Center for Teaching & Learning: Blackboard - Copying Course Content

Copying Course Content

Copying Course Content w/iSpring Presentations

Try the Interactive Guide to Walk You Through!

Use Our Interactive Course Copy Guide

Want to copy your previous semester's content over and use it all in an upcoming course, but you're unfamiliar with the process? 
This interactive tutorial will walk you through it.  It will sit in a window next to your Blackboard session and guide you as you work. Click the link below to get started!

Interactive Guide to Copy Your Course Content

Copying Course Content 

If your course doesn't use iSpring narrated presentations, or other elements of the iSpring suite of utilities, follow these quick steps to copy course content from an existing shell into your new term's offering: 

1. Check your course list to see if the new course shell is available. If your course(s) is not listed, please do one of the following:
   • Blackboard and Web Advisor Course Access: Contact your Program Dean or Director to ensure you've been designated as the instructor of record with the Registrar's Office.  Once that has been set appropriately, Blackboard will be automatically updated when IS runs their batch processing.
   • Blackboard Course Access Only: The primary course instructor must submit a ticket to the Help Desk to request your addition as an instructor, TA, or other grader role.
      
2. Enter the course you want to copy content FROM and click Control Panel > Packages and Utilities > Course Copy.
   
    
3. Select Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course. 
   
   
    
4. Click Browse to locate the new course.
   • Be very careful to select the right course shell. This process cannot be reversed and it is possible to copy into an ongoing course.
      

 
5. Select course materials to copy. If copying an entire course press Select All and then deselect Adaptive Release Rules for Content, Announcements, Calendar, and only include the discussion board forums with no starter posts.
6. Press Submit.
   • The course copy is queued and may take an hour to complete. You will receive an email when the process has completed.

Copying Your Course Content That Includes iSpring Presentation Files

If your course uses iSpring narrated presentations, or other elements of the iSpring suite of utilities, follow these quick steps to copy course content from an existing shell into your new term's offering: 

(Pay close attention to step #6 - this step is critical for the success of your course copy, when you have iSpring files in your content areas!)

1. Check your course list to see if the new course shell is available. If your course(s) is not listed, please do one of the following:
   • Blackboard and Web Advisor Course Access: Contact your Program Dean or Director to ensure you've been designated as the instructor of record with the Registrar's Office.  Once that has been set appropriately, Blackboard will be automatically updated when IS runs their batch processing.
   • Blackboard Course Access Only: The primary course instructor must submit a ticket to the Help Desk to request your addition as an instructor, TA, or other grader role.
      
2. Enter the course you want to copy content FROM and click Control Panel > Packages and Utilities > Course Copy.
   
   
    
3. Select Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course. 
   
   
    
4. Click Browse to locate the new course.
   
   • Be very careful to select the right course shell. This process cannot be reversed and it is possible to copy into an ongoing course.
      
5. Select course materials to copy.
   
   • If copying an entire course press Select All and then deselect Adaptive Release Rules for Content, Announcements, Calendar, and only include the discussion board forums with no starter posts. 
      
6.  Select Copy links and copies of the content (include entire course home folder)
   
   • Failure to select this option will result in broken iSpring presentations; the only way to correct those would be to re-upload the lectures individually.  
      
7. Press Submit.
8. The course copy is queued and may take an hour to complete. You will receive an email when the process has completed.