Skip to content

Month: December 2016

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #176: Course Copy

Copy seal

You do not have to start from scratch when creating content for your course. If you created content in one course you can copy that content into another course. For example, if you are teaching multiple sections of a course, you can create all the content in one course section and then copy the content into the other sections. Copying course content is particularly useful at the start of a semester as it allows you to copy content from a previous semester to a newly created empty course. Course content for the previous three semesters will remain in Blackboard before it is removed.

Follow these steps to do it.

  1. Go to the [Control Panel] of the course in which has the content you want to copy.
  2. Click on [Packages and Utilities] to expand it and then select [Course Copy].
  3. Choose [Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course] for the Select Copy type.
  4. Click on the [Browse…] button next to the [Destination Course ID] field. This will bring up a window containing a list of all available courses. Select the appropriate destination course from the list by clicking on appropriate radio button for the destination course and then click [Submit]. The [Destination Course ID] field will be filled in with the destination course you selected.
  5. Choose which portions of the course will be copied by clicking on the appropriate content section(s). You can either select all or select individual content items like [Announcements], [Grade Center Columns and Settings], [Discussion Board], and [Tests, Surveys, and Pools] by selecting the appropriate checkbox for the item.
  6. Choose [Copy links and copies of the content] in the File Attachments section.
  7. Click the [Submit] button when you are done. You should receive a message telling you that the course copy has been queued and that you will get an email when the process is complete.

Important:

Double-check to make sure the correct destination course is selected. There is no way to reverse the copy process once the wrong course is selected and the copy request is submitted.

Care should be taken when selecting content areas with items that have columns which were automatically created in the Grade Center. If you have content areas with items that have columns which were automatically created in the Grade Center, you should include Grade Center Columns and Settings in the copy as well. Failure to include linked items in the course copy will result in broken links in the destination course.

Want more information?

Step-by-step instructions are available [Copy Course Content (PDF)]
Master Copies of Courses
Merging Courses
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center
Try these Blackboard How-To documents
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

1

Published on 1 Comment on Bb Tip #175: Merging Courses

why merge road sign

Faculty can request to have two or more of their courses combined into a single course. Combining courses can be useful when you are teaching multiple sections of the same course or when you are teaching a course that is cross-listed. Merging courses allows you to have all the students in a single Blackboard course which can be useful for collaborative work. Merging courses reduces the number of courses an instructor has to manage within Blackboard, especially when each section has identical content.

Once your courses are merged, you can upload your course content and assignments into the merged course; communicate with the students in the merged course; setup collaborative course work; and have one gradebook for the merged course. You can create groups within your merged course that correspond to the original course sections. This way you can target a particular course section (group) of students for specific things (e.g. send email to a specific group, make content available to specific group, enter/view gradebook entries for a specific group, etc.)

NOTE: Merging of courses is typically done at the start of the semester before content is added and before students submit course work. You should wait to request your courses be merged if there is a possibility that there will be last minute changes to instructor course section assignments. You can request a Master Course Shell to build your course and then transfer the content into your merged course.

You should carefully consider whether merging courses is right for you. Some disadvantages to merging courses are:

  • Course enrollments for the merged courses will be combined which can make grading student work a challenge. You can use Smart Views to make grading easier.
  • If you decide you want to unmerge courses after students have submitted course work, student work and grades will be lost. Only student enrollments are retained when courses are unmerged.

Follow these steps to do it.

NOTE: Currently, the section merge tool is no longer available.

A system administrator will have to merge your courses. Send an email to Yamlak Tsega (ytsega@xula.edu) if you want to merge courses. You should include the course ID (including CRN) for all the courses you want merged together. The course merge process requires that a brand new empty Blackboard course be created that will serve as the primary course for all the merged sections. If you have any course content that needs to be retained in one of the courses to be merged, it will have to be exported and then imported into the newly created combined course. Please include that information with your request to merge courses.

Want more information?

How to merge courses (PDF).
How to manage merged courses (PDF).
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Check out help for instructors at help.blackboard.com.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

2

Published on 2 Comments on Bb Tip #174: Master Copies of Courses

view of kitten and its reflection in a mirror

Courses remain on the Blackboard system for three semesters before they are removed. You can request a Blackboard Master Course Shell that you can use to develop and maintain your course materials. Master Course Shells will not be removed from the Blackboard system. If you would like your course content/materials to be available in Blackboard beyond the current retention period of three semesters, you should request a Master Course Shell for the course.

Follow these steps to do it.

If you want your course/materials to be available in Blackboard, you should:

  1. Fill out the Master Course Shell Request form.
  2. Use Course Copy to copy the course content you want to keep into the Master Course Shell. Alternatively, you can start from scratch building content in your Master Course Shell.
  3. Copy the Master Course Shell contents into your “empty” Blackboard course once the course becomes available.

Note: You can share your Master Course Shell with other faculty members by filling out the Request to Grant User Access form.

Want more information?

Step-by-step instructions are available [Master Copies of Courses (PDF)].
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Photo credit: Reflection by Paul Reynolds | CC BY 2.0

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #173: Download Your Gradebook

download road signs

You should download your gradebook to your local computer after you submit your final grades. Student access to Blackboard courses is removed two weeks after the end of the semester. During this process Grade Center records are deleted. All your Grade Center records will be lost if you do not download your gradebook before student access is removed from Blackboard courses.

Follow these steps to do it.

In order to download (export) the gradebook for a course, you should:

  1. Goto the [Control Panel] for that course and click on the [Grade Center] link to expand it. Click on [Full Grade Center].
  2. Move your mouse over the [Work Offline] button on the menu bar and then click on the [Download] link.
  3. Under [Data] section, select the [Full Grade Center] option, under the [Options] section, select [Tab] as the delimiter type and [Yes] to include hidden information.
  4. In the [Save Location] section, choose [My Computer] and then click on the [Submit] button at the bottom of the page.
  5. On the next page click on the [Download] button. You should get a dialog box with a request to save the file. Save the file to a location where you can find it later. The file you saved can be opened with Microsoft Excel.

Want more information?

Step-by-step instructions to download Grade Center (PDF) are available.
Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Check out help for instructors at help.blackboard.com.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Photo Credit: Download Signs | CC0

Published on Leave a comment on Conversation #53: Wiki Ed, Continued

Download Conversation #53

Naniette Coleman
Helaine Blumenthal
Zach McDowell

A conversation with Helaine Blumenthal, Zach McDowell and Naniette Coleman on Wiki Ed. This is a continuation of conversation #52.
...continue reading "Conversation #53: Wiki Ed, Continued"

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #172: End of Semester Tasks

classroom with empty chairs

As we approach the end of the semester there are a few things you can do in Blackboard to wrap up for the semester.

Download your gradebook

Student access to courses is removed two weeks after the end of a semester. During this process all grade book records are deleted. You should download your gradebook to your local computer after you submit your final grades.

Create a master copy of your course

Courses remain on the Blackboard system for three semesters before they are removed. You can request a Master Course Shell that you can use to develop and maintain your course materials. Master Course Shells will not be removed from the Blackboard system.

Hide old courses from view

When you login to Blackboard you will see your courses for previous semesters listed along with the courses you are currently teaching on the Xavier University and Courses tabs. If you do not want to see older courses in the list, you can hide them from view.

Follow these steps to do it.

Instructions are available in previous Bb tips for downloading your grade book, requesting master course shells, and hiding old courses from view.

Want more information?

Explore Blackboard’s On Demand Learning Center.
Check out help for instructors at help.blackboard.com.
Try these Blackboard How-To documents.
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or schedule a one-on-one session, email, or
call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418.

Photo Credit: Classroom/Lecture Hall | CC0