Blackboard 6: How to Add Content to Your Course

In Blackboard 6, there are multiple ways to add content to your course:

1. it is possible to add any course items to any content area within the course
   
2. Individual c ourse items can be linked into multiple areas of a course
   
3. There is a link from the main course view (i.e. not the control panel) that enables easy toggling between the display and edit views
   
4. The Text Box Editor (WYSIWYG HTML editor for Internet Explorer only) accompanies every text box in Blackboard

Organization of Content Display

When a content area in the Control Panel is accessed, it is now possible to add any one of the following:

• Item (or document)
• Folder
• External Link (link to a website outside your course)
• Course Link (link to a document or area inside your course)
• Test
• Learning Unit
• Survey
• Assignment (new tool)

Links for the first five are found in the gray header bar. The last three are found in the drop down box in the right area of the gray bar (see below).

Test/Survey availability and settings are now handled by adding them to a specific content area, rather than through the Assessment Manager.

How to Add Items to a Content Area

1. Select the content area where you want to add in an item
2. If necessary, click on the name of the Folder where you want to add the item
3. Click Add Item
4. Select a Name for the item from the drop-down list or enter the name of your document
5. Select a color for the item name if you would like; default color is black
6. Type your item information into the text box (see below for more info), using the text formatting tools as needed
7. Content Options:
   • File to Attach: You can select Browse to attach a file such as Word, PDF or PowerPoint
   • Name of Link to File: Enter a name for the file that you want to attach
   • Leave the default setting of Create a link to this file
8. Click on Submit

Cross-Referencing Course Items

It is now possible to create an item in one content area and have it display in multiple content areas or as a course menu item. To do this:

1. Click Course Link in a content area of the Control Panel. Scroll down and click Browse.
   The Course Map will display in a small popup window.
2. Click the radio button next to the desired item.
3. To access items within areas and folders, click the +. Note: after the + is clicked, it will probably be necessary to scroll down to find the revealed folders or items.
4. Click Submit in the Course Map popup window.
5. Continue with Item creation as usual.

It is also possible to link directly to a specific forum in Discussions. It is not possible to link to an area within a group or to a specific Collaboration (chat) session.

Display and Edit View Toggle

When you are in the student view (i.e. not the control panel)), clicking the EDIT VIEW link in the upper right will take you to the appropriate place in the Control Panel for editing that area. When you are in the Control Panel, clicking the DISPLAY VIEW in the upper right will return
you to the student view. Using this feature can save multiple mouse clicks.

Text Box Editor

The text box editor is integrated within every content box in Blackboard. The text box editor ONLY works in Internet Explorer. The editor includes:

• Text formatting options, such as bold, bulleted and numbered lists, and ability to insert tables
• Spell check
• Functions for uploading diverse multimedia
  • Images (gif or jpeg)
  • MPEG/AVI
  • QuickTime
  • Audio
  • Flash
• Equation Editor

It is possible to copy and paste the contents of a Word document into the Text Box Editor. However, if you have a document of significant length, it is good web design to attach it as a Blackboard item rather than embedding it directly into Blackboard.

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