Customize the Left-Side Navigation Menu
From TeachToolsWiki
Your new Blackboard course site looks different! What happened?
Instructors argued successfully that the default course menu in earlier versions of Blackboard was too restrictive. Not all instructors think in terms of "Course Documents" and "Assignments." If you think of the course in terms of "Weeks," you can start with a "Weeks" section. If you think of the course in terms of "Modules," you can start with a modules section. If you think in terms of "Course Documents," you can start with a "Course Documents' section. And, if you are copying a course site forward from last semester, the copy action will create all of the folders you had last semester. Keep in mind that Content areas and Tools in Blackboard are two different categories. You can create links to either.
Follow these instructions to get started! The left-side navigation window in your Blackboard course is yours to arrange however fits your class and the way you teach.
Adding Content Areas to the Left Navigation Bar
You can add navigation links, also known as "Content Areas" as you would use them in your class. Follow these clicks:
Control Panel > Manage Course Menu > Add Content Area
Think about the content areas as folders into which you are going to put information and materials for your course. You'll see a drop down menu that appears. Click on the drop down and you'll see all of the options of preset content areas. Select one, and notice, you can edit its name right underneath the drop down menu. So, if you want to rename "Assignments," and call it "Things to Do" instead, you can do that here. Rename each one as you go along, otherwise, you'll have a whole list of "Assignments." Click "Submit."
If you are using Securexam, you must create a Content Area called Test & Quizzes.
Continue adding Content Areas until you have all the links you want in your left-hand navigation bar. Then, click OK.
Adding Tool Areas to the Left Navigation Bar
After you have added your content areas, selct from the list of tools that will enhance interactive learning. Among the Blackboard tools that you will want to consider are:
- Announcements (Daily or Weekly messages posted on the entrance to the Blackboard site, that can be automatically e-mailed to the entire class.)
- Blog Tool (Instructors can blog to students or students can use a public or private Blog as a platform for reflective writing.)
- Collaboration (Synchronous online text based Chat)
- Discussion Board (Asynchronous online Discussion)
- Groups
- Homepage (Help students to create a personal online presence for your course.)
- My Grades (Timely feedback on progress! Enabling My grades provides students with direct access to information contained in the Blackboard_Grade_Center)
- Search (Find material within your course)
- Staff Information (Information about the instructor)
- Wiki Tool (Students cooperatively build websites that encourage them to think critically and analytically as they evaluate and organize relevant content.)
- Wimba (Voice technology for online interactive language teaching and learning.)
- iTunes U Tools ( Publish Podcasts of relevant material.)
Which page should your students see first?- Choosing a Course Entry Point
After you have added your content and chosen your tools, decide which page in your course site should be the starting or landing page when your students enter the course. Many instructors start on the Announcements page and use it to post (and e-mail) frequent updates. In some courses, the Discussion Board is the heart of the course, so the course is set to open in the Discussion Board. In other courses, Content is most important, so the Blackboard site is set to open at the Syllabus or the Course Documents page.
To set the Course Entry point, follow these links:
[Your Course] > CONTROL PANEL > SETTINGS > COURSE ENTRY POINT
Choose the entry point from the drop-down list, and click Submit.
Opening new sites for Students - Making your course Available
If your students can get into Blackboard, but do not see the link to your course, check to see if the course is marked (unavailable) in the My Courses list. All courses are created (unavailable), so only instructors can see them.
In each course that you want to open to the students, make the course Available. The steps are:
Control Panel > Settings > Course availability > Yes > Submit
(The steps to make a course unavailable are the same with the exception that you choose No > Submit at the end.)
Want to watch a video? Click [here] for a demo.
Adding Content to Content Areas
Once you've added your content areas, you'll see a new box in the top left corner of the control panel, in which are your content areas. Click one to add your information. You can add items, like documents or images, you can add links, blogs, wikis, etc. all through the control panel.
For more on how to add to your content areas, click here.
Removing the link from your Blackboard menu
The last step is to remove the link that got you here in the first place.
To do that, follow these clicks:
Control Panel > Manage Course Menu > Find "Customize left-side Navigation" and click Remove.
That's it! You're ready to go!
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