Technical Support Help for Online Courses
There are many online resources to assist you if you experience some difficulties with Blackboard.
- If you are experiencing difficulties with the course interface, such as accessing Lectures, using the Discussion Boards, Private E-mail, Assignment Drop Box, Online Quizzes/Tests, etc., please check the Help link from the top-right menubar from within your course. This Help is context-sensitive so it will load the Help pages that match the location of where you are in Blackboard with the proper Help area.
- If you need to contact your instructor, there are two ways to do so:
- E-mail: Go to the Staff Directory and search for the last name of your instructor.
- Phone: Call the college at (815) 825-2086 and request the instructor's name through the operator. Or, for specific instructor's phone extension numbers, please reference the Staff Directory of the College website.
If after accessing these online resources you still haven't solved the problem you are experiencing, you will want to contact technical support. You are advised to also let your instructor know also in case the technical difficulty is interfering with an assignment/paper due date.
There are three ways to contact technical support:
- Send an e-mail to , Coordinator of Online Courses
- Call Brian Magnuson at 815-825-2086, ext. 3310
- Visit Brian Magnuson's office located in Media Services, A-252
Before contacting technical support, however, please check for other reasons why you cannot access your course materials. These include:
- Your Internet Service Provider (ISP) may be experiencing difficulties
- The Blackboard server may be experiencing difficulties
- The Java and Javascript settings are incorrect in your browser's preferences
- Your browser has incorrect settings for full Internet access (please check Blackboard's Browser Tuneup page for more info)
- Your firewall software has incorrect settings for full Internet access
- Your pop-up blocker software has incorrect settings for Kishwaukee College's online server
- The Internet may be having a particularly bad day
There are many more reasons that can cause frustration. Internet access is becoming more demanding, servers have bottlenecks, etc. Please explore some of these avenues before contacting support. Thank you.
When contacting technical support, be prepared to provide as much of the information below as you can:
- Computer CPU type and speed
- Available RAM
- Hard disk storage space
- Modem type and speed
- Internet Service Provider
- Computer operating system (Windows, MacOS)
- Type and version of browser
- Time of error and/or technical difficulty
- In what part of Blackboard did the problem occur
- Contact phone number
Some of the more common problems that occur are:
- Browser privacy settings set too high
- Firewall privacy settings set too high
- A pop-up blocker is not set to allow pop-ups in Blackboard
- Not enough RAM on your computer
- Not enough hard disk storage space on your computer
- Incorrect versions of Netscape or Internet Explorer
- Slow or faulty ISP connections
- Slow or congested Kishwaukee College server
- Using browser navigation rather than Blackboard navigation
- Impatience with connection speed
