Why aren't some of my students listed in Blackboard?
If a student is not listed in Blackboard either in your Roster, Email, or Grade Center, that student is not officially enrolled in the course. They may have pre-registered but have not finished their registration with the Registrar's Office. Contact that student and make sure they finish registering and have enrolled in that course. Blackboard is updated three times a day so if someone adds or drops a course, they should appear in Blackboard within 12 hours.
Why do I receive "undeliverable" messages when I send emails to my students?
If you are receiving undeliverable messages back when you send emails from Blackboard, there is a problem with the student's email address. Contact the Help Desk and give them the student's email address.
How do I access Live Mail?
You can access your Live Mail account by logging into My Olivet. At the top of the home page you should see a link stating "You have xxx unread messages." Just click that link to be taken to the Live Mail system. The very first time you access My Olivet you may need to enter your Live Mail credentials in order for My Olivet to remember them for future connections.
You can also access Live Mail directly by visiting live.olivet.edu and entering your Windows Live ID (which is your Live Mail email address of <username>@live.olivet.edu) and your current ONUnet password. If you are a new student and have not yet changed your ONUnet password, you will use the default password given to you when you received your account details.
Why do the links in my document go bad when I bring it/attach it in Blackboard?
When you attach a document in Blackboard, you are taking a copy of the original document and placing it on a new computer (the Blackboard computer). If you have created a website on your J: drive and have linked from the webpage you are attaching to another document on the J: drive, the document will continue to follow the relative path to that document. For example, if I link from my syllabus to the grading rubric, the path it would take looks like this: rubrics/grading_rubric.html. That path tells me that the grading_rubric.html file is located in the rubrics folder. The path is relative because it only tells me where to go from the syllabus to access the document.
In order to fix it so that the links work, you have to change the links from relative to absolute. To do this, (this example is from Media's website) you would change the link from rubrics/grading_rubric.html to http://media.olivet.edu/rubrics/grading_rubric.html. That way, the link will always go to Media's site to find it rather than trying to find it on the Blackboard computer. Once you have changed the links to absolute, attach the document in Blackboard again and it should work for you.
When will the fall/spring/summer courses be created so I can start work on my courses?
Blackboard courses are usually available a month or two before the beginning of the next semester. If you have a course that you would like to begin working on, you can request that the course be made available to you by contacting the Help Desk.
If I put an exam on Blackboard, will students have access to printing it out?
Since Blackboard works inside of a browser, it takes on all of the functions of that browser. Since browsers offer the option to print pages they display, students can print out anything they view, including the quiz. There are a few ways to combat this:
- Set the quiz to display only one question at a time.
- Provide a random block of questions that pulls 20 questions out of a possible 40-50 randomly, meaning that students will receive different versions of the test.
- Only allow for a short amount of time to force them to spend all their time on the actual test, quiz, or survey.
Is there any phone service that comes with my room and what is the cost?
All rooms come with a single phone line shared between roommates. Each student is given his or her own phone number to that line. The cost of the phone line is included in the room fee. You will not need to bring your own telephone to connect to the phone line as one is provided by Olivet. You are unable to use a telephone brought from home. Voice mail is also provided. Voice mail is set up so that each roommate has his or her own private mailbox.
How do I see the results of a survey/course evaluation I posted in Blackboard?
To see the results of a Blackboard survey once it has been completed:
- Enter your course
- Click Control Panel
- Click Evaluation, then Grade Center
- Find the column for your survey and notice the following:
- Each person who has taken the survey will have a checkmark in that column
- You cannot see results for one person (it is an anonymous survey) but it does allow you to see who has taken it
- To see the results of the survey, click on the column heading (the name of the survey)
- Click Attempts Statistics
- Click OK
Can I change the email address of a student from their Olivet email address to another one?
It is a policy for both undergraduate and graduate students now to require the use of Olivet's email for course-related communication. Students should be made aware that any communication from the professor will occur in their Olivet email and they should be checking that just as regularly as their other email.
Can you make a student in a course a TA as well?
It is impossible for a student to be both a Teaching Assistant and a student in the same course. In the past some faculty have requested that a TA account be set up for them so a student could log in separately to grade assignments, add documents, etc. To make this request, contact the Help Desk.
Can I look at email messages from inside Blackboard?
No, the email system inside Blackboard will send but not receive email. You will receive email in your normal Olivet email account.
Why don't my browser's navigation buttons (Forward, Back, etc.) work all of the time?
Blackboard offers its own navigation to give more control of the environment. The navigation is designed to keep you inside Blackboard and keep you from getting confused. If you use the browser's navigational buttons, many times you will get an error or a Page Expired note. Remember to stay inside Blackboard in order to keep things clear.
If I allow guest/observer access to my course, who will be able to view it?
Olivet's policy is not to allow guests and observers into Blackboard. If you need to give someone from off campus access to Blackboard, talk with Marsha Smith in Information Technology.
Students are having problems with a timed quiz. What could be the problem?
When a student is taking a quiz, and the quiz is NOT set to Allow Multiple Attempts, the student must be very careful when taking the quiz. Anything that occurs that causes the quiz window to no longer be the active window, even for a second, will kick the student out of the test. So, students should be wary of things like clicking around in other areas of the course, or sitting idle until their browser times out or screen saver comes on, or even getting a pop-up email notifier. Automated functions of that nature should be turned off during testing time.
What is OASIS?
OASIS provides web access to Olivet's Colleague information system. Students have direct web access to portions of their academic and financial records and also have the ability to register for classes. Information available to students includes their personal course schedule, transcripts, account information and grades. The OASIS faculty component includes class rosters, grading, and advisee information.
Who do I contact for assistance?
You can contact the IT Help Desk by sending an email message to it@olivet.edu or calling 815-939-5302 (866-400-5302 toll-free).
How do I manage my email password?
Your Live Mail account password is the same as your current ONUnet password. This is the same password you use to get into campus workstations, campus wireless, and library databases from off campus. When you change your password via a campus workstation, the changemypassword.olivet.edu site, or with assistance from the IT Help Desk, your Live Mail password will automatically be updated as well.
NOTE: Do not change your password within the Live Mail system. Use the changemypassword.olivet.edu website for changing your ONUnet/email password.
Although we are synchronizing your ONUnet password to your Live Mail account, this is only a one-way synchronization. If you choose to change your Live Mail password while logged into your Live Mail account, that password change will not be sent back to Olivet’s systems. You will end up having a different password for your email account than you do for accessing other campus resources such as our wireless network, campus workstations, and library databases. Using an Olivet-provided system for changing your password will ensure that the password for all of the services mentioned above is the same.
Can I connect my Live Mail account to a smartphone or other email client?
Yes, please see the directions in the Using and Managing Live Mail section of the Student Email page.
When I go to the Live Mail site it automatically shows my Hotmail or other Microsoft provided email account. How do I get this to recognize my Live Mail account?
You have another Microsoft email account such as Hotmail or Live.com and have set your browser to remember that account on that computer. To log into your Live Mail account you should see an option to log in as a different user. Select that option to be presented with a Windows Live ID and password login prompt. We recommend that you do not choose the "remember me" option when using any publicly-accessible computer.
Where can I find more information on how to use Live Mail?
Visit the Current Students >> Email page of this website for more information about your Live Mail account. Information about using, configuring, and personalizing your Live Mail account can also be found at http://help.outlook.com.