Blackboard Integrated Tools
Blackboard (Bb) is the online Learning Management System (LMS) used by Central Michigan University (CMU). Every class at CMU has an associated Bb shell. Most instructors will utilize the Bb shell to some extent. The typical default Bb shell will contain the following menu buttons: Announcements, My Textbooks, Course Material, Assignments, Discussion Boards, Quizzes, and Exams. Bb has a number of tools integrated within it that are also used (e.g. Webex, Respondus Lockdown Browser, SafeAssign, and more). In addition, instructors may also use other Third Party (non-Blackboard) Content that is integrated into their Bb shells. This article provides an overview on the various tools within Bb along with other Third Party Content Items a student could encounter at CMU.
Within Bb, various tools have been integrated into CMU's Bb configuration and are as follows:
| Cisco Webex |
Webex is a web conferencing tool that allows a class to meet together in a virtual space at a designated time. Everyone with a CMU Global ID has their own personal Webex room for meeting and collaborating.
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| Respondus Lockdown Browser |
Exam Security Browser that allows access to only Blackboard and the test. |
| Respondus Monitor |
Use of the student's webcam to record the testing experience during a test. Recorded footage is added to the Bb course shell for viewing by the instructor. |
| SafeAssign |
CMU's plagiarism detection tool. Completed work submitted into a Blackboard SafeAssign assignment is checked against various databases and the Internet for possible plagiarism. |
Optional Third-Party Software
Below is a list of additional software tools that may be integrated into Bb on a course-by-course, instructor-by-instructor basis. Many of these items come at an additional cost to students and may also have a textbook associated with their use. The course syllabus should identify use of additional, required software items.
| Adobe Creative Cloud |
Adobe Creative Cloud resources for photography, graphic design, video editing, drawing, and painting |
| Capsim |
Simulation-based teaching tools |
| Cengage | MindTap |
eBooks, study tools, and interactive assignments platform |
| Cengage | WebAssign |
Interactive content & assignment platform |
| DawnSign Digital |
American Sign Language (ASL) and deaf culture-related videos and books |
| FeedbackFruits |
A suite of tools for enhanced interaction and feedback among students and/or with course materials. |
| Flatworld |
eBook & homework content app |
| GoReact |
A platform that allows students to upload videos they have created as part of coursework for review, feedback, and grading by the instructor. |
| Great River Learning |
eBook and interactive assignments platform |
| Hawkes |
eBooks, study tools, and interactive assignments platform |
| iClicker |
student and audience response systems |
| Jones and Bartlett (JB) Learning: |
eBooks, study tools, and interactive assignments platform |
| Macmillan (Achieve) |
eBooks, study tools, and interactive assignments platform |
| MyOpenMath (MOM) |
Open access (free) Math/Statistics homework assignment platform |
| Norton |
eBooks, study tools, and interactive assignments platform |
| Oxford Insights |
eBooks, study tools, and interactive assignments platform |
| Packback |
Platform that facilitates online discussion |
| Pearson MyLabs |
eBooks, study tools, and interactive assignments platform |
| Sage Vantage |
eBooks, study tools, and interactive assignments platform |
| TestOut | LabSim |
Interactive assignments platform |
| Vista Higher Learning |
eBooks, study tools, and interactive assignments platform for foreign languages |
| VitalSource |
Integration that supports the MyTextbooks tab inside a Blackboard course' Platform that delivers access to eBooks |
| WAMAP |
Web-based mathematics assessment and course management |
| WeBWorks |
Open access (free) Math homework assignment platform |
| WileyPlus (User Experience) |
eBooks, study tools, and interactive assignments platform |
| zyBooks |
Interactive content with auto-grading questions |