Content Integration Tips
Tour of the content areas
Course Information - for syllabus, grading rubrics, information about the course
Course Documents - for course content, handouts, notes, etc.
Instructor Information - for instructor contact info, bio, photo
Learning Unit - a package of sequential content, like a folder, but forces students to follow a specific path
Assignments - for assignment management
What content?
Course Cartridges
- see Bb's list at http://cartridgecatalog.blackboard.com/catalog/
- Contact your textbook rep
Publisher Learning Object repositories
Merlot
- Learning Object Resource - http://www.merlot.org
- The Auscultation Assistant
Library/library databases
- Link directly to articles in ProQuest, Ebsco, and the Library Catalog
- ProQuest - Do You MySpace?
- Ebsco - The Network Is The Blog
- Library Catalog - How People Learn, Life On The Screen
The Internet at large
- Web sites, articles, etc.
Your own content
- New Technologies - PPT (35K), 1 slide/page PDF (23K), 3 slide/page PDF (14K)
Making Content Available
Typing - add content through the BlackBoard text editor, or write the content in a word processor and copy/paste into the editor
Import and Link - upload a file (document, image, etc.) to your BlackBoard course
External Links - link to a file (document, image, etc.) or other web resource not on the BlackBoard server
Selecting File Types and Methods
The method you use to post content will depend on two key factors: the nature of the content and the access for your students. Key types of content are listed on the left side of the table. Considerations for student access include:
- Bandwidth - are students using a modem at home, DSL/Cable at home, or a campus computer? Large documents or files will take approximately 1 second for every 2K on a modem. A 300K file will take 600 seconds, which is 10 minutes.
- Software - not all home computers have Acrobat reader, Flash plug-ins, or Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. Acrobat and Flash are free, but require downloads that may take over an hour. Word and PowerPoint are expensive; players are available, but require downloads.
- Disabilities - students with visual impairment will have difficulty with PDF and image files, and some challenge with PowerPoint. Audio files need transcripts.
| Type in Content | Import Content | External Link | |
|---|---|---|---|
Text |
Ideal for short messages, announcements, short lists of instructions. | Ideal for long documents, handouts, and anything that you expect students to print. | For external resources. Also ideal for long documents, handouts, and anything that you expect students to print. |
Text w/images |
IE/Windows only, or HTML code, little control over images | Word, PDF, RTF. No HTML. All options may lose images. | RTF, PDF, Word, HTML. Best option. |
Articles and text from books |
Not recommended. | Can scan to PDF or image file. Not recommended because of image quality, copyright, and time to create. | Ideal. Link directly to articles on ProQuest, Ebsco, resources in Library Catalog, or web sites. |
PowerPoint |
n/a | Import PPT file for students to download, or import PDF of 3 & 6 slide-per-page handouts. | Link to PPT file for download, or PDF of 3 & 6
slide-per-page handouts (recommended).
Slide show of slides, but requires tweaking for accessibility. |
Streaming Audio/Video |
n/a | Not recommended (slow, flaky). | Ideal for linking. Can be either on Highline Real Server, Flightline, or from originating web site. |
Flash/ Authorware |
n/a | Import, link to .swf files, but not recommended. | Ideal for linking to content either on Flightline or originating web site. |
About Text Documents
Word processing programs that are used for creating a syllabus, assignments, or other course information can be imported into BlackBoard as described above. However, the documents should be saved using a file type such that students will not have to depend on a certain word processor to view them.
Below are common file types, along with advantages and disadvantages for each.
Word or WordPerfect Document
If you choose to use a Microsoft Word or WordPerfect document, your students must also have that program on their computers to view it. Different versions of Word may also conflict and restrict a student’s view. Many users have the latest version of Word, so this may not be an issue for your course. With some exceptions, they will see the same format that you do on your screen.
Rich Text Format (.rtf)
Your original Word document may lose some formatting as an .rtf file, but usually the differences are minor. Your students will be able to view the content no matter what word processor they have. You can convert Word documents (.doc) to Rich Text Format (.rtf) by opening the document, choosing File and selecting Save As..., then changing Save as type: to Rich Text Format. Once you have saved the file as .rtf, you are ready to import the document into your course site.
Portable Document Format (.pdf)
PDF files require that you convert the document using the Adobe Acrobat program. The resulting file will preserve the layout of your document, as if you'd taken a picture of the page and sent that. Students will need a PDF reader (usually Adobe Acrobat Reader), which is freely available. The Acrobat conversion program is available in the MIDS lab on the 6th floor of the library, or on some newer office computers.
HTML Format
Your original Word document may lose some formatting as an HTML file, but your students will be able to view the content no matter what word processor they have. Compared to Rich Text Format, HTML formatting will preserve more of the graphics. You can convert Word documents (.doc) to HTML (.html) by opening the document, choosing File and selecting Save As HTML... Once you have saved the file as .html, you can import the document into your course site.
ID Note: You can also use this to add content directly to a page. Use Front Page to create the content, then copy and paste the HTML. Click on the HTML tab in the lower left corner of the FrontPage screen. Begin copying at the word <body> and copy until you get to </body>. If you are using HTML, don’t forget to select the HTML button at the bottom of the BlackBoard text box.
