The Course Content page is the default page that opens when you enter a course. Here, you can create Learning Modules or Folders in which to organize your content. Content can be copied from a previous course, new items added or uploaded from your computer or Cloud Storage, etc.
When you add or create new content always ensure that all of your students can access it as easily as possible. The built in Ally (Ultra Accessibility Checker) can help you with this.
Adding new content to Course Content area
Within the Course Content window, hover your mouse where you wish to add new content and select the (purple) + icon.
Mouse over where you want to add an item, click on the plus icon.
This brings up the add content context menu, select Create
This brings up the Create Item context menu. Select the type of item you wish to add
Watch a 2.5 min video on uploading content to your module in Ultra
Types of course content
Different types of items will have different icons, this will to help you distinguish between your content quickly.
Four content types that you will use frequently - Learning Modules, Folders, Documents and Links - are explained below.
Learning modules and folders are containers for documents, file attachments, tests, assignments, multimedia, and links to websites, discussions, and journals. Detailed information about Assignments can be found in the Blackboard Assignments support pages.
Adding Learning modules
Learning modules are used as containers to organise collections of content (folders, documents, videos, etc).
Within a learning module students navigate the order of the contents using the forward/ backward arrows in sequence. Alternatively, students can explore the content in a learning module in any order and at their own pace. If required, you can force the items to display sequentially where the first item must be viewed before the second can be launched.
Learning modules provide the option to add an image to enhance the visual appearance of the container.
Create a learning module
From the Create Item Course Content Items menu, select Learning Module.
The panel will now display the create Learning Module screen.
At the top of the panel add the name of your Learning Module
Change the setting “Hidden from students” at this point or later from the course content
Add a Description – this text will appear on the Learning Module in the course content
Add Image – if you decide not to add an image a Learning Module icon will appear
Check the box to turn on Forced Sequence (optional)
Save
You can create new items within the learning module by selecting the plus button that appears over blank areas in the module. Items created will appear in the location that you created them in.
Adding Folders
You can a use folder as a container to organise collections of content (folders, documents, videos, etc). You can create two levels of folders in which to organize your content. Using folders reduces the need to scroll and enables students to find content more easily. Students can explore the content in a folder in any order they chose.
Create a folder
From the Create Item Course Content Items, select Folder.
The panel will now display the create Folder screen.
At the top of the panel add the name of your Folder
Change the setting “Hidden from students” at this point or later from the course content
Add a Description – this text will appear on the folder in the course content
Save
The new Folder will appear wherever you clicked the add content icon.
Although a learning module can contain a folder, folders cannot contain learning modules!
Adding Documents (pages)
You can create a Blackboard document (also known as a page) to add text, audio, video, files, and images.
Create a document
From the Create Item Course Content Items, select Document.
The following document editor will appear; give the document a title, by clicking on the cursor at the top left.
Then chose what type (block) of content you want to add to teh document, you can choose to add one or all of the blocks to your.
Content adds the standard text editor where you can start typing text and add images, upload files, etc
HTML allows you to embed external learning, e.g. Menti, Sway, Forms, etc.
File Upload allows you to upload from Computer or University’s OneDrive
Cloud upload allows you to login to a separate cloud account like Google Drive
Convert a file, allows you to add and edit the contents of a PDF file
Add Images and Text to the document
Selecting Content will open the text content editor,
Here you can type and format text, add images and other media.
Choosing File upload or Cloud upload allows you to add saved files such as images and PDFs to your document.
Select your file, and an Alt tag, if it’s an image and choose whether it is to be used for display (viewing) or downloading.
When you’ve added your content, if you mouse over the element there will be a purple outline with arrows at the side and a tab at the top. The tab contains a pencil (for editing), six dots (for dragging) and a bin symbol for deleting.
The document page consists of four columns, you can use the arrows at the side to shrink or stretch the item, then use the six dots on the tab to reposition the item.
Adding PDFs
You can add further elements to the page such as PDFs with File Upload or Cloud Upload
Choosing View and download in the Edit File Options
Remember to save your file regularly
Remember to make the document Visible to Students when you are happy with the content
Find out more about adding images and video
Adding Links
A (web) link can be to an external website or content outside of your Ultra course, e.g. a website or reading list. You can also link to content in the same module, e.g. a Learning Module or Folder.
Create a Link
From the Course Content Items, select Link. The New Web Link page will open.
There are two tabs in the top menu: Create Web Link and Create Course Link. A web link creates a link to an external website. The course link allows you to link to content elsewhere in the same course/ module, e.g. from an assessment brief to an assessment submission point.
To create a web link:
Add a name for your link, e.g. BBC website
Choose ‘Visible to students’
Add the URL to the Link URL field e.g. https://www.bbc.co.uk/
Add a description (optional)
Press Save
To create a Course Link:
Select the Create Course Link tab from the top menu.
Search for an item on the course you wish to link to. You can use a keyword and/or category (Document, Assessments, SCORM, File, LTI or Journal) to search for the item you wish to link to. The search results will appear in the right-hand side panel.
Select the item you wish to link to. Find the item you wish to link to from the list of search results, and select it using the radio buttons. You will then reveal the options to give this link a Display Name and a Description.
Save.
Links will display in Course Content, with the usual edit options:
Visible/Not Visible to students
Edit
Delete
Download (if the course link is to a document)
The Visible to students option displays the following warning:
“Changes to the visibility or release conditions apply to the linked item and all associated course links”.
Reordering Course content
If you are not happy with the order of your content you can easily reorder items by dragging and dropping. You can reorder course content using the mouse.
Mouse over the element you want to drag, six dots will appear at the side. Click on these dots and then drag to reposition.
NB you can reorder course content using the keyboard. Use the tab to locate the element, press return/enter to select, and up and down keys to identify the new position. Then Use return to move the item.
Checking content accessibility
When you add or create new content, use Student Preview to see how it appears to your student. Check your documents and other files using the built in Ally (Ultra Accessibility Checker).
Each time you create or add new content, use Ally to ensure your content is as accessible as possible, ensuring inclusivity and meaningful engagement for all learners.
Ally scans resources and provides advice on how to increase the accessibility of documents. It offers explanations about potential issues and offers quick fixes to address them, making your content more accessible.
The Ally accessibility indicator (or score) appears to the right of each content item. The score displays as a dial in different colours ranging from red (low 0%-30%) through to green (perfect 100%).
The Ally accessibility indicator takes some time to appear after you upload or create content.
To open instructor feedback, select the Accessibility indicator. Follow the steps in front of you to go step-by-step. Select All issues to see every issue in the file and decide what issues to fix first. Once fixed the document can be easily replaced within the VLE.
Detailed information about Ally can be found in the Blackboard Ally support pages.
📋 Related Articles
🔗 Useful Links
https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Instructor/Quick_Start
Watch a video on how to add content to a page at: https://youtu.be/Yo-z5N_rH7Y?si=K18011EIc7vzSAd0