University of South Carolina Geology E103

   :  

Environment of the Earth

   :  

Dr. Carolyn Hudson

earth

Technical Notes

  

This site contains useful information for using Blackboard and word processing programs. Suggestions, corrections, and additions are welcome.

Caral's Clairvoyant and Tarot

  • Getting Technical Support
    If you are having problems with Blackboard, go to Blackboard Help. To report Blackboard problems, email Blackboard Support. If your problem cannot be resolved here you may get technical support by filling out an support ticket, sending email to the Help Desk or calling 777-1800. Help for VIP is available at VIP help. These support services are only available during normal business hours.


  • How to login to Blackboard.
    You need to use your network username. If you do not know it you need to login to VIP, click the Personal tab, and get your network username. You will be prompted to change your password.


  • If you do not have a word processing program you can download OpenOffice for Windows, Macintosh, or Linux for free.


  • Submitting Assignments
    • Assignments should be submitted as documents in Word format (1997-2003 0r 2007) or Rich Text Format. Word Format will be an ordinary "Save" for MS Word for Windows or Macintosh, Star Office for Windows or Linux, or Open Office for Windows, Apple, Solaris, or Linux. If you use AppleWorks, Word Perfect, or MSWorks, you must "Save as..." to put your work in Word format (.doc or .docx should appear at the end) or Rich Text Format (.rtf at the end). Do not enter these extensions manually. They must be added by your computer in the save action.
    • The title of your document should contain your name and a description of the assignment, e.g. ChrisJIntroAssign.doc.
    • Do not use a # in the title.
    • Assignments should be submitted through Blackboard.
      • Go to the assignment in Blackboard.
      • Click View/Complete.
      • You may make a comment if necessary. You may summarize shorter extra credit assignments in this box.
      • Next to File To Attach: click Browse...
      • Browse through you computer until you get to the document of your assignment.
      • Click "Open"
      • Click Submit.


  • Viewing a Graded Assignment
    • Go to the assignment in Blackboard.
    • Click View/Complete.
    • Go to Feedback to Student.
    • For the Intro Assignment or any other paper that I have attached, click the link to open the paper.
    • See the instructions below for reading comments that have been inserted into the paper.


  • Reading Comments
    • Open the document.
    • If you have MS Word 2007,you should see the comments when you open the paper. They will appear in blue balloons.
    • If you have MS Word 2002 or newer, under the View menu, select Print Layout. The comments will be visible in balloons at the right margin.
    • If you have MS Word 2000 or other fairly recent versions or comparable versions of Star Office or Open Office, you will be able to see where comments are inserted. These locations appear as yellow marks with [] at the end. Move your mouse over the comment area and you should see the comment. If not, try clicking View on your toolbar, and then Comments.
    • If you are an AOL user, you may need to use Internet Explorer or Firefox rather than AOL's browser for reading assignments returned in Blackboard.
    • If the paper is an email attachment you may have to save the document to your hard drive or a floppy disk.
    • If you have Windows with older versions of MSWorks, Word Perfect, or an older version of MS Word, you can view the comments with the Free MS Word Viewer. Make sure to restart your computer after installation. If you use AppleWorks, you may be able to view comments, depending on the version of Word that created them. If you are unable to view comments with AppleWorks, you might consider downloading Open Office from Open Office.


  • Inserting Comments
    If you have a recent version of MS Word, Star Office, or Open Office you can insert comments.
    • For MS Word 2007
      • Click Review
      • Click New Comment
    • For MS Word 2002 or 2003
      • Under the View menu, select Print Layout.
      • On the toolbar click Tools, click Protect Document, then select Comments.
      • Highlight (select) the words that your comment will concern.
      • On the toolbar click Insert, click Comment. A comment balloon will appear at the right of the page.
      • Type in your comment. To add another comment, move your cursor and repeat the procedure described.
      • Save your document and close it.
    • For MS Word 2000 and older:
      • On the toolbar click Tools, click Protect Document, then select Comments.
      • Move your cursor to the location where you want to insert.
      • On the toolbar click Insert, click Comment. A comment area will appear at the bottom of the page.
      • Type in your comment. To add another comment, move your cursor and repeat the procedure described.
      • Save your document and close it.




  • Using the Discussion Board
    • Click the Discussion Board Button.
    • Double click on the subject that interests you.
    • Click on a message to read it.
    • To enter your comments, click Add New Thread and type your response in the text area that appears. Click submit.
    • Click OK to go back to previous screens.


  • Sending email attachments
    • In your email system, address your email
    • Click the "attach" button
    • Browse through you computer until you get to the document you want to attach
    • Click "add" or "OK"
    • You should see the email with a line or icon describing the attachment
    • Click send
    • If you are not sure it has been sent, check your out box or sent mail file


  • Writing a CD using Windows XP (Copied from MS Windows XP Help and Support)
    1. Open My Computer.
    2. Insert a blank, writable CD into the CD recorder.
    3. Click the files or folders you want to copy to the CD. To select more than one file, hold down the CTRL key while you click the files you want. Then, under File and Folder Tasks, click Copy this file, Copy this folder, or Copy the selected items. If the files are located in My Pictures, under Picture Tasks, click Copy to CD or Copy all items to CD, and then skip to step 5.
    4. In the Copy Items dialog box, click the CD recording drive, and then click Copy.
    5. In My Computer, double-click the CD recording drive. Windows displays a temporary area where the files are held before they are copied to the CD. Verify that the files and folders that you intend to copy to the CD appear under Files Ready to be Written to the CD.
    6. Under CD Writing Tasks, click Write these files to CD. Windows displays the CD Writing Wizard. Follow the instructions in the wizard.
    Notes
    • To open My Computer, click Start, and then click My Computer.
    • Do not copy more files to the CD than it will hold. Standard CDs hold up to 650 megabytes (MB). High-capacity CDs hold up to 850 MB.
    • Be sure that you have enough disk space on your hard disk to store the temporary files that are created during the CD writing process. For a standard CD, Windows reserves up to 700 MB of the available free space. For a high-capacity CD, Windows reserves up to 1 gigabyte (GB) of the available free space.
    • After you copy files or folders to the CD, it is useful to view the CD to confirm that the files are copied.




    • Go to Introductory Exercise

    Return to Syllabus

    This site last updated on December 12 2007 by carolyn.hudson@sc.edu .
    URL http://course.cas.sc.edu/hudsoncb/geole103/technotes.html

    The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author. The contents of the page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of South Carolina.