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Create a Profile on Blackboard
Blackboard’s ‘Social Learning Tools’ form a small scale social networking style environment within Blackboard, which students can use outside of their course areas. They include the Profile tool, People tool, Messages tool, and Spaces tool.The Profile tool is the one you are most likely to be interested in. This allows you to add a photo of yourself which shows up in other places such as the Blackboard Discussion Board tool, which makes it easier to follow conversations and see who posted what.
When logged into Blackboard, your name can be seen near the top right of the page, as shown in this image. Click on your name and a drop down menu will appear. At the top of the menu is a grey head shaped icon by default, and if you click on this you will see your empty profile page.
Click on the ‘Edit My Blackboard Profile’ to get started adding photos and any information that you might want to share about yourself.
The Spaces tool is one of Blackboard’s Social Learning Tools, and is linked to using the icon that represents a network. We have written a guide to using the Spaces tool in case the tool is useful as a simple discussion space for anyone doing group work.
A recent update to the Social Learning Tools adds important features. The update ensures that you have agreed to Blackboard’s terms of service before you use them, and you will be reminded of the section of Edge Hill University’s IT Acceptable Use Policy that relates to social networking type activity. You will also have more control over your own information, as you will be able to completely delete your profile while you are a student with access to Blackboard. Even if you don’t get round to deleting your profile, inactive accounts will be removed after about a year, so they won’t be there forever.
If you find that your profile picture (and others’!) have disappeared, it may be you added your photo before the terms came in. To ‘reactivate’ all the profile pictures in your account, click back to your profile picture (as if you’re uploading your photo again) and ensure you click to accept the agreement. All the photos will automatically re-appear!
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Improvements for library loans…
We are currently exploring how we can improve our offer in terms of students/staff borrowing from the University Library. Our aim is to have a more flexible service, and to minimise charges.
The following are improvements under consideration:
- Only charging fines on overdue books that are in high demand (ie items that have been reserved by another student/staff member)
- Introducing an auto renewal service; the library would renew your books for you (apart from any with a reservation)
- To make the borrowing rules easy to understand; introducing one standard loan length for all books
We would appreciate your feedback on how these changes might enhance, or otherwise, your experience of borrowing from the library. If you have any feedback (positive or negative!) then we would love to hear it. Just drop an email to [email protected]
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Easter Vacation opening at Learning Services
We are pleased to announce that we are offering extra opening times over the holiday period. Our additional opening is
Easter Saturday: 11am – 3pm
Easter Monday & Tuesday: 9am – 5pm
These days are traditionally University closed days, but as we know this is a very busy time for students finishing assignments and projects, and preparing for exams, we are hoping students, and staff, can take full advantage of this.
Please check the website here for a full list of opening hours at all of our sites.
If you are going home for Easter remember you can access other universities WiFi by selecting Eduroam as the wireless network, and logging in using your Edge Hill log in and password. If you are planning to use your Sconul Access at another institution over Easter, you would be advised to check their opening hours over the holiday.
