Copy Course Materials into an Existing Blackboard Course

The Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course page enables Instructors to copy content from one course into another they are teaching. Instructors can select areas, such as Announcements, Staff Information or Course areas to copy. Copy Course will add content to a course, but it will not remove existing content.

Find this page.

Follow these steps to locate the Copy Course Materials into a New Course page.
1. Click Course Copy from the Control Panel.
2. Click Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course from the Copy Course page.
Destination Course ID
Enter a Course ID for the destination course or click Browse to open a Search function in a separate window.
Select course materials
Select the check boxes for each course area and tool in the course that should be copied into the existing course. The table below details what happens to each selectable option when the copy is performed.
NOTE: A Course Copy operation cannot be completed if the user does not select at least one of the following areas: Content, Staff Information or Settings. If none of these options is selected a warning will appear.

Avoid Using Special Characters in Blackboard

Do you occassionally get an error message when trying to download all students' assignments, and then have to individually download each individual's assignment? Using special characters is a well know problem within Blackboard. Blackboard suggests that all faculty/students should not use special characters in any files wanting to upload. Also, it has been a problem if an instructor who uploads a document for the students to retrieve, student putting items in the dropbox for instructors, etc. Blackboard is saying that a fix will be in the works in the near future.

Blackboard Portal

Over the next few months, we will start to deliver additional content through our Blackboard system. The Technology Planning Committee has been working to set up the portal to deliver information that is tuned to your needs and responsibilities at Saint Mary's. We hope you find it useful and encourage you to send ideas for improving the portal to helpdesk@smumn.edu.

You may have already noticed that Winona based users have a Talks & Presentation Organization on your Community tab that links to recordings of our Last Lecture Series. Additionally, we have added a Library tab to Blackboard. This Library tab will continue to be developed and will deliver items that are more specific to program or campus location.

Our SGPP will launch additional tabs designed for their adjunct faculty in mid-February. It will provide school information, administrative directions, and teaching and learning resources for adjunct instructors. If you are interested in learning more, please contact Bob Andersen (rganders@smumn.edu).

Please stay tuned for more information as we continue to develop resourses within our Blackboard Portal system.

Enroll/Unenrolls Occur Automatically in Blackboard

Over Thanksgiving break, the HelpDesk started a daily import of course enrollments and withdrawals from the Empower system. These processes will synchronize Blackboard enrollment information with data in the Webtools database.

This change has caused some confusion. Students that unenroll/drop a class are still listed in the Blackboard course user list with an X next to their name. The X indicates that they can not see the course or any of its contents. Disabling the student's ablility to view the course rather than remove them from the course entirely allows assignments or grade records already assigned in Blackboard for that student to remain intact. Unfortunately, if you view the Gradebook for the course, the unenrolled students still appear in the grade book with no visual indication that they have dropped the course.

Blackboard is aware of the issue, and is working on a solution to this problem.