Getting Started with Blackboard

Activity page - The Activity page shows you what's going on in each of your courses in Blackboard. You can see due dates for assignments, grades, announcements, and other activity. You can find out more on Blackboard's help site. 

Content area - The Content area is where you will find all your course material in each course. It's the center of the page in Blackboard, below the menu and to the side of the Details & Actions menu. 

Courses area - The Courses area is where you will see all the courses you are currently enrolled in (as well as those you've completed). You can get there by clicking on "Courses" in the blue menu on the left-hand side when you log in to Blackboard. 

CRN - Each part of your Course Number has a different piece of information. The subject is the first part--a four-letter abbreviation of the subject of the course. The second part is the number of the course. The third part is the CRN, a number that identifies which actual class you are enrolled in. The fourth part identifies the semester.

For example: ABCD_1001_12345_202610

ABCD is the subject, 1001 the course number, 12345 the CRN, and 202610 the semester.

Institution Page - The Institution Page is the first page you'll see when you log in to Blackboard at TCC. It has a feed of useful information, such as links and announcements. It's also where you'll see the menu you can use to navigate to your courses and organizations. 

Messages - In Blackboard, you will communicate with your instructors primarily through Messages. You will receive a copy of each message in your email as well.

Organizations - You might be enrolled in some Organizations in Blackboard. At this time (Summer 2025) most Organizations are still using Blackboard's older interface (Original). 

Sections - A section is the particular class you are enrolled in. This will not be reflected in the official course number. It may or may not be indicated in the Course Title; that is up to each instructor. 

Favorites - To "favorite" a course is to click the purple star next to the course in the Courses Area so that it always appears at the top of your list of courses.