and so on)

Please include both the ID and name of each module being requested to ensure the correct modules are linked. Once the modules are linked the lecturer will only need to upload content to the 'parent ' module and any students enrolled in the 'child ' module will be able to view the materials, submit assignments, access activities etc. directly in the 'parent ' module.

Please note:

• Some codes may have changed due to the Trinity Education Project (TEP) so please ensure any lists of modules to be linked reflect this
• If a module is not appearing for 2023/24 please ensure it is set up fully in SITS in addition to CMIS (log in to my.tcd.ie and do a search for the code to make sure it is there for 2023/24)
• Linking should not be requested for modules that contain the same cohorts of students in each module as students can only be enrolled to any one module in a parent/child setup

In terms of module enrolment: Academic staff and students must first be enrolled to their 2023/24 modules in CMIS/SITS in the Schools to be enrolled to their modules in Blackboard.

Lecturers please double-check with your school office that modules are suitable to link and the school office can email the Blackboard team with the codes to be linked.

Example:

ARTS123 (Introduction to Art) is a 10 credit module taken by 50 students. 5 of the students are either Erasmus students or students taking the module as an elective; these students are only taking the 'Introduction to Art ' module for 5 credits. In my.tcd.ie the school cannot assign these students to ARTS123 as it is a 10-credit code. To work around this the school then creates a new 5-credit module code in SITS called ARTS123b and assigns the 5 student to this.

However, when these 5 students log in to Blackboard they will only see  an empty ARTS123b module as the lecturer uploads the content to ARTS123 which has the majority of students.

In this scenario it is necessary to link the modules together in Blackboard so that anyone enrolled to ARTS123b can view the content in ARTS123. Once ARTS123b is linked as a child of ARTS123 the 5 students will be able to participate in all exams/quizzes/discussion boards etc. in ARTS123.

Further Help and Support

For further support, resources and video tutorials please visit the Staff Help section in Blackboard. Students can access the Student Help section in Blackboard for student support.

Additional guides are also available on Blackboard's official help website for staff and students. Please note: Modules are referred to as Courses on the website and Trinity uses the 'Original Experience' version of Blackboard.

Contact: You can contact the Teaching and Learning IT team via itservicedesk@tcd.ie if you need any further information.

For more information on access and enrolment issues visit the IT Services VLE page.