Add / Modify Course Content Item

 

Overview

The Course Content areas enable Instructors to organize all of their course content. Items may be added or modified by accessing the Add Item page or Modify Item page. The fields on the Add Item page and Modify Item page are the same. The Add Item page and Modify Item page function in a similar manner. The difference being, the Add Item page opens with empty fields while the Modify Item page opens with populated fields.

 

Modify Content

 

Find this page

Follow the steps below to open the Add Item or Modify Content page.

 

Step 1                 Select a Content Area in the Course Control Panel.

Step 2                 Click Add Item or Modify next to an existing item.

 

Recognized content attachments

The Content Attachments area of the page includes options to create a link, display a media file, or unpackage a file. If Display a media file within the page is selected, the attached file must be a format recognizable by the Blackboard Learning System. If it is not, the Blackboard Learning System will automatically create a link to the file.

 

The following file types are recognized by the Blackboard Learning System.

 

Extension

File Type

Programs associates with the file type

.aam

Multimedia

Macromedia® Authorware® plug-in

.aiff

Audio

Audio program

.asf

Multimedia

Microsoft® .NET™ Show

.au

Audio

Real Audio Player™

.avi

Video

Video player (not Macintosh® compatible)

.doc

Text

Microsoft® Word® or other word processor

.ea

Audio

Java™ enabled Web browser

.ev, .ev2

Video

Java™ enabled Web browser

.exe

Executable

 

.gif

Image

Graphics program or Web browser

.html, .htm

Web page

HTML editor or Web browser

.image

Image

Graphics program or Web browser

.jpg, .jpeg

Image

Graphics program or Web browser

.jif

Image

Graphics program or Web browser

.mpe

Audio/Video

 

.mpg, .mpeg

Image

Graphics program or Web browser

.moov

Movie

 

.mov, .movie

Video

Movie or media player

.pdf

Text

Adobe® Acrobat® Reader®

.ppt, .pps

Slide show

Microsoft® PowerPoint® and PowerPoint Player®

.qt

Movie

QuickTime®

.ra

Audio

Real Audio Player™

.ram

Video

Real Audio Movie™

.swa

Audio

Macromedia® Shockwave® plug-in

.swv, .swf

Multimedia

Macromedia® Shockwave® plug-in

.tiff

Image

Graphics program or Web browser

.txt

Text

Text or HTML editor, word processor

.wav

Audio

Audio program

.wma

Audio

 

.wmf

Graphic

Microsoft® Windows®

.wmv

Media/Audio

Microsoft® Windows®

.wpd

Text

WordPerfect® or other word processor

.xls

Spreadsheet

Microsoft® Excel®

 

Note: The Blackboard Learning System can recognize additional file types and associated applications if a MIME extension is added to an XML file in the file system. Contact your System Administrator for more information about adding MIME extensions.

 

Fields

The table below details the fields on the Add Content and Modify Content pages.

 

Field

Description

Item Information

Name:

Select a name that best describes the content that is being added.

Or, specify your own name:

Enter a customized name for the information being added.

Choose Color of Name:

Click Pick to select an alternate test color for the name of the item. The default color is black.

 

Text:

Enter text into the field by either typing directly into the box or copy and paste text from another source. Select a text type from the following options:

·          Smart Text: Automatically recognizes a link entered in the text box. Smart text recognizes the ENTER key as a paragraph tag and accepts HTML tags as well. Smart Text will also prompt to load images if an image source text is used when adding smart text as part of a content item.

·          Plain Text: Displays text as written.

·          HTML: Displays text as coded using HTML tags.

·          ∑: Opens the MathML Equation Editor.

·          +: Opens the WebEQ Equation Editor.

Click Preview to view the text as it will appear.

Content Attachments

File to Attach:

Enter the file path or click Browse to locate a file. The file will appear with the item as either a link or the actual file contents. This option is specified in the Special Action field.

Name of Link to File:

Enter the name of the link that Students click to access the attached file.

Special Action:

Select the special action for the link from the following options:

·          Create a link to this file: Selecting this option attaches the file to the document. A link is automatically inserted below the document title to access the file.

 

·          Display media file within the page: Selecting this option embeds certain kinds of media within the page itself instead of creating a link.

 

·          Unpackage this file: Selecting this option indicates to the system that the file must be unpackaged before displaying.

 

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. A list of the file types supported by Blackboard Learning System can be found in Content Attachments.

Currently Attached Files:

The attached files are listed here.

Options

Do you want to add offline content?

Select Yes or No to indicate that offline content is allowed or not allowed. Offline content is a direct path to a specified file on a CD-ROM that is usually provided by an Instructor. To access this file the user must have the correct CD in their computer.

Do you want to track number of views?

Select Yes to indicate that the system is to track the number of times a user accesses this item. Use the Course Statistics page to view a comprehensive report.

Select No to indicate that the number of times this page is accessed will not be tracked.

Do you want to add metadata?

Select Yes or No to indicate if metadata will be used. Metadata is data about the added item, such as ownership, resource format, and copyright information. If this option is selected Describe will appear next to the item in the Content Area. Click Describe to access the Content Metadata page.

Choose date restrictions

Select the range of dates that the content will appear using the drop-down lists or click the icon for a calendar interface.

 

To display content from a date forward, select a date in Display After but do not check Display Until. To display content from a set date until a future date, select a date in Display After, check Display Until and select a date.

Do you want to make content visible?

Select Yes to indicate that the item will be available for viewing when a user accesses the Content Area. Select No to indicate that the item will not to be available.