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Getting Started

On the first day of registration the preceding quarter's courses (i.e., the course shells) will be created in Blackboard. A course shell is a course web site without any content, which is available for you to use.

If you would like to start your courseware development before your course shell is available in Blackboard, (i.e., before the start of registration or before the instructor of record has been assigned), here are some tips to help you get started:

File Management
HTML Content Tips / Management of Web Files
Recommendations


File Management

When developing a course for Blackboard it is important that you keep all your original files on your desktop; you can also back them up on a zip disk or CD-ROM. The database back-up of Blackboard is for the whole system and not for individual files. The files you keep on your desktop will be your personal back-up in addtion to the "development files" and the true production files will be located on the Blackboard server.

From the Desktop:

  1. Create a new folder. Name the folder the Course ID (ENGL-0101-01-024) or the name of the course.
  2. Create more new folders inside the course folder to mirror your Blackboard course navigation as illustrated below.

    Folder Setup screen image

  3. Create the course content (.html, .pdf, .doc, .xls, .ppt, etc.) and place/save them to the correct folders.

    Folder Opened screen image

  4. Once you have the content created and the course shell has been developed and assigned to you in the Blackboard system (you will know that the course has been assigned to you because the links will appear within the Blackboard Access channel of your My Cal Poly portal), go into your Blackboard course and add your files.

    Note: Always open and modify the original file on your desktop (development) and then replace the file that is in Blackboard (production).

More Information

Q: Why would I want to create all those folders?
A: If you take the time to organize the folder set-up, it will make file management within your course a lot easier.

Q: Why can't I just get my Blackboard course shell and start adding files now?
A: Blackboard will not have your course shells generated until the Cal Poly course catalog has been released. Blackboard will then receive the data from SIS and create the shells automatically. Also, without the correct course information from SIS (e.g., if the instructor of recorder is set as "Staff"), the Blackboard course shells won't be assigned to you and therefore, they will not be available for use.

HTML Content Tips / Management of Web Files  [ top ]

During our support efforts with faculty who are adding HTML content into Blackboard, we have found that many of the problems that arise are due to file management problems. It is very important that you follow the above tips on File Management. Even though the tips below are explained as if you were using Dreamweaver, the same basic information applies to any HTML editor software application.

More Information

Q: What will happen if my images are not relative in my HTML file?
A: Well, so far what we have seen is that when you add the file to Blackboard, Blackboard will ask you to browse for the files but will not display them to your users. You will see the images since they are located on your computer <img src="file:///C/.....">, but anyone else who views that page who is not doing so from your computer will see broken image icons. The HTML needs to be relative <img src="image.jpg">.

Q: Why does my web page load so slow in Blackboard?
A: It could be your images. If you do have images on the page you are loading, then what file size are they? Did you optimize them? Make sure the images are web-friendly. If the images are too large and not web-friendly your page will take a long time to load, especially on 56K modems.

Q: The HTML file that I added to my Blackboard course is slow and images do not appear. Why?
A: As we explained in the above information, your images are not relative and the images are not optimized. Go into Blackboard and Remove the entire file. Make all the changes discussed above and upload the new web-friendly file into Blackboard. With the web-friendly file, you will find that it loads much faster and the images will display.

Recommendations [ top ]

Blackboard is a versatile tool. You can choose to use all of the tools, a few of the tools, or even only one. Instructors have different technical skills and courseware files. Depending on your files, skills, and students you may choose to place your files into Blackboard differently.

More Information

Q: How do I know which method is best for my students and for me?
A: It depends upon what type of files you have, how computer savvy you are, and how you want your students to access and view your files.
Example One: If all your files are Microsoft Word documents (.doc), you could create a link to your .doc files and then the student would view the files from Internet Explorer or download them from within Netscape/Safari/Firefox.
Example Two: You have your files in HTML format. You could copy and paste the HTML into the Text field, which would allow for continuity in user interface (font types, colors, sizes, indentations, etc.). The text will be easy to read and will not require a certain browser or plugin to view it.
PC computers with Internet Explorer has an HTML editor built in.
Example Three: If you have Acrobat Professional or Distiller, you can save your files as PDF which will allow any user with the Acrobat Reader to view your files.
Example Four: You are computer savvy and already have a web site of your own. You could compress the folder with all the HTML and related files into a .zip or .tar file. The compressed file can then be unpackaged into your Blackboard course.

If after reading this page you would like to receive more assistance or have questions, please review our Courseware Development Consultation page.