Students Getting Started Guide

College of DuPage uses Blackboard as our learning management system (LMS). If you are taking online, hybrid or VCM courses, you will access some or all of your course materials through Blackboard. All courses will have the syllabus in Blackboard for your reference.

The following resources can help you get comfortable with Blackboard. Reminder: the videos are examples; your course will appear similar to the videos, but may not look exactly the same.

You can also use the Student Quick Start Guide to learn more about setting up and using Blackboard.

Accessing Blackboard

To sign into Blackboard, you will need your COD login information. This is the same login that you use to access email and other campus resources.

Once signed in, you will be able to see all of your courses and navigate to course tools, assignments, and more.

 

Navigating Your Courses

 

Assignments

Submitting assignments in Blackboard is a common practice in online courses. Blackboard assignments allow students to easily:

  • Access Assignment Details: Each assignment includes detailed instructions, due dates, and any necessary attachments or resources provided by your instructor.
  • Submit Work: Upload your assignments directly to Blackboard in various formats, such as Word documents, PDFs, or multimedia files.
  • Track Deadlines: Use the calendar and notifications to stay on top of due dates and manage your time effectively.
  • Receive Feedback: After submission, you can view your grades, read instructor feedback, and check for any comments or annotations on your work.

For more information about Assignments in Blackboard, see these Blackboard Help articles:

 

Original Course View

Ultra Course View

    Tests and Quizzes

    Tests and quizzes may be required to be completed through Blackboard. Whether you are using Blackboard Original or Ultra, tests and quizzes can be found in your course.

    For more information on taking exams in Blackboard, see the following Blackboard Help articles:

    Original Course View

    Ultra Course View

      Discussion Boards

      Blackboard Original

      In Blackboard Original course view, the Discussion Board is an important part of many online courses, since it is often the main way that you will connect with your classmates and discuss what you are learning.

      This video will help you learn how the Discussion Boards in Blackboard Original view work, so you can get started posting information in your course.

      You can also come back and watch this video in the future.

      For more information, see the following articles on Blackboard Help:

        Blackboard Ultra

        In Blackboard Ultra course view, Discussions are an important part of many online courses, since it is often the main way that you will connect with your classmates and discuss what you are learning.

        This video will help you learn how Discussions in Blackboard Ultra view work, so you can get started posting information in your course.

        You can also come back and watch the video in the future.

        For more information, see the following articles on Blackboard Help:

          Viewing Your Grades

          As you complete and submit assignments, exams, and other gradable work, your instructor will issue grades to you.

          For more on how to view your grades, see the following Blackboard Help articles:

          Alternative Formats

          Starting Spring 2025, College of DuPage is using a new Alternative Formats tool in Blackboard called YuJa Panorama. It lets you convert course content into formats like PDFs, audio, ebooks, and translated versions. 

          Available Alternative Formats

          • eBook (EPUB): Download the document as an ebook, suitable for ebook reader apps and e-reader devices. Allows for customization including font style, size, and dark mode.
          • Electronic Braille: Access the document in the braille grade 2 format, suitable for download access in BRF, or .UEB format (a braille reader is required).
          • Audio Podcast: Audio playback for documents, suitable for both online and download listening.
          • Immersive Reader: Allows for customization of text preferences, grammar options, and reading preferences while following along with audio playback.
          • Enhanced HTML: Display as a webpage in a dedicated browser tab to customize the document’s appearance using the Website Accessibility tool.
          • Gradient Reader (formerly Beeline Reader): Applies a customizable color gradient to text that can improve focus and reading speed. To download and read offline, save the webpage to your device.
          • Tagged PDF: A structured PDF that benefits screen reader users.
          • OCR Formats: OCR, or Optical Character Recognition, turns images of text into actual text. OCR is especially helpful for transforming scanned PDFs into formats that you can customize and that can be interpreted by assistive technologies like screen reading or text-to-speech (TTS) software.
          • Translated Version: Language translation formats transform course content and documents into over 100 languages and 6 file formats. Content is automatically translated using machine learning algorithms and will not be 100% accurate.
          • MathML: Extract mathematical equations from documents and convert them into HTML files.

          Alt Format Resources

          To learn more about the YuJa Panorama tool, students can access support in the Blackboard Student Support organization under Topic 6. You can also use these resources: 

            Blackboard Mobile App

            The Blackboard app is designed for viewing course content and staying connected to your courses with push notifications. The app’s current version is available for iOS and Android mobile devices and tablets. When taking tests, working on assignments, or viewing assignment feedback, Google Chrome’s mobile browser offers a higher quality experience than the Blackboard app.

             

            Notification Settings

            Blackboard will notify you when:

            • Announcements and assignments are available
            • Assignments are due or past due
            • Content or a course is available
            • When a course message is received
            • When an items, surveys and tests are available, due, past due or graded
            • You have unread blogs, journals, and discussions

            You can choose which notifications you receive about activity in all your Original and Ultra courses under the Notification Settings panel. You can adjust settings for: 

            • Activity Stream: Choose which activities appear on your Activity Stream and whether you see all or just certain kinds of notifications.
            • Email: If you want to receive email notifications, you can add an email address to your Profile Page. Then, choose how often and which activities you want to receive notifications for in the Email notifications settings.
            • Push notifications: Messages pop up on your mobile device if you have the Blackboard app for students installed. You can select which notifications are sent to your device.

            Support for editing your notification settings. (Note: notifications are the same in Original and Ultra)

            Faculty Support

            Learning Tech

            IT

            Grades

            Adjunct Support

            Student Support

            Student Help Desk
            Student Resources