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Blackboard Glossary (Under Construction)

A list of terms and accompanying definitions relating to Blackboard

Changes in terminology from WebCT Vista 3 (formerly MUSO)

The following terminology has changed for the introduction of Blackboard:

Vista 4 Terminology	Definition	Vista 3
Section	In Blackboard a Section is a teaching site. For example "Principles of marketing S1 2008" is the Semester 1 2008 teaching site for MKC1200	Section
Course	In Blackboard a Course is the unit code for a subject. For example "MKC1200" is Course for the above section "Principles of marketing S1 2008"	Course
Group	In Blackboard a Group is a school or division within a faculty	N/A
Division	In Blackboard a Division is a faculty	Group
Lecturer	Has access to the Teach tab. Can change settings for the section Can enrol users through MUSO Manager	Section Instructor
Designer	Has access to the Build tab. Can make changes to the Blackboard section Does not have access to the gradebook	Section Designer
Tutor	Has access to the Teach tab. Can not enrol users	Teaching Assistant
Student		Student
Reviewer	Has same access level as a student.	Auditor

Blackboard Glossary

Term	Definition
ActionLinks icon	The ActionLinks icon appears next to content items. Clicking this icon opens a menu of options. Options include editing, hiding and showing, previewing, deleting content items.
Action Menu	The Action Menu is in the Learning Module tool and contains navigation links, content links, and access to the following tools: Bookmarks, Create Printable View, and Notes.
Add Content Link button	The Add Content Link button is in the Course Content and Learning Module tools. This button allows Designers to create links to content items from these locations.
Assessments tool	The Assessments tool allows Designers to create and edit assessments, such as quizzes, self tests, and surveys. Lecturers use assessments to evaluate Students' progress.
Assessment Manager tool	The Assessment Manager tool allows Lecturers and Tutors to view, manage, and grade assessments submitted by Students.
Assignments tool	The Assignments tool allows Designers to create assignments and assign them to Students or groups of Students. Students can submit assignments in two formats: text with or without attachments, or a web site consisting of linked HTML pages.
Assignment Dropbox tool	The Assignment Dropbox tool allows Lecturers and Tutors to view and grade assignments submitted by Students.
Bookmarks tool	The Bookmarks tool allows Designers to create links to pages in the Learning Module tool.
Build tab	The Build tab is available to Designers and contains features allowing Designers to create, manage, and organise content in a course.
Breadcrumbs	Breadcrumbs list the path of screens that a user has visited. A user can click a breadcrumb to return to a screen. Breadcrumbs appear in the top frame of a screen.
Calendar tool	The Calendar tool allows users to view and create entries for campus and personal events. Users can view entries by day, week, or month.
Channel	My Blackboard contains the following channels: Calendar Day, To Do List, My Grades, Course List, External Courses, Calendar Week, Campus Announcements, Personal Bookmarks, and Campus Bookmarks.
Chat tool	The Chat tool allows users who are in the same course to chat with one another in real time while they are in the course. There is also a Whiteboard feature, which allows users to draw objects, enter text, import images, and create slide shows that can be viewed in real time.
Class Blog	A class blog or blog is a type of discussion topic to which users can post web logs.
Content	Content is the general term for items and activities that are included in a section.
Content Folder	Designers can create content folders in the Course Content tool. A content folder allows Designers to present and organise content, such as assessments, assignments, content files. A content folder is different from a folder in File Manager.
Content Manager tool	The Content Manager tool is in My Blackboard. From Content Manager, users can access the My Files area. See also File Manager.
Course Content tool	The Course Content tool allows Designers to create files, content folders, and add content links. The Course Content tool is always the first item under Course Tools in the course menu. The first screen of the Course Content tool is called Home Page.
Course Content Map	The Course Content Map contains navigation links to items in the Course Content tool. Depending on how the Course Content Map is set, users access it on the course menu or from a drop-down list.
Course Menu	The course menu contains the navigation links for a course. In the designer interface, the course menu contains Course Tools and Designer Tools. In the instructor interface, the menu contains Course Tools and Instructor Tools. In the student interface, the menu contains Course Tools and My Tools.
Course Start Page	The course start page is the first screen that Lecturers, Designers, Tutors and Students see when they access a course.
Course Tools	The Course Tools heading appears on the course menu. Tools that were added to the course menu are listed here. In the student interface, only tools that are visible are listed here.
Date Rollover	The Date Rollover feature is in the Manage Course area. Designers can use it to move forward dates for all course items by a certain number of days when they prepare a course for the next term. They can also further adjust the dates by editing individual dates.
Designer Tools	The Designer Tools heading appears on the course menu. Tools that are available, by default, to Designers are listed here. Tools include Manage Course, File Manager, and Selective Release.
Discussions tool	The Discussions tool allows users to post discussion messages that other users in the same course can view and reply to.
File Manager tool	File Manager is available in each course. Designers use it to manage files used in a course. Lecturers can select files in File Manager by browsing for them. See also Content Manager.
Get Files button	The Get Files button is in File Manager. It allows Designers to bring a copy of a file from another location to their current location in File Manager.
Grade Book tool	The Grade Book tool allow Lecturers and Tutors to manage grades for Students.
Grading Forms Tool	The Grading Forms tool allows Designers and Lecturers to grade Students by identifying specific criteria and comparing levels of performance against the criteria.
Group Manager tool	The Group Manager tool allows Designers, Lecturers and Tutors to create groups of Students so they can work together.
Home Page	The Home Page is the first screen in the Course Content tool. Designers can add files, content folders, and content links on this screen.
HTML Creator tool	The HTML Creator is an HTML editing tool that allows Designers to create content in HTML without entering HTML tags. The HTML Creator automatically generates the HTML source code.
Import tool	The Import tool allows Designers to import content from other Blackboard Learning System courses and third-party applications, such as Respondus®.
Instructor Tools	The Instructor Tools heading appears on the course menu. Tools that are available to Lecturers are listed here. Tools can include Manage Course, Assessment Manager, Assignment Dropbox, Grade Book, Group Manager, Tracking, and Selective Release.
Journal	A journal is a type of discussion topic to which users can post either private or public entries.
Learning Context	The Blackboard Learning System has organisational levels that mirror the organisational structure of an institution, in hierarchichal order. Below the institution organizational level, there are other organizational levels, such as course and section. Within each of these organizational levels, there are individual learning contexts. For example, within the course organizational level, there may be a course learning context for Biology 101: Introduction to Human Biology. Within the section organizational level, there may be section learning contexts for all sections of Biology 101, such as • Biology 101, Morning Section • Biology 101, Afternoon Section • Biology 101, Evening Section
Learning Modules tool	The Learning Modules tool allows Designers to organise and deliver content, such as assessments, assignments, quizzes, and content files to Students. A learning module includes a table of contents with links to the content.
Goals tool	The Goals tool allows Designers to specify goals for students. Designers can specify goals for individual course items, including assignments, assessments, and discussion topics.
Local Content tool	The Local Content tool allows Students to view content from their local computer, usually through a CD-ROM, instead of over the Internet.
Mail	The Mail tool allows users to send messages to other users in the same section. The messages can be in text or HTML format, and can include file attachments.
Manage Course	The Manage Course area allows Designers and Lecturers to add and remove tools, modify the appearance of the course menu containing Course Tools and role-specific tools, edit tool settings, import content, reset the course, and set up the Course Preview Page.
Media Library	The Media Library tool allows Designers to build a database of text, video, and audio items, which can be organised into collections. Users can view and search for entries.
My Files icon	The My Files icon is in Content Manager and allows users to manage their personal files.
My Files tool	The My Files tool allows Students to manage personal files in a course. My Files is not a directory on their local computer.
My Grades tool	The My Grades tool allows Students to view their grades in a course.
My Progress tool	The My Progress tool allows Students to track their progress in a course.
My Settings tool	The My Settings tool provides a central place for users to edit their profile, password, and tool options, as well as view all of the learning contexts they are currently enrolled in. Depending on institution settings, users may not be able to edit their profile or change their password.
My Tools	The My Tools heading appears on the course menu. Tools that are available to Students are listed here. Tools can include My Files, My Grades, My Progress, and Notes.
My Blackboard	My Blackboard is the screen that appears after a user logs in. My Blackboard provides a centralized access point to organizational levels, such as institutions, courses, and sections. It also provides links to Calendar Day, My Grades, Campus Announcements, and Personal Bookmarks.
Notes tool	The Notes tool allows users to create notes about general content in a course or specific content in learning modules.
organizational level	See learning context.
organizational structure	See learning context.
proxy tool	A proxy tool allows Blackboard Learning System users to access online courses outside of the Blackboard Learning System, or third-party applications from Blackboard. For example, if a university's library maintains an online repository of journal articles, a proxy tool allows users to access the online repository from the Blackboard Learning System without logging in to the library system. Each proxy tool is built on an authentication module that is deployed on the Blackboard Learning System server. The authentication module provides the necessary logic for authenticating Blackboard Learning System users on the external application and redirecting them to the appropriate location in that application. Users can access the links to courses outside of the Blackboard Learning System and third-party applications from the External Courses channel in My Blackboard.
Question Database tool	The Question Database tool allows Designers to create and store questions to be used in assessments.
References tool	The References tool allows Designers to create links to course resources, such as books, articles, and web sites. Students access this list of resources from the Action Menu of a learning module.
release criteria	Release criteria are conditions that determine the release of content. Criteria can be based on date, time, member information, grade book information, and group information. For example, if the release criteria for a quiz is a start date of March 9, that means the quiz is released on March 9. Designers can set release criteria by using the Selective Release tool.
Roster tool	The Roster tool allows course members to view the profiles of other course members. Designers can only view profiles for Lecturers and Tutors.
SCORM Module	The SCORM Module tool allows Designers to import Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)-compliant content packages created outside of this program. These modules can contain files, images, or Sharable Content Objects, such as a quiz.
Search tool	The Search tool allows users to look for keywords and other data in course content and Online Help.
Selective Release tool	The Selective Release tool allows Designers and instructors to control the release of content and folders by setting availability, link visibility, and specifying release criteria, such as name, date, and grade. Only students who meet those criteria can access the content. See also release criteria.
self-enrollment	Self-enrollment allows users who already have a Blackboard Learning System account to enroll themselves into courses.
self-registration	Self-registration allows users to create their own Blackboard Learning System account. After users create an account, they are automatically assigned the role of Institution Member.
Student View tab	The Student View tab is in the designer and instructor interfaces. It contains features allowing Designers and Lecturers to preview the appearance and test the usability of their course.
Syllabus tool	The Syllabus tool allows Designers and Lecturers to create a syllabus for their course. The syllabus can contain information, such as goals, grading policies, and required text books.
Teach tab	The Teach tab is in the instructor interface and contains features allowing Lecturers to present content and interact with Students.
tool	A tool is a function in the Blackboard Learning System software that allows users to perform specific activities.
Tracking tool	The Tracking tool allows Lecturers to view statistics on student activity and content usage.
WebDAV	Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning or WebDAV is a protocol that allows web server directories to display as folders on a local computer. Users can use these folders like any other folder on their local computer. Users can use WebDAV folders in File Manager.
Web Links tool	The Web Links tool allows Designers to create a list of Internet addresses or Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). Students can use these URLs to find resource material on the Internet.
Who's Online tool	The Who's Online tool allows users who are logged in to the Blackboard Learning System and enrolled in the same course to participate in chat sessions with one another. The Who's Online tool is similar to the Chat tool except it allows users who are enrolled in the same course to chat with each other outside of the course, from My Blackboard.
Administration area	The Administration area allows administrators to create and manage the Blackboard Learning System's organizational structure and its organizational levels, such as institutions, courses, and sections.
Announcements tool	The Announcements tool allows Lecturers to create and post important messages in a course. Announcements appear in users' My Blackboard or on the Announcements screen.
Assessments tool	The Assessments tool allows Designers to create and edit assessments, such as quizzes, self tests, and surveys. Lecturers use assessments to evaluate Students' progress.
Assessment Manager tool	The Assessment Manager tool allows Lecturers to view, manage, and grade assessments submitted by Students.
Assignments tool	The Assignments tool allows Designers to create assignments and assign them to Students or groups of Students. Students can submit assignments in two formats: text with or without attachments, or a web site consisting of linked HTML pages.
Assignment Dropbox tool	The Assignment Dropbox tool allows Lecturers to view and grade assignments submitted by Students.
Bookmarks tool	The Bookmarks tool allows Designers to create links to pages in the Learning Module tool.
Build tab	The Build tab is in the designer interface and contains features allowing Designers to create, manage, and organise content in a course.
breadcrumbs	Breadcrumbs list the path of screens that a user has visited. A user can click a breadcrumb to return to a screen. Breadcrumbs appear in the top frame of a screen.
Calendar tool	The Calendar tool allows users to view and create entries for campus and personal events. Users can view entries by day, week, or month.
channel	My Blackboard contains the following channels: Calendar Day, To Do List, My Grades, Course List, External Courses, Calendar Week, Campus Announcements, Personal Bookmarks, and Campus Bookmarks.
Chat tool	The Chat tool allows users who are in the same course to chat with one another in real time while they are in the course. There is also a Whiteboard feature, which allows users to draw objects, enter text, import images, and create slide shows that can be viewed in real time.
class blog	A class blog or blog is a type of discussion topic to which users can post web logs.
content	Content is the general term for items and activities that are included in a course.
content folder	Designers can create content folders in the Course Content tool. A content folder allows Designers to present and organise content, such as assessments, assignments, content files. A content folder is different from a folder in File Manager.
Content Manager tool	The Content Manager tool is in My Blackboard. From Content Manager, users can access the My Files area. Institution Administrators can also access the System Files area. See also File Manager.
course artifact	A course artifact is a file version of the graded material that users can present as a sample of completed course work. A course artifact contains all the content and formatting of the original item.
Course Content tool	The Course Content tool allows Designers to create files, content folders, and add content links. The Course Content tool is always the first item under Course Tools in the course menu. The first screen of the Course Content tool is called Home Page.
Course Content Map	The Course Content Map contains navigation links to items in the Course Content tool. Depending on how the Course Content Map is set, users access it on the course menu or from a drop-down list.
course menu	The course menu contains the navigation links for a course. In the designer interface, the course menu contains Course Tools and Designer Tools. In the instructor interface, the menu contains Course Tools and Instructor Tools. In the student interface, the menu contains Course Tools and My Tools.
Course Preview Page	Users can view the Course Preview Page to find general information about a course. The purpose of this page is to let users find out more about the course before they are enrolled.
course start page	The course start page is the first screen that Lecturers, Students, and Tutors see when they access a course.
Course Tools	The Course Tools heading appears on the course menu. Tools that were added to the course menu are listed here. In the student interface, only tools that are visible are listed here.
Date Rollover	The Date Rollover feature is in the Manage Course area. Designers can use it to move forward dates for all course items by a certain number of days when they prepare a course for the next term. They can also further adjust the dates by editing individual dates.
Designer Tools	The Designer Tools heading appears on the course menu. Tools that are available, by default, to Designers are listed here. Tools include Manage Course, File Manager, and Selective Release.
Discussions tool	The Discussions tool allows users to post discussion messages that other users in the same course can view and reply to.
File Manager tool	File Manager is available in each course. Designers use it to manage files used in a course. Lecturers can select files in File Manager by browsing for them. See also Content Manager.
Get Files button	The Get Files button is in File Manager. It allows Designers to bring a copy of a file from another location to their current location in File Manager.
Grade Book tool	The Grade Book tool allow Lecturers to manage grades for Students.
Group Manager tool	The Group Manager tool allows Designers, Lecturers, and Tutors to create groups of Students so they can work together.
Home Page	The Home Page is the first screen in the Course Content tool. Designers can add files, content folders, and content links on this screen.
HTML Creator tool	The HTML Creator is an HTML editing tool that allows Designers to create content in HTML without entering HTML tags. The HTML Creator automatically generates the HTML source code.
Import tool	The Import tool allows Designers to import content from other Blackboard Learning System courses and third-party applications, such as Respondus®.
Instructor Tools	The Instructor Tools heading appears on the course menu. Tools that are available to Lecturers are listed here. Tools can include Manage Course, Assessment Manager, Assignment Dropbox, Grade Book, Group Manager, Tracking, and Selective Release.
journal	A journal is a type of Discussions topic to which users can post either private or public entries.
learning context	The Blackboard Learning System has organizational levels that mirror the organizational structure of an institution, in hierarchichal order. Below the institution organizational level, there are other organizational levels, such as course and section. Within each of these organizational levels, there are individual learning contexts. For example, within the course organizational level, there may be a course learning context for Biology 101: Introduction to Human Biology. Within the section organizational level, there may be section learning contexts for all sections of Biology 101, such as • Biology 101, Morning Section • Biology 101, Afternoon Section • Biology 101, Evening Section
Learning Modules tool	The Learning Modules tool allows Designers to organise and deliver content, such as assessments, assignments, quizzes, and content files to Students. A learning module includes a table of contents with links to the content.
Goals tool	The Goals tool allows Designers to specify goals for students. Designers can specify goals for individual course items, including assignments, assessments, and discussion topics.
Grading Forms tool	The Grading Forms tool allows Designers and Lecturers to grade Students by identifying specific criteria and comparing levels of performance against the criteria.
Local Content tool	The Local Content tool allows Students to view content from their local computer, usually through a CD-ROM, instead of over the Internet.
Mail	The Mail tool allows users to send messages to other users in the same course. The messages can be in text or HTML format, and can include file attachments.
Manage Course	The Manage Course area allows Designers and Lecturers to add and remove tools, modify the appearance of the course menu containing Course Tools and role-specific tools, edit tool settings, import content, reset the course, and set up the Course Preview Page.
Media Library	The Media Library tool allows Designers to build a database of text, video, and audio items, which can be organised into collections. Users can view and search for entries.
My Files icon	The My Files icon is in Content Manager and allows users to manage their personal files.
My Files tool	The My Files tool allows Students to manage personal files in a course. My Files is not a directory on their local computer.
My Grades tool	The My Grades tool allows Students to view their grades in a course.
My Progress tool	The My Progress tool allows Students to track their progress in a course.
My Settings tool	The My Settings tool provides a central place for users to edit their profile, password, and tool options, as well as view all of the learning contexts they are currently enrolled in. Depending on institution settings, users may not be able to edit their profile or change their password.
My Tools	The My Tools heading appears on the course menu. Tools that are available to Students are listed here. Tools can include My Files, My Grades, My Progress, and Notes.
My Blackboard	My Blackboard is the screen that appears after a user logs in. My Blackboard provides a centralized access point to organizational levels, such as institutions, courses, and sections. It also provides links to Calendar Day, My Grades, Campus Announcements, and Personal Bookmarks.
Notes tool	The Notes tool allows users to create notes about general content in a course or specific content in learning modules.
organizational level	See learning context.
organizational structure	See learning context.
proxy tool	A proxy tool allows users to access online courses outside of the Blackboard Learning System or third-party applications, from the Blackboard Learning System. For example, if a university's library maintains an online repository of journal articles, a proxy tool allows users to access the online repository from the Blackboard Learning System without logging in to the library system. Each proxy tool is built on an authentication module that is deployed on the Blackboard Learning System server. The authentication module provides the necessary logic for authenticating users on the external application and redirecting them to the appropriate location in that application. Users can access the links to non-Blackboard Learning System online courses and third-party applications from the External Courses channel in My Blackboard.
Question Database tool	The Question Database tool allows Designers to create and store questions to be used in assessments.
References tool	The References tool allows Designers to create links to course resources, such as books, articles, and web sites. Students access this list of resources from the Action Menu of a learning module.
release criteria	Release criteria are conditions that determine the release of content. Criteria can be based on date, time, member information, grade book information, and group information. For example, if the release criteria for a quiz is a start date of March 9, that means the quiz is released on March 9. Designers can set release criteria by using the Selective Release tool.
Roster tool	The Roster tool allows course members to view the profiles of other course members. Designers can only view profiles for Lecturers and Tutors. Template Designers cannot view profiles
SCORM Module	The SCORM Module tool allows Designers to import Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM)-compliant content packages created outside of the Blackboard Learning System. These modules can contain files, images, or Sharable Content Objects, such as a quiz.
Search tool	The Search tool allows users to look for keywords and other data in course content and Online Help.
Selective Release tool	The Selective Release tool allows Designers and instructors to control the release of content and folders by setting availability, link visibility, and specifying release criteria, such as name, date, and grade. Only students who meet those criteria can access the content. See also release criteria.
self-enrollment	Self-enrollment allows users who already have a Blackboard Learning System account to enroll themselves into courses.
self-registration	Self-registration allows users to create their own Blackboard Learning System account. After users create an account, they are automatically assigned the role of Institution Member.
Syllabus tool	The Syllabus tool allows Designers and Lecturers to create a syllabus for their course. The syllabus can contain information, such as goals, grading policies, and required text books.
Teach tab	The Teach tab is in the instructor interface and contains features allowing Lecturers to present content and interact with Students.
template	A template is a course that contains tools, settings, and content but not student data. A template serves as a pre-designed format and can be re-used across multiple courses so that individual courses do not have to be created each time. This allows courses to have a consistent appearance and structure, but courses can be customized individually without changing the template.
template designer	A template designer is a user in any of the following roles: Domain Designer, Institution Designer, Division Designer, Group Designer, Course Designer. Template Designers can design templates to be used as a pre-designed format for courses. In Blackboard Learning System Online Help and print documentation, this term may be used to collectively refer to the above-mentioned roles.
Template Manager tool	The Template Manager tool allows administrators and template Designers to create and manage templates, including editing, copying, moving, deleting, and importing templates.
tool	A tool is a function in the Blackboard Learning System software that allows users to perform specific activities.
Tracking tool	The Tracking tool allows Lecturers to view statistics on student activity and content usage.
View Template tab	The View Template tab allows template Designers to preview the appearance and test the usability of templates.
WebDAV	Web Distributed Authoring and Versioning or WebDAV is a protocol that allows web server directories to display as folders on a local computer. Users can use these folders like any other folder on their local computer. Users can use WebDAV folders in File Manager.
Web Links tool	The Web Links tool allows Designers to create a list of Internet addresses or Uniform Resource Locators (URLs). Students can use these URLs to find resource material on the Internet.
Who's Online tool	The Who's Online tool allows users who are logged in to Blackboard Learning System and enrolled in the same course to participate in chat sessions with one another. The Who's Online tool is similar to the Chat tool except it allows users who are enrolled in the same course to chat with each other outside of the course, from My Blackboard.