Blackboard Organizations

Requesting a Blackboard Organization

Any Schoolcraft faculty or staff member can request a Blackboard Organization at bbsupport@schoolcraft.edu.

Accessing Organizations

To access your organizations, log into Blackboard by going to  bb.schoolcraft.edu, using your Schoolcraft Network ID as the username, and the corresponding password as the Blackboard password. Students use their Student ID and password to log into Blackboard.

1. Click the Organizations tab on the My Blackboard page.
2. To enter an Organization, click the name of the Organization 

Enrolling Users

There are several ways for users to be added to an Organization.

Bulk Enrollment

If you have an existing list of individuals who should be added to the Organization, Help Support can enroll them for you, as a bulk operation. This saves you time from individually enrolling users.

You can list the Account IDs of faculty, staff or students in a spreadsheet and send it to bbsupport@schoolcraft.edu once the Organization has been created.

Enrolling Users Manually

For small Organizations, or to add only a few people at a time, the easiest and quickest method is for you to enroll them manually. 

Note:  If you know the Account ID of the person to be enrolled, Steps 5 and 6 can be omitted.

1. After accessing your Organization, from the Control Panel, click Users and Groups
2. Select Users
3. On the adjacent page, click the Find Users to Enroll button 
   
4. On the following page, if the Username of the user is known, enter it in the textbox and proceed to Step 7; otherwise, click Browse
   
5. If you clicked Browse, search for users by Username, First Name, Last Name, or Schoolcraft Email and click Go
6. Click Submit after user is located
   
7. On the Add Enrollments page, select the appropriate Role
8. Click the Submit button when finished
   

Modifying Status of Participants to be Leaders

1. On the Change User's Role page, select the radio button for Leader
2. Click Submit

Adding Folders or Documents

Folders and documents can be created and added to an Organization through any Content Area within Blackboard. Learn more about adding content.  

Collaboration Tools Available to Organization Members

There are several collaborative tools available for use within an Organization that can be created and deployed by an Organization Leader:

• The Discussion Board is a tool for that can be used for sharing thoughts and ideas within an Organization asynchronously (not at the same time). The Discussion Board is administered by the Organization's Leader(s) and is made up of forums that may appear anywhere within the Organization but is also centrally located in the Course Menu under the designation of Discussions.
  
  Discussions in Blackboard resemble an electronic bulletin board, where users post their messages when they have time.  In the Discussion Board, a forum is a general topic for discussion. A thread is a subordinate discussion within the forum.
  
  Learn more about Discussion Boards.

• A Blog is a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. In Blackboard, only enrolled users of an Organization can view and author Blogs. Blogs encourage participants to clearly express their ideas, and addresses the need to expand various aspects of social learning. Blogs are an effective way to gain insight into participants' activities and provide a way to share the knowledge and materials collected.
  
  Learn more about Blogs. 

• Wikis are used to create a collaborative space within an Organization where all participants can view, contribute, and edit content.  In Blackboard, the Wiki tool allows participants to contribute and modify one or more pages of Organization-related materials, providing a means of sharing and collaboration. Pages can be created and edited quickly, while tracking changes and additions, allowing for effective collaboration between multiple contributors. The Organization Leader can create one or more Wikis for all participants to contribute to and Wikis for specific groups to use to collaborate. Wikis can also be used to record information and serve as a repository for Organization information and knowledge.
  
  Learn more about Wikis. 

Changing Availability Settings

Organizations, by default, are available to participants unless the Organization Leader decides to make it unavailable. This is indicated in the My Organizations module where you will see (Unavailable) displayed next to the Organization's name.

See here for instructions on how to make an Organization available.

Organization Groups

The Groups tool allows Organization Leaders to organize participants into groups of any size. Organization Leaders can provide communication and collaboration tools that only Group members can access. Groups can be created one at a time or in sets. Groups can be designated as Self-Enroll, allowing participants to add themselves to a Group, or Manual Enroll, having the Organization Leader assign students to a Group.

Once created, each Group has its own space in the Organization to work together. The Organization Leader can allow individual Group members to personalize their Group space with personal modules, such as My Calendar and What's New. Also, the Organization Leader can enable an assortment of tools to help participants collaborate.

See here for instructions on how to create and manage groups within an Organization.

Organization Roles

• Organization Builder— Has access to most areas within an Organization, including the Control Panel, however no access to participant grades or the Grade Center.

• Grader— Has limited access to the Control Panel, but can assist with the creation, management, delivery, and grading of assessments and surveys within an Organization.

• Leader— Has access to all areas within the Organization. This role is generally given to those developing, teaching, or facilitating the Organization and is comparable to the role of Instructor.

• Participant— Has no access to the Control Panel, and is the default role within an Organization. This role can be compared to the role of Student in a Blackboard Course.

• Assistant— Has full access to the Control Panel, but is not listed in the Organization Catalog as a Leader. Can also manage (add, change, delete) membership of the organization.

• Guest— Has no access to the Control Panel. Areas within the Organization can be made available to Guests by a Leader. Visitors, such as prospective students, alumni or parents, may be given the role of Guest.