Content Areas:

Saving Course Content

Q: How long will my course content stay available?

A: Our current policy is to keep course sites available indefinitely. Uses will have full access to them as long as they have the same Princeton NetID with which they are enrolled in the course site. Course site Instructional Staff can make the sites unavailable to all students and guests by going to the control panel and selecting Settings (under Course Options) > Course Availability > No > Submit.

Q: Can I save a copy of my course to my computer to be on the safe side?

A: There are two ways to save a copy of your course site, Achive and Export. Note that neither method retrieves content that is stored in WebSpace and linked to your course / organization site

Archive Course creates a permanent record of a course including all the content and user information. Unlike the Export Course feature, Archive Course is not useful when trying to create a package of content to be used at a later time or with another course.

Archived courses are saved as .zip files with the following file naming structure: ArchiveFile_Course_ID.ZIP. These .zip files are stored and Instructors can access them for use in the future. Archiving a course does not remove it from the system.

From the Control Panel:

1. Click on the Archive Course link in the Course Options section.

2. Click Archive from the Action Bar of the Export / Archive Manager  page.

3. Select Submit to archive the course contents and save it for future use.

4. After the Archive Course page is submitted the system creates the course package. When the package is complete, the Instructor who initiated the operation receives an email.  After the email is received, the Instructors may open the Export / Archive Manager page in the Blackboard application and download the course package to the local computer.

The Export Course feature creates a package of the course content that can later be imported into Blackboard Learning System and used to teach another course with the same content. It is important to note that, unlike the Archive Course feature, Export Course does not include any user interactions with the course—it only includes the content of the Course. Therefore, Export Course is useful when course materials will be reused at a later time to teach a new set of Students. Archive Course is useful to maintain a record of a Course after it has been taught.

Export packages are downloaded as compressed .ZIP files and can be imported into Blackboard Learning System in the same format. Do not unzip an Export package or remove files from the package, otherwise the package will not be imported correctly.

From the Control Panel:

1. Click on the Export Course link in the Course Options section.
2. Click Export from the Action Bar of the Export / Archive Manager page.
3. Choose the areas you want to export by clicking on the appropriate check boxes.
4. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the Submit button.
5. When the package is complete, the Instructor who initiated the operation receives an email. After the email is received, Instructors may open the Export / Archive Manager page in the Blackboard application and download the course package to the local computer. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the OK button.

Q: Can I open the exported course and look at the documents?

A: Although the exported course is intended to be viewed by reloading it to Blackboard or another compatible course management system, our friends at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have developed an application call bFree that allows you to view the content contained in the exported file, either as files or as a Web page. To learn more about bFree or to download the program, go to UNC bFree.

Q: Are student records included in the Export?

A: No, only the sections listed on the Export page will be included. Use Course Archive if you wish to include student records.

Q: One of the choices is Groups - does this mean the students in the groups will be exported?

A: No, only the group names and settings will be exported.

Rearranging Documents

Q: I have a folder with a series of documents arranged in chronological order. Is there any way I can insert additional documents between those already in place? It seems that I only can add items to the end of the list.

A: Yes, you can change the order of any items in content areas. When you are in the Control Panel, go to the section (under Content Areas) that you want to rearrange. You will see a list of folders and documents in that section. Just to the left of the folder/document names, there is a number that represents the order in which the items appear.

You can click on the number and open a drop-down menu of new numbers. Simply select the number that corresponds to the desired order of appearance (e.g., number "4" if you want the item to be the fourth on the list) and the folder/document will be moved to that spot.

Moving Documents

Q: I want to keep previously posted assignments in an archive folder. Is there an easy way to move a document from the main Assignments page into a folder?

A: Yes. To move specific content items to a different area ( or to a different site), find the item in the Control Panel (under content areas) and follow these steps:

Open a Content Area in the Course Control Panel.

Click Copy next to a content item. You will see a screen that looks like this:

Content Information
The name and description of the item appears here.

Destination
Destination Course: Select the destination for the item being copied from the drop-down list.

Destination Folder: Click Browse. A map of the content areas for the destination course appears. Select the folder where the item should be copied.

Delete item after copy?: Select Yes to delete this item from the current course once it is copied. Select No and this item will remain in the course after it is copied.

You can move folders (but anything contained in the folder listed in red below will not move with the folder), items, URL's (external links), and learning units.

You cannot move individual assessments, assignments, announcements, Grade Center items, staff information, internal course links, tasks, groups, users, or menu items in this way. For moving such item, it is all-or-nothing. Use the course copy or organization copy function described in the following item

Q: How can I move the content from my old Blackboard site into my new site?

A: In the Control Panel of the old site , under Course Options/ Organization Items, click the Course Copy/ Organization Copy link, then click Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course or Copy Organization Materials into an Existing Organization. This will take you to a page that allows you to select the destination site and the materials you wish to copy. (You must be enrolled in both the old and new site, with control panel access to be able to do this.) Under Course Selection, enter the Blackboard ID of destination course (e.g.,ENG101-ART101_F2007). Under Select Course Materials, check the boxes for the areas you want copied. DO NOT check the box for "Settings."

There have been some reports of this process resulting in duplicate content area links in the course menu. Should this happen to you, please contact us at blackboard@Princeton.edu or 609.258.0737.

Q: Can my course builder do this for me?

A: Yes, Instructors, Instructional Staff, and Course Builders can use this feature, as long as they are enrolled win both the old and new course wiith one of these three roles.

Q: Can I copy files from another instructor's course?

A: Yes, but you must be listed as an instructor, ta, or Course Builder in both ot the "To" and "From" courses.

Q: Can I copy content to multilple courses at one time?

A: No, you can only copy to one course at a time.

Q: Can I copy individual documents from one course to another?

A: Yes, but not through this feature. To copy individual documents, find the document in the content area of the Control Panel and use the Copy button. With the course copy feature, you can only copy whole sections of material, based on the following categories: Content; Announcements; Tests, Surveys, and Pools; Calendar; Collaboration Sessions; Course Settings; Discussion Board; Gradebook Items and Settings; Group Settings; and Staff Information. The Content category allows you to select all Content Areas or individual ones.

Searching Content

Q: Is Blackboard content searchable?

A: At the moment, no.

Displaying Files vs. Creating Links

Q: When you upload a file to Blackboard, you are given an option of a Special Action, which can be set to "Create a link to this file", "Display this file within the page", or "Unpackage these files." What does "Display this file within the page" actually do? How is it different from making a link?

A: The "Display file in this page" option only works for media (image, video, audio) files. The media you are uploading will appear on the page itself without an intermediate link. "Create a link to this file," on the other hand, places a clickable text link to the file you want the users to open. "Unpackage these files" is used for uploading a zipped file containing inter-linked items, such as an entire Web site.

Q: My students who use PC's cannot download the documents I've placed in my site. What's wrong?

A: You need to use PC-style file-type extensions (e.g., ".doc" for Word documents) in your file names. For a Mac user, this can take some getting used to. The Mac OS file system does not automatically add an extension to files when they are saved. This is fine so long as you are transferring files from Mac to Mac, but it causes some problems when uploading these files to the web or to computers with other operating systems. Students will not be able to download files correctly because their computer or their browser will be unable to determine the file type. Some examples of commonly used file-type extensions:

• .doc (Microsoft Word), e.g., "file.doc"
• .xls (Microsoft Excel), e.g., "file.xls"
• .ppt (Microsoft PowerPoint), e.g., "file.ppt"
• .jpg (JPEG image format), e.g., "file.jpg"
• .gif (GIF image format), e.g., "file.gif"
• .mov (QuickTime movie), e.g. "file.mov"

Please be sure to include these extensions in the names of any new files you upload.

Where is the "linked" file

Q: When I "Create a link" to a document, does this mean that students will be accessing the file directly from my computer?

A: No. When you choose "Create a link to this file," your web browser copies the file from your computer and places it on the Blackboard server. It then creates a link to that file, which is on our secure central server. At no time do students have access to your computer. Similarly, editing the local file does not automatically update its analogous copy on Blackboard . You must resubmit that file to copy the revised addition to the Blackboard server, unless you use WebSpace for storing and editing files you use in Blackboard.

Preventing Printing

Q:Can I prevent students from copying and/or printing documents I've put in my Blackboard site ?

A: Keep in mind the old adage, "Where there's a will, there's a way." While you can not absolutely prevent coping and/or printing documents, you can make the process difficult and time-consuming if you use Acrobat Adobe PDF format for your documents.

How to prevent printing of an Adobe PDF:

• Open your PDF in Adobe Acrobat
• From the File dropdown, select "Document Security"
• In the dialog box that opens, for Security Options select "Acrobat Standard Security"
• From the new dialog box that opens, select Password Required to Change Permissions and Passwords," enter a password, then, at minimum, check "No Printing" and "No Content Copying or Extraction, Disable Accessibility" and click OK.
• You will now have to verify your password
• Now close the initial dialog box

Changing Text Styles/Appearance

Q: How can I change the font and type-size on my course web page? More importantly, how can I italicize or underline text titles?

A: You can change how your text appears by using HTML tags. There are two quick ways to do this:

Q: Can I use international character sets and diacritical markings?

A: Yes! See instructions on displaying international character sets http://www.princeton.edu/as/Disp-Intl-Chars-in-Bb-10-19.pdf

For accents and special characters, refer to this guide from Harvard University. It contains the codes for Macintosh and Windows: http://lrcnt.fas.harvard.edu/Resources/Documentation/accents.htm.

Putting Syllabi in Blackboard Sites

Q: How do I get my syllabus into Blackboard?

A: Because syllabi often have rather complex formatting, getting them to display properly on the web can be a challenge. There are four methods with varying degrees of success and unique pros and cons. 

• Post your document (MS Word, pf, etc.) directly - You can upload a document directly within the Optional File Upload area in the Content Areas. You must choose the "Create a Link to this file" option. Make sure your document has the proper extension on the end (.doc, pf, and so on).
• Simple Cut and Paste - From your word processor, copy the text, and then paste it directly into the Text box in an Add Item section of one of the Content Areas. Select the Smart Text option. You will lose much of the styling, and some formatting, but will retain most hard and soft returns.
• Save as PDF and post - This option yields the best results. If you have the Adobe Acrobat full version installed on your computer (academic price is around $50), creating the PDF is as simple as selecting the Print command from any program. If not, simply use OIT's "SendMePDF" print service, which converts word processing files (or other files printable on a PostScript printer) into PDF files for you. It is FREE, quick, and easy. For more information, go to http://helpdesk.princeton.edu/docs/sendmepdf.html.
  To view the PDF file, students would need the free Acrobat PDF browser plug-in available at this URL: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/main.html. 
• Export your Document as HTML and Cut and Paste -

  We no longer recommend pasting HTML generated by MS Word into Blackboard. This code does not always reproduce the formatting exactly, leading to significant faculty dissatisfaction.

  If you insist on importing HTML code from MS Word, please use a quality web editor or filter the Word-generated HTML through a clean-up filter such as that in Dreamweaver or the one offered on Microsoft's web site.

  Going to go ahead with it anyway? There are several steps:

  Check the document in Word to ensure that everything looks as you want, and then save the file.

  Once you've saved the Word document, go back to the File menu in MS Word and choose Save as HTML (Save as Web Page, in Word 2000). Name the document as you wish, but make sure you know where it will be saved (you will need to know this later on). The desktop or the C: drive make good choices.

  Word will close your original file and open up a new HTML one. Choose (under the View menu), HTML Source.

  Select All (either manually, or from the Edit menu), and "copy" it (also under the Edit menu).

  Now go to the Control Panel of your Blackboard web site and select (under Content Areas) the section to which you wish to add the document (e.g., Course Documents). Click on Add Item.

  Pick a title (or enter on of your own).

  Paste the HTML source you have just copied into the Text box, and make sure you select the HTML button beneath the box.

  Click Submit

Uploading Images

Q: How do I add images to my page?

A: There are three main methods. They are:

• Go to the course Control Panel and select (under Content Areas) the section to which you wish to add the document (e.g., Course Documents). Click on Add Item.
• Go to the Go to the Content Attachments section under Select Options.
• Click on the Browse button and select the image to be uploaded (only use GIF or JPEG formats).
• Enter the Name of Link to File, using the file type (e.g., JPEG Image). This helps inform your browser how to handle the file.
• Under Special Action select Display Media File within the Page.
• Click Submit.
• You will receive a Content Options screen. This will allow you to set various factors (border, alignment, etc.) of how the image will appear in your page.
• Click Submit once again.

• Go to the course Control Panel and select (under Content Areas) the section to which you wish to add the image (e.g., Course Documents). Click on Add Item.
• Type the name of the document and any introductory text.
• Go to the Text box and type the beginning of an image code. Enter the text in the following format (depending on which image type you wish to use): <img src = "imagename.gif"> or <img src = "imagename.jpg"> where the word imagename is replaced by the name of the image file you want to include. For example, if you had a graphic of a car in GIF format you might have named it car.gif. Therefore, when entering your text in Blackboard you would insert <img src="car.gif"> at the position in the text where the graphic should appear. (This bit of code is actually the HTML tag for the image.)
• You will get a Missing Images Detected message. This is perfectly normal. Just click on the Browse button.
• When you click the Browse button, you will be able to browse through the various drives on your computer. Locate the image you want to include and click Open.
• Click Submit
• Two caveats: This method does not work when modifying existing documents. It also does not work with Announcements; for instruction on that, see Content Areas, Questions, #2, How can I put images on the Announcements page of my course web site?: http://www.princeton.edu/as/bbfaq/Questions/content.htm#2

• Almagest is a relational database designed to store a wide variety of digital media.
• Image, video, sound, and text files, as well as files created in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel are among the types of files that can be stored in Almagest.
• Files uploaded to Almagest will be available to you anywhere, anytime, to you and your students via the Web. Data will be backed up daily; restricted, password-only access to your files can also be arranged.
• You can catalogue and annotate your files.
• You can search for files in various ways.
• You can organize, create and present visual slide shows comprised of many file types, for display in the classroom or on the Web.
• Almagest can also be used to create and store bibliographic records, and to create critical and annotated editions of electronic texts. Texts can be linked to one another using Almagest's bi-directional links to create sophisticated hypertext archives.
• You can allow students to upload data to the database, to create and to organize their own digital presentations. Student work can be archived and added to from year to year.
• Call 258-6903 or write almagest@princeton.edu for more information.
• See also Digital media storage, digitizing, cataloguing, and online display and Almagest Lecture Builder.
  

Uploading MS Word Files with Images

Q: I want to add a Word file with images to my Blackboard site. How should I go about doing this?

A: We no longer recommend pasting HTML generated by MS Word into Blackboard. This code does not always reproduce the formatting exactly, leading to significant faculty dissatisfaction. Instead encourage them to upload the files as links.

If you insist on importing HTML code from MS Word, please use a quality web editor or filter the Word-generated HTML through a clean-up filter such as that in Dreamweaver or the one offered on Microsoft's web site.

Going to go ahead with it anyway? There are several steps:

Check the document in Word to ensure that everything looks as you want, and then save the file.

Once you've saved the Word document, go back to the File menu in MS Word and choose Save as HTML (Save as Web Page, in Word 2000). Name the document as you wish, but make sure you know where it will be saved (you will need to find it later on). The desktop or the C drive make good choices.

Word will close your original file and open up a new HTML one. Choose HTML Source under the View menu.

Select All (either manually, or from the Edit menu), and "copy" it (also under the Edit menu).

Now go to the Control Panel of your Blackboard web site and select (under Content Areas) the section to which you wish to add the document (e.g., Course Documents). Click on Add Item.

Pick a title (or enter on of your own).

Paste the HTML source you have just copied into the Text box, and make sure you select the HTML button beneath the box.

Click Submit

You will get one or more "missing images detected" messages. Do not worry. Just click on the Browse button.

Find the images that go with your document. The dialog box that pops up will look (by default) for Files of Type: HTML Files; click on the inverted triangle next to HTML Files and select All Files. Your images will have been saved in the same place as your document, with names like "Image1.gif." Make sure that you select these images generated when you saved as HTML, not the original ones that you inserted in your Word file. The HTML document will be looking for images with the new files names like "Image1.gif."

Click Submit

Uploading HTML Files

Q: I have a non-Blackboard web page that I created for my course last semester. I have put a great deal of work into this site and would like to include the content in my Blackboard site. What's the best way to do it?

A: There are several different option:

Uploading HTML Files - File Names

Q: I tried to upload my regular home page to my Blackboard site (through the Content Attachments section), but I couldn't get it to work. Is there something else I need to do?

A: Try changing the file name. Many home pages are named "index.html." Unfortunately, there already is an "index.html" file in the Blackboard system. Attempting to add another one therefore will not work. Changing the name of the file from "index.html" to anything else, like "home.html" or even "index2.html," should rectify this problem.

Adding MS PowerPoint Presentations

Q: How do I add an MS PowerPoint presentation to my Blackboard site?

A: While the simplest way is to upload the PowerPoint file (.ppt) in the "Content Attachment" section in Blackboard, it is not recommend because if the file is large and/or has a lot of images, you will find the upload process slow and the students will find the download process slow. Therefore, we recommend saving your Microsoft PowerPoint presentation as a Web page.

If the file is small and you do NOT wish to save it as a Web page first, follow these instructions:

1. Go to the course Control Panel and select (under Content Areas) the section to which you wish to add the presentation (e.g., Course Documents). Click Add Item.
2. Name the document, and add appropriate explanatory text
3. Go to Attach Local File in the second section (labeled Content).
4. Click on the Browse button and select the .ppt file to be uploaded.
5. Enter a name for the file (e.g., Lecture One.ppt)
6. Click Submit

If your file is large and you want to make it easier to for you to upload and for your students to download, begin by following the instructions on saving a Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation as a Web site, see the Blackboard Learning Solutions Tip Sheet.
This tip sheet will refer you to another tip sheet, for the second part of the process, Importing Web Sites into Blackboard. Below is a précis of the second part of the process (which looks a bit complicated in the tip sheet):

Following the directions on the Blackboard Learning Solutions Tip Sheet, you will end up with a zip file to upload to your Blackboard site.

1. Go to the course Control Panel and select (under Content Areas) the section to which you wish to add the presentation (e.g., Course Documents). Click Add Item.
2. Name the document, and add appropriate explanatory text.
3. Go to Attach Local File in the second section (labeled Content).
4. Click on the Browse button and select the Zip file to be uploaded.
5. Under Special Action select Unpackage this file.
6. Click Submit.
7. Blackboard will then ask you to select an "entry point" (the first page that your user would see in the presentation). Select the the file that is called name_of_presentation.htm

Adding Audio and Video

Q: Putting my syllabus and a few documents up on the web is great, but what if I want to "go to the next level" with audio or video?

A: Because audio and video files tend to be large, it is recommended that they be placed on our streaming server and a link to them be added to your Blackboard site. If you would like assistance with this, or with taking audio or video from an analog source (tape recorder, VHS tape, camcorder) or digital source (DV Cam) and converting it to a web-ready format, please make an appointment to meet with a member of the AS New Media Center staff (258-6073). A staff member can show you how to use the equipment at the ATS New Media Lab or make recommendations on personal or departmental purchases. They will also make recommendations on what format to use (Quick Time, Real Player, etc.) when saving your media in order to maximize quality and compatibility, while minimizing file size.

Uploading Zip files (Document Unpackager)

Q: I have a lot of files in a .zip archive. Is there a way to upload them into Blackboard and unpackage them as individual items in my Blackboard site?

A: How .zip archives are uploaded depends on the type of content. If you have a large Web site, with many HTML pages, graphics and subfolders archived as a .zip archive, using a program like WinZip, MacZip, EasyZip 2000, or DropZip, you can upload that Zip archive as you normally upload items into a Blackboard site. Select Unpackage these Files. Click Submit Select an "entry point" (the index page or first page a user sees).

If your .zip archive contains a collection of files and folders, such as .doc and/or .ppt and/or .pdf, you can use the Document Unpackager, which allows you to upload a zip archive containing folders and files to Blackboard. It is then unpackaged and course content items are created with the files attached. If the .zip archive has a directory structure, then the .zip is translated into folders within Blackboard.

To use the Document Unpackager, from your control panel:

1. Select the content area where you wish to put the .zip file
2. From the dropdown box on the far right of the Add bar, select Document Package and click Go.
3. Set your desired default settings, then Browse to the .zip file you wish to upload, select Open and Submit.

Blackboard Course Cartridges

Q: I've heard that text book publishers have Blackboard-ready content. What's the story?

A: Blackboard Course Cartridge contain pre-packaged instructional course materials, professionally produced by one of the many publisher partners http://cartridgecatalog.blackboard.com/catalog/publisher_list.pl of Blackboard. To get started visit the Blackboard cartridge site http://cartridges.blackboard.com and search for available cartridges in your subject discipline. Call Princeton's Blackboard help line (609.258.0737) if you need assistance.

Blogs and Wikis

Q: How can I use blogs and wikis in conjunction with my Blackboard site?

A: In the course control panel there is a link in the Course Tools area. Click it and follow the instructions to create a link in your course menu to either the blog or wiki server. Click this text to learn more about the Princeton University Blog Service. Click this text to learn more about the the QED (wiki) service.

The Power of Wikis in Higher Ed is an interesting interview with Stewart Mader of Brown University, who has staked his career on the power of wikis, published online in Campus Technology, 8/20/2008.

Equation Editor

Q: I can't seem to find any documentation on using the math and science editor (Web EQ) How does it work?

A: You can find directions by clicking this link:

Math and Science Notation Tool .pdf

Mac Users:The Safari Web browser and the Gecko browsers for Mac do not currently fully support the Equation Editor.

Spell Check

Q: When I type information and descriptions in the text boxes, is there a way to check my spelling?

A: As of Fall 2006, Spell Check is now present in all places where email is used in the application, plus other key areas where proper spelling is essential, such as the Glossary tool and Assignment comments to/from instructors. All text boxes in Blackboard have spell checking. Click this icon found in the in the tool bar beneath the text boxs.

Note: Spell check does apply to heading boxes, where you supply a name or title.

RSS Content

Q: Can I add RSS feeds to my Blackboard site?

A: Yes, adding an RSS feed to your course is as simple as adding any other type of content. ( Really Simple Syndication (RSS) is a lightweight XML format designed for sharing headlines and other Web content.)

To post an RSS feed into your course:

1. Go to the control panel.

2. Select the content area you wish to add the RSS feed to.

3. From the dropdown list on the right, select RSS Content and press the "GO" button.

4. Fill in the following fields:

Title - The name of the RSS Content you are posting into your course.  It can be anything you want, but typically is the name of the web site you are pulling the feed from.

Feed URL - The feed url is the location of the RSS feed you wish to display. For example, the feed for Wired News is: http://www.wired.com/news_drop/netcenter/netcenter.rdf .  The URL must begin with http:// .

Number of Headlines - The number of news items from the feed you wish to display.

Number of Hours Cached - This setting tells the server how long until the RSS Content is updated.  Caching the feed will not only help the content to display quicker, but also reduce the strain on the server that is providing the feed.

Open in New Window - When checked, this will cause a linked headline to open a new browser window.

Display in Folder - When checked, this will cause the feed to be displayed directly in the content area.  When not checked, a link will appear in the content area and the feed will be viewable when the link is clicked.

Show Summaries - When checked, summaries or details from the news item will be displayed.  Uncheck this to only display headlines.

Q: When I type information can I find RSS feeds?

A: A good search engine for RSS feeds is http://www.feedster.com/advanced.php

Here are some sample RSS feeds:

Slashdot - http://slashdot.org/index.rss

NPR News - http://www.npr.org/rss/rss.php?topicId=2

New York Times - http://www.nytimes.com/services/xml/rss/

Merlot Content

Q: What is Merlot Content ?

A: MERLOT is a free and open resource designed primarily for faculty and students of higher education. Links to online learning materials are collected here along with annotations such as peer reviews and assignments. MERLOT Search, a Building Block for The Blackboard Learning SystemT is now available.

This tool will allow instructors to search for educational materials available through the Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching (MERLOT) without exiting their Blackboard course. MERLOT ( www.merlot.org ), a free and open resource features more than 12,000 online educational materials and more than 25,000 members representing the higher education community. Blackboard Building Blocks are software applications which extend the Blackboard e-Learning platform.

MERLOT Search allows instructors to search the MERLOT repository directly from Blackboard, saving time and additional steps. Instructors can apply search results to select specific learning resources and embed links to them in their Blackboard course Web site.

This Building Block, available free of charge and open source through the Blackboard Building Blocks® catalogue streamlines the process of searching for and using learning objects cataloged by MERLOT from within the Blackboard environment. In addition, MERLOT has developed a Blackboard® taxonomy within the MERLOT learning directory, to make it easier for MERLOT users to identify Blackboard-specific training materials. http://www.merlot.org/Home.po

Q: How do I add Merlot Content to my Blackboard site?

A: To search for and add Merlot learning objects to your course:

1. Go to the control panel.

2. Select the content area you wish to add the Merlot learning object to.

3. From the dropdown list on the right, select Merlot Content and press the "GO" button.

4. Type in your search string and choose the number of results you would like displayed at one time (or leave at the default of 5).

5. Submit.

6. When the results appear, preview the ones that interest you, then check the box to the left of those you wish to link to.

7. Click "Insert Links" from the gray bar at the top of the page. You will get a receipt telling you, " The requested resources have been linked into this folder."

Adpative Release

Q: Can I control who sees what material and when they can see it ?

A: Through Adaptive Release, you have much more control over which students see what material and under what cricumstances they can see it.

Course content does not always apply to all users in the course. Using Adaptive Release, Instructors can display content to certain users for a limited period of time, or only after users meet (or fail to meet) predetermined requirements. Some content might be applicable to all users in the course, while other content should be audience-specific.

This feature provides the ability for an instructor to create custom scripted lessons that may include any course content and/or activities. Content items, discussions, assessments, assignments, or other activities can be released to students based on a set of criteria such as date/time, specific individuals, group membership, institutional role, grade on a particular test or assignment, or Review Status.

Instructors create and modifiy Adaptive Release rules from the new Manage page available on all content items.

Click this text for Instructions on using Adaptive Release.

Review Status

Q: How can I tell which students have viewed which materials in my Blackboard site?

A: The Review Status tool allows the Instructor to track user review of specific content items. Once the Instructor enables the tool for an item, the students can individual track their progress. A Mark Reviewed button appears on the item when the user opens the Content Area. After reviewing the item, the student selects this button to mark it Reviewed. The Instructor may check the status of Student reviews on the User Progress page.

Enable Review Status for an item
When Review Status is enabled for an item a Mark Reviewed button appears next to the item when the Content Area is opened by the user. The user must select this button to mark the item Reviewed. Follow the steps below to enable Review Status for an item in a course:

Open the Content Area that includes the item from the Control Panel.

1. Select Manage next to the content item. The Manage page appears.

2. Select Review Status . The Review Status page appears.

3. Select Enable and click Submit . The new status appears on the Manage page underneath the Review Status link.

View the status of user reviews
Once Review Status is enabled for an item, the Instructor may check the status of Student reviews from the User Progress page or the Performance Dashboard. These pages both indicate whether or not a Student has marked an item as ' Reviewed ' . The User Progress page allows the Instructor to see the Review Status of the item for all users in the course. Follow the steps below to open the User Progress page:

1. Open the Content Area that includes the item you would like to check from the Control Panel.

2. Select Manage next to the content item. The Manage page appears.

3. Select Review Status: User Progress . A check box appears in the Reviewed column next to each user who has marked the item as Reviewed . The time and date of the review also appears.

The Performance Dashboard allows the Instructor to see the Review Status of all currently available items for a single user in the course. Follow the steps below to view the status of the item on the Performance Dashboard:

1. Select Performance Dashboard under Assessments on the Control Panel. The Performance Dashboard appears

2. Select the number under the Review Status column next to the user in question. The Review Status page for this user appears. The Instructor may check the Review Status for each item that has Review Status Enabled, either through an Adaptive Release Rule or the Review Status option.

OR

Click the Adaptive Release icon to open the Course Map. The Map displays the Review Status for all items in the course for that user.

(NOTE: If the user changes the status of an individual item from Reviewed to Mark Reviewed , all record of the previous status is erased. The Instructor will not be alerted to the change other than by seeing the new status in the User Progress page or in the Performance Dashboard.)

Review Status during course copy, archive and export
Review Status settings and user status information are only included during a full course copy with users and during archive and restore operations. Review Status settings and status information are not saved during a copy of course materials into a new course or during a copy of course materials into an existing course. The same is true for export and import operations.

Syllabus

Q: How do I get my syllabus in Blackboard?

A: Instructors may attach a file from their local computer, link to a file in WebSpace, or create a syllabus with the Syllabus Builder. Creating a new Syllabus withe the Syllabus Builder allows the user to pre-build as many lessons as needed, or build lessons one at a time. Additionally, the user can apply custom designs to the Syllabus.

Click this text for detailed instructions on using the Syllabus Builder.

MS Office 2007 Compatibility Issues

Q: Some students can't read files I created in Office 2007. How can I remedy this?

A: There are two options available for dealing with this issue, neither of them perfect.

One choice is to have students with older versions of Office download and install the Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 file formats. This solution only works for PCs. There is a beta version of a Mac File Format Converter for Word documents only (not for Excel and PowerPoint).

The other solution is to save Office 2007 files in older file formats. This means losing some of the functionality of Office 2007 in these documents, but it does not present the issues for Mac users described in the previous solution. This solution can be implemented on a file-by-file basis, or you can change the default format.

To save an individual Office 2007 file in the older format:

1. Click the Office button (top left corner)
2. Select Save As
3. Select Word 97 - 2003 Document or Excel 97 - 2003 Workbook or PowerPoint 97 - 2003 Presentation

To change the default in Office 2007 to always save in the older format:

1. Click the Office button (top left corner)
2. Choose Word Options, Excel Options, or PowerPoint Options (bottom of the dropdown box)
3. Select Save
4. In the Save files in this format dropdown list, choose the old file format: Word 97 - 2003 Document or Excel 97 - 2003 Workbook or PowerPoint 97 - 2003 Presentation. You will need to do this in each of the Office 2007 programs.

Q: I could not open any ppt documents through blackboard. I have MS Office 2007 in my system and after I installed itI could not access neither ppt nor pptx files in Blackboard.

A: It appears that this is a problem specific to Office 2007, possibly for similar reasons as with Office XP, where users experienced the very same behavior. The issue is with Office trying to open the remote file via non-standard methods, rather than downloading it and opening it from your PC. There are several alternative workarounds:

1. Right-click the link and choose to download the file to your system, then open it normally from there, e.g. by double-clicking or via PowerPoint's File > Open dialog
2. Use another browser than Internet Explorer - the file will be downloaded to your browser's Internet Cache and opened from there, circumventing the problem
3. Set the PPT file type to NOT be opened in the browser window: Windows Explorer > Tools > Folder Options > File Types > PPT > Advanced > Browse in same window (must be UNchecked)

Visual Text Box Editor

Q: Isn't there an easier way to format text I enter in Blackboard other than coding HTML?

A: Yes -- opt-in to the Visual Text Box Editor (VTBE). As opposed to the basic test box editor that allows you to enter Plain Text, Smart Text and HTML formatting, the VTBE allows you to create and modify content in an interface resembling a word processor, and perform basic HTML functions without knowledge of any HTML. Its features include creating tables, bulleted lists, hyperlinks, horizontal lines, and more. You can easily format text and paragraphs, and upload multimedia files in the VTBE.

To opt-in to the VTBE, under the My Blackboard tab, on the left column, select Personal Information from the module labeled Tools.

The VTBE is compatible with the following browsers on Windows Operating Systems:
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and 7.0
• Mozilla Firefox 1.0
• Netscape 8.0
The VTBE will not work with older versions of these browsers. Instead, the standard options for entering text will appear.

The VTBE is compatible with the following browsers on Macintosh Operating Systems:
• Safari 2.0
• Mozilla Firefox 1.0
When run on Safari, the VTBE Lite Version appears. The Lite Version does not include the button controls for several features because Safari does not yet support those rich-text editing features. Some features that are not accessible from a button in the Lite Version may still be activated using keyboard shortcuts. For example, the cut, copy, and paste functions may still be used through the keyboard shortcuts. DO NOT USE with DISCUSSION BOARD.
Recommendation: Macintosh users should download and use the free Mozilla Firefox 1.0 (or higher)Web Browser to for best results with the VTBE.

Firefox users will find they cannot use the Edit menu nor the Ctrl+v to paste into the VTBE editor. A simple work-around is to paste the text using Shift+Insert. Otherwise, the Firefox user must perform an extra step to enable the cut, copy, and paste functions. The first time an attempt is made to cut, copy, or paste using Crtl+v text in the Visual Text Box Editor, a message from Firefox will appear explaining that the action is not allowed. A link is provided for information on how to enable the cut, copy, and paste functions by editing a Firefox configuration file. The link currently points to http://www.mozilla.org/editor/midasdemo/securityprefs.html.

Macintosh users may find that this does not fully resolve the problem, particularly because Firefox does not permit
pasting text from Microsoft Office files on Mac. To accomplish this task, paste the text into a basic text editor, such as TextEdit or Notepad and then paste the text into the VTBE.

Click this Text for Complete Instructions on Using the VTBE

Reserved Digital Media

Q: How can I get assistance with reserved digital media?

A: Digital Media in Blackboard are just links to specific servers and are not actually stored on the Blackboard servers. If you have problems, you should contact:

Audio Reserves: Mendel Music Library 609.258.8982 (dpg@princeton.edu)

E-Reserves: Electronic Course Reserve Service 609.258.3224 (ereserve@princeton.edu)

Images and Slides: Almagest 609.258.6903 (almagest@princeton.edu)

Videos: Humanities Resource Center 609.258.2114 (lrcweb@princeton.edu)

Q: How can I link to Almagest Projects, audio files, videos, and/or digital readings, so that my students can access the materials from my Blackboard course site?

A: Digitial readings, video and audio : If your course is participating in the Llibrary's Online Reserve Request Service (ORRS) , we will automatically place links to your electrinic reserves in your course site. Because of copyright restrictions, access to E-Reserves must be limited to students enrolled in the course, therefore we will make this part of the course web site unavailable to guests. If you are placing other copyright-protected materials in your course site, we urge you to place them in an area that is not available to guests -- see instructions below.

Almagest Projects: ETC's Almagest database is a media manager for storing and organizing a wide variety of digital media, such as images, video segments, animations, sound, and text files. Material is entered, edited, and displayed online using a web browser. It can be used to deliver slide and media presentations in any classroom equipped with an internet connection and a digital projector. Almagest materials are also available for study and review by students. Contact 609.258.6903 (almagest@princeton.edu ) for more information on setting up an Almagest project. To integrate your Almagest project with your Blackboard site, see instructions below.

ALMAGEST-BLACKBOARD INTEGRATION

From your course or organization control panel, select any content area (such as "Course Materials "). From the dropdown box at top right, select Almagest Lecture, then click Go. (If you want files to be accessible from a particular folder within that content area, first click on the name of that folder.)

The Add Almagest Lecture page that is called up will show you the lectures associated with your course. Either click on a specific lecture from the dropdown box, or turn on the radio button next to All Lectures if you prefer to place just one link for Almagest in your course site.

Type any description or instructions for the students in the text box, select visibility dates, and Submit.

Disclaimer: Some information in this archive may have changed due to feature upgrades to the Blackboard software and/or new discoveries about the capabilities of Blackboard.