1. The Control Panel is the starting point when you wish to load files into Blackboard. Students cannot see this panel, unless they know your password of course. Please make sure you have changed your start-up password before you access Blackboard as an instructor. From the panel you would click on Course Material. Right click and select Full Screen to see this presentation at its best

2. Adding an Item will create a single, loose document or file and if you have a lot to add they will appear in a long list. Consider first creating a folder and then adding items to it. It is actually quite important to give careful thought to the number and arrangement of the folder tree - ideally it wants to follow the structure of your course as it is currently presented. Some departments may wish to have Year 1, Year 2 etc. as their top folders, while others will prefer to give them project or module titles. Sub folders can also be created but files cannot be easily moved from one folder to another. Other items, like tests and links to web resources can also be located in the folder. You might also consider adding a Learning Unit, from the additional selection at the far right. The Learning Unit is just a series of files, individually uploaded and presented to the student in order. The great advantage of this feature is that the sequence can be enforced so that the student must progress through the unit step by learning step.

3. Step 1 is to name the item. This is the title that will appear on your Course Material page. There is a drop down menu of standard titles or you can add your own in the box. You can also add colour to the title. The text box is for a description of the item. You might want to include Learning Objectives or Outcomes in this description. It is a good idea to use this box to tell your students exactly what the item contains; remember that their download times will be slower. There is nothing more irritating than finding that a file that takes minutes to appear is not the one you want! The toolbar above the textbox is very similar to the Office toolbars and with it you can control the position and formatting of your text. You can also add images and Flash objects..

4. Step 2 is to identify the file you wish to upload. Click on the Browse button and locate the file on your computer. Remember, you can do this from any computer. You may have used this procedure before for attaching files to emails. You are uploading a copy of the file to Blackboard and there is no further connection between the computers. It is exactly the reverse of what you do when you are downloading a file from the internet and, by the same rule, the bigger the file the longer it will take to copy. Give the file a name; this can be the same as it is called on your PC. It will appear later as the active link to the file. For now, accept the default entry in the last box. The other options here relate to multimedia or compressed files.

5. The first option is a useful choice if you wish to prepare all the material in advance and only reveal it to the waiting world when you are good and ready. You can return to this option at any time and make your item visible with this button. Offline content is only used when students are directed to a CD or floppy disc. Tick NO. Each item can be tracked individually; that is, you can see how many times each student has opened the file or document and who hasn't seen it at all. You can ignore the Meta- Data box; it’s optional information like ownership and copyright. You can control exactly the period within which your file is available to students. This means that you could prepare an exam paper and release it for a single hour on the morning of the exam. If nothing is checked here, the file will be permanently available. Step 3 is to set the options for display.

6. The final step is to click the Submit button. This will upload your file and bring to the screen a receipt, Click OK to finish. Sadly, you can only upload one file at a time but the process is quick. Assuming the file is already prepared the whole routine will take just over a minute. My record is 52 seconds. A WARNING: Make sure you know where the original file is stored. You cannot change a document within Blackboard. If you need to amend or update a file you will have to upload a new version from your computer. John Green, August 2005