Step-By-Step
Configuring The Course Calendar
(Text version)

1. Blackboard provides all users with a Calendar function. The Calendar function serves 3 purposes.

• First, it allows Blackboard Administrators to post calendar items that appear on all users calendars system-wide.
• Second, it allows instructors to post calendar items that appear on the calendar of students enrolled in their course site.
• Third, it allows individual students and instructors to post calendar items that appear only in their own personal calendar.

2. To post an item in the class calendar, which will appear in the calendar of each student enrolled in your course site:

• Login into the Blackboard course site as usual.
• Go to Control Panel / Course Calendar. This will display the "Course Calendar - View By Day" form for the current day.
• To view event items, use the arrow icons located to the left and right of the date to move forward or backward through the calendar. You can also use the tabs to view by week, month or year. You can also click on the "Quick Jump" button at the top of the calendar, choose a date then click on submit. This will display the calendar form for that date.
  
• To add an event, click on the "Add Event" button located at the top of the calendar. This will display the "Add Calendar Event" form
• Under section 1, fill in the information you want displayed in your calendar by typing a Event Title and Event Description. If you are using Microsoft Explorer as your browser, you will be able to use the formatting tools available in the WYSIWYG editor box above the description area.
  
• Under section 2, use the dropdown boxes to choose the date, start time and end time for the event posting. The end and start time cannot be the same. Regardless of the start and end times, the event will be always listed in all user's personal calendar and can be accessed via Tools / Calendar. If you remove the event from the course calendar the event is removed from each user's personal calendar. The event will also appear on the student's Home page calendar
  
• Click on "Submit" at the bottom of the page. A receipt will be displayed telling you that your calendar has been updated. Click "ok". This will return you to your calendar. You can use the view calendar methods to locate the event in your calendar.
  
• When the day of the event arrives, the event will be posted on your Blackboard home page in the box marked "Calendar" and the Blackboard Home page of each of your students. The day after the event the event will disappear from the box marked "Calendar" on the Blackboard home pages but will continue to be available in the student's personal calendar and the course site calendar.
  
• Items posted to the course calendar by an instructors and items posted to the system-wide calendar by the Blackboard administrator will also appear in the box marked "Calendar" on the course site user's Home page.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this Step-By-Step procedure contact the Tufts Blackboard Administrator at: nhirsig@tufts.edu