Author Archives: Anthony Cressey

Permanently removing files from the file library

When content is added to your course, those files & documents are kept in the Files Library. Sometimes you need to remove old versions of said documents, or maybe you deleted the item from your course menu. Although you may have deleted the document from your course menu, some of those items still reside in the Files Library. To access this section, click on “Files” in the Control Panel, then the ID of the course.

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By default, Blackboard will display a max of 25 items per page. You can see all of the items by clicking on the “Show All” button at the bottom of the page.files_library5a

Once your on the Files Manager page, you can pick and choose the items you wish to remove permanently,

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Or select all of the shown items by clicking the check box next to “File Type” toward the top of the page.

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When you’re ready to remove the selected items, click the Delete button.

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Note: you can also download all of the selected files by clicking the “Download Package” button to get a .zip file of the selected files. Other options are to copy or move the selected files.

Files Updated: April 6, 2016

Bulk deleting course content

Deleting content from your course can be a quick process relative to deleting one item at a time. This can be useful if you accidentally import the incorrect course content into your upcoming course. Or maybe you wish to clear out a specific section of your course to revamp it’s contents.

PLEASE NOTE: This action can not be undone. Once content is deleted, there’s no getting it back! So please be sure you want to remove the content you’ve selected.

Before you go any further, double check to make sure you are in the correct course before deleting content by checking the Course ID. Check out this tutorial on Reading course ID’s in Blackboard.

Now that you’re in the correct course, in the Control Panel section click on Packages and Utilities > Bulk Delete

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Select the Content sections you wish to remove the content in. You may select all of the options to remove everything, or maybe you wish to only remove specific items. You can skip this section if you only wish to remove something in the next section.

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Then select any other materials you wish to bulk delete, like maybe the old course announcements.bulk_delete3

Remember, you may select just one, or all of the options listed in the above 2 sections to get the desired end results.

When you have your selection, type “Delete” in the Confirmation box,

bulk_delete4Then click the submit button.

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You should now have a cleaned content menu. However, documents and files that were once listed will still have the files listed in the “Files” section of your course. The second part is to clean out the “Files” section of your course as well. Click here to review the tutorial Permanently removing files from the file library.

Packages and Utilities , Updated: April 6, 2016

Adding a Wiki to your Blackboard course

Wikis are used to create a collaborative space within the Course where all Students can view, contribute, and edit content. Wikis can also be used as a resource for Students to view information and content relevant to their Courses.

Creating Wiki’s for your students to develop is a two step process. In this walk through we’ll cover how to create a space for the new Wiki with your settings, then create a Wiki page for your students to work with and edit/add content.

 

Step 1: Creating a new Wiki

Instructors can create a Wiki by going into the course they wish to create the Wiki in, then to Control Panel > Course Tools > Wikis wiki1

Next click the Create Wiki button toward the top

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Then type in the name of the Wiki, plus any instructions you may have for your students.

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Next, pick the rest of your Wiki options. You can set a Wiki to be available in the future using the Display after option, or set it to only display for a certain length of time.

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The Participation section by default is set to have open Editing & Commenting. Depending on how you wish to have the Wiki developed, you may want to change how the students participate. Having 2 ways to reply to a Wiki can become confusing for all parties involved. If you wish to have your students only comment on a developed Wiki, then close the editing function. If you wish to have your students edit & develop the Wiki, then it may be best to close the commenting function.

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You also have the option to grade the Wiki. Using this function will create a column in your Grade Center.

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Then click submit

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Step 2: Adding a Wiki Page

After you’ve created your general Wiki, next we’ll add a Wiki page with the Wiki content. Click on the title of the Wiki you just created.

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Once the Wiki document starts to take shape (see the example below), you can check the history of the document to see who, when, and what was changed in the document.

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To check the history, to the right of the Wiki page you will see a Wiki Details column. Click the options button next to the title, then History.

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On the “Page history” page, you can select two versions to compare by putting a checkbox next to two of the versions, then clicking “Compare Versions”.

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Wikis Updated: April 26, 2016

Install Audacity on a Mac

Audacity is free, open source software that makes it simple to record and edit audio on your computer. Installing Audacity on a MAC isn’t difficult, there’s an extra step that’s often overlooked if you want to save your recordings as MP3s, rather than much relatively large WAV files.

To download Audacity, go to the Audacity downloads page (http://www.audacityteam.org/download/) and choose the appropriate version.

In this walkthrough, we’ll be looking at downloading and installing Audacity on your MAC.

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There are a few versions available for you to download, but we recommend you download the first .dmg file.

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Depending on your browser and set-up, the file may automatically be saved to your downloads folder. If not, click SAVE FILE and choose a location on your computer where you’ll be able to locate the installer if necessary

Double-click the downloaded DMG to mount it.

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Do not double-click the “Audacity” folder in the DMG window. Drag the entire “Audacity” folder icon to the /Applications folder icon on the right (or to any other location of your choosing).

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Eject the DMG at bottom left of Finder, then launch Audacity.app from the “Audacity” folder in /Applications or from your chosen location.

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Known Issue: Security settings on OS X 10.7 or later may block Audacity being launched. Most users on OS X 10.9.5 and later will experience this, due to changes made by Apple.

To permanently enable Audacity launch, right-click or control-click on the Audacity application in Finder, choose “Open”, then in the dialog box that appears, choose “Open”.

 

If exporting your recordings as rather large WAV files is sufficient, then you’re all set. We recommend installing the LAME MP3 library, which will allow you to save your recordings as much smaller MP3 files.

To download the LAME Library, launch Audacity. Then click EDIT, choose Preferences, select LIBRARIES, then under the MP3 Export Library section, click DOWNLOAD in the LAME MP3 Library line.

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Once the Lame Library mounts, double click the .pkg file to run the installer, then click Continue. Select your hard drive to install, click Continue, then Install. Enter in your computers password if prompted, then click ok. Once it’s finished, click close to exit the installer.

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Now you’re ready to export your Audacity recordings to MP3 as well as WAV.

 

Check out this video on how to record audio with Audacity: http://ids.commons.udmercy.edu/?p=1475

Build / Add Content, Computer Tips , Updated: March 30, 2016

Finding My Grades

Everyone always wants to know how well they performed on the test or the assignment they’ve just submitted. Once your professor has graded your work, you can check it in the My Grades section of the course.

To access My Grades, click on “Tools” in the left navigation menu,

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then find “My Grades”.

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On the My Grades page, you will see a list of all the items either graded or upcoming.

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Items that are graded will have a score on the right side, and their last activity status listed in the middle column.
In the “Item” column, you will see the name of the items that are available to you.
In the image, notice that “Case Studies” & “RAT 1″ have been graded, but “RAT 2″ has not been graded yet.
Also notice “RAT 1″ is a colored hyperlink. This indicates you can click on the name of the item to view your attempt.
click on the name of the item,

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then click on the number in the “Calculated Grade” column to view your submission.

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For Students, Grades Updated: February 9, 2016
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