How to Add Content to Blackboard - Safely!
A Guide for Students and Instructors
Note: also remember to save your files without special characters in the file names. This frequently causes Blackboard to refuse the file. Use letters and numbers, nothing else.
About Pasting from Word ...
Many people use MS Word to create content (tests, discussion posts, announcements, etc.) for Blackboard.
Directly pasting formatted text from Word can have unpredictable effects on Blackboard. Some of the possible effects include:
- inaccurate scoring
- incorrect display of test options
- broken links
- broken course menus
This happens because Word embeds invisible formatting codes that can affect the display of text in Blackboard.
There are two safe ways to paste text into a test from Word:
- use NotePad (on Windows) or TextEdit (on Mac OS X) as an intermediary
- use the "Paste from Word" mashup tool in the Blackboard text editor
The easiest way to add content to a Blackboard course is by uploading Word documents, PDF files, or Powerpoint presentations.
To add content using the Build Content tool:
Click on the section of your course (such as Documents) where you would like to add content.
Click on the Build Content button (upper left hand corner of the content area).
Select File (below Create).
On the Create File screen, click Browse My Computer next to *Find File.
Select the file you want to add using the dialog box that appears.
Rename the file using the *Name field if desired.
Modify settings to permit users to view the file, track views of the file, and restrict the date and time of availability if desired.
If you also want to add text and/or images to the content area or its description, following the two steps described below will ensure that your text and/or images are added to your content area safely and without errors.
Copy Your Text with Notepad
Notepad is a text tool available on Windows computers.
Instructions for saving your Word text to Notepad:
Find and open Notepad at Start > All Programs > Accessories > Notepad. A blank notepad page appears.
Highlight the entire Word document (or just the relevant text), press Ctrl-C to copy the content.
Go to Notepad and press Ctrl-V to paste the content.
Select all of the text in Notepad with Ctrl-A, then copy with Ctrl-C.
Paste the text into the Blackboard Text Editor
Note that all your text but no pictures are shown. Proceed to the next section to create the image files from your document.
Copy Your Images with a Screen Capture tool
Windows Vista and Windows 7 include the Snipping Tool, a free screen capture tool. For Windows XP users, or for advanced features such as screencasting, we recommend Jing (free) or Snagit ($38 educational pricing), both from Techsmith. Download one of these tools and learn to use it.
Snipping Tool instructions for doing a screen capture:
Find and open the Snipping Tool at Start > All Programs > Accessories > Snipping Tool.
Click the triangle next to New to select a Rectangular (drag a box) or Free-Form (draw a line around what you wan to capture) capture.
Click the Save icon to save your capture. You can also draw or highlight on the capture before saving, or discard the capture and try again by clicking New.
Repeat this for all the images in your document.
Jing instructions for doing a screen capture:
Install Jing. The normal installation puts a little sun symbol at the top of your screen.
Make sure that the Word document (or other source) that you are capturing from is visible on your screen, not underneath something else.
Select the left-most arm with the x-mark to do a screen capture.
Click the top left corner then drag your mouse to highlight the area immediately around the picture you want to use. Release the mouse button.
Select the left-most button in the Jing tool bar—the Capture Image button. Your image is displayed with some simple edit tools to the left of the inset screen so you can highlight or mark up the image if you wish before saving.
When you're ready to save the image, select the disk icon in the bottom tool bar and save the image in a clearly named file on your desktop or other known place. You may wish to create a folder for all the images for this quiz and save all the images there.
Repeat this for all the images in your document.
Copy Your Text with TextEdit
TextEdit is a text tool available on Mac computers.
Instructions for saving your Word text to TextEdit:
Find and open TextEdit by searching for it in Spotlight or in the Applications folder. A blank page appears.
Highlight the entire Word document (or just the relevant text), press ⌘-C to copy the content.
Go to TextEdit and press ⌘-V to paste the content.
Select all of the text in TextEdit with ⌘-A, then copy with ⌘-C.
Paste the text into the Blackboard Text Editor
Note that all your text but no pictures are shown. Proceed to the next section to create the image files from your document.
Copy your Images with a Screen Capture tool
Mac OS X includes Grab, a free screen capture tool. We also recommend Jing (free) or Snagit ($38 educational pricing), which include advanced features such as screencasting. Download one of these tools and learn to use it.
Grab instructions for doing a screen capture:
Find Grab in the Applications/Utilities folder, or search for it in Spotlight.
Click Selection and drag your mouse around your image. Release your mouse button to make the capture.
Save your image as a TIFF file.
Open your saved image in Preview and save it as a JPEG file.
Repeat this for all the images in your document.
Jing instructions for doing a screen capture:
Install Jing. The normal installation puts a little sun symbol at the top of your screen.
Make sure that the Word document (or other source) that you are capturing from is visible on your screen, not underneath something else.
Select the left-most arm with the x-mark to do a screen capture.
Click the top left corner then drag your mouse to highlight the area immediately around the picture you want to use. Release the mouse button.
Select the left-most button in the Jing tool bar—the Capture Image button. Your image is displayed with some simple edit tools to the left of the inset screen so you can highlight or mark up the image if you wish before saving.
When you're ready to save the image, select the disk icon in the bottom tool bar and save the image in a clearly named file on your desktop or other known place. You may wish to create a folder for all the images for this quiz and save all the images there.
