Add a Course Materials Link to Your Blackboard (Bb) Ultra Course

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

    • Make sure we are aware of all of your sections using the item. If we are not aware of all sections using an item, and the Bb courses are merged together, the link will not work for students in the sections that we are unaware of. 

  • 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
    • inQuixitive
    • MindTap
    • WileyPlus
    • OWL
    • Packback
    • WebAssign
    • and a few others are 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 the + sign on the line under “Course Content”: 

course contents

  1. Click “Content Market”

  1. Scroll down and click the "plus" sign on the “VitalSource Inclusive Access-NDSU” tile: 

     4. Click the three dots, then “Edit”. 

     5. Hover your mouse next to “VitalSource Inclusive…” and a pencil symbol will appear: 

Click the pencil to edit the link name and rename it “Course Materials”. You can name it what you would like, but we recommend “Course Materials” as students can access their booklist for all their courses via the link. 

     6. Update the visibility to students, add a Description as desired, then click Save: 

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

     7. 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 ultra, course materials, course material link, Bb course, Bb ultra course, Add a Course Materials link to Your Blackboard (Bb) Ultra Course, inclusive access, Ultra 
Doc ID:
136216
Owned by:
Sharley K. in NDSU IT Knowledge Base
Created:
2024-03-22
Updated:
2024-08-27
Sites:
NDSU IT Knowledge Base