Online discussion/gradebook username and password
When you click on an "Online discussion" or "Online
gradebook" link in a
course, a new browser window will appear with a Blackboard
dialog box prompting you for your Username and Password. Enter
your username (Your Blackboard user name consists of everything to the
left of the @ symbol in your VCCS email address. For example, if your VCCS email
address is krandal0001@email.vccs.edu, your Blackboard user name would be
krandal0001. Check www.nvcc.edu/bbstart/
for your official e-mail address, or my.vccs.edu). For your password, enter
your e-mail password. (Your password consists of the
birth date you supplied when you applied for admission to the
college. It consists of 6 digits: two for the month,
two for the day and two for the year. For example, if Kelly Random
lists her birth date as 5 April 1972, then her password would be 040572.)
If you have problems, please contact the college help desk
at www.nvcc.edu/ithd/.
Technical support
Please be aware that technical support
for any college computer problem is only available in the appropriate computer
lab. Technical support
information is at www.nvcc.edu/ithd/.
You can also contact the college Help Desk for assistance
in resolving problems. Help Desk personnel are available from 8 AM to 9 PM (Monday-Friday) and
from 9 AM to 5 PM on Saturday at 703.426.4141 (Hours subject to change.). You should resolve any technical problems with your computer at home or office with your service provider. If you have problems
receiving the necessary support at any college computer, please notify
me at once.
E-mail link
If you wish to send some of your assignments
using the e-mail link on the web pages(This is not required.), your
browser (Netscape or Explorer) must be configured properly. For example,
if you get the message "Your e-mail message has not been specified" in
Netscape, open the "OPTIONS" icon, highlight and click on "Mail and Network
Preferences," click on the tab "Identity" and enter your e-mail address. If
you are using a college computer, please ask for assistance. Note that in most of the
college labs the email feature of the browsers is disabled for security reasons.
E-mail accounts
To send your assignments in this course, you will need access to
an e-mail provider/program. The VCCS does provide an e-mail account for
all students; see
www.nvcc.edu/ithd/studentmail.html
for information.
Sending attachments (generally speaking)
Sending an attachment to an e-mail message is a process very much
dependent on the particular software (or provider/program) that you are using for your e-mail. These are just some
general hints to help you with attachments:
-
Know exactly in which directory/folder the file that you are going
to attach resides. This might be in "My Documents" or "My Files," or wherever you routinely save your work. You
might consider creating a specific folder as a location to keep all your course assignments.
- Always first write a short e-mail message
including your name, the name of the assignment and the particular file format of the assignment.
- After finishing the e-mail message, click on the add attachment button (The location of
this button--even its name--will vary from e-mail program to e-mail program.) You will then have to use a "browse" button to locate the
file you wish to attach.
- Before you click (Or double-click) on the file to attach it, you are sometimes
prompted to indicate file format (Word, Wordperfect, Rich Text, etc.) and encoding options (Always choose no
encoding.). Then you can click to attach the document.
- Return to your e-mail message and check to see if an attachment is indicated (Usually
a paper clip with the image of a document will appear.). You can then send the e-mail.
Sending attachments (using the VCCS email system)
-
Once you have logged into your VCCS email account, from the
Inbox select Compose. At the bottom of the Compose screen, click on the
Attachments button icon, and a Pop-up window will appear.
- Step 1: Click on browse to
locate the file that you wish to attach. Click on the file, then on the Open
button. The file should appear in the Step 1 box.
- Step 2: Click on Attach File. When the file
has appeared under "Filename" list at the bottom of the Pop-up window, the file has
been successfully attached to your email.
- Step 3: Click Done, and the Pop-up window will
disappear. You can then finish and send your e-mail.
Installing a Plug-In
In these history courses, there are a number of opportunities for you to listen to remarks
made by your instructor. One mechanism for accomplishing this involves the use of a Real Audio streaming audio
file. You can do this only if you have installed the FREE Real Audio "plug-in" program on your computer. A
"plug-in" is a supplementary, or auxiliary, program that helps your web browser (Usually Netscape or Internet Explorer)
deal with a particular type of file (In this case a streaming audio file.). To install a real-audio plug-in:
-
From any course page with an audio link, click on the "Free RealPlayer" image
to go to the RealPlayer download site. 
- It gets complicated at this point. Near the top of the
www.real.com site, click on the link to "RealPlayer" immediately to the right of the "Download" heading. That
will take you to another page asking you to download the $29.99 version. Instead, near the bottom of the screen,
click on the link contained in phrase "RealPlayer 7 Basic is our free player." (UGH)
- Complete the short form required by real.com, and then click on the "Start download"
button.
- Select which features of the BASIC RealPlayer you want, and again click on the
"Start download" button.
- At the next screen with installation instructions, click on any link to a download
location.
- When you click on the link, the file download will finally begin. Once the download
has finished (It might take awhile.), you should locate the downloaded file in the directory in which you saved it. Double-click
on the file and begin the installation process on your computer.
- Good Luck.
I welcome any constructive commentary.
Please feel free to make any suggestions, either design or content-oriented,
to improve the course.
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