uasonline – Blackboard Help

Importing Static and Dated Announcements and Assignments

Static and dated Announcements and Assignments that are exported from UAS Online will be imported into Blackboard as HTML (web) pages. That is, each separate Announcement or Assignment will be an individual HTML page, including any formatting, images, links etc. Webliography and Bibliography are treated in the same way.

These will be located in the Course Content area inside separate folders.

Imported Announcements and Assignments

All static and dated Announcements or Assignments will be imported, including with drafts and archives. They will all be visible to students. Clicking on one of these links will open that Assignment or Announcement.

Suggestion

One way to manage the imported Announcements and Assignments is to make the folders that contain them invisible to students then moving the items you wish to re-use into a new Content Area or Folder. The invisible folders will serve as containers for "draft" version of Announcements or Assignments.

Lets look at how you would make a Folder invisible to students and then move a particular item in it to a new Content Area or folder.

Making a Folder Inaccessible to Students

Click on the drop-down menu next to the folder name, then choose "Edit"

Rename the folder and make it invisible

(1) Rename the folder if you wish. You can also add a description.
(2) Scroll down and in step 3 change "Permit Users to View this Content" select "No".
Click Submit

Imported Announcements and Assignments are now invisible to students

The imported Announcements and Assignments are now invisible to students.

Suppose that you want to re-use one of these Announcements or Assignments. You can do this by moving or copying it to the appropriate Content Area or Folder. As an example, let’s move an Announcement to the "Getting Started" section.

Click on the name of the "Hidden Announcement" folder to go inside it.

Moving or Copying

Click on the drop-down menu next to the name of the Announcement or Assignment you wish to copy or move and choose Copy or Move.

Browse and select Content Area or Folder

After you choose Copy or Edit, you will get a dialog box which lets you choose any course in which you have instructor access.
(1) Click on the Browse button
(2) A window pops up which shows every Content Area on the Course Menu and every folder in your course.
Click on the name of the Content Area or Folder to which you want to copy or move.
Click Submit.

The Announcement or Assignment can now be found in the new location.

Re-creating Announcements or Assignments as Items

The HTML files which are created from your old Announcements and Assignments cannot be edited online and are difficult to edit even if you download them to your computer. If you plane to re-use Announcements or Assignments, you will need to recreate them as Blackboard Announcements or as Blackboard Items. To do this you will:

Copy the material from your imported Announcement or Assignment

and then either

Create a Blackboard Announcement by clicking on Announcements in the Course Menu and then "Create Announcement"

Create a Blackboard "Item" in the Content Area or Folder of your choice.

Create a Blackboard Item

To create a Blackboard Item, go to the appropriate Content Area and Folder. At the top of every Content Area and Folder you’ll see the buttons "Build Content", "Create Assessment", "Add Interactive Tool", etc,

Move your mouse cursor over "Bulld Content" and select "Item"

Name the Item and paste the content from the UAS Online Assignment into the textbox.

(1) Name the Item
(2) Paste your content in the textbox
Scroll down and click Submit. (You also have options to attach files and limit availability.)

You will now easily be able to edit the Item.

Re-ordering and editing Items.

Newly created Items will be at the bottom of the Content Area or Folder. Use the double-headed arrows on the left (1) to drag them up or down and re-order them.
Use the drop-down menu to the right of the Item name (2) to get a menu and choose "Edit" to get back to the textbox that lets you edit or format the content of the Item. You will also be able to change its availability.

Using the Export Tool from UAS Online and Importing into Blackboard

To move content, tests, and resources from UAS Online to Blackboard you will:

First go to your UAS Online Course
Use the Export tool found in Instructor Tools
Save a "package" file to your computer
Next go to your new Blackboard Course
Use an Import tool there to upload the package file

The UAS Online Export tool is described below.

Go to your old course in UAS Online

Login to UAS Online and go to your old course. You should have Instructor Tools on your menu.
Within Instructor Tools: Click on Export

Select the items you wish to export

Select the Items you wish to Export.
In the box labeled "Title" you will see the default name of the Content Area into which Blackboard will import your resources, links etc. The default is to import into the existing Content Area labeled "Course Content". If you change this name, Blackboard will create a new Content Area (new area on the Blackboard Course Menu).

Click the button labeled Generate Export Package

The package file is created

After a while (the time will depend on how much content you have to export) a package file will be created – you’ll see a link to the file near the top of the page.
Click on the link and save the package file to your computer. You can rename it but be sure and keep the extension .smscc
NOTE – if you rename the file do not include spaces or unusual characters in the file name (you can include dash or underscore, but not characters such as &, # etc.)

After you save this file to your computer, the next step will be to import it to your Blackboard course site.

Go to your new Blackboard course site

Click on Packages and Utilities to expand it
click on Import Package/View Logs

Click on the Import Package button on the left

Browse and select your package file

Click the Browse button and select the package file that you previously saved to your computer.

Select the types of items you wish to import

Select the types of items you wish to import.

"Content Areas" (1) will need to be checked to import resources (files and links) or Announcements/Assignments/Webliography/Bibliography(as static html pages).
"Tests, Surveys and Pools" (2) will need to checked to import Quizzes and Essays

Completing the Import Process

A "Success" message (1) should appear near the top of the page – you will get an email when the import process is complete.
Do not edit your course until the process is complete!
A log file (2) will appear when the import process is complete (you will need to reload the page to see it).

The log file frequently may contain warnings and non-fatal errors. If the import process appears to have worked satisfactorily you can ignore them. If it doesn’t work, the log file can be forwarded to the helpdesk along with information about what UAS Online course/semester you exported from and which Blackboard course/semester you are importing to.

Where to find your imported content

Your Resources (files and links) and html pages created from Announcements, Assignments, Webliography and Bibliography will be imported into the Course Content area (1) on your Blackboard Course menu (unless you decided to create a new Content Area by renaming it).
A new Content Area called Weblinks (2) will also be created and contain any links that were exported. These are duplicates – they will also be imported into Course Content in the appropriate locations.
Clicking on Course Content, you’ll see folders corresponding to the different types of items.
Clicking on Class Resources, you’ll see your imported Resources (sorted into folders if you used Categories) as well as Webliography, Bibliography, and links to Web Recordings.

Where to find your imported tests

Go to the Control Panel located below the Blackboard Course Menu and click on Course Tools (1) to expand it.
Click on Tests, Surveys and Pools (2)
When that page loads, click on Tests (3)

Quizzes and Essays are both imported as Tests

All of the Quizzes and Essay tests you exported will be listed. They are not deployed (posted) to any Content Area yet. In Blackboard, both Quizzes (containing multiple choice and other types of computer graded questions) and Essay Tests (containing questions to be answered in written form) are considered "Tests" – they just contain different question types.

WARNING! – The imported content area becomes the Entry Point for your course.

When using the UAS Online to Blackboard export/import tool. The Content Area becomes the Entry Point for the course (rather than the default Annoucements).

You usually want announcements to be the entry point – so anyone entering the course won’t miss Announcements. Reset the Entry Point by doing the following:

In the Control Panel click on Customization
Click on Style
Scroll down to item number 4 and where it says "Entry Point" – change the selection to Announcements.

Recreating UAS Online Tasks as Assignments

UAS Online Tasks cannot be imported into Blackboard but can be recreated as Blackboard Assignments. To do this you will need to cut and paste between your old UAS Online class and your new Blackboard class. The easiest way to do this is to have the two classes open in different browser windows or tabs and switch between them.

Read more about Blackboard Assignments here: Getting Started with Assignments (pdf)

Open both your UAS Online class and your Blackboard Class

Go to UAS Online and login
Browse to find your old UAS Online class – right click on the name (cntrl-Click on a Mac) and open in a new window or tab
Brose to find your new Blackboard class – open this in a sepate window or tab as well

In your UAS Online class – go to Instructor Tools and then Assignments

In your old UAS Online class – go to Instructor Tools and then Assignments and open the Task Library
Your task may have:

A Name
Instructions
One or more attachments.

A Blackboard Assignment has these same features. It allows students to submit one or more attached files or to use a textbox in response to your instructions and provides a mechanism for you to submit grades, comments and returned files or papers.

Click on the Test Link to view this task.

View the task and save any attachments to your computer

Save any attachments that are including in the instructions to your computer. If necessary, choose right-click (cntrl-click on a Mac) and "Save Link As …" or "Save Target As …"

Copy the Instructions to your computer

Select the text of the instructions and copy. You can type Cntrl-C to copy or right-click and choose Copy.

Switch to your Blackboard course.

Browse to the content area or folder in which you wish to post your Blackboard Assignment (formerly a UAS Online Task)
In this example, the Assignment will be posted in the Week Two folder which is in the Course Content area.
Click on Course Content and then the Week Two folder

Select Create Assessment > Assignment

At the top of any Content Area or Folder you’ll see the buttons Build Content, Create Assessment, Add Interactive Tool, etc.
Move your mouse cursor over Create Assessment and choose Assignment.

Give the Assignment a Name and paste the instructions into the textbox

Step 1: Give the Assignment a Name and then paste the Instructions in the textbox indicated.
Click inside the textbox and type Cntrl-V for Paste. You may also use the Paste button which looks like a clipboard.

Adding back the attachments

If the text you copied from your UAS Online course included links to attachments, these will still refer to documents in your UAS Online course. To make it easier to edit and update these in the future, it is safer to remove these links and re-attach the files. This will add these files to your Blackboard course.

Delete the references to attached files.

Adding back the attachments inside the Instructions

There are two ways to add attachments to an assignment.
One way is to scroll down to Step 2 and use the "Browse My Computer" button to add one or more attachments. This is the simplest way. After you add attachments they will appear as links below the Name of the Blackboard Assigment and above the Instructions.

Adding attachments

After you click the Browse My Computer button (1) and find and select the file you want to attach, you’ll see the name of the file below the Browse button. If you want the link to the file to have a different name – fill that in under "Link Title". The "Do not attach" link allows you to remove any linked files if you made a mistake. You can attach multiple files by clicking the Browse My Computer button repeatedly.

Adding attachments, images, etc within the instructions.

It is also possible to add attached files, images etc. within the instructions. Place your cursor where you want the file or image to appear and then:
(1) Use the button that looks like a paper with paperclip to attach files.
(2) Use the button that looks a picture to insert an image.

You will get a dialog box which will allow you to Browse and select the file or image file from your computer and set options.

You can learn more about the tools in the Rich Text Editor by hovering over the buttons.

Give your Assignment points

Step 3: The act of creating a Blackboard Assignment will automatically put it in the gradebook. You’ll need to give your Assignment points.

Set Availability

In step 4 you set the availability. You can make the Assignment available and then over-ride that with a a time window to limit availability. (That is you must leave the Assignment available AND check the boxes and select a date range.)
(1) Leave the box "Make the Assignment Available" checked (unless you want it to NEVER be available).
(2) Set the number of allowed attempts
(3) Check the boxes if you wish to set a time window and then choose dates and times.

Set optional due date

The due date in step 5 is optional. It will provide the students with information about the due date but will not enforce that deadline in any way (you must set a time window to do that). Some instructors prefer to inform students about due dates in other ways and so leave this box blank.

Click Submit to finish.

Back in the Content Area or Folder

Back in the Content Area or Folder you’ll see the Assignment. It will be grayed out for you (and invisible to students) if it is unavailable or not within the time window you have set. If you only see "Item not available" that means it will NEVER be available to students. If there is a time window, then the information about when it will be (or has been) available will be given.

You can click on the link to the Assigment to see how it looks to students. Once student files are submitted, you will collect them from the gradecenter and submit grades, comments and returned papers there. Students will go to their own gradebooks (My Grades) to see their own grades, and your comments and returned files.

Editing the Assignment

To Edit or Delete the Assignment – use the drop-down menu next to the Assignment name.

Adding a Guest Account as a Student

A UAS Online Guest Account can be used to add a test student to your course.

In order to create a test student you will need to:

Create a guest account (if you do not have one already) using an email that is not your UAS email
Login to UAS Online using the guest account and visit the Blackboard server at least once
Close the browser or use a different browser and login using your "real" instructor account
Add the UAS Online Guest Account as a student using their email as their username

You switch back and forth between your "real" self (the instructor) and your test student if they are logged using two different browsers (e.g., Firefox and Chrome or Internet Explorer and Firefox). You cannot use two different windows or tabs of the same browser and you should close the browser entirely (all windows and tabs) when switching between different accounts.

Create a UAS Online Guest Account (Skip this step if you already have a UAS Online Guest Account)

You will need access to an email account that is not your UAS email – this can be a gmail, hotmail, yahoo account etc.

Create your UAS Online Guest Account

Click on “Guest Sign In” which is under the UAS Login
Select “New User”
Enter an email address
Click Sign Up

Next you’ll go to that email to find your password

Go to your Guest Account email and find your password – return to UAS Online and login

Go to your Guest Account email and find the email from UAS Online. Check in your junk folder if necessary.
Copy the password provided.
Return to UAS Online, Click on Guest Sign In
Enter your Guest Account email and past in the password provided.
Click Sign In

Change your Guest Account password

If you are creating a new guest account you will be taken to the "Profile" page. Edit the information in the "Essential Info" box.

Give your Guest Account a name (e.g., "Test Student Smith")
Change the password to one you will remember.
Click OK

To change your Guest Account password in the future, access the profile by click on either the name in the upper right, or on "Edit Profile" at the top of the profile box. You can also reset your password by clicking on the "Forgot Password?" link on the Guest Account login page.

Have the Guest Account visit the Blackboard server

Login to UAS Online with the Guest Account and visit any Blackboard course (courses for Fall 2012 semester or later at least once. You can do this by searching for any course in the Fall 2012 semester or later. Search for your own courses by entering your last name and clicking "instructor".

If you want your Guest Account to "remember" the course, click the "Bookmark" link next to the course name when it turns up in your search.

Click on the link to the course to enter the Blackboard course. Once the Guest Account has visited at least one course it will be in the Blackboard database. It will not be necessary to repeat this step for every course. (Note that the test BBSANDBOX uses a different server – if you want to use your test student in BBSANDBOX courses you will need to visit a course in that "semester".)

Add the Guest Account as a Student in your course

Logout of your browser completely (or use a different browser). It is usually best to close your browser completely when switching accounts.
Login as instructor using your UAS account
Go to the Blackboard Course
Scroll down to the Control Panel and Click on Users and Groups
Scroll up (if necessary) and Click on Find Users to Enroll

Add the Guest Account as a Student using their email as their username

Add the Guest Account as a student by using their email as their username (do not click Browse)
Click Submit

Your Guest Account is now enrolled as a student. You can add them to any course in which you are instructor (once they have visited Blackboard at least once you do not have to repeat that process). To view your course as a Student and practice taking tests or viewing grades from the students point of view, simply login using your Guest Account.

Bookmarking the course

When an account is added from Blackboard (rather than created officially in Banner), the course to which they are added doesn’t automatically appear on the My Courses of UAS Online. You’ll need to “search” (by course name or instructor in the appropriate semester) then click the “bookmark” link next to the course name to save it in your My Courses list.