Blackboard

Blackboard 6 Communication Tools: Calendars

Blackboard contains two calendars, the personal calendar and the course/student calendar. Each student or instructor has a set of Tools available from his or her "My Institution" page. The personal calendar is located here. In addition, if students go to the Tools button of each of their classes, there is a student calendar which contains events and items related to the course which the instructor has posted. The events posted here will also appear in a student's personal calendar; however, students cannot add or edit events to the student calendar. Course instructors may use the Course Calendar to post information and events relevant to each of their classes. This calendar is reached through the Control Panel for the class. Instructors may post and edit items on the calendar. These items will appear in the Student Calendar as well as in both students' and instructors' personal calendars.

Using the Calendar

All versions of the calendar operate following the same basic set of instructions. Section A explains how to locate the calendar you want to use, Section B illustrates adding an event to a calendar.

Section A

• To locate your Personal Calendar, log in to Blackboard. The day's calendar is listed in the main window, as shown at the right. Alternatively from the "My Institution " page that opens, click on the Calendar link at the left.
• To locate the Student Calendar, go to the course webpage after logging into Blackboard. Click on the Tools button in the toolbar. Select Course Calendar.
• To locate the instructor's Course Calendar, go to the course webpage and click on the Control Panel button in the toolbar. Under COURSE TOOLS select Course Calendar.

Section B

• 1. To add an event to the calendar, click the Add Event button in the toolbar. Note: to add an event you must access the calendar through the Tools menu item on the My Institution page. Adding items from here will mark them as personal. If you are the instructor and access the Course Calendar (in Course Tools in the Control Panel of the course) it will be marked with the course's ID number and be on the calendar of everyone in the class.
  

• 2. Enter a name for the calendar event (e.g., 1st Homework due)and a description of the event.
• 3. From a drop-down menu, choose the day, date, and year when the event will occur. From another drop-down menu, choose the start and end times of the event.
• 4. Click Submit to add the event.
• 5. You will see a message acknowledging the addition. Click OK to return to the calendar.
• 6. To modify a calendar event, go to the calendar and click the Modify button by the event you want to change. It will return you to a screen much like the one you used to create the event initially.
• 7. To view events, there are several different views. You can look at one day at a time, by the week, or by the month.

• 8. On the calendar, scheduled events will appear on their calendar date along with the time they start, duration, and the course with which the event is associated (this is particularly useful when looking at one's personal calendar since it shows course-related as well as personal events).
• 9. By clicking on the name of the event, you can see more details, including a description of the event. If you are using your personal calendar, you will have Modify and Remove buttons; instructors will also have these options with the Course Calendar.