Skip to content

Tag: Course Menu

2

Published on 2 Comments on Bb Tip #117: Customizing the Course Menu

course menu

The Course Menu appears on the left side of your course window and contains links to materials and tools within the course. All Blackboard courses are created with a default course menu (e.g. text links on a blue background and default content areas.) You can structure your course menu to fit your needs. You can personalize your course menu with your own wording, order, colors and styles.

Follow these steps to do it.

To create a link on the course menu:

  1. Turn Edit Mode ON.
  2. Roll your mouse over the plus sign above the course menu. The Add Menu Item drop-down list appears.
  3. Select the type of content to create.
  4. Type a Name for the link. Complete any other required text boxes, such as URL for Web Link.
  5. Select the Available to Users check box to enable users to see the link on the course menu. You can create content ahead of time, make it unavailable, and then make it available at the appropriate time.
  6. Click [Submit].
  7. A link to the new content appears at the bottom of the course menu. You can drag-and-drop the link into a new position by rolling your mouse over the link and then clicking on the cross arrow on the left of the link and drag-and-drop the link into a new position.

To remove, show/hide, or delete a course menu item:

  1. Turn Edit Mode to ON.
  2. Roll your mouse over the link and then click on the dropdown arrow on the right of the item.
  3. Click on [Rename] to change the link title. Select [Hide Link] to make it unavailable to students. Click [Show Link] to make it available to students. Select [Delete] to permanently remove the item.

To change the color and style of the course menu:

  1. Goto the [Control Panel] for the course and click on [Customization] to expand it.
  2. Click on [Teaching Style].
  3. Choose your menu style, layout, and content appearance settings.
  4. Click [Submit].

Want more information?

Understanding the Course Menu
Course Style Options
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.

Published on Leave a comment on Bb Tip #38: Show/Hide Course Menu

The Course Menu may be hidden to increase the viewable area of the main content frame within your course. This feature may be helpful when accessing areas of a course where you need a larger viewable area to see the content (e.g., Grade Center, Discussion Board forums, Blogs, Journals, etc.). Once hidden, the course menu can be shown again at any time.

Follow these steps to do it.
To show/hide the course menu, click on the show/hide course menu (arrow) button on the middle right-hand side of the main content frame. This button acts like a toggle. Click on it once to hide the course menu. Click on the show/hide course menu button a second time to show the course menu again.

Note: Hiding and showing the course menu is course and user specific. Individuals can hide a course menu within any given course, while still being able to view the course menu within other courses.

Want more information?
Step-by-step instructions are available [PDF].
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or email or call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418

8

Published on 8 Comments on Bb Tip #7: Customizing the Course Menu

The Course Menu appears on the left side of a Course and contains links to materials and tools within the Course. All Blackboard courses are created with a default course menu (e.g. text links on a green background and default content areas.) You can structure your course menu to fit your needs. You can personalize your course menu with your own wording, order, colors and styles.

Follow these steps to do it.
From the [Control Panel] select [Manage Course Menu] under [Course Options]. You should see a list of the items that appear on your course menu. To reorder the items, click on the dropdown arrow and select the desired order. To remove an item from the course menu, click on the remove button for that item. To modify a course menu item, click on the modify button and make the changes on the update area page for that item. To add a new area in the course menu, click on the appropriate toolbar button (content area, tool link, course link, or external link) and follow the prompts.

You can change the color and style of the course menu by selecting [Course Design] under [Course Options] in the [Control Panel]. From the [Course Design] screen, select [Course Menu Design]. You will be able to choose buttons or text for your menu style. Both of these can be further customized on the Course Menu Design screen. Click [Submit] when you are done.

You can choose how users can view the course menu by selecting [Course Design] under [Course Options] in the [Control Panel]. From the [Course Design] screen, select [Manage Menu Display Options]. You can choose to make the quick view or detail view available as the default view. You also have the option of making both views available so that users can toggle between them. Click [Submit] when you are done.

Want more information?
Step-by-step instructions are available [PDF].
Visit the Blackboard FAQs for additional blackboard information
or email or call Janice Florent: (504) 520-7418