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Blackboard is a learning management system that allows you to:

  • access paper information and lecture notes
  • communicate with your tutor and class members
  • submit assignments.

Many (but not all) University of Otago papers use Blackboard as part of their teaching resources.

You can log in to Blackboard here using your University of Otago email address.

How to request a new Blackboard paper

Lecturers can request a new Blackboard paper by using the Blackboard Paper Administration application. You can access the Blackboard Paper Adminstration in two ways:

To request a new Blackboard paper:

  1. Click the Request New Paper button in the My Blackboard Papers section.
  2. If your paper is 'official' (i.e. your paper is listed in the University Calendar and Guide to Enrolment), select the classlists of students that should have access to the paper. If your paper is not official please give your new paper a name.
  3. Choose when your students need to be able to access the paper. By default, students are allowed access a week before semester starts and finish a week after exams end.
  4. Select up to two Blackboard Paper Coordinators.
  5. Add any additional comments. Please note that this will mean your request will be sent to ITS for review.
  6. Click on Submit.

Your request now appears in the My Blackboard Requests section so you can track what is happening with the request.

Please see the Blackboard Helpsite for more information.

How to roll over an existing Blackboard paper

'Rollover' is the process used to prepare Blackboard paper content so that it can be taught in the next semester. This involves creating a new blank paper and copying the previous paper's content into it.

Blackboard paper coordinators can roll over their existing Blackboard papers using the Blackboard Paper Administration application:

  1. Access the Blackboard Paper Administration application.
  2. Click the Rollover link next to the paper you want to roll over (this link will only be available if you are registered as a Blackboard Paper Coordinator for that paper).
  3. If your paper is an official paper, you will be shown a list of suggested classlists for your new paper. If the classlist you need is not on that list, use the search to find it.
  4. Copy the content from your old paper into your new one. You can also create an empty paper if you want to start afresh.
  5. Choose when your students need to be able to access the paper. By default, students are allowed access a week before semester starts and finish a week after exams end.
  6. Select up to two Blackboard Paper Coordinators.
  7. Add any additional comments. Please note that this will mean your request will be sent to ITS for review.
  8. Click on Submit.

Please see the Blackboard Helpsite for more information about rolling over Blackboard papers.

Adding and removing staff

If you are a Blackboard paper coordinator, you can update staff access details:

  1. Access the Blackboard Paper Administration application.
  2. Go to the My Blackboard Papers section and click the paper code for which you want to change staff.
  3. Follow the instructions on the right-hand side of the screen to add staff and manage existing ones.
  4. Click on Submit.

Changing the Blackboard Paper Coordinator

A Blackboard Paper Coordinator is the person in a department who:

  • manages a specific paper within Blackboard (note that this may not be the lecturer who teaches the paper)
  • can request a rollover, add and remove staff, and change the start and end dates for a paper in Blackboard.

Please note that there is a maximum of two Blackboard Paper Coordinators for each paper.

If you're a current Blackboard Paper Coordinator you can change coordinators via the Blackboard Paper Administration Application in the same way as you update staff access details.

If none of the current Blackboard Paper Coordinators are available you can request a change of coordinator using the online form.

Help with Blackboard

Do you have a question? Please visit the AskOtago Service Portal for more information about Blackboard.

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