Although Smart Penguin provides the solutions to, or the prevention of, most technical issues that Clark College Blackboard users may experience, things may still go awry. To help students and faculty get back to their online coursework more quickly, the tech support team in the eLearning Department now provides a new system, called Tech Ticket, which can be used to submit the details of a technical issue. In a series of short questions about their computing environment, online users can quickly convey some of the important keys needed for an accurate diagnosis. Tech Ticket then allows direct communication with eLearning tech support for improved collaboration and information exchange to aid a swift resolution. You can find the link to file a Tech Ticket in the sidebar here on Smart Penguin’s main post page, among our links at the bottom of the page, or just click below.
Clark College will no longer be communicating with students via paper mail, but will be using Google Gmail for correspondence instead. So that you don’t miss out on important registration notices and other information, be sure to sign up for your free Clark student email account using the link below. If you prefer to get your email at another address, just go ahead and activate your Clark Gmail account (which will look like: username@students.clark.edu) and set it to forward your student gmail to your preferred address. Take The Next Step with us right away and have a great 2010 winter quarter!
GO GREEN WITH GMAIL
Our returning visitors will notice that Smart Penguin has undergone a molt! Take a look around and feel free to use our new feedback form to let us know if there are any problems, as we continue to preen and tweak our new look… Happy New Year to all of our fellow Smart Penguins!
There are many students new to Blackboard who are augmenting their education by developing important computer skills. Knowing how to create and submit appropriate file types for various documents can be a marketable asset worth learning. Instructors will usually specify what file types they can accept, which you must adhere to when submitting your work. Some common file examples for documents would be .doc or .docx, .pdf, and .rtf.
Using the right program is the first key to achieving the correct file type… The second key is clicking File and Save As (not Save) and selecting the specified file type before naming your file. View Full Article »
Many Blackboard users have experienced problems when submitting and viewing text that has been pasted directly from Microsoft Word into Blackboard. The cause of this issue is the accompanying word processor formatting code that is included when using the copy/paste feature. These codes should be removed prior to pasting into a Blackboard text box.
One trick is to copy and paste your text from Word into NotePad first, which strips out the fancy formatting. Then copy and paste that more compatible NotePad text into the Blackboard text box editor and use the formatting tools available in Blackboard to style your text. Some will just attach a Word document to their post, however, there are many students that don’t have Word, and they will not be able to view your attachment. Some have reported success when saving the Word text as HTML (website) code, but that isn’t recommended for beginners.
A very smart move is to change your Blackboard password from the default first assigned to you, to something more secure and that you’ll remember. Also, when you’re using a public computer – such as in a campus computer lab or library, be sure to log yourself out of Blackboard, because it won’t do that for you automatically. Otherwise, your classes, contributions, and hard work will be left for the next person to ponder.
How Do I Change My Blackboard Password?
Going through your “Personal Information” profile in Blackboard and making sure that your email address is correct, is an important early step as a student. Even if you’re not signed up for an online course, that simple action might help you reset your Blackboard password if you forget it later.
For fully online classes, email can be a major form of communication between instructors and their students. To avoid missing something significant from your instructor, be sure that the email address field in your Blackboard profile is correct when classes begin.
You should know, the email account which is automatically entered for you in your Blackboard profile, does NOT work until you actually follow the steps and activate your free Clark Gmail account. If you would rather use your own email address in Blackboard, where you normally check and send email, just change the default to your preferred address. You can check out the site below for more details about how to do that.
Updating Email Address in Blackboard
How would you like to give a test instead of taking one? Even if you have blazing fast internet service, wouldn’t it be nice to know just how fast your connection is to our Blackboard servers in Washington, DC? The truth is, Blackboard can be troublesome for users on dial-up and nearly impossible for those with internet service via satellite provider. For those with satellite service, the latency created by the distance between the earth and your host’s satellite (~23,000 miles) causes the problem, and much like its issue with online gaming, there is no consistent solution. Dial-up can create an issue with Blackboard because of slow response time, as well. Some have reported success by waiting until off peak hours to access their class. Others might travel closer to town where they can find a faster connection, such as their local library, college computer lab, or other public locations. Whatever your resources, you may find this speed checker helpful…
Blackboard Speed Checker
There is a problem with special characters… No, not your Uncle Floyd, but those unique characters that you might use in a file name (like # or &, etc.). In Blackboard, some of these special characters are reserved by the system as operator commands and are considered illegal characters for users. If you attempt to submit a file (like an assignment) using one of these illegal characters in the file name, you’ll likely receive an error message and your assignment will not be submitted. The illegal characters you should NOT use include #, &, $, @, /, \, !, ?, %, ^, *… you get the idea (the list is long and includes most special characters).
An example of a bad file name is: My Hard Work Assignments #1&2.doc …Unfortunately, your instructor would never receive it through Blackboard!
Therefore, avoid using special characters in file names that you are submitting to Blackboard. The following are SAFE characters to use in your file names…
Letters A through Z, upper or lower case
Numbers 0 though 9
The Underscore _
The Dash -
Note to Faculty: The “safe character” naming convention should be adhered to when creating assignment files for Blackboard as well. 
As the Clark College eLearning Systems Administrator, I often come across interesting and useful information, ideas, and resources that may assist you in your elearning endeavors. I will use this site to post my discoveries so check back now and then, feel free to comment or ask questions about Blackboard, and sign up for the rss feed or email subscription.
