Step-By-Step
Student Digital Drop Box
(Text version)

1. Each Blackboard course site contains a digital drop box for instructors or Teaching Assistants as well as a digital drop box for each student account. These digital drop boxes allows students to send digital files to the instructor or TA and allows instructors and TAs to send digital files to students. Students cannot send digital files to other students using this feature.

2. To send a file to your instructor or TA:

• Log into the Blackboard course site as usual.
• Go to Tools / Digital Drop Box. This displays the Drop Box page.
• Students have a choice of either adding a file to the dropbox or sending a file to the instructor. Adding a file to the Drop Box uploads the file to the Drop Box for later use. Sending a file both adds the file to the Drop Box and sends a copy of the file to the instructor or TA.
  
• To add a file to the Drop Box click on the "Add File" button located at the top of the page. This displays the Digital Drop Box form. Type in a title for the file in the "Title" box. Click on the "Browse" button. This will display your computer's file locater dialogue box. Using the dropdown box on the top of the file locator, locate the directory and folder that contains the file you want to attach. Click on the name of the file then click on the "Open" button on the file locator. The locator dialogue box will disappear and the path to the file will be located in the box next to the "Browse" button. Add any comments regarding the file in the "Comments" box. Click on the "Submit" button. A warning will be displayed telling you that the file will be added to the Drop Box but not sent to the instructor. Click "OK". A receipt will be displayed telling you that the file has been added to the Drop Box. Clicking on "OK" will display the Drop Box page with the uploaded file listed.
  
• The most common mistake made by students using the Digital Drop Box is to "Add" a file to the Drop Box rather than "Sending" a file to the instructor.
  
• Adding a file to the Drop Box is sometimes used (by both instructors and students) as a means of "porting" a file. For instance, a file can be added to the Drop Box from your home computer and downloaded from the Drop Box at the a different computer. To download the file simply click on the file's title. If your computer has the software to open the file, it will open in the Blackboard window. As an alternative, you can right click the title and choose "Save Target As" and save the file to your local computer.
  
• To send a file to an instructor click on the "Send File" button located at the top of the page.
• Under section #1, either select a file that you previously uploaded using the "Add File" function or Browse for a different file. To send a file you have previously uploaded using the "Add File function, select the file from the dropdown menu by clicking on the file's title. If you have never "added" a file this option will not be present.
• To Browse for a new file, first type in a title for the file in the "Title" box. Click on the "Browse" button. This will display your computer's file locater dialogue box. Using the dropdown box on the top of the file locator, locate the directory and folder that contains the file you want to attach. Click on the name of the file then click on the "Open" button on the file locator. The locator dialogue box will disappear and the path to the file will be located in the box next to the "Browse" button. Add any comments regarding the file in the "Comments" box.
• Finally, click on the "Submit" button. A receipt will be displayed telling you that the file has been sent to the instructor's Drop Box. Clicking on "OK" will display the Drop Box page with the sent (and now added) file listed.
  
• If your instructor requires you to send files via the Drop Box it is important to name your files with some unique file name. For instance, a student named Neal Hirsig might save a MS Word file as "nhirsig_paper01_draft.doc". Using such a file naming convention avoids a large problem for the instructor of having to download 20 files all having the same file name "paper1.doc".
  
• To remove a file from your Digital Drop Box go to Tools / Digital Drop Box. This will display all of the files in your Drop Box. Click on the "Remove" button to the right of the file. A warning will be displayed. Click on "OK". The file will then be removed from the Drop Box and a receipt will be displayed telling you that the file was successfully deleted.
• Note: you can only remove files you "Add" to the Drop Box. You cannot remove files you have sent to the Instructor.
• Files in your Digital Drop Box will remain there until the end of the semester when your account is removed from the course site. When your account is removed from the course site all of your Digital Drop Box files are deleted.
• Do not use your Blackboard Digital Dropbox for non-course related files.

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