Documentation
Blackboard on UBlearns
Documentation table of contents.
About UBlearns
Blackboard is a comprehensive and flexible e-Learning software platform
that delivers a course management system hosted on the UBlearns web site
at the University at Buffalo. To use UBlearns, you must be a registered University at Buffalo student or else be added by your professor. UBlearns
is web-accessible 24 hours per day, seven days a week at
http://ublearns.buffalo.edu/.
Setting Up the Computer
To use UBlearns, you must use a computer that is able to
connect to the Internet, and use a web browser -- Firefox, Internet Explorer, or Netscape
-- version 4.0 or higher. Macintosh users should use the latest version of Firefox. Your instructor
may require special plug-ins. Recommended browsers and plug-ins may be obtained
from the UB Tech Tools Software Downloads page at
http://ubit.buffalo.edu/software. Generally, Internet Explorer works better than Netscape or Firefox with any Microsoft Office
documents that may be included in your course.
In order to use all the features of Blackboard on UBlearns, Java must be enabled on your web browser. To enable Java in Firefox, select Tools, Options, Web Features, ensure that Enable Java and Enable JavaScript are both selected, then click OK. To enable Java in Internet Explorer, click Tools, select Internet Options, Advanced, Java console enabled, then click OK.
PDF files may open in the browser, or may open in Adobe Reader. Adobe Reader can be installed from the Software Downloads page described above.
Logging In
To use Blackboard, you must access the UBlearns web site at ublearns.buffalo.edu. Click the Login button to proceed.
The next screen that appears will ask you for your UBITName and Password. These are the same username and password you use to access your central University at Buffalo email account. When you are ready to proceed, click Log In.
If you have changed your password for accessing your UB Central Email from the default, use that same password for UBlearns. If you have never changed your password, your default password is a ten-digit number. The first four digits consist of your month and date of birth, while the last six digits are the last six digits of your UB Card ISO number, which sits between your picture and name on your UB Card. If your birthday is April 1, for example, and the last six digits of your ISO number are 987654, then your UBlearns password is 0401987654.
Once you have logged in, click the Courses tab at the top of the page. You should then see a list of all of your courses on UBlearns. To enter a course, click on the course name.
Forgotten Password
If you are unable to log into UBlearns, contact the CIT Help Desk. The CIT Help Desk can be reached by phone at (716) 645-3542, by email at cit-helpdesk@buffalo.edu, or in person at 214 Lockwood, Lockwood 2nd Floor Cybrary.
The CIT Help Desk cannot look up your password, but they can reset your password to the default password.
Setting Up Email
By default, UBlearns lists your UB Central Email account (your-UBITName@buffalo.edu) as an email delivery address. In the event of a mail outage, email will be collected and delivered once the system is restored.
You can send email to your instructor, classmates, or others while using UBlearns. You cannot receive or read email with the UBlearns mail tool. You must use your regular email program.
Before you use your UB Central Email account for the first time, you need
to initialize it at
http://ubit.buffalo.edu/mail.
Click the link labeled Turn on your email.
If you want to receive all of your UB Central Email, including mail from UBlearns, at another address, you must forward your email by choosing the link labeled Forward your email.
For more information on forwarding your email, see UBIT's Email at UB web page.
You can also submit your assignments via email. Some email programs, such as Pine, will save a copy of your message to a sent-mail folder by default. Others, like Mulberry, do not. If you wish to receive a copy of your mail message, but your email client does not automatically save copies of your messages, or has been configured so that it does not, you will need to configure it to send you a copy before you attach your submission.
If you want to have a copy of your submissions sent to you, but do not want to change your email configuration, you can insert your UBITName in the Cc (carbon copy) field each time you submit a file.
For more information on configuring Mulberry and Pine, see the CIT documents for Mulberry for Windows or Mulberry for Mac, and Pine.
Email Problems
Students using Hotmail and AOL email accounts have reported that they do not consistently receive their email from UBlearns. Some email accounts, like Hotmail and AOL, consider email from Blackboard to be junk mail, and they automatically move this email to your junk mail folder or delete it altogether.
In Hotmail, you can fix this by clicking the Options link at the upper right-hand corner of the page. Click on Mail, Junk E-Mail Protection, Junk E-Mail Filter, select Low-obvious junk e-mail is caught, then click OK. Click Delete Junk E-Mail, select Deliver to Junk E-Mail Folder and Delete Later, then click OK.
If you are using AOL or another email service in which you are not receiving Blackboard email, check your user preferences or options areas to see what can be done about this problem.
Course Help
If you are having problems accessing UBlearns, click the Help link at the top of the page. Click the link that best describes your problem, then follow all instructions given.
Alert System Problems
Both scheduled and unscheduled Blackboard on UBlearns mail outages are posted
on the UBIT Alert page at
http://ubit.buffalo.edu/alert.