BlackBoard Question of the Week

Q. A student asked me if there was any way that she could download my Powerpoint lectures from Blackboard onto a CD so that she can listen to them in the car on her way to and from work. Is this possible? 

A. The answer depends on the format of your narrated Powerpoint lectures.  If they were created in Articulate, they are Flash files and cannot be downloaded (but if you saved the source files in Articulate, the audio files should still be there in a separate folder and you could post those for download).

But if you recorded your lectures in Powerpoint, they can be converted to mp4, which is a format that can be downloaded. You could post those files directly in your Blackboard course, or you could set up an iTunes U area for your course and post them there. Students who wanted to load them onto their ipods could do that in iTunes, or any of your students could download the files and then burn them to a CD.

For assistance with file conversion Loyola faculty should email blackboard@luc.edu.

For instructions for setting up a Loyola iTunes U area, please visit iTunes U in Blackboard.

Q. My instructor posts short quizzes on Blackboard, and I would like to take them using my iPhone – can I do that?

A.  Due to a number of issues, including particular mobile devices, coverage, phone platform, etc., students should not attempt to submit assignments or take tests or quizzes on any mobile device; instead, they should use a non-mobile Web browser for those purposes.

Q. Can you tell me what I may need to download into my iPad in order to hear online lectures?

 A. You can easily access Blackboard on your iPad using Loyola’s Mobile Learn app. Here’s how:

1. Go to the iTunes App Store and search for “Blackboard Mobile Learn.”
2. Download the free app for iPad.
3. Open the app.
4. Enter Loyola University Chicago in the field provided.
5. Login with your Loyola UVID and password.
6. Choose the course you want to access from the list.

Some narrated lectures at Loyola are created in a format that is not currently supported by the iPad, but you should be able to review all lectures from any PC or Mac computer. Visit Blackboard Mobile Learn for more information.