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.
Note: Details about displaying files within a course Web site may be found in the Displaying Media within Content file topic.
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.
The table below details the fields on the Add Content and Modify Content pages.
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Field |
Description |
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Item Information |
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Name: |
Select a name that best describes the content that is being added. |
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Or, specify your own name: |
Enter a customized name for the information being added. |
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Choose Color of Name: |
Click Pick to select an alternate test color for the name of the item. The default color is black. |
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Text: |
Enter text into the field by either typing directly into the box or copy and paste text from another source. The following options are available: · 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. · √x: Opens the WebEQ Equation Editor. · <¸>: Opens the MathML Equation Editor. · ABC: Opens Spell Check. · Preview: Opens the text as it will appear to the user. |
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Content |
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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. |
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Name of Link to File: |
Enter the name of the link that Students click to access the attached file. |
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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. When this option is selected, the file will not appear in the Currently Attached Files field after the page is submitted. An image tag for the file will appear in the Text box.
· 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. |
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Currently Attached Files: |
The attached files are listed here. |
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Options |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
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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. |
The Content 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.