Add a Course Materials link to Your Blackboard (Bb) Course

This documentation gives brief instructions on how to add course material links to your Blackboard (Bb) course.

Before you start:

    • If you recently merged Bb courses that are using the same item, we recommend creating the link in the merged course and deleting any Course Materials link(s) made prior to merging 

    • If you copied over a Bb course from a previous semester, we recommend deleting the Course Materials link from the old course and redoing it 

    • If you are using any of these homework items, the instructions below will not work: 

      • Achieve 

    • ALEKs 

      • Connect 

      • inQuizitive 

      • MindTap 

      • WileyPlus 

      • OWL 

      • Packback 

      • WebAssign 

      • and a few others not delivered by VitalSource 

    Contact our publisher representatives for assistance integrating links for the homework items above. The NDSU Bookstore can provide contact information if needed. Pearson homework items should follow the instructions below.  

    Link instructions: 

    1. Log into your Bb course and click either “Syllabus & Textbooks” or “Course Content”: 

     

    • Your Course Materials link can be placed almost anywhere in your Bb course. We recommend one of these two places for consistency for students if possible.  

    • Be sure Edit Mode is ON in the top-right corner of the Blackboard page.

    1. Hover your mouse over “Build Content” in the upper-left corner, then “VitalSource Inclusive Access-NDSU” from the menu that drops down: 

     

    1. Enter Course Materials in the Name box. 

     

    1. Update the Description and Options on that page as desired, click Submit, and you should see this: 

     

    **If you have multiple Inclusive Access eBook items, you only need to make one link for students to access them.

    1. Click on your link to test it:

    Please note - we often send these instructions right after the item is set up, so it may take up to three hours for Bb to resync and for the below steps to work correctly. 

    • Your link should bring you to an Instructor Portal/My Courses Home page where you can view your current courses and access instructor resources. If you are using an Inclusive Access eBook, an instructor copy of it will be accessible here: 

     

    • When students click on the link, they will be forwarded to a landing page that lists all of their course materials that the Bookstore is aware of, for all of their classes. 

    •  If you are using an Inclusive Access eBook, students can access it by clicking “Read Now” on the correct tile. 

    • If you are using an Inclusive Access item that includes a homework system, students can access it by clicking “Launch Courseware” on the item tile if it is a Pearson item.  

    • If the homework item is from a publisher other than Pearson, students will use the integrated link the publisher has provided you. The integrated link should not ask students to pay or provide an access code. 

    • If you are not using an Inclusive Access item for your course, students will still be able to see and shop for all of their course materials that the Bookstore is aware of, for all of their classes. 

    If, after three hours, your link does not bring you to the Instructor Portal/My Courses Home page, or gives you an error message, contact Alicia at alicia.laferriere@ndsu.edu with your Bb Course ID(s). This can be found in the Properties area and typically follows this format: NDSU1 - Term Code - Department/Course - Section # etc… 

    1. Post information in your Bb course, syllabus, and/or email your students regarding how to find your Course Materials link.  

    • If you are using Inclusive Access items: 

      • Remind students to watch for emails from the NDSU Bookstore regarding program details. 

    • Informational emails begin going out to enrolled students approximately two weeks prior to the start of the course. 

    • If you do not receive your copy of this email, email or call Alicia at 1-9478. 



    Keywords:
    blackboard, blackboard course, merged course, merging blackboard course, Bb course, 
    Doc ID:
    136094
    Owned by:
    Sharley K. in NDSU IT Knowledge Base
    Created:
    2024-03-15
    Updated:
    2024-08-27
    Sites:
    NDSU IT Knowledge Base