Banner

BB Tip: Adding a course banner

Personalizing your Blackboard class is fun and easy. Adding a banner (the graphic displayed at the top of your course everytime a student logs on) is a great way to personalize your course. You can easily create really great course banners by going to one of these sites below.

	GRSites LogoMaker at http://www.grsites.com/logo/ (Very good site with an easy-to-use generator)
	3D Textmaker at http://www.3dtextmaker.com/image_editor.html (This site makes 3-D text effects)
	ABC Banners at http://www.abcbanners.com/ (Easy design process with good selection of graphics and fonts)
	The Banner Generator at http://www.coder.com/creations/banner/ (Locate 'Make a Banner' toward the bottom)
	My Imager at http://www.myimager.com/ (Click on File and choose one of the options.)
	The Banner Maker at http://www.mybannermaker.com/ (Visual sizing options are helpful to see the finished size of the banner)
	CoolText at http://cooltext.com/ (Easy to use)
	IQ Auto at http://www.iqauto.com/cgi-bin/main.pl (Generates 3-D text)
	Acme Label Maker at http://www.acme.com/labelmaker/ (Simulates the old "Acme" style adhesive label banners)

Note: banners should be no more than about 400 pixels wide x 150 pixels tall. Also note, these are free, public sites, so there is no guarantee of quality. Also, advertising may be present on some of these sites.

Add the Banner to your Blackboard Course

After generating your banner, right-mouse-click on the image and choose the Save Image As or Save Picture As option

A pop-up screen will appear – decide where to save the image (Desktop, hard drive, flashdrive, etc.)
Access Blackboard
Go to the Control Panel > Course Design > Course Banner
Click the Browse button and locate your graphic (wherever you saved it) > click Open
Click Submit.

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!

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

Karen Schwalm