Month: December 2012

Blackboard Course Copy

As long as your courses are on the same server, you can use Course Copy to copy a course from semester to semester.
(Note that on UAS Blackboard, BBSANDBOX and BBDEV are actually separate servers – in that case you would need to export/import to move courses between servers).

The course shell for your new course will need to have already been created in order to do a course copy.

Older UAS Online courses (from before Fall 2012) must be exported/imported – read more about that here: http://www.uas.alaska.edu/idc/transition/

Go to your old Blackboard Course

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  • Go to your old Blackboard course
  • Go to the Control Panel and Click on Packages and Utilities
  • Choose Course Copy

Export Everything

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  • Choose Copy Course Material into an Existing Course
  • Browse and find the NEW course into which you wish to copy (more about that below)
  • Click Select All to choose everything.

The safest way to export is to check everything! It doesn’t hurt to check things you don’t use and it can cause big problems to export content areas that contain tests, discussion board or anything linked to the gradebook without also exporting the grade center – it is easier to delete things you don’t need later than to try and repair things from a partial export.

Read the next to sections before clicking Submit

Choosing the new course from your list

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To choose the correct NEW course to copy to use the following information
(1) Course ID – this contains semester information (201203 is Fall 2012, 201301 is Spring 2013 where 1=Spring, 2=Summer, 3=Fall)
(2) Course Name

CAUTION – if you have uploaded zipped packages (Softchalk Lessons, other HTML packages etc)

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If you have files that are not directly linked from your content areas (for example a Softchalk lesson or HTML files prepared from Powerpoint which actually contain multiple files or images, then you’ll need to uncheck the box that says "Limit Package to only files linked to in the selected content areas" This will copy all the files in your Files area.

In the past there have also been "permissions issues" for copied files that are not directly linked to from the Blackboard content areas. To read more about zipped packages and permissions go here: http://blackboardhelp.wordpress.com/2011/01/11/upload-a-zipped-package-file/

Click Submit to initiate the course copy.

Your export has been queued

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You’ll get a message that your course copy has been queued and you’ll get an email when its done. The amount of time this takes can vary.
DO NOT EDIT THE COURSE UNTIL THE COPY PROCESS IS COMPLETE – in fact it can be a good idea to wait for half an hour after you get the email.

Cleaning up your course site

The content areas from your old course will be imported into your new course –

  • Content will be copied into any content areas with the same name – for example, if you had content in Syllabus, Getting Started or Course Content it will be copied there (since those areas exist in the default course site
  • A new menu item will be created for any new content areas you made or any you renamed – for example if you renamed Course Content to Course Assignments then a new entry on the course menu will be created. The new items will be located at the bottom of the course menu.

You’ll need to re-order them and control their availability. If you want to prohibit Guest from viewing some content then you’ll need to choose "Deny Guests" next to the course menu entries for those content areas. If you want to hide any content area while you are updating it then choose "Hide Link" from the drop-down menu next to the menu item name.

Discussion posts may also be imported with your course. These will be relabeled as Anonymous. You will need to go into the Discussion forum, Select All of the posts and delete them to empty your discussion forums.

Export from UAF Blackboard, Import to UAS Blackboard

To move a class from one server to another you need to Export the course from the old server then import to the new server. This lesson describes how to Export from UAF Blacboard and Import to UAS Blackboard. This involves saving a zipped file to your computer from the old server then importing that same zipped file to the new server.

Note: Exports from a newer version of Blackboard to an older version do not work well. You should EXPORT from UAF Blackboard before the end of the Fall 2012 semester and SAVE the resulting zipped file to your computer. Then you’ll WAIT until the UAS Blackboard is upgraded (between semesters) and IMPORT that zipped file into you Spring 2013 course.

Now is a good time to save exports from all your UAF courses even if you are not yet teaching them in the spring.

Go to your old UAF Blackboard Course

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  • Go to your UAF Blackboard course
  • Go to the My Courses list (NOT the My UA Courses List)
  • Go to the Control Panel and Click on Packages and Utilities
  • Choose Export/Archive Course
  • When that panel opens, click on the Export link

Export Everything

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The safest way to export is to check everything! It doesn’t hurt to check things you don’t use and it can cause big problems to export content areas that contain tests, discussion board or anything linked to the gradebook without also exporting the grade center – it is easier to delete things you don’t need later than to try and repair things from a partial export.

Scroll down and click Submit after checking everything.

Your export has been queued

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You’ll get a message that your export has been queued and you’ll get an email when its done. The amount of time this takes can vary.
Note – you don’t have to stay on this page – you can go to other courses and set up the export for them as well.

After you get your email notification, save the zipped file to your computer

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After you get your email notification return to the UAF Blackboard course, click on the link shown and save the zip file to your computer.

Be sure and save the zip file in a timely manner – the link will disappear after a while.
It does’t matter if you rename the file as long as you keep the zip extension.

AFTER UAS Blackboard has been upgraded

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After UAS Blackboard has been upgraded (expected to happen before Jan 2 2013) you can import the zipped package,

  • Go to Control Panel, Packages and Utilities
  • Go to Import Package/View Logs
  • When the panel loads, click on Import Package

Note that although UAS Blackboard is upgrading the "look" won’t change to match UAF Blackboard (at least for the Spring semester). Nonetheless, it will be a newer version.

Import the zipped file you previously saved

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  • Browse and find the zipped file that you previously saved.
  • Click Select All to import all parts of the package (safest choice)
  • Scroll down and click Submit

Again it will take a while for the process to complete. You’ll get an email when it is finished. DO NOT EDIT YOUR COURSE WHILE THE PROCESS IS UNDERWAY.

A link to a log file will appear in the Import/View logs panel. The log file will almost certainly have some errors and warnings. The best thing is to view your imported content and contact the helpdesk with information about which course/semester you are working with. Problems can arise if you have a) Publishers content which is copyright – in that case you may need to contact the publisher to get a new course package or b) unusual characters in tests or other issues.

Cleaning up your course site

The content areas from your old course will be imported into your new course – you’ll need to re-order them and control their availability. (In UAF Blackboard course sites where limited to students. UAS Blackboard allows guest and if you want to prohibit Guest from viewing some content then you’ll need to choose "Deny Guests" next to the course menu entries for those content areas.

Discussion posts may also be imported with your course. These will be relabeled as Anonymous. You will need to go into the Discussion forum, Select All of the posts and delete them to empty your discussion forums.