This is a guide that will help you with starting to use Blackboard, the programme you will use to access lectures, and other course documents, as well as submit your assignments.
Logging into Blackboard
Go to the Blackboard website. Click on the User Login box and then enter your University of Southampton username and password. You should then be taken to the Welcome page, from where you will be able to access all courses you are enrolled in.
Accessing Course Documents
On the Welcome page, under the pane ‘My Courses’, identify the module you would like to access and click on the relevant link. You will now be taken to a page relating to that module. All Blackboard courses are divided into several sections, including ‘Course Information‘, Course Documents’ and ‘Assignments’.
Announcements
Announcements are used to draw students’ attention to news and updates within the Blackboard course. You will be taken to the Announcements page as soon as you access the course you want to view.
Course information
The Course Information section helps you to navigate the Module by explaining what each of the links on the left hand side of contain. You can also find an electronic copy of the Module Outline here. The Module Outline provides you with details of each session, reading lists, assignment details and staff contact details.
Staff Information
You can find the contact details of your tutors, including their email address, MS Teams name, and personal web-link.
Course Documents
This is the section within Blackboard where you will find the key learning materials of your module, such as lecture recordings, readings and relevant web-links as well as guides on how to prepare and submit the module assignments.
To access session overviews and lecture recordings, select the relevant session folder.
To see an outline of the session and associated reading list, click on Session Overview. To access an audio recording of a lecture, select Lecture.
Session Overviews
Under Session Overview, you can access a brief outline of the topic and structure of the session as well as a copy of the reading list you should use to prepare for the lectures.
Readings
Here you will find the list of recommended readings for the module. Readings can be accessed either electronically through the Library (using the Virtual Private Network or Southampton Virtual Environment), or are sent to you in hard copy at the start of the programme.
Lectures
To access a narrated PowerPoint recording of a lecture, select the ‘Click here’ link next to a Recording. A recording of the lecture is provided along with a PDF version of the slides.
Assignments
The ‘Assignments’ section contains instructions and guidelines associated with your module assessment, as well as a digital ‘drop box’ to upload your coursework. Please see the separate guide on electronically submitting essays through Turnitin on Blackboard for further details.
Books
In the ‘Books’ section you can find a reference list of your course textbooks, as well as a list of Gerontology-related ebooks that can be accessed through the University of Southampton Library.
Queries & Troubleshooting
If you have any problems using Blackboard, click on the 'Help' button at the top of the screen.
You can also contact ServiceLine, the University's IT team.
Tel.: +44 (0) 2380 595656
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