Student Preview

What is Student Preview?

Student preview allows an instructor to view and interact with a specific course from a student perspective with the push of a button. When you click the "Student Preview" button, an actual student account is created "on the fly" and enrolled in your course. Therefore, while in student preview you can:

• • Submit assignments

  • Take tests

  • Create a blog and discussion post

  • Create Journal and wiki entries

  • View Student Tools, such as My Grades

To switch back and forth between student preview and instructor mode

In the upper right hand corner of the screen you will notice an icon that looks like the "all seeing eye" (see image below). Click on the eye to enter "Student Preview" Mode

When in student preview mode you will note the Orange Bar (see below) at the top of the page.

To go back to instructor mode select the "Exit Preview" button in the far right of the orange bar

The first time you log out of Student Preview in a specific course you will be presented with three different options

Delete the Preview user and all the data (Recommended)

Deleting the preview user has the following effects:

• • All activity conducted or created as the preview user is removed from the course permanently. This includes test attempts, assignment submissions, grades, and discussion posts. Also deleted is any interaction an enrolled student has with the preview user, such as replies to a preview user's discussion posts.

  • The preview user is unenrolled from the specific course.

Keep the preview user and all the data

Select Keep the preview user and all dataif you need to see how student activity is presented to you as the instructor, such as in grade calculations. By keeping the data the preview user account will appear in the course roster, Grade Center or any relevant student locations.

Important

When you save the preview user account,you'll see a green dot in the middle of icon . This indicates that you have information saved in the "student preview mode for that course.

Remember this choice and do not ask again

This option is useful if you want to save your student data for testing purposes, and are intending on going back and forth between your instructor and student view accounts. Selecting this option allows you to simply exit the student preview window without having to select the "Save option" each and every time you exit student preview.

Warning

• • If you have multiple instructors teaching the same course and they could have student preview users and data for the same course. The results of reports ( such as Course Reports, Item Analysis reports) could be skewed if a number of bogus student preview accounts exist.

  • If you are adding images to your course or a test for example. It is possible that as an instructor you may see the images in your student preview account but your students cannot see those same images.If you encounter this problem, contact Blackboard Support to help troubleshoot the problem.

Frequently Asked Questions

If I have selected the Keep preview user and all the data" and want to change those settings. How can I make that change after the first time?

• • • To change your "saved" options at any time you can go to the "Settings" button in the "orange" student preview bar to change your selected choice.

How does Grade Center Display the student preview account?

• • • An instructor based student preview account format will be as follows: username_preview userIf I save my Student Preview information will students be able to interact with that student preview account; like any other student account? (Emails, Course Messages, Discussions..etc)

      • • Yes, the student preview account will be displayed far any and all students in a course and can be interacted with by all students

• • • • If I fail to exit out of Student Preview before logging/closing my blackboard course. Will I be able to log back into the course as an instructor?

        • If you log out/close your Blackboard course while in Student Preview mode. When you attempt to log back into the same course you will be signed back in at the same point ( Student Preview)

• • • Why does my student preview icon show as active ()when I have no saved student preview data?

      • • The student preview icon will show as active in any course as long as there is "one" active student preview account present. The student preview icon will display whether the account belongs to youor another instructor in the same course.

        • What if I can see images in tests but my students cannot see the images in their own accounts; what should I do?

          • • Contact the Learning Support SystemsTeam. Include the Course name; section number, along with which quiz and question numbers where the images are located.