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Course Content

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Table of Contents:

Adding a Syllabus to a Course

Every faculty member is required to upload a syllabus into the syllabus content area for each eLearn course they are teaching and open the eLearn course to students.  

Before you begin, create the syllabus using either a Word or PDF file and save the file with a name in the following format: course number_semester_syllabus (e.g. BUS101_fall2015_syllabus).

  1. Open your desired course from your Courses list.
  2. Make sure Edit Mode is on.
  3. Select the Syllabus link from the course menu.
  4. From the Build Content menu choose File.
  5. On the Create File page, enter a name in the Name field.

    Image of the Create File options page in eLearn, showing the field to give the file a name, text color, and the option to browse your computer or content collection for file to upload.
  6. Select Browse My Computer.
  7. At this point, check to make sure your syllabus file name contains the following information: course number_semester_syllabus (e.g. BUS101_fall2015_syllabus). It is extremely important to follow the file naming format. Click on the file from your computer.  
  8. Select Open.
  9. At the bottom of the page, click Submit. You do not need to change any further file settings. 

Adding Items and Files to a Course

You can add content to your course by creating an item or by uploading files directly. An item is a piece of content that is viewed right in the eLearn course. It can be used to present text information, data tables, images, or some combination thereof. You can also add a file attachment to an item, so it is a bit more versatile than a simple file upload.

  1. Open your desired course from your Courses list.
  2. Make sure Edit Mode is on.
  3. Navigate to the area of the course where you want the content to appear.
  4. From the Build Content menu select Item or File.
  5. If adding an Item, give it a name and put any other desired information into the Text box.  You can place text, links, embedded videos, and more.  See our Content Editor page for more information.
    Screenshot of the Blackboard Content Editor window 
  6. You can attach files from the Attachments section.
  7. If adding a File, give it a name and click the Browse My Computer button to attach your file.
  8. Put any date restrictions on the content that you'd like.  This will determine when students will be able to view it.  Click Submit.

Adding Content from OneDrive for Business

You can link your OneDrive for Business to eLearn, which will allow you to upload content directly from OneDrive.

Screenshot of the attachments option when adding an item in eLearn, showing the "Browse local files," "Browse Content Collection," and "Browse Cloud Service" buttons

Anywhere in eLearn where you see the option above, you can choose Browse Cloud Service and select OneDrive.  Sign in with your Stonehill username and password and you can thrn browse through your OneDrive files.  Put a check next to each file you would like to upload and click the Select button. Note: the cloud storage option is not available from the Build Content -> File option.

 ​​​Creating an Online Meeting for Office Hours

Zoom can be used to create an online meeting space that can be used for virtual office hours for all of your classes.

  1. Go to https://stonehill.zoom.us and click Sign in.
  2. From the Meetings tab, click the Schedule a New Meeting button.
  3. Enter your desired settings and times. You can make it a recurring meeting to cover your scheduled office hours. For security reasons, we recommend you don't check off Enable join before host and do check off Enable waiting room. The waiting room will allow you to meet privately with students without someone else joining the room.  You will be required to admit users from the waiting room into the meeting, so you can finish up with a student before admitting the next participant.
  4. Click Save. You will see an invite link on this page and a Copy Invitation button. Click that to copy the meeting invite, which you can then email out to students or post as an item in each of your courses.

Adding an eReserve Link to Course Menu

After you have coordinated with the library staff for your course reserve needs, you must add a link to your eLearn course menu for students to easily access the items.

  1. Enter your desired eLearn course (make sure “Edit” mode is on).
  2. Hover over the plus sign ( + ) above the course title.
    Screenshot of the course menu outlining the plus icon and Tool link
  3. Select Tool Link.
  4. Change Type in the drop-down to Ares Course Reserves.
  5. In the text entry box, provide your own name for the link, such as “eReserves."
  6. Make sure Available to Users is selected.
  7. Click Submit.
  8. The link will now reside on your course menu area.  Click the link and select the appropriate Semester from the drop-down menu and click Create Course.

    Image of the Ares Reserves in a sample eLearn course, showing a sample PDF with the author, date and reserves status.

Adding a Panopto Video Link to Your Course

After provisioning your eLearn course, you will be able to add links to specific Panopto videos. 

  1. Select the course to which you would like to add a video link.
  2. Enter your desired content area.
  3. Hover over Tools.
  4. Select Panopto Video Link.
  5. Select the desired folder from the drop-down menu.
  6. Select the desired lecture from the folder.

    Image of the Insert Panopto Video menu showing the drop-down menu to select your folder, lecture and a field to give the link a name.
  7. In the "Description" text box, you may add a description to the video.
  8. A new window will appear stating, "Item Created."  Click OK.
  9. The video should now appear in your content area.

Embedding a Pantopo Video to Your Course

You can embed a Panopto video in a course content area, which will show a thumbnail of the video on the page.

  1. Select the course in which you would like to embed your video.
  2. Enter your desired content area.
  3. Hover over Build Content.
  4. Select Panopto Video Embed.
  5. Select the desired video.
  6. Click Insert Video.

 Using Blackboard Discussions

How to Create a Discussion Forum

Forums are the top-level containers where the individual topics of discussion take place.

  1. In your course Content area, click the Tools button.
  2. Select Discussion Board.
  3. You can link to the main discussion board page, which shows all forums that are in the course; you can select a particular forum to link directly to it, or you can create a new forum from this page. Each discussion topic should have its own Forum, so create as many as the course needs.
  4. If creating a new Forum, give it a name, and any availability settings. You can set grading options for a forum if you plan to grade the discussion.  There are other options regarding users' ability to edit or delete their own posts.  
  5. Click Submit.

How to Create Threads in a Forum

Threads are the individual posts made by students and instructors.

  1. Access a discussion forum and click on the Create Thread button on the action bar.
  2. On the Create Thread page, type a Subject and Message. You can use the content editor functions to format the text and add web links.
  3. Click Save Draft to store a draft of the post or click Submit to publish your reply.

How to Reply to Discussion Posts

  1. Access a forum and select a thread.
  2. On the thread page, you can view the text of the post and information, such as the author and posted date. All replies appear on the same page, below the parent post.
  3. Click the Reply button. Hovering over the post will reveal the Quote and Email Author buttons. The Quote function includes the post's text as part of your reply.
  4. The content editor appears below the post you are responding to. If needed, edit the Subject. Type your reply in the Message box. Optionally, use the content editor functions to format the text and include files, images, weblinks, multimedia, and mashups.
  5. On the thread page, your reply appears at the end of the list. If you attached a file, a paper clip icon appears next to the post's title. If you used the Insert/Edit Image function, the image appears with the text you provided.

  6. Click Save Draft to store a draft of the post or click Submit to publish your reply.

Click below to access Blackboard's support site and learn more about using the Discussion Board tool.

Copy a Course in eLearn

If you want to copy some or all of the course content into a new course shell for a new semester, you can use the "Course Copy" feature. You must be the course instructor/editor in both courses.

  1. From within the course you want to copy materials.
  2. Expand the Control Panel on the lower left side of the page.
  3. Click on Package and Utilities.
  4. Click Course Copy.
  5. Under Select Copy Options . . .
    a. Enter the Destination Course ID  (i.e. the course where you will be moving the copied content).  —OR—
    b. Click Browse to find the course where you will be moving the copied content.
  6. Under Select Course Materials.
    a. If you want all content, click Select All.  If you only want certain items, put a check next to those you want.
    b. It is not necessary to uncheck options that don't exist in the current course. If a specific option exists in the course and is not wanted in the new course, uncheck it.
    c. If you are using Discussion Boards, select Include only the forums, with no starter posts under the Discussion Board section.
  7. You have the option to carry over File Attachments.  Choose Copy links and copies of the content.
  8. Under enrollments, do not check the box to Include Enrollments in the Copy.
  9. Click Submit to copy.

Updating Due Dates

When you copy content from a previous course, the content retains the due dates and availability dates from the old course.  The Date Management tool allows you to adjust content that has a date associated with it, and you can update those dates in a few ways.

Control Panel > Course Tools > Date Management

  • Use the Course Start Date or Term Info to adjust dates based on those start dates.
  • You can shift all dates by a specified number of days.
  • List all dates for review will show all content that has a due date or availability date.  You can use the pencil icon to edit a particular piece of content's dates; click the green check mark when done.

Exporting, Archiving, and Importing Course Content

Exporting Course Content

Preserving Course Content Only

The export course feature creates a ZIP file of your course content that you can import into a new course shell. The export course feature doesn't include any users or user interactions with the course. The import feature is available in any course shell. 

Control Panel > Packages and Utilities > Export/Archive Course

  1. On the Export/Archive Course page, select Export Package.
  2. On the Export Course page, select Copy links and include copies of the files for both the Default Directory and Outside of the Course Default Directory.
  3. Under Select Course Materials, select your desired content.  Select All can be used to export everything.
  4.  Select Submit.
  5. When the package is ready, you will see a zip file listed on the Export page, click on the zip file to download it to your desired location. Note: Safari will try to automatically unzip any zip files it downloads, so we recommend using a different browser to download the file.

Archiving Course Content

Preserving Student Data with Course Content

The archive course feature creates a frozen snapshot or permanent record of your course. An archive includes all the content, course statistics, users, and course interactions, such as blog posts, discussions, and grades. Please contact the IT Service Desk for help with restoring this student data archive. 

Control Panel > Packages and Utilities > Export/Archive Course

  1. On the Export/Archive Course page, select the Archive Course.
  2. On the Archive Course page, optionally select the checkbox for Include Grade Center History. The file size and processing time will increase. Image of the Packages and Utilities area expanded, highlighting the Export/Archive Course link
  3. In the File Attachments section, select Copy links and include copies of the files for both the Default Directory and Outside of the Course Default Directory.  
  4. Select Calculate Size to be sure that the package size doesn't exceed the displayed Allowed package size.  To remove files and folders from the package, select Manage Package Contents.
  5. Select Submit.
  6. When the package is ready, you will see a zip file listed on the Export page, click on the zip file to download it to your desired location. Note: Safari will try to automatically unzip any zip files it downloads, so we recommend using a different browser to download the file.      

For more information on Exporting and Archiving course content click the button below.

Importing Course Content

Control Panel > Packages and Utilities > Import Package/View Logs > Import Package

  1. On the Import Package page, browse for the course package on your computer (should be a zip file). Select the course materials to include and submit. 

Image of the Packages and Utilities area expanded, highlighting the Import Package/View Logs link

Note: importing content from a course export can be done by the instructor. If you need to restore a course from an archive, for example, to access old student content, please contact us at the IT Service Desk, and we can assist.

For more information on Importing course content click the button below.

 

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Details

Article ID: 70330
Created
Thu 1/17/19 11:05 AM
Modified
Tue 2/21/23 4:59 PM