1. Importing content from Original modules to Ultra modules
1.1 Creating the .zip file from the Original course
Go into the Original module that you want to copy content from. Scroll down the left hand side to the Course Management area then click on Packages and utilities and from here select Export/Archive Course.
In the page that opens, select the Export Archive option at the top. That will open a page with many options of what content you want to move. You can use the tick boxes for any items you want to move over, but e recommend you do not import the Grade Centre columns and settings. It’s also not recommended to move over announcements.
When you have selected what you wish to export, click on Submit at the bottom right hand corner and you should get a message: “success, this action is queued, an email will be sent when the process is complete”
It may take time for this process to be completed, and can depend on the amount of content in the module.
Once you file is ready you will get an email, and you can refresh this Export/Archive Course page to get an export file link – this is the .zip folder that contains all of the materials for your course in a way that can be read and understood by Blackboard. Click on this link to download the .zip folder to your computer. It will usually be saved in your Downloads folder on your computer.
1.2 Importing the .zip file into the Ultra Modules
Go into the Ultra module where you want the content to go to. Click on the 3 dots at the right of Course Content and you’ll see a menu with a few options:
- Batch Edit
- Import Content
- Copy Content
- Export Course Package
Select the Import Content option. In the side panel that will open, select Import Course Content. This will open your file window allowing you to find the .zip file in your downloads folder. Select this item and then click Open to start uploading the content into your module.
This may take some time to upload and then copy into your course, and is dependant on your internet speeds and the size of the folder.
Once this process has completed, you’ll see a grey bar at the bottom of your screen that has the number of items that weren’t imported. It is important to know that in the majority of cases, these items were imported, but there were changes in the item from the Original module. You can click on this link to see the list and details of what has changed. Once you’re done reviewing this and no longer need to see this list, click OK. Do not click OK if you are not done reviewing this list.
Important to note is you get a notification at bottom right in red about items that were not imported. This basically means items have been imported but not imported identically eg, if a title was in italics originally it will now be imported as normal text meaning not identically to what was originally, so this generally refers to formatting.
You can see this whole process in action in the video from 03:00 – 23:00.
1.3 Tidying up your content
You’ll notice that once the items have been uploaded into your course, the organisation has changed. You’ll need to review the items, fix any errors in importing, and organise your course according to the new layout. It is important to note that while Original modules didn’t have any limits on the depth of folders, Ultra does have limits. Any folders or items that were too deep (e.g. folder in a folder in a folder in a folder in a folder then an item) will be brought up to the level of depth allowed by Ultra.
Tidying up your content is as an important step as importing the items themselves, so please be sure to leave plenty of time dedicated to course clean-up.
2. Copying Content between Ultra Modules
You can copy content between any Ultra modules that you are enrolled on as an instructor (this includes your sandbox and any exemplar modules you may be enrolled on).
You can do this in one of two ways depending on if you want to add lots of materials to your course en masse, or import a few items to be located in specific locations.
To import items en masse, click on the 3 dots on the right side of Course Content and select Copy Content. This will open a side panel that will list every course and Organisation that you are an instructor on. Select the module that you want to import content from and you’ll see a list of the content within that module. Tick the boxes of the content you wish to copy then select Copy selected content. Once the content is copied it will appear at the bottom of course content and will be automatically hidden from students.
To import an item at a specific location, hover over where you want the item(s) to be located in your course and click on the + , then click on Copy Content from the menu. From there, the steps are the same as above, except that the items will be located where you added them.
You can see this in action in the video above from about 23:00 – 31:00.
3. Adding items from the Content Collection
The Content Collection is the file system behind My Dundee. You can add items that were uploaded into your other modules (including Original modules) by using the Content Collection.
Hover over where you want the item to be added and click on the + , then click on Copy Content from the menu. In the window that opens, click on Browse Content Collection. You can use the arrows to navigate to find your other modules. You can then find the item(s) that you want to import, select them, then click Submit at the bottom of the page.