An
Instructor's Guide
to Blackboard |
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Course Options
1. Manage Course Menu
This feature allows instructors to customize their Blackboard
course by creating a navigation menu with functions of
their choice. Additional content areas can be created and
tool functions can be added to the navigation menu. Instructors
can also rename any of the navigation buttons/links. Existing
areas of the course menu may be modified or removed through
the modify or remove buttons next to each heading. Important:
removing a menu item will remove all content within that
item. If you would like to temporarily disable it, choose
modify and change the Availability.
To add an additional Content
Area to your course menu:
- click on the Add Content Area button
- choose a name for the link from the dropdown box or
type in your own
- check or uncheck the Allow Guest Access box to give/take
away the ability of outside students to view this
area
- click Submit and OK
To add a tool link to your course menu:
-
click on the Add Tool Link button
- choose the tool for which you want to create a link;
if a different name would be more
- appropriate, specify
this
name in the next box
- click Submit and OK
To add a Link (to the course menu) to any part of your course:
-
click on the Add Course Link button
- type in a name for the link and click on the Browse button
to locate the file/folder/content area you want to
link to
- click Submit and OK
To add an External
Link to your course menu:
-
click on the Add External Link button
- type in the name and the URL of the link
- click Submit and OK
To change the order of your links in the course menu:
-
click on the dropdown number box next to the name of the
link
- select the appropriate place (number)
TOP 2. Manage Tools
Instructors can control the availability of Tools (such as
Collaboration Tools, the Drop Box, Email, etc.) through
the Tool Availability link under Manage
Tools. They can
also choose which tools will be available for Guests/Observers
to view. Content Types (such as external links, tests,
surveys, etc.) can also be managed through Manage
Tools.
- to set the availability of certain
tools, click on the
Tools Availability link and check/uncheck various options
- to set the
availability of Content Types, click on the
Content Type Availability link; check and uncheck options
that apply
TOP 3. Archive Course
This feature allows you to archive your courses and save
them in a .zip format. The .zip files can be stored on
a disc or hard drive and can be reloaded into Blackboard
for future use. This feature is useful if you want to keep
a copy your course for future reference, or if you have
developed a summer or interim session version that may
not be used again for a year or more. Note: Archiving a
course does not remove the original from the system.
All courses are archived by Blackboard Administration at
the end of the semester. Courses are stored on disks and
instructors can get access to them when needed. However,
we strongly recommend that you archive your own courses and
store them on your computer.
To Archive your course:
-
click on the Archive Course link
- click Submit
- follow the instructions and save the .zip file to your
computer
- click OK
TOP 4. Recycle Course
Any part of your course that is "recycled" is
deleted permanently. By choosing this option, you can quickly remove
content and data from your course.
You do not have to recycle your courses at the end of the
semester. All courses are archived by Blackboard Administration
and deleted from the server after the end of a semester.
To Recycle your course:
-
click on the Recycle Course link
- check boxes next to items you want to remove
- type the word Remove in the space provided
- click Submit
TOP 5. Course Copy
Instructors have the ability to copy their whole course or
parts of their course into another Blackboard course they
are teaching. This approach may be used for copying things
such as content items, tests and surveys, staff information.
It is also possible to fill out an Online Request Form
(available at http://blackboard.bradley.edu) to have your course copied
to a course you will be teaching in the future or are teaching
now. This should primarily be used when courses are no
longer available on the server. In all other situations use Course
Copy.
To Copy a Course or part of a course to an existing one:
-
click on the Copy Course Materials into
an Existing Course link under Course Copy
- type in the Destination
Course ID (course ID’s
have a special format) or click the Browse button and
search for
the course
- select which course materials you want to copy
- click Submit and OK
TOP 6. Export Course
This feature allows you to download and save a .zip file
of your course. The compressed exported course can later
be reloaded into Blackboard. The Export Course feature
is also used to save older versions of course sites for
future reference or for course storage between uses.
- click on the Export Course link
- choose the areas you want to export by clicking on the
appropriate check boxes
- click Submit
- follow the instructions and save
the .zip file to your computer
- click OK
TOP 7. Import Package
This feature allows instructors to upload information from
an exported Blackboard course to a current course. Once
a course is exported, instructors can import the whole
course package, or selected parts of the course into another
course site.
If the Course Settings are imported, the settings from the
exported course will overwrite the settings of the destination.
If other areas are chosen, they will be added to the destination
course and the existing materials will remain.
To import a previously exported course:
-
click on the Import Package link
- click on the Browse button to search for the .zip file
that contains the exported course site you want to
upload (this
may several minutes if the file is large)
- select materials to include in the import process
Note: To recreate a course from an archive package,
including student records, use Restore instead
of Import.
TOP 8. Import Course Cartridge
Course Cartridges enable Instructors to gain access to complete
sets of teaching tools provided by academic publishers.
In one central location, instructors can find relevant,
publisher-created materials. Once the materials are downloaded
to a Blackboard Course, instructors are free to customize
the content by adding and deleting materials as needed,
to correlate with specific topics covered in the classroom.
Course Cartridges can serve as supplements to existing online courses, or provide
an excellent start for faculty who are just beginning to develop online teaching
strategies.
Note: Instructors must obtain a Download Key from the publisher to add Course
Cartridge content.
TOP 9. Settings
Use the Settings tool to specify various options for a course. Some of the
settings you may want to change are:
- Course Name
and Description: Set the title, description
and category for the course
- Course Availability: Make your course available to students
- Guest Access: Allow or disallow guest access
- Course Duration: Specify the duration of the course
- Set Course
Entry Point: Select the default page that
students will see when they enter your course web
site
- Course Design: Change the appearance of your course,
place a banner, change the buttons and color
of your site
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