Blackboard

Try to make your course available at least one week before the start of the semester to allow enough time for the system to add your students to your course and to accommodate anxious/ambitious students who like to check in early.

1. Go to the course you want to make available.
2. Click the Customization link in the “Course Management” section of the left-hand menu to display its options. (If you don’t see the Customization link, click the Control Panel link to make sure all of its menu options are visible.)
3. Click the Properties link. A page with your course’s properties options will be displayed; scroll down to find the “Set Availability” section.
4. Select Yes for the option next to “Make Course Available.”
5. Click the Submit button at the bottom-right corner of the page. Your course is now available, and students will be automatically enrolled in it from MaineStreet within 24 hours.

1. Go to the older course, i.e., the one that has material you want to copy into a new course.
2. Click the Packages and Utilities link in the Course Management section of the left-hand menu to display its options. (If you don’t see the Packages and Utilities link, click the Control Panel link to make sure all of its menu options are visible.)
3. Click the Course Copy link. The Copy Course page will open.
4. Click the Browse button next to the “Destination Course ID” textbox to select the course you’ll be copying content into. A pop-up window that displays a list of your courses will open.
5. Click the course to select it.
6. Click the Submit button at the bottom-right side of the window. The pop-up window will close, and the code for the course into which you’re copying content will now appear in the “Destination Course ID” textbox.
7. Select checkboxes for the specific types of content that you want to copy. We recommend that you click the Select All button, then deselect checkboxes for content that might be outdated, like announcements. IMPORTANT: Before continuing, see the note below if you’re copying discussions, assignments, and/or test and surveys.
8. Select the Copy links and copies of content (include entire course home folder) option in the File Attachments section. This will ensure that you retain copies of the course’s files long term; if you only link to them, they’ll be deleted after two years.
9. Click the Submit button on the bottom-right side of the page. You’ll see a confirmation message that your course copy has started.

The copy process might take several minutes; you’ll receive an email once it’s fully complete. New content that you’ve copied will be listed at the bottom of your course’s menu.

1. Click the Edit Mode button at the top-right corner of any page in your course. Options for adding content will now appear.
2. Click the Edit Mode button again when you’re done making changes. This will allow you to see a less cluttered interface and focus on other tasks like grading, participating in discussions, etc.

1. Go to the course you want to preview as a student.
2. Click the Student Preview icon on the top-right corner of the page. (It’s a circle with two arrows around it.) Student Preview mode will turn on, and you can view your course exactly as a student sees it.
3. Click the Exit Preview button on the top-right corner of the page when you’re ready to close Student Preview mode.

1. Navigate to the content area or content folder in which you want to add your file.
2. Hover over the (a) Build Content menu button so that its dropdown menu opens, then select (b) Item.
3. Enter a name for the file you’re adding in the “Name” textbox, e.g., “Course Schedule.”
4. Enter information about the file in the “Text” textbox. If your file doesn’t have more than a page of text, copy and paste it into this textbox. Although this might seem redundant since you’re also attaching the file itself, it allows students to simply read your file’s text directly in Blackboard without having to download the file.
5. Click the Browse My Computer button in the “Attachments” section.
6. Select the file on your computer.
7. Click the Submit button.

By default, Blackboard shows the home page as the first page students see when they enter your course, but you can change this by setting a new Entry Point for your course.

1. Go to the Customization section in your course menu. If it isn’t visible,
   1. Click the Control Panel link to expand its menu (if it isn’t already visible), then
   2. Click the Customization link to view its menu.
2. Click the Teaching Style link. A page with your course’s style settings options will be displayed.
3. Scroll down until you see the Select Course Entry Point section.
4. Click the Entry Point dropdown menu, then select a new entry point for your course, i.e., Announcements or another page.
5. Click the blue Submit button in the lower-right of the page.

1. Click the + icon on the top-left side of your Blackboard course site. A dropdown menu will open.
2. Select the Content Area option. The “Add Content Area” pop-up window will open.
3. Enter a name for your new content area.
4. Select the “Available to Users” checkbox if you want students to be able to see the content area right away; if you’d rather set up the content area before it’s visible to students, leave this box unchecked.
5. Click the Submit button.

You’re all set! A link to your new content area will show up as the last item in your course menu. If you want to reorder it, follow the directions below.

Want to see this as a video? Check out University College’s version on YouTube.

1. Click the plus sign (+) at the top of your course menu on the left side of the screen. A dropdown menu will open.
2. Click the Web Link option. The “Add Web Link” pop-up window will open.
3. Type a name for the link as you’d like it to appear in your course menu (e.g., “Syllabus” or “USM Library”).
4. Type or paste the webpage’s address in the “URL” textbox (e.g., “https://usm.maine.edu”).
5. Select the Available to Users checkbox. (Otherwise, the link will not be visible to students.)
6. Click Submit. The pop-up window will close, and the new link will appear as the last item in your course menu.
7. Hover over your new link until a gray dropdown-arrow icon appears, then click this icon to open its menu.
8. Click Set Link to Open in a New Window. The menu will close, and your link will now open in a new tab or window in your browser.

Add a Tool Link to your course menu

In this tutorial, we demonstrate adding a link to the My Grades to tool so students can check their progress in your course. The process is the same for adding a different tool; you’ll simply need to add a different name in step 2 and select the corresponding tool in step 3.

1. Hover over the + icon at the top-left side of your course menu until its dropdown menu opens, then click the Tool Link option.
2. Enter a name for the link, such as “My Grades.”
3. Click the Type dropdown menu, then select My Grades. It’s the very last option on a very long list.
4. Select the Available to Users box.
5. Click the Submit button. The link to My Grades will now appear as the last link in your course menu.

1. Hover over the item you want to remove until a gray down dropdown arrow appears to the right of its name.
2. Click the dropdown arrow, then select the Delete option on its menu. An “Are you Sure?” pop-up window will open.
3. Click the Delete content link. A warning message will appear.
4. Click the Delete button. The pop-up window will close, and the item will be removed from your course menu.

1. Up/down arrows: Most lists have an up/down-arrow button at their top. Clicking this button opens a pop-up window with a list of your items and up-arrow and down-arrow buttons. Simply click an item to select it, then move it up or down the list by clicking the arrow buttons.
2. Drag & drop: List items can often be reorganized by dragging them. Simply hover over the item you want to move until a yellow vertical bar appears to the left of its name and your pointer changes to a directional arrow. You can then drag and drop the item to a new place in the list.