When you add Assignments using the Assignment Manager in Blackboard, a number of things occur to make it easy for your students to submit assignments and for the instructor to grade the assignments. 

1. Blackboard's Assignment Manager allows faculty to retrieve and grade an assignment right from the Gradebook.   A column for each assignment is automatically created in the Gradebook when you create an assignment using the Assignments Manager. After students submit their assignments, the faculty member sees an exclamation point (!) in the Gradebook signaling the assignment is waiting to be graded.   Clicking on the exclamation point (!) opens a page containing a link to the file the student has submitted for grading.  The graded assignment can also be returned to students by attaching it to the Assignment Manager page and submitting it.
2. Assignment Manager also creates a screen in Blackboard for students that contains a link for them to use to submit the Assignment.  Here is a tutorial showing students how to submit their assignment using the Assignment Manager link:  http://www.gc.maricopa.edu/ic/gcchelp/tutorials/blackboard/assignmentmanager.html
3. Students can view graded assignments from the "Tools>>View Grades" link from the course menu. 
4. Availability dates allows instructor to set deadlines for assignments; once the deadline passes, students lose the opportunity to submit the assignment .  The Assignment Manager provides a time and date stamp for all submissions.

This 3-part document provides faculty with detailed instructions for using Blackboard for creating assignments, retrieving assignments and sending assignments back to students.  http://learningobjects.uaa.alaska.edu/blackboard/quikie_assgn.pdf

Getting Started with Blackboard

Blackboard is not just for online or hybrid classes.  It's a tool that can be used in traditional classes, as well as those taught traditionally in the computer classrooms.  Let's get started in Blackboard!

1.  To create your Blackboard account, email Bb@gcmail.maricopa.edu and request a Blackboard account and a Blackboard shell course for you to practice. 
2. Once you can access Blackboard, email Karen Schwalm or Marla DeSoto for access to the English Sandbox in Blackboard, a practice area for instructors.