Adding An Item
- 1. North Carolina A&T State University Blackboard Support Adding an Item Once instructors determine which course areas will appear in the course menu (see Manage Course Menu tutorial), various content sections can be added to each course area. Instructors can use Items, Folders, External Links, Course Links, and Learning Units to build a course. Items, Folders, External Links, Course Links, and Learning Units can be added to any course content area. Instructors may add these content sections by accessing the content area through the Control Panel or by using the Quick Edit tool, which can be found in the top right corner of each course content area. Choosing a Content Area 1. Open a course that you are teaching. 2. Choose a Content Area that will house the content. (For example, instructions for Chapter 1 may be placed in a Chapter 1 Folder under Course Materials. Course Materials would be the Content Area.) Option 1 If you access the Content Area by clicking a button on the left side of the course, click the desired content area button and then click the Edit View link in the right corner at the top. Option 2 If you choose to access the Content Area through the Control Panel, enter the Control Panel. Under Content Areas, click the desired content area. Revised 8/17/06 – T. Lewis 1
- 2. 3. If you have accessed the Content Area using the Edit View link, you will continue to see buttons on the left, editing options in the center, and a Display View link on the right side. The Edit View and Display View links allow you to switch between the “editing view” and the “students’ view”. You can also click the content area button to switch to the “students’ view” of the course material. If you have accessed the Content Area using the Control Panel, you will only see the editing options at the top. Adding Items Content can be added to a course through the use of an Item. Adding an Item to a course content area allows the instructor to provide single pieces of information to students. Items can be used to provide instructions, lecture notes, course goals and objectives, a course syllabus, course policies, course activities, and other types of course information. Instructors can also attach documents, lectures, PowerPoint presentations, videos, sound files, and other pieces to an Item. Items can stand alone or be placed inside Folders and Learning Units. Once the content area has been selected (see the Choosing a Content Area section above), a menu bar will be provided. Revised 8/17/06 – T. Lewis 2
- 3. 1. To add an Item, select the Item icon from the menu bar. 2. The Add Item page will appear. 3. Under Section 1, you will add the Content Information. 4. Under Name, you will determine the name of the Item. You can (1) choose a name from the drop-down menu OR (2) enter the name that you desire. If you choose to select a name from the drop-down menu, click the down error to see a list of the preset names for the item. Select a name. Revised 8/17/06 – T. Lewis 3
- 4. If you choose to enter a customized name for the Item (Example: Unit I Lecture Notes), type the information in the text box. Information in the text box will override any name selected from the drop-down menu. 5. You can customize the color of the Name by clicking the Pick button. The default color is Black. 6. After you click the Pick button, a Color Picker window will appear. (This window may not appear if your pop-up blocker is on. Set your computer to temporarily allow pop-ups.) To select a color for the item name, click the square of the desired color. 7. The selected color will now appear in the color square beside the Pick button. 8. Text can be included with this item. For example, if your Item is a Syllabus, you can type the entire syllabus in the text box. (You can also attach a copy of the syllabus). Information can be cut and pasted from a Microsoft Word document. Revised 8/17/06 – T. Lewis 4
- 5. Another example is the inclusion of instructions or directions for a unit, chapter, assignment, or reading. This information can be typed directly into the text box for this item. Helpful Tip To expand the options for editing text, click the down arrows to display additional options for the text editor. Helpful Tip Instructors can format text and attach images, video clips, sound files, hyperlinks, tables, and mathematical equations to the item by clicking the icons in the text editor. Revised 8/17/06 – T. Lewis 5
- 6. 9. Under Section 2, attach additional Content to the item. Under File to Attach, you can Browse and attach a document or presentation to this item. 10. Under the Special Action drop-down menu, you will determine an action for your file once the student clicks the item. There are three (3) special action choices: Create a link to this file, Display media file within the page, and Unpackage this file. The default action is Create a link to this file. If you attach a document, PowerPoint presentation, or image, a link will appear for this file. Students access the file by clicking the link. If you would like to create a name for the link (other than the name under which the file was saved), type the new name in the Name of Link to File text box. The Display media file within the page option is used if some type of media (image, video, etc.) has been attached. If you choose this option, the media will be embedded in Blackboard – displayed directly in the item area. For example, if you attach an image, the students will automatically see the image without having to click any links. If you would rather the students click a link to view the media file, leave the special action as Create a link to this file. The Unpackage this file option is used for items that were packaged (compressed or zipped) and contain several files. If you have a file that was packaged, you must select this option so Blackboard unpackages the file. Revised 8/17/06 – T. Lewis 6
- 7. 11. After you have added text and/or attached a file, you can add additional options to the item under Section 3. Make the content available: Once Yes is selected, students will have access to the item. The Default option is Yes. If No is selected, the item will be available to the instructor, but not the students. Track number of views: Tracks the number of times users access this item. Statistics can be found under Course Statistics (under the Control Panel). The Default option is No. Choose date restrictions: Instructors may add date restrictions if an item is expected to appear on a specific date and disappear on a specific date. (This section is optional. If no restrictions are applied, the item will follow the selection made under Make the content available.) To apply date restrictions, click the Display After box and the Display Until box. Select a date and time for each item. 12. After the details for the Item have been added, click Submit. Click OK to acknowledge receipt of your item. 13. The Item will now appear in the content area. To modify, copy, or remove this item, choose the appropriate option. Helpful Tip The Item will be visible to students only if the instructor makes it available to the students. Under the item Options section, if the instructor chooses No under Make the content available, the item will not be available to students. Setting date restrictions will also determine whether the item is available to students. Revised 8/17/06 – T. Lewis 7
- 8. Helpful Tip Instructors can place Items inside a folder or learning unit. To place anything inside a folder or learning unit, the instructor must open the folder by clicking the name of the folder or learning unit. Once the folder or learning unit has been opened, the name of the folder will appear at the top. (This will be an indication that the item will appear inside the folder or learning unit). Items can now be added to the folder or learning unit. 14. Instructors may add an unlimited number of Items to a content area or course. Revised 8/17/06 – T. Lewis 8