The Portal Screen

After logging into MyNOVA, select Blackboard 7 to access the Blackboard site.  Below is a view of the Portal screen, which is the first page you will see once you select the Blackboard option.  The portal is used to gain access to many different areas of the Blackboard learning environment, including any Blackboard course or courses in which you are teaching or enrolled. The Blackboard portal screen is also a gateway to NOVA's online community which includes links to NovaConnect, the Schedule of Classes, the college website and local traffic and weather conditions.

Tabs

When logging into Blackboard, the navigation to the site appears across the top.  Each tab represents a different content area and clicking on a tab will open a specific area, descriptions are listed below. Your status at NVCC i.e. student, faculty or staff determines which tabs you see across the top.

NOVA:  This tab contains information and announcements for everyone at NOVA, as well as Blackboard courses you are enrolled in and course announcements.

Learn:  This tab contains information and announcements specific to students, including your class schedule, Blackboard courses you are enrolled in, announcements from your Blackboard courses, important school calendar dates.

Teach:  This tab contains Blackboard courses you are teaching and any organizational memberships.

Student Connect: This tab contains information and tools to help students connect with other people, including access to student email, chats with a reference librarian, student services announcements, tutoring information, links to Blackboard organizations you are enrolled in, and information about other organizations on campus.

Research: This tab contains library and other research resources.

My Files: This tab takes you to the place where you can store your files, you can find the organizations you belong to, etc.

Help: This tab contains help information on Blackboard as well as ways to get more information and help if needed.

Note: Clicking on a tab will open a specific area in the content frame. (Students and staff see a similar but slightly different set of tabs.)

Tools Menu

On the left hand side of the portal screen you will see a Tool Box with commonly used Blackboard functions, descriptions of the functions are listed below.

Announcements: Provides you with current information about the Blackboard course or courses that you are enrolled in.

Calendar: You can use the Calendar in Blackboard to determine when certain course events set by the instructor are to occur.

Tasks: Allows you to lists tasks associated with courses taking in blackboard i.e. assignments that are due.

View Grades: You can view your grades for a course.

Send E-mail: Allows you to send an e-mail to anyone enrolled in your Blackboard course including the instructor. 

Address Book: Allows you to add and list contacts within Blackboard.

Personal Information: Allows you to change and view your personal information in Blackboard.