Managing the Course Menu

Quick Start Guide

The Course Menu, previously only editable from the Control Panel, now provides faculty with the ability to:

1. Add new menu items on the fly.
2. Personalize the menu view.
3. Rearrange the menu items using drag and drop
4. Edit the menu item name and availability using the Action Link menu (chevron sign)

Note: In version 9.1, Blackboard automatically hides empty Content Areas. Content Areas that are hidden are excluded from the Student view; however, hidden content areas are displayed in the Instructor view with a “hidden” icon. Once content is added to a Course Menu item Blackboard automatically makes that Menu item visible to students.

Managing the Course Menu

Accessing the Course Edit Mode

The Edit Mode toggle switch located in the upper-right corner of every page shows or hides contextual editing menus throughout the course. (In Blackboard 8, Edit View was only available in the Content Areas.)

Click on the Edit Mode toggle switch to turn the edit view off and on.

Navigating & Reordering Menu Items

Blackboard now uses a drag-and-drop method that allows for a quick rearranging of menu items. When Edit Mode is on, these appear as double-headed arrows. To rearrange menu items:

• Simply hover over the vertical, double-headed arrow, click and hold down the left-mouse button and drag the item to a new location in the menu bar (new locations will be indicated by a set of dotted lines.)
• Next release the mouse button. The item will now be locked into its new location.

Expandable contextual menus denoted by a chevron sign indicate items that have sub menus. Clicking these items expand the menu item to reveal an options menu. Click on the menu again to collapse the menu.

The options for the majority of the other Course Menu items are:

• Rename Link - Clicking on this link will open a text box over the current menu item title. Type a new name in the field then click on the green check icon to the right of the edit text field. To keep the current link name, click on the red "x" to the right of the edit text field.
• Hide Link - Clicking on this link will hide the menu item in "Student View" but keep it available to instructors in the "Edit" view. A small box with a line through it is displayed to the right of all hidden menu items.
• Deny guests - Click this link to hide items from course guests if Guest access is enabled in your course.
• Delete - Clicking on this link will delete the menu item and all items associated with the item. Be careful not to "Delete" items that you do not intent to remove. If you simply mean to hide an item or are not sure, select "Hide Link". If you delete a menu item, all content inside of the item will be deleted.

Adding Resources to the Course Menu

Files and tools can be added within content areas or directly to the course menu. If you wish add a resource to the Course Menu:

1. Turn Edit Mode on by clicking on the Edit Mode icon on the upper right-hand-side of the screen.
2. Next click on the black [+] button in the upper left-hand-corner of the course menu. A selection Menu will be displayed.
3. Click on the item to be added. A data form popup window will be displayed.
   • Create Content Area - Creates a course area where you can upload files, media, post links and create sub folders and modules.
   • Create Blank Page - creates a blank web page that can be edited to display text, media and links.
   • Create Tool Link - creates a direct link to a course tool like Announcements and e-mail.
   • Create Course Link - creates a direct link to another area of the course.
   • Create External Link - used to provide a direct link to web resource outside of Blackboard.
   • Create Module Page - Similar to the Home Page -can add different boxes or modules to the page.
   • Create Sub Header - New tool that creates non-clickable headers that can be used to divide the menu into sections.
   • Create Divider - New tool that creates bars that allow menu content to be chunked into related segments.

Note: The "Available to Users" check box must be clicked on the Create Content Area, Create Tool Link, Create Course Link, Create External Link and Create Module Page data forms in order for students to see the resources.

 

Resources

• Click here to download a PDF version of this Quick Start guide