Original Course View

Your instructor can add assignments to different areas of your course. You might access assignments from a link on the course menu called “Assignments.” Or, your instructor might incorporate assignments into each week’s content. Ask your instructor if you have questions about how your course is organized.

You can access assignments in the activity stream or in the calendar if your instructor added due dates.

If the due date has passed for an assignment, you’re alerted in the Important section of the activity stream.

Your instructor can also create group assignments and provide access to them in the same areas as regular assignments. Group assignments may also appear in the My Groups panel after the course menu.

To submit an assignment:

1. Open the assignment. On the Upload Assignment page, review the instructions, due date, points possible, and download any files provided by your instructor. If your instructor has added a rubric for grading, you can view it.
2. Select Create Submission to enter your submission. You can use the options in the editor to format the text. You have creative control over how your content appears and the flexibility to change the order and appearance.
3. Select Upload Files to upload a file from your device, content collection (if you have access), or a cloud service such as OneDrive or Google Drive.
4. Optionally, enter comments about your submission.
5. Select Submit. The Review Submission History page appears with information about your submitted assignment and a success message with a confirmation number. Copy and save this number as proof of your submission. For assignments with multiple attempts, you receive a different number for each submission. If your institution has enabled email notifications for submission receipts, you’ll also receive an email with your confirmation number and details each time you submit coursework.
   If your instructor hasn’t allowed multiple attempts, you may submit your assignment only once. Before you select Submit, be sure that you have attached any required files.

It is possible to save a draft for an assignment and submit later. On the Upload Assignment page, select Save Draft to save your work and continue later. Your text and files are saved on the page. When you return, you can resume working.

1. Return to your assignment and select the assignment title.
2. On the Review Submission History page, select Continue.
3. On the Upload Assignment page, make your changes.
4. Optionally, enter comments about your submission.
5. Select Submit. The Review Submission History page appears with information about your submitted assignment.

In discussions, you can share thoughts and ideas about class materials. In Blackboard Learn, course members can have the thoughtful discussions that take place in the traditional classroom, but with the advantages of asynchronous communication. Participants don’t need to be in the same location or time zone, and you can take the time to consider your responses carefully.

You can use discussions for these tasks:

• Meet with your peers for collaboration and social interaction.
• Pose questions about homework assignments, readings, and course content.
• Demonstrate your understanding or application of course material.

Open the Discussion Board

1. Find the discussion board in two places:
   • On the course menu, select Discussions.
   • On the course menu, select Tools and then Discussion Board.
2. The main Discussion Board page appears with a list of available discussion forums. On this page, you can perform these actions:
   A. Select a forum title to view the messages. Forum titles in bold contain unread posts.
   B. Select a forum to open the thread of posts.
   C. Select the number in the Unread Posts column for quick access to a forum’s unread messages.

The journals tool provides a personal space for you to communicate privately with your instructor. You can also use a journal as a self-reflective tool to post your opinions, ideas, and concerns about your course, or discuss and analyze course-related materials. For example, you can describe problems you faced and how you solved them. Your instructor may narrow the focus and list topics for discussion.

Your instructor can choose to make journal entries public, allowing all course members to view all entries. You can read what other students wrote and build on those ideas.

When used in the group area, members of a group can view and comment on each other’s entries for a group journal. The group can communicate with their instructor as a whole and all members can benefit from the comments made.

Your instructor can grade group journals and apply the grade to every member of the course group. Journal entries can also be used specifically for communication. In either instance, you can make multiple entries for one journal topic.

Journal topic page

You can find the journals on the Tools page. The journal topic page is divided into two main sections: the content frame and the sidebar.

A. Create Journal Entry and View Drafts: Create as many journal entries as you want. You can also access any entries you saved as drafts.
B. Journal Instructions: Expand the section to view the journal instructions and any goals your instructor may have added. Your journal entries appear below the instructions in the content frame.
C. Comment: Add your thoughts.
D. Journal Details: In the sidebar, expand the section to view the journal information.
E. Grade: This section appears if your instructor enabled grading for the journal. You can see if your journal entries have been graded.
F. Index: View the titles of your selected entries for either the week or the month, determined by the settings your instructor makes during journal creation. The most recent entry title appears first.

Create a journal entry

Only your instructor can create a journal. After the journal is created, you can create journal entries.

1. On the Journals listing page, select a journal title.
2. On the journal’s topic page, select Create Journal Entry.
3. Type a title and entry.
4. Select Browse My Computer to upload a file from your computer. You can also attach a file from the repository: Course Files or the Content Collection.-OR-

   Drag files from your computer to the “hot spot” in the Attach Files area. If your browser allows, you can also drag a folder of files. The files will upload individually. If the browser doesn’t allow you to submit your assignment after you upload a folder, select Do not attach in the folder’s row to remove it. You can drag the files individually and submit again.

   You can use the file name or provide another name for the file.

   
5. Select Post Entry to submit the journal entry or select Save Entry as Draft to add the entry later.

To view the grades for the course you’re in, select the My Grades link on the course menu or on the Tools page.

Your instructor controls which links appear on the course menu.

On the My Grades page, you can view all the coursework and grades for the course you’re in. If your work hasn’t been graded, grade status icons appear. You can filter and order your view.

Select an item’s title to review your submission. For example, your instructor can type comments and highlight text in your document. Select an assignment’s title to access the assignment’s Review Submission History page and review the grade, annotations, and feedback in context. 

For help with issues such as this one, you should contact your instructor or the help desk at your school. If you aren’t sure how to contact the help desk, look for the technology office on your institution’s website. Also, make sure you use a supported internet browser and operating system for the version of Blackboard that Boston University uses.

Your instructor controls the date when assignments become available. You might also have to meet other criteria to access the assignment. For example, you might have to mark a lecture as reviewed first. Contact your instructor for more information.

When you submit an assignment successfully, the Review Submission History page appears with information about your submitted assignment and a success message with a confirmation number. You can copy and save this number as proof of your submission. For assignments with multiple attempts, you receive a different number for each submission. If your institution has enabled email notifications for submission receipts, you’ll also receive an email with your confirmation number and details each time you submit coursework.

You can access your submission receipts from the Submitted tab on the My Grades page. Select the number next to Submission Receipts at the bottom of the list to see your submission history.

You won’t be able to view confirmation numbers or receive email submission receipts if your institution uses an older version of Blackboard Learn.

You must discuss this issue with your instructor.

You can’t edit a submitted assignment, but you may be allowed to resubmit it. However, you can’t resubmit all assignments. Check if you can submit an assignment more than once. If you can’t and made a mistake, you must contact your instructor to ask for the opportunity to resubmit the assignment.

In the Original Course View, if your instructor allows you to submit an assignment more than once, a Start New function appears on the Review Submission History page. Select the assignment link in your course to access the Review Submission History page.

Assignments aren’t graded automatically. Your instructor must grade each assignment and post the grade and feedback.

The My Grades page displays all your grades. My Grades is often located on the course menu. The course menu appears on the left side of the course window. If My Grades isn’t on the course menu, select Tools and select My Grades. If you submitted your assignment, but it’s not graded, you’ll see an exclamation mark next to the assignment’s title.

If your assignment has been submitted and graded, the grade appears in the assignment’s row. To view more detail, select the assignment’s title to access the Review Submission History page.

Not exactly. Your instructor can create assignments for you to submit individually or as part of a group effort. You can do all of the same things with a group assignment as with a regular assignment. One member submits the group assignment for the entire group. The grade you receive is the same for all members of the group.