When it comes to college, one of the first major changes that you come across is the use of technology tools such as Blackboard. According to Blackboard’s support page, it is a tool that allows faculty to add resources for students to access online, such as slide shows, videos, animation, and other applications. Some third-party applications are added on to Blackboard courses for students. Incoming students will have to deal with the challenges of figuring out Canvas along with Blackboard for their first time. 

  You may think that having these types of resources would make the college experience a lot simpler, and perhaps even more efficient, but for some students it has become a challenge because not every student has access to a computer or Wi-Fi at home. Also, many students may not be aware of how to operate the Blackboard application or how to navigate around it.  

  “The majority of our issues come from new, incoming students who need help resetting their passwords or need help with connecting to the school Wi-Fi,” said Mason Pierce, who works at the CSUB help desk. Pierce also mentioned that the type of issue depends on who needs assistance. Staff usually needs help with printing issues and students need more help with Blackboard issues.  

  “I found Blackboard confusing but I eventually got used to it,” said English major Valerie Hernandez. “It took me a long time to find what I needed throughout the website because it was new to me and I had a hard time resetting my password.”  

  “Using Blackboard for the first time was so confusing,” said freshman criminal justice major Gladys Carranza. “One of my professors had us self-enroll into one of our courses, and I couldn’t figure out how to enroll to save my life. It took me about 30 to 40 minutes to connect […] I finally gave up and just asked my older sister.” Carranza also mentioned she had trouble connecting to the Wi-Fi, and that every time she reopened her laptop she had to sign in again.  

  After speaking to a few students on campus and hearing them talk about having to adjust, the technology challenges students may face seem difficult, but CSUB has useful resources to rely on. According to the CSUB Information Technology Services website, the helpdesk is open Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Students can also submit an online service request at the CSUB website or by sending an email to [email protected].