Adding Course Content
Course Content back
About Content Types
Instructors may add a number of different kinds of content to course Content Areas; these are referred to as Content Types. Content Types generally fall into two different categories:
- Content – Content that adds information to a course, for example, a file or a Learning Unit.
- Reference – Content that references something that lies outside the Content Area, such as an External Link or a Course Link.
All content shares a few similarities; each piece of content includes a name and description. Many Content Types also allow the Instructor to set options such as availability and date restrictions.
Content Type descriptions
Content Types may be selected from the Action Bar and drop-down list of a Content Area page.
| Content Type | Description |
| Item | A general piece of content to which items may be attached |
| Test | On-line evaluations of Student knowledge and skills. Test properties, such as availability and presentation options, are managed through the course area where the Test appears. For information on building Tests and other Assessments see the section on How to Create an Assessment. |
| Assignment | Content that Instructors may mark based on a given number of points possible, such as class work. |
| Learning Unit | A set of content that includes a structured path for progressing through the items |
| Folder | A folder within a Content Area to which other content types may be added. Folders allow Instructors to organize a Content Area into a structured area with a hierarchy or categories |
| External Link | Link to an outside Web site |
| Course Link | Link to another item in a course |
| Survey | Similar to Tests, Surveys are useful to polling purposes and evaluations. Questions in Surveys cannot be assigned points and Surveys may not be graded |
| Tool | Link to a tool in the course, such as a Discussion Board or Virtual Classroom session |
| Offline Content | A direct path to a specified file on a drive, usually a CD-ROM. To access this file, users must have the correct CD-ROM in their computer |
| Blog (Journal LX) | A course blog appears in the Tools area. Individual blogs can be created in the Course Documents area (or other content area) of your course, and can be assigned to a group of users or as individual work areas. |
| Wiki (Teams LX) | The Wiki tool allows instructors to create a form of course document or web site that can be collaboratively edited in place by students. |
Content Availability
When a content item is added to a course it is not automatically available. An availability option on the Add and Modify pages allows the user to set the content to available or unavailable. This allows the Instructor to create content and save it in a draft format before it is made available within a course. This availability setting is separate from Adaptive Release. If an item is not available users may not access it regardless of the Adaptive Release rules.
Content Options
When an item is added to a Content Area a number of options are available on the Add page. The options available depend on the Content Type; not all options are always available. These options are used to set availability, date restrictions, and tracking. The following is a description of all of the options that may be available:
| Content Type | Description |
| Make the content available | Select Yes to make the content available to users. If No is selected this content is unavailable, regardless of Adaptive Release rules |
| Open in new window | Select Yes to open the item in a separate browser window. This is helpful as users may continue viewing the Content Area along with the item |
| Choose date restrictions | Select the range of dates that this item will appear. Select the Display After checkbox for the item to appear after a specific date. If this option is checked, select the corresponding date and time below. Select the Display Until checkbox for the item to appear until a specific date. If this option is checked, select the corresponding date and time below |
| Track number of views | Select Yes to track the Course Statistics and generate reports on usage and activity for the item |
Course Items
About Items
Items are general pieces of content added to a course to which items may be attached.
Add an Item
Follow the steps below to add an item to a Content Area:
- Open a Content Area, such as Course Documents, from the Control Panel.
- Select Add Item from the Action Bar.
- Complete the Add Item page and click Submit.
Attach a file to an item
Files from a local system may be attached to an item in a Content Area. Follow the steps below to attach a file to an item:
- Open a Content Area, such as Course Documents, from the Control Panel.
- Select Add Item from the Action Bar.
- Complete Section 1 – Content Information of the Add Item page.
- Select Browse next to Attach Local file. Select the file on the local system and add it to the field.
- Complete the Name of Link to File field. This name appears to users; they will select this link to open the attached file.
- Select an option in the drop-down list in the Special Action field. See Special Actions for more information about these options.
- Complete Section 3 – Options and click Submit.
Note: Files may also be attached to an item from the Content Collection. In Step 4, select Browse next to Link to Content Collection. Select the file on the Content Collection window that appears.
Tip: Users who have the third row of the Visual Text Box Editor available may use the options in the third row to add files.
Special Actions
Section two of the Add Item page contains a Special Action field which allows users to select the behavior of files attached to an item. The following Special Actions are available:
- Create a link to this file: Attach the file to the item. A link is automatically inserted below the document title to access the file.
- Display media file within the page: Display media file within the page: Embed certain kinds of media within the page itself instead of creating a link. When this option is selected, the file will not appear in the Currently Attached Files field after the page is submitted. The image or image tag for the file will appear in the Text Box Editor. (The image may appear in a black or transparent box.) Embed certain kinds of media within the page itself instead of creating a link. When this option is selected, the file will not appear in the Currently Attached Files field after the page is submitted. The image or image tag for the file will appear in the Text Box Editor. (The image may appear in a black or transparent box.) If this option is selected, the attached file must be a format recognizable by the Blackboard Learning System. If it is not, a link to the file is automatically created.
- Unpackage this file: Indicates to the system that the file must be unpackaged before displaying.
Note: If the file format is not one of the supported digital media formats, the Display media file within the page feature will default to the Create a link to this file feature.
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