Online Learning

This video shows a quick introduction to Blackboard including how to access Blackboard, how to access your courses, and how to get help.

Review this quick how-to video to learn how to access the Blackboard Learning Management System.

This video shows the base navigation of Blackboard including where to find your courses.

As a KCTCS Student, you have access to many resources. MyPath is a great place to start. For account issues, visit the User Account Center at kctcs.edu/user

There are many resources available to all KCTCS Students. This video shows where you can get started.

All KCTCS Students can download Office to their Windows PC or MacOS device. This video shows you how.

Download Microsoft Office

Some courses have documents available as PDFs. If your computer does not have a built-in PDF reader, this video shows you how to download the software.

Participation is important in all classes – online included! This video shows how you can participate in your online course.

Blackboard Collaborate is a web conferencing tool built into all Blackboard shells. If your class uses this software, this video will help you get started.

This video takes a closer look at participating in discussion boards.

Online classes require you to submit work through a few different avenues. Here’s a video that covers submitting work to Blackboard.

If you use a Chromebook or a public computer, you may need to submit work from a Web App like Office 365. This video shows some tips on how to do so correctly.

This video from Blackboard shows how to check your grades.

This video shows how to set up and personalize your notification settings within Blackboard.

The Blackboard Ally Tool allows you to download alternative files for items within your Blackboard course. These videos show how to utilize this tool.

Some courses utilize content from a textbook publisher. The three primary publishers are Cengage, McGraw Hill, and Pearson. For assistance with these publishers, please use the links below.

• Cengage
• McGraw Hill Registration
• McGraw Hill Resources
• Pearson

All in-person and online courses at Gateway use Blackboard which is a learning management system. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that all Gateway students have a computer with reliable Internet access. Smart phones, tablets and/or Chromebooks may not provide reliable access.

Computer Recommendations

A computer with the following specs should be sufficient for online learning:

• Macintosh OS X (10.12 or higher) or Windows PC (8 or higher)
• 4 GB RAM (8 GM RAM or more is highly recommended)
• 20 GB of available hard-drive space
• Screen resolution set to 1280 X 1024
• Broadband/high-speed uninterrupted Internet access; minimum speed of 1.5 Mbps download, 750 Kbps upload
• Webcam, microphone, and speakers

Gateway eLearning and Blackboard Student Support is available to assist you with online learning troubleshooting or questions you may have.

Submit an eLearning Ticket or email gateway.elearning@kctcs.edu.

Available 24/7/365!

Call 1-855-3GO-GCTC (1-855-346-4282).