Blackboard Learn

If you would like to import Blackboard course content to a Canvas course shell, please see the instructions 'Migrate a Blackboard Learn shell to Canvas'

Before doing so, you must have the Blackboard course content ready on your computer. To download a Blackboard shell cartridge:

1. Log in mywcc and click the Bb icon
2. Go to the desired Blackboard course shell
3. Make sure that the Edit mode is ON
4. Under Course Management, open Packages and Utilities
5. Click Export
6. Click 'Export Package' and choose the content to export
7. Wait for the .zip file to be available within a few minutes, use the 'Refresh' button to check
8. Click the .zip name and save the cartridge to your computer

Download Grade data

1. Make sure 'Edit Mode' is ON.
2. Go to Course Management > Grade Center > Full Grade Center.
3. Click the ‘Work Offline’ button and select Download.
4. Keep all the options at the default settings.
   • Select Data to Download: Full Grade Center
   • Delimiter Type: Tab
   • Include Hidden Information: No
5. Select Submit.
6. On the next Download Grades page, select Download to save the file to your computer.

Store the data in a secure location

1. Log into MyFiles
2. Locate the Grade Center file, and upload it to MyFiles

Please see the Work Offline with Grade Data Blackboard guide for more information.

The All User Activity inside Content Areas report displays a summary of all user activity inside content areas for a course. Use this report to determine which students are active in your course and which content areas they use. Use the following steps to download this report:

If enabled, be sure to disable pop-up blockers.

1. On the Control Panel, expand the Evaluation section and select Course Reports.
   
2. On the Course Reports page, choose the All User Activity inside Content Areas report and select Run.
3. On the All User Activity inside Content Areas page, select the Report Specifications:
   
   
   • Select Format: Choose PDF as the output format from the menu.
   • Select a Start Date and Select an End Date.
   • Select Users: Select one or more users for the report. To select multiple users in a list, press the Shift key and select the first and last users.
4. Select Submit. You may need to wait several minutes for the report to generate.
5. After the report is successfully run, save the report to your computer.
6. Select OK when finished.

Please see the Course Reports Blackboard guide for more information.

The most important aspect of using Blackboard as a teaching tool is communication. While you can use email, it is inconvenient for students to leave Blackboard and come back. To create a simple lesson on Blackboard, these basic steps will get you started:

1. Post a guide on how students should navigate your course on 'Start Here'
2. Add an announcement on 'Home Page'
3. Create content under 'Learning Materials'
   • Create a folder to organize content by weeks or by modules
   • Add a Powerpoint file which includes lecture note on each slide
   • Provide a worksheet for practice
   • Create an assignment

It does not matter if you want to create a quick access guide on 'Start Here', add an announcement on the 'Home Page', or create course content under 'Learning Materials'. Blackboard has consistent functionality through its menu structure. There are four tabs at the top of every editable page. If you click the 'Home Page' from the navigation menu, you will see a list of options.

Under each tab (Build Content, Assessments, Tools, and Partner Content), you will find the relevant options. For example, if you want to post an announcement, you simply choose 'Create > Item' under 'Build Content'.

After you fill in the 'Content Information', you can choose to add attachments (e.g. a PowerPoint file). Once you have completed adding content, click 'Submit'. The information will become available for students.

If you want to make changes, click the chevron next to the name. As shown in the picture above, there is a chevron next to the 'Announcement' title. You can build course content the same way under 'Learning Materials'. If you want to add an assignment, you would choose the 'Assessments' tab instead of 'Build Content'.

Once an assignment is created a grading column will be automatically created in the gradebook.

Students often take more than one course. To maintain the consistency across courses for students, the main navigation menu order from the template must be preserved:
Home Page, Start Here, Syllabus, Course Schedule, Learning Materials, and My Grades.

Additional items for student success can be added manually. For example, a Tutoring Center Help link for online students could be added. Before adding the item to the navigation menu, it is important to know if it is a Blackboard tool, a web link, or a content area.

The Tutoring Center Help link is an example of a service that is external to Blackboard. Therefore, we have to add it as a web link. To add any item on the navigation menu, you can follow these steps:

1. Make sure that the Edit Mode is ON
2. Click the "+" sign directly above the navigation menu
3. Choose the appropriate Link
   • If it is a Blackboard tool, choose 'Tool Link' and select the correct type
   • If it is content, choose 'Content Area'
   • If it is a web link, enter a name, URL, make it 'Available to Users', and press 'Submit'
4. You will then find the item added at the bottom of the navigation menu
5. Drag this new item to the appropriate location in the navigation menu

Add User

1. Make sure the Edit Mode is ON
2. Expand Users and Groups under Course Management, and select Users
3. Click the 'Enroll User' tab, and choose 'Find Users to Enroll'
4. Enter the x-number as Username or click Browse to search for the person you want to add
   • If search for User, a new pop-up window will appear
   • Using last name or email to search is typically easier
5. Adjust the Role according
6. Click Submit

Remove User

1. Make sure the Edit Mode is ON
2. Expand Users and Groups under Course Management, and select Users
3. Find the user in the roster
   
   1. To remove anyone who was not assigned an Instructor Role:
      1. Click the checkbox next to the name and select 'Remove Users from Course'
   2. To remove a user who was assigned an Instructor Role:
      
      1. Click the chevron next to the user's name
      2. Choose Edit or Change User's Role in Course
      3. Adjust the Role to any non-instructor role and Submit
      4. Click the checkbox next to the name and select 'Remove Users from Course'

Course Copy (from one course shell to another)

1. Confirm that you are authorized to edit both the "Source" and "Destination" course shells
2. Make sure that the Edit Mode is ON
3. Go to the "Source" course shell that has the content
4. Expand Packages and Utilities under Course Management, and select Course Copy
5. Under Select Copy Options, enter Destination Course ID or click Browse to search for the "Destination" course shell
   • If search for "Destination", a new pop-up window will appear
6. When return to the original window, choose 'Select All' immediately under Destination Course ID
   • Avoid selecting individual items, unless 100% certain that the items were not associated with any assignment or grade in the "Source" shell; otherwise, extra grading columns could be generated in the "Destination" Grade Center and they cannot be deleted easily
7. Click Submit at the bottom of the page
8. Go to the "Destination" course shell to confirm that the copying process is queued
9. You will receive an email, when the copying process is completed
10. Delete any unwanted items that were selected in Step 6-7

Bulk Delete (to remove content)

1. Make sure that the Edit Mode is ON
2. Expand Packages and Utilities under Course Management, and select Bulk Delete
3. Click the checkbox for the item you want to delete
4. Type 'Delete' in the Confirmation box
5. Click Submit at the bottom of the page

SafeAssign for Discussion Board

Currently, Blackboard does not have an option to check discussion posts with SafeAssign directly. However, you can save a discussion forum as a text file and then submit it as an assignment using the Student PreviewUser feature.

1. Go to the Discussion Board click the checkbox on the left upper corner to select all forums (or check only the forums that applied on the left)
2. Press the Collect button to open the Collect page, select All (or check individual posts that applied)
3. On the Collection 'popup' page, right click and choose Save Page As on the context menu
4. Save as Type: *.txt (*.htm would have images that will make the document difficult to read)
5. Open the saved file using MS Word and then save it as *.docx (although *.txt is supposed to be acceptable on Blackboard, the system may say that *.txt files cannot be uploaded.)
6. On Blackboard, make sure that you have an Assignment set up to accept file upload
7. Enter Student Mode
8. Go to the Assignment and Submit the *.docx file from step 5.
9. Quit Student Mode, do NOT delete the data or you will lose your own submission
10. Go to Grade Center and find your Preview User submission, you will see it being evaluated by SafeAssign
11. If a discussion post is flagged, you will find the student's name immediately above the post.

Do you have a .zip file that contains test questions? Question files are typically provided by textbook publishers. If you don't have a .zip file, you will have to build a test manually.

If you do have a .zip file, you have to determine if the file contains a complete test. If the file has a collection of questions, then it is a 'Pool' on Blackboard. If the file is exactly what you need for one test, then it is a 'Test' on Blackboard.

Upload Question Files (Pools / Tests)

1. Make sure the Edit Mode is ON
2. Expand Course Tools under Course Management, and select Tests, Surveys, and Pools
3. Choose Tests (if the file is a test) or Pools (if the file is a pool) according to the .zip file you have
4. Select Import Test / Import Pool
5. Click 'Browse My Computer' to attach the .zip file
6. Click Submit

Build a Test from the Pools

1. Make sure the Edit Mode is ON
2. Expand Course Tools under Course Management, and select Tests, Surveys, and Pools
3. Choose Tests
4. Select Build Test
5. Provide a meaningful Name
6. Click Submit to go to test canvas
7. Questions are selected one at a time:
   • Under Reuse Question, select Create Question Set to launch a new window
   • In the new window, all Pools will be listed on the left
   • Click the checkbox for the question you want and click Submit (If you check multiple questions, they belong to the same question and will be randomized in the real test)
   • Click the checkbox for a pool, all questions in that pool will appear on the right; you can check multiple pools to see more questions
8. Repeat step 7 to build a complete test

Build a Test manually

1. Make sure the Edit Mode is ON
2. Expand Course Tools under Course Management, and select Tests, Surveys, and Pools
3. Choose Tests
4. Select Build Test
5. Provide a meaningful Name
6. Click Submit to go to test canvas
7. Under Create Question, select the type of questions you'd like to create
8. Repeat step 7 until the whole test is built

Launch a Test

1. Go to the folder where you want students to access the test
2. Click Assessment and select Test
3. Highlight the Test you built under existing tests
4. Click Submit
5. Adjust Test Options and click Submit

Go to the exam in your Blackboard page. Click on the chevron to the right, and select 'Edit the Test options'. Scroll down and check the box next to the "Set Timer' section. Add the time you want to allow for the exam, in minutes.

You can also select 'Auto-submit' and 'Force completion'. By selecting the force completion, students have to complete the exam in 1 sitting. Caution: if they have an issue where they are bumped out of the exam (they click outside the exam field, or their internet freezes, or their computer download updates, etc.), they will not be allowed back into the exam. You can reset it, but they have to contact you. Some faculty allow 2 attempts which would mean they do not need to contact you.

Some students may need extra time to complete a quiz due to unforeseeable circumstances. Some students may have a VISA from the Access Center for Disability Resources. On Blackboard, under Test Options, you can accommodate students by using the 'Test Availability Exceptions' to set up the Time Allowed and Due Date for each (group of) student(s).

Access the Test Availability Exceptions

1. Make sure the Edit Mode is ON.
2. Expand 'Course Tools' under 'Course Management', and select 'Tests, Surveys, and Pools'.
3. Choose 'Tests'.
4. Click the chevron for the test you would like to make exceptions for and choose 'Edit'.
5. Click the chevron next to the title of the test and choose 'Modify Options'.
6. Scroll down to the Due Date, Test Availability Exceptions is directly above it.
7. After creating the rule for the student(s), press 'Submit' to save.

You can link external sources (e.g. Google Docs/Sheets/Slides) to Blackboard. All you need is the shareable link. Adding a web link is similar to creating an item. Go to Create Web Link.

To create the web link, give it a name and paste the shareable link to the URL. Provide a description to students so that they know what this link is for.

When students click the title, a new tab or a new window will directly open to the Google file.