This video covers logging in, general navigation, changing notification settings, and accessing feedback, lecture recordings, and reading lists. 

You can also view this as a written guide:

1. Use the right browser

We recommend using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browsers on a windows or mac computer to access the VLE. 

2. Session timeouts - be aware!

If you leave the VLE open in a browser tab and don’t use it for around three hours you will be automatically logged out. This may not be immediately obvious, but you might notice that VLE sites start to behave strangely: pages may only partially load or some tools may stop working. If this happens, log out of the VLE and log back in.

3. Missing VLE sites

There are a few reasons why you may not be able to see a VLE site for a module: 

• There isn't a VLE site for that module - they don't all have one 
• The site isn't yet available for students. It will say 'private' in your course list
• The site exists but you haven't been enrolled onto it

Contact the teaching staff for your module if you cannot see the sites you expect at the start of semester.

4. Finding help 

This guide provides help on various VLE pages and tools. Assist on the VLE links academic and related support for your studies.

Some useful tips about the VLE that you may not know: 

• Favourite your modules so they appear at the top of your Courses list.
• Use the Search feature on your module sites to quickly locate items, even if they are in folders.
• Use the mobile app and view or listen to your resources on the go.
• Alternative formats can be useful in different ways.

The Courses page contains module sites full of teaching resources, and other support sites such as the Academic Integrity Tutorial and Turnitin Tutorial.

You can customise this page in a number of ways:

1. Layout: select list or grid layout (grid layout contains image thumbnails)

2. Search courses by module/site name or keyword

3. Terms: select a specific academic year

4. Filters: various course types (which aren't used at UoY)

5. Items per page: Show 25, 50 or 100 sites per page

Favourite your modules

6. Favourite sites with the star icon to pin to the top of the default all sites list and any applicable search/filter results.

VLE sites/modules that aren’t quite ready yet will either not show at all in the Courses area of the VLE, or will show but be listed as Private.

Each module leader can choose when to make their sites available. This usually happens by the start of the first week of the term it’s being taught in, but it can vary.

If you need to find out specifically when a site will be available, or the site isn't available after the start of term, please contact the module leader. You can find their details on the relevant module catalogue entry.

Lecturers often send course updates and other important information through Blackboard Learn Announcements.

Within an individual module site, Announcements is often a module's homepage. You can also open the Announcements from the module's left hand menu.

You can also access Announcements from all your sites in one place in the Activity Stream.

The Activity Stream also has other notifications from sites, such as:

• new materials or sites
• due dates in the next seven days
• marks posted for assessments within Blackboard

Find out more about Activity Stream and adapting your notification settings:

Selecting a module will make it open in a layer over the Home Page of the VLE. (Your modules are called 'courses' on Blackboard). To return to the Home Page, click the X in the top left corner of the screen. 

Across the top of your module site, you'll see Content, Calendar, Announcements, Discussions, Gradebook, Messages and Groups. Just click where you want to go!

The left hand pane shows your Course Staff and Details & Actions pane.

Course Content

The Course Content area is where you will want to focus and spend most of your time. In this area you will find

• Module introduction
• Course materials or links to each week's materials
• Replay Content: lecture recordings and other video resources
• Reading Lists: the important books, chapters and articles you'll need for the module
• Assessments: instructions and assignment submission points

Some items will be held within Learning Modules (LM) or Folders. Click the title and it may expand to show a list of further items. Click the first item to open it. Look for an arrow in the top left to navigate to the next item in the LM or folder.

Files

Click on a file to preview it in Blackboard. (Works for PDF and Microsoft Office files).

The next available option allows you to download alternative formats.

Finally the last option is where you can download the original file.

Search bar

Along the top of the Course Content is a search icon. It looks like a magnifying glass. Clicking the search icon will allow you to search for items.

You can also use the Blackboard app on a mobile device:

• Blackboard app for iOS [Webpage]
• Blackboard app for Android [Webpage]

(see the guide below for instructions on setting up the app)

The app is useful for quickly checking course content, announcements and participating in Discussion Forums.

Don't use the Blackboard app for any assessment activity!

Navigating the Blackboard App

• The first time you open the app you'll need to log in - see the guide below for instructions.
• Click a module from the Courses list to open its Course Materials page, containing Announcements, Course Content and other items.
• The Course Content page is the equivalent of the left hand menu on the browser site (items might appear in a different order) - choose the area you want to look at.
• To go back, use the back arrow at the top left of the screen or the usual back function on your mobile.

Find out more:

Help and Support

"Help: Trending Topics" is on the Home page of the VLE. This has links to our student guides for the VLE.

“Assist" tab within the VLE (left hand menu) links to academic and related support for your studies.

Accessibility

View our VLE Accessibility Statement to find out how you can adjust the site and contents to suit you.

The statement is also available on the VLE login page.

Many issues encountered with the VLE can be resolved by these steps:

• Make sure you're using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox browser.

• Clear your cookies and cache.
• Adjust your cookie settings (for Google Chrome)
• Disable any ad-blockers

For more details, visit the troubleshooting guide.