University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The Blackboard Learning System is a course management system that offers a variety of tools that instructors can use to provide content and interaction opportunities to students.   Optimal usability involves several factors:  the design of the course management system; the design of the course and course materials posted by the professor; and the user’s computer platform, browser, and other software.  Through this guide, the Disability Resource Center hopes to address all three of these factors.

This initial section provides the student with information that you can use to address the last of these factors before you even have access to your courses.  We hope it will make the beginning of the semester go more smoothly for you.  We recommend that prior to getting into your courses, you add UALR websites to your trusted sites, test your ability to download various types of content, understand the variety of formats of video content that professors may use, logging in, and adjust your personal settings in Blackboard.  Step by step instructions for each of these procedures follow.

Adding Campus Websites to Trusted Sites

To avoid problems when downloading files, or getting repeated security warnings when logging in, you can put the entire campus domain and Blackboard in the “Trusted Sites” security zone so that the security settings of Internet Explorer are automatically set to “low” when using Blackboard.

To do this in IE:

• Select “Tools”, then go to the “Security” tab.
• Right arrow over to “Trusted Sites”
• Tab to “Sites” and hit enter.
• In the field labeled “Add this website to the zone” ad the following URLs:  https://ualr.edu, https://bb.ualr.edu, and https://*.ualr.edu
• Close window.
• Select “OK” on next window.

To do this in Firefox:

• Go to Tools, then Options and select the Privacy tab.
• Select “Cookies” and then select the “Exceptions” button.
• Type in the following URLs:  https://ualr.edu, https://bb.ualr.edu, https://*.ualr.edu
• Select the “Allow” button.

Downloading Course Content

Professors provide content in many formats.  Some provide most of the content in HTML format which is the primary format of the Web.  When content is provided in this format, it opens right in your browser window.  If you are reading it with a screen reader, it will begin to read out as soon as it opens.

Your professors may also provide content in a variety of other formats.  The ease with which you can access this content depends on several factors:

1. Do you have the software needed to download the file?
• To prepare for taking an online course, it is a good plan to go ahead and download all of the software you will likely need on your computer.
• Here is a list of the software that you are likely to need:
• MS Word (or another program that will open a Word Document such as Open Office Writer)
• Adobe Reader
• PowerPoint, PowerPoint Viewer or Open Office Impress
2. How is your browser set up to handle this type of document?
   • Your browser may behave differently when downloading a Word Document, for example, than a Rich Text Format Document or a PDF document.
   • Your computer may be set to open the document automatically, prompt you before opening, or save it to your computer automatically.
   • If the file is saved automatically, it will most likely be saved to either your desktop or to your “My Documents” folder.
3. Was the content created in a way that is accessible?
• If you are able to download the file and open it, but you are still unable to read it with a screen reader or using magnification, it may be that it was created in a way that is not accessible.
• Make sure you inform your professor and refer them to the STaR office or the Disability Resource Center to assist with designing the document in a way that is usable.

Here we provide sample downloads so that you may test your settings and make sure you are able to retrieve each of these types of documents.  If you have difficulty downloading and opening any of these documents, contact one of the sources of assistance provided above.

Sample Word Document (DOC)

Sample RTF Document (RTF)

Sample Adobe PDF Document (PDF)

Sample PowerPoint Presentation (PPT)

Video Content

Some of your professors may provide content in video clips.  Like other content, online videos can be provided in a variety of formats.  Again, whether you are able to access the video content depends on whether or not you have the required video player, your computer settings, and how the video was created by the professor.  Most professors at UALR are using Real Media format for their videos, but on occasion you will see other formats.  You are encouraged to ask your professor the type of format that will be used for video content so that you can plan ahead.  Below is a list of possible video formats and the players that they require.

Note:  The above list is not a recommendation of accessible media players, but to name the type of player needed to open the video.

YouTube videos are also commonly used by professors.  The Easy You Tube Player makes this video content more usable for keyboard access.  This player does not have to be downloaded, you simply go the the link above and paste the URL of the YouTube video into the player.

Logging In

To log in to Blackboard, you will need your NetID and NetID Password.  Information about NetIDs and Passwords is available on the log in page.

Adjusting Your Blackboard Settings

You can change your personal settings in Blackboard by going to:

• My Settings, then My Tool Options.
• There you can increase the font size, change the default Discussion Board settings, change your Email settings, set up email forwarding.
• You can also use the Channels, Colors, and Layout links to control what you see when you first log in.
• Additional suggestions for adjusting settings are provided in the next sections.

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Updated 1.22.2009