Archiving and Importing Your Blackboard 9 Course
This tutorial provides instructions for how to move the content
of a Blackboard course into a new course shell for use in the
upcoming semester on Blackboard 9 version.
If you have any questions with this process,
please call CTELT at (785) 628-4194.
The information below is an overview of the archive and import process. Detailed
instructions for archiving and importing your course starting on next page.
Enter Your Exsiting Course Shell
Archive the Course and Download
the Archived File on Your Computer
Enter Your New Course Shell
Import the Archive into Your New
Course Shell
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STEP 1: Enter Your Existing Course
Log in to Blackboard at: http://blackboard.fhsu.edu, and find the course you wish to
move the content under My Course. Enter the course by clicking on it.
STEP 2: Archive the Course and Download the Archived File on Your
Computer
a. In Control Panel, Click on Export/Archive Course under Packages and Utilities.
b. In Export/Archive Course page, click on the Archive button.
c. You will be taken to the Archive Course page where you will choose whether to
include Grade Center history. Click Submit.
Note: If the Grade Center History is
extensive, the file size of the
archive will increase as well as the
processing time.
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d. After clicking Submit, you will see a green bar at the top of the page explaining to you
that the confirmation email from the system will be sent to your email account after
the archive action has complete.
e. Minimize Blackboard site and wait for the confirmation to be sent to your FHSU email
or other email account you use for your Blackboard course. The email sent by
Blackboard Administrator will contain the subject: Archive: Course ID.
f. After receiving the email that the archive action has completed, you can return to
Blackboard – Control Panel. Click on the Export/Archive Course under Packages
and Utilities
g. You will find the archived course file is there. The name ends in .zip.
h. Right-click on the blue link and choose Save Target As (IE users). If you are using
Mozilla Firefox web browser, choose Save Link As.
Continue to save the file to the computer desktop
or other location where it can easily be found
later.
Right-Click here
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Note: Do NOT try to open or change any of the files in the archived zip file. It will
result in unstable and unpredictable behavior when a course is imported.
STEP 3: Enter Your New Semester Course Shell
a. On the Blackboard 9 Welcome page, find your course shell that you want to import
the content into under My Courses - Courses you are teaching section.
b. Enter the course shell by clicking on it.
STEP 4: Import the Archive into Your New Shell
a. Go to Control Panel inside the course that you are trying to
import your content into, and Click on Import Package/View
Logs under Packages and Utilities.
b. IMPORTMANT: In the Import Package page, please look at the “breadcrumb trail” at
the top of the page to insure that you are in the correct course before importing!
This should be the
course that you are
trying to import your
content into.
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c. Click on the Browser or Choose File button. Browse to the file you archived on your
computer previously. Highlight this file and click Open.
d. Select the boxes and click the Submit button.
Note: Be sure to select Gradebook
Items and Settings if you have any
items under Content or Discussion
Board linked to the Gradebook.
Without checking Gradebook Items
and Settings during a course copy
or import, it may cause you receive
an error message when modifying
the imported item options.
After clicking Submit, you will
receive the following message:
e. After receiving the email, return to Blackboard to check your course that you just
imported the content into.
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Tips on How to Organize Course Materials after Course Import
(Setting up or Cleaning up Your New Course after Importing)
Duplicate Menu Buttons
Some of the course menu items may be in a different order and you may find a few
duplicates. The import process adds to the course menu, it does not remove any of the
items that were in the course before the import. You can reorder and remove items as
needed.
To reorder course menu items: Use the up/down arrow to drag and drop the link.
To remove a duplicate course menu item: Click the double arrow on the menu button
to open the drop down menu and select Delete.
CAUTION: Do NOT remove any course menu item that contains course content, as
this will delete the content! In Blackboard 9 a gray square icon to the right of the link
name indicated a content area without content. This is a way to distinguish between menu
item with content and those without content.
Discussion Board:
If you have imported discussion boards in your new course, the postings will show as being
authored by anonymous. You will need to repost if you want forums to display that you
are the author. You will also need to clean out the student postings by opening each forum
links and removing all student threads in each forum.
Grade Center:
After course imported, check your categories and remove categories that you aren't using
other than the default categories that can't be removed. (Click on Manage and then
Categories within the Grade Center.) Double check assigned column categories and points
possible by going to Manage and then Column Organization.
Remove columns that you are not using. To remove a Grade Center column, you can follow
these steps:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Click on the double arrow icon in the column header.
Choose Remove Column in the drop-down menu.
Select OK to confirm the changes.
Click Submit to save changes.
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Note: The Remove Column option is displayed in the drop-down menu only when a column
has been added manually. If a column has been created automatically as part of a Test,
Assignment created with the Assignment Manager, Survey, and Discussion assessment,
remove first the assessment from a Content Area; then remove a column from the Grade
Center.
If you have any questions with this process,
please call CTELT at (785) 628-4194.
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