Blackboard conveys content in a number of different areas. Some are interactive, such as the communication areas, but some are relatively more static. Representatives of the latter group include Announcements, Syllabus, Course Documents (also called Course Materials, or just Documents) and Faculty (or Staff) Information. Faculty use these areas to relay important information, and although these areas tend not to be interactive the content changes on a regular basis, and students should monitor these sites regularly.

For convenience sake the five content areas mentioned above have been condensed into two help files -- use the links to the right to access information on Announcements/Faculty Information and Assignments/Documents/Syllabus.

Format
First a note about the formats of files you are likely to encounter in the content areas. Blackboard can host a number of different file formats, all of which are widely accessable to the majority of PCs.
• HTML:
  HyperText Markup Language is the basic language of the web, and if you can access Bb, HTML documents will open as any other web link.
• MS Word:
  Microsoft Word is the most widely used word processing software, and many faculty use it to post content on Bb. Almost all users have MS Word on their personal computers, and MS Word files open with no trouble. To download the free Word Viewer (if you don't have Word on your PC) see below.
• MS Powerpoint:
  Many faculty use MS Powerpoint to present slide-type presentations that can include texts, graphics, audio and animation. Most users have MS Powerpoint on their personal computers, and Powerpoint files open with no trouble. To download the free Powerpoint Viewer (if you don't have PPT on your PC) see below.
• MS Excel:
  A spreadsheet is similar a paper ledger sheet. It's comprised of a of from columns and rows that can be used to perform advanced mathematical functions. It is widley used in many business courses. As with Word and Powerpoint, Excel is automatically installed in most PCs, but to download the free Excel Viewer (if you don't have it on your PC) see below.
• Adobe Acrobat:
  Acrobat makes picture-perfect copies of documents, and is usually used to replicate heavily-formatted files -- that is, documents with many graphics, outlines, ennumeration, etc. In many cases Adobe is used represent historical material in it's original format. Unlike the MS products above, Adobe is not usually pre-installed on PCs. However, the Adobe web browser plug-in is free and automatically installs when the application is called. To obtain the free viewer manually see below.
• Word Perfect:
  Another Word Processor, Word Perfect has only a tiny fraction of the market and is rarely used. Most computers do not have it installed, and to view documents posted in WP students should download the free viewer -- see below.
Downloads
Students who do not have some of the file formats mentioned above can use any of the WPUNJ Lab PCs, or can download free viewers here:
http://www.wpunj.edu/irt/teambb/downloads/

Click on the links to the right to learn about accessing Bb course content!