Blackboard Tip of the Week: Copying an item from one course to another

Tip: You can copy an item from one course to another without having to use the Course Copy function on the Control Panel.
Here’s how to do it:

1. Access the course from which you want to copy an item
2. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on the Content Area where the item is located
   
• For example, if you want to copy a folder that is located in Course Documents, click on the Course Documents course menu link
  
3. Click on the Copy button next to the item you want to copy
4. On the next screen, select the destination course from the drop-down list of courses
   
   • NOTE: Only courses for which you are an instructor are listed in this drop-down list
     
5. Click Browse to find a destination folder within the destination course
6. Select whether you would like the item to be removed from the current course after it is copied to the destination course
7. Click Submit
   
8. When you receive confirmation via email that the item copy was successfully completed, navigate to the destination to confirm that the item was successfully copied

Web 2.0 Tool of the Week: Delicious

(http://www.Delicious.com)
Delicious is a social bookmarking service that allows users to tag, save, manage and share web pages from a centralized source. Users can bookmark any site on the Internet, and access from anywhere. Bookmarks can be shared with others, whether or not they use Delicious.

Account Information:

• Users must create a free account
• Users can make bookmarks public or private

Items that can be bookmarked in Delicious include:

• Web pages
• Audio items
• Video items
• Images
• Documents
• Multimedia file type RSS Feeds

Why use Delicious?

• Find popular sites being bookmarked
• Find information about areas of interest including research topics, course topics, work topics, hobbies, etc.
• Discover useful and interesting bookmarks on the web being marked by others
• Develop relationships with others in your industry, or interested in the same topics
• Get bookmarks in return from friends or by searching
• “Tag” bookmarks with a description for easier searching.

What is tagging?

The term “tag” is the option that allows a user to use a word or words to denote an item. For example, when collecting information for the Widget project, all items collected could be “tagged” with the word “Widget.” Then when searching for items related to the project, search by the word “Widget” and all resources could be gathered.

Ready to explore Delicious? Sign up for an account here.

Already using Delicious? Tell us about using Delicious for your projects.

Blackboard Tip of the Week: Limit Dropped Student Access to Blackboard Courses

Tip: When students drop a class and are not automatically removed from Blackboard, you can limit their access to the course.

Limiting access to students who drop the course mid-semester

Students who have dropped a course mid-semester will not be removed from your Blackboard course roster. This is designed to allow instructors to keep records of all students in the course. Removing a student from the Blackboard course will delete all information, including grades for that student.

How to limit access and retain student information:

1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on List/Modify Users
2. Type the student’s last name, or click search to list the whole class roster
3. Select properties next to the student’s name
4. Scroll down to Section 4: Role and Availability
5. Under Available (this course only) select No
6. Click Submit
   

NOTE: Limiting access to students will not remove them from your grade book. However, the student will no longer be able to log into the course.

Removing students from a course

If a student is not enrolled in the course per your WebAdvisor roster, removal of the student may be appropriate. Keep in mind that all student data will be removed including grades, assignment submissions, and course statistics.

NOTE: Blackboard roster updates occur several times a day through the twelfth class day. It is possible that during these first days of the semester, students removed from a course will be added back into the course when the roster updates occur. Removing students after the twelfth class day will be permanent.

How to permanently remove a student from the course:

1. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Remove Users from Course
2. Type the student’s last name, or click search to list the whole class roster
3. Place a checkmark next to the student’s name
4. Type the word Yes
5. Click Submit
   

NOTE: Official student rosters can be obtained from WebAdvisor and compared with Blackboard. Students who are not listed in Blackboard but listed in WebAdvisor should call the Help Desk at 940-898-3791 for assistance.

Blackboard Tip of the Week: Beginning of Semester Checklist

Tip: Beginning of semester tasks

1. Enhance course design and menu options
2. Combine multiple course sections into one shell (if applicable)
3. Make the course available

Enhance the course design and menu options:

1. Access your course
2. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Course Design where you can:
   
   • choose a course menu design
   • manage how the menu is displayed
   • manage the tool panel
   • add/change the course banner
3. Return to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Manage Course Menu
   
   • To re-arrange the order of menu items, click the number next to an item and select a new number order for the item
   • To modify or remove a menu item, click the Modify or Remove button next to an item
   • To add a content area, a link to a course tool, a link to a course area, or an external link to the course menu, click the appropriate button at the top of the page
4. Click OK

Combine multiple course sections into one shell (if applicable):

1. Access the course from which you want to move users
2. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Course Copy (located in the Course Options category)
3. Click Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course
4. Type or Search for the Destination Course ID
   
• NOTE: The Destination Course is the course to which the enrollments will be copied
5. Place a checkmark next to Tasks and next to Enrollments
6. Click Submit
   
   • NOTE: You will receive an email notification when the enrollments copy is complete

Make the course available:

1. Access the course you want to make available
2. Go to the Blackboard Control Panel, and click on Settings (located in the Course Options category)
3. Click Course Availability
4. Select Yes, and click Submit