Xavier University Library: 26 Steps to Information Fluency: Step 4: Blackboard

Blackboard is Xavier's course management system. It is a web-based software system that supports teaching and learning in face-to-face as well as online courses. Your course may or may not have a Blackboard component. Your professor will let you know if Blackboard is to be used for your class. Complete the following tasks for this step:

You can access Blackboard two ways, both requiring that you enter your MyXU user name and password.
1. Go to MyXU, the campus portal, at http://portal.xu.edu
  1. Once logged in, click the My Courses tab.
  2. In your list of courses click the course that has a Blackboard component.
  3. You should go directly to Blackboard without entering your user name and password again.
  4. If this doesn't work for some reason, try the second way of accessing Blackboard and report this problem to your professor.
2. Go directly to Blackboard at http://blackboard.xu.edu
  1. Use your MyXU login and password to log into Blackboard
  2. Once logged in, click the Courses tab.
  3. Click one of your courses.
View the Typical Features of a Blackboard Course.
Find the following features in one of your Blackboard courses:
1. The latest announcement
2. The syllabus for this course
3. Exp Directory
4. The Digital Drop Box
5. My Grades
6. Discussion Board
7. Does your course have Library Support in the main menu? Not all courses have this feature.
Using the email capabilities in your Blackboard course, introduce yourself to everyone in your course, including your professor and yourself, by sending a Blackboard email message.
Go to your Xavier OWA email account at https://mail.xu.edu (also accessible in MyXU, the campus portal)
1. Enter your user name and password
2. Find the message you just sent in Blackboard (it may take a few minutes to appear).