Content Data Size and Tools Resource Management Skills for Staff Learning Edge - Blackboard 9.1

STAFF GUIDE

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Contents

Introduction 2

Course Content Copy and Import Process 3

Images (Flickr) 5

Videos (YouTube) 9

Teaching and Learning Resources (eShare) 14

Blackboard File Management 15

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Introduction

As Learning Edge continues to evolve, course file sizes within Blackboard have expanded

with the incorporation of supplementary multimedia elements used within course areas.

The content enhancements do pose manageability issues related to increased file sizes

being hosted within Blackboard. Though all the related content heighten teaching and

learning, the issue of uploading these files directly into an individual Blackboard course will

limit any remaining course quota sizes and offer poor user experience due to the volume of

data housed within one area. The user experience can be affected if students are required

to download large multimedia files from a module area within Blackboard as opposed to

simply streaming or rendering a file from an alternative media tool within Learning Edge.

The purpose of this guide is to provide specific methods for controlling the data size and

usage of your course area and to explore the alternative Learning Edge tools such as

YouTube, Flickr and eShare that are available to deliver your course content and media

accordingly.

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Course Content Copy and Import Process

Course instructors for Blackboard module areas are responsible for content within their

areas. As an instructor you will have access to copy or import Blackboard course materials

from a current course to a new course from the ‘Course

Management’ > “Packages and Utilities” control panel in the bottom left corner.

Following the LTD staff guide ‘Course Copy Function’1, you can copy an entire course (or

parts) including course materials (folders, files, images etc.), course tools (discussion boards,

blogs, etc.) and course style (colour, banners, etc.) to another area.

1 Course Copy Function http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/1007/1/LTD2014.pdf

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When a course copy or import has been submitted, users will see a banner message near

the top of the screen, in this instance below a course copy has been initiated.

Depending on the course size and file content this process can take a certain amount (allow

24 hours at least) of time to become available in the target course area. Once a course copy

has been submitted instructors will receive an email from Blackboard with the confirmation

of a course copy, this does not sanction the completion of the process, as the process may

take longer to complete.

This can be unclear to the instructor if a course copy process has actually completed, which

can prompt the instructor to repeat the course copy procedure again in error causing a

duplicate copy of the same files within the same area. Generally the time of this process is

dependent on the data size of the related content, smaller content will practically complete

sooner where as large groups of content will take longer.

** IMPORTANT ** Best practice for this scenario is to perform regular checks on the target

Blackboard area every 15 minutes after you receive your copy/import confirmation email.

Performing duplicate course copies of the same area will not only increase the time of the

original copy but also fulfil more of your course data usage.

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Images

The use and inclusion of high resolution images, especially those from digital cameras, can

cause the size of your documents (Microsoft Word and PowerPoint) and Blackboard area to

increase dramatically. Since most digital images are captured at a resolution appropriate for

printing, they can be reduced and compressed manually or hosted externally on Flickr.

You can format the resolution and compression of all images in your documents by

following any of the LTD guides on ‘Image Optimisation Techniques’2. The LTD guides will

help familiarise you with the best practices to:

Export a jpg image from Microsoft PowerPoint to optimise the image3

Optimise images using Microsoft PowerPoint4

Optimise Images Using Microsoft Word 5

Resize Images using Microsoft Picture Manager6

To host external images on Blackboard using Flickr, users can add a Flickr ‘Mashup’ to their

course by following the next few steps:

(Flickr is a third party web site and LTD cannot be held responsible for the content held on

it. Users should read the Flickr terms and conditions.)

First make sure your Edit mode is ON.

2 eShare image optimisation technique guides http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/1151/

3 Exporting a jpg image from a PowerPoint http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/1152/1/LTD5002.pdf

4 Optimising images using PowerPoint http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/1152/1/LTD5002.pdf

5 Optimising images using Microsoft Word http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/1154/1/LTD5003.pdf

6 Resizing images using picture manager http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/1155/1/LTD5004.pdf

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1. Click on the Build Content button and select ‘Flickr Photo’ (in the Mashups Column)

2. Type in your search terms, choose your search options, and click Go

3. In this example below, “Ormskirk” was the search term. The results will be a list that

resembles multiples of the following. You have the option to Preview the image at a larger

size before you select it. Click Select when ready.

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4. You will be returned to the previous window. Here you can change the display name and

in the description area, give students some instruction regarding the image.

5. The View toggle in Mashup options - controls how the photo will show within Blackboard.

The default Thumbnail will expand to show the photo at full size when clicked. Embed Photo

shows it at full size.

6. An additional file can be added. Browse to it and follow instructions.

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7. Options –

Permit Users to View this Content is the master toggle for viewing the content. If

this is NO, then students will never be able to see it, regardless of the Date and Time

Restrictions. Instructors, Course Builders, and Teaching Assistants will be able to see

the content at any time.

Track Number of Views allows the instructor to know if a particular student has

viewed the material. Only recommended for necessary items.

Select Date and Time Restrictions controls the release of the content for student

view. Instructors, Course Builders, and Teaching Assistants will be able to see the

content at any time.

8. Click on Submit to save the changes

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Videos

If you wish to use video files within your Blackboard area you may want to consider

streaming externally via the YouTube mashup tool available within Blackboard. This method

will ensure students avoid downloading excessively large video files to their computers.

The YouTube mashup tool which is available in Blackboard, and works much like the Flickr

tool mentioned previously in this guide. If you wish to add a YouTube video into your

Blackboard course using the mashup tool you need to be clear on any copyright

implications. Foremost, the YouTube mashup integration in Blackboard basically creates a

link which allows for the video to be streamed from YouTube and is not embedded in your

course.

** IMPORTANT ** If you wish to add a YouTube video, you as the tutor have to take

responsibility for checking the legitimacy of the video. The advice is not to link to videos that

you know or think are infringing copyright (EFF)7.

7 EFF - YouTube Embedding and Copyright https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/07/youtube-embedding-

and-copyright

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To stream external media on Blackboard using YouTube, users can add a YouTube ‘Mashup’

to their course by following the next few steps:

First make sure your Edit mode is ON.

1. Click on the Build Content button and select You Tube Video (in the Mashup column)

2. Type in your search terms, choose your search options, and click Go

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3. In this example, “edge hill university” was the only search term. The results will be a list

that resembles the following. You have the option to Preview the video before you select it.

Click Select when ready.

4. You will be returned to the previous window. Here you can change the display name and

in the description area, give the students some instruction regarding the video.

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5. The View controls how the video will show within Blackboard. The default Thumbnail will

expand to show the video full size when clicked on. Text Link shows the duration and the

user who uploaded it with a link “Watch Video”. Embed Video shows it at full size. Please

ensure every time you add a YouTube video the “Show YouTube URL” is set to ‘Yes’ and

“Show YouTube Information’ set to ‘Yes’.

6. An additional file can be added. Browse to it and follow instructions.

7. Options –

Permit Users to View this Content is the master toggle for viewing the content. If

this is NO, then students will never be able to see it, regardless of the Date and Time

Restrictions. Instructors, Course Builders, and Teaching Assistants will be able to see

the content at any time.

Track Number of Views allows the instructor to know if a particular student has

viewed the material. Only recommended for necessary items.

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Select Date and Time Restrictions controls the release of the content for student

view. Instructors, Course Builders, and Teaching Assistants will be able to see the

content at any time.

8. Click on Submit to save the changes.

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Teaching and Learning Resources (eShare)

Adding lecture notes, handbooks, slides, video and audio materials to your Blackboard area

can contribute to excessive data usage within your course areas. To better utilise your disk

space and to save time duplicating the upload process across multiple courses within

Blackboard, staff can host all resources within eShare8.

eShare is a digital repository developed to manage the institutions teaching and learning

resources. The resources you upload will be visible to colleagues and students across the

university and the world, depending on what permissions you set on the system. The

following staff guides9 will provide you with a baseline understanding of the system:

eShare Contributor Guide10

eShare FAQs11

eShare Staying Legal: IPR and copyright guidance12

Following the guides, you can begin adding content to the repository which will enable you

to link resources from one location within eShare to multiple course areas in Blackboard.

** IMPORTANT ** Before contributing your resource/s to eShare you should ensure that it

meets copyright requirements. Resources should be labelled with the relevant copyright

notice and date and all authors must be acknowledged. Refer to ‘Staying Legal in eShare’ for

further information.

8 eShare http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk

9 eShare guides http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/1192/

10 eShare contributor guide

http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/887/5/Contributor_Guide_to_Adding_Resources_to_eShare_14_Dec_11.pdf 11

eShare FAQs http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/1082/1/eShare_FAQs_141211.pdf 12

eShare IPR and copyright guide http://www.eshare.edgehill.ac.uk/886/2/Staying_Legal_guidelines_29_Sep_2011.pdf

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Blackboard File Management

By using the ‘Files’ option within Blackboard, instructors will gain access to all of their files for a specific course, though students cannot access this area. As an instructor you can organise, view manage and delete content by going to the ‘Control Panel’ and selecting the ‘Files’ option followed by the module area title displayed below it.

Selecting your area’s ‘Files’ will provide you with the file storage on the Blackboard server for the module area you currently viewing. Using the ‘Files’ option within each module will only display content for that specific course and not for other courses. Here you can create folders and subfolders in Course Files to organise your content in a way that is logical to you.

You can move a large amount of content from your computer to the ‘Files’ area in one action or upload files while creating content. In relation to this guide, it is recommended that you monitor the amount of data each file contains. The use of large data files that exceed over 100MB (megabytes) each should be explored to see if they could be housed via the Mashup tools or other services listed within this guide.

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To list your files in size order, simply select ‘Size’ within the top row (see below) to sort this column by data size.

If you wish to view the total data space your content repository is using select the double chevron button next to the course title within ‘Files’ (see below) and select ‘360 View’.

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Once selected a new pop up window will appear containing various information about the ‘Files’ area you are currently viewing. The first option ‘Properties’ contains a stat called ‘Folder Size’, here the total size of your content repository can be found (see below)

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Other Sources of Help and support for Staff

- The ‘Help’ link within the Course Control Panel Click the ‘Help > Blackboard Help’ link within the Course Control Panel at the bottom left of your course to access ‘Blackboard Help for Instructors’.

- Learning Services Wiki Visit the Learning Services wiki within the GO Portal to access a range of information including, policies, guides and resources.

Wiki: https://go.edgehill.ac.uk/wiki/display/ls/Home > ‘How do I…? Develop my Learning Edge’

- Learning Technology Development Contact the Learning Technology Development if you need further assistance or have any further queries. Email: ltdsupport@edgehill.ac.uk Telephone: 01695 650754

If you require this information in an alternative format, please contact

Learning Technology Development, on 01695 650754 or email

ltdsupport@edgehill.ac.uk

[LTD1014] Version: [1.1] Date:Nov 2012