Exporting and importing your blackboard course
Export packages created with the Export Course feature are .ZIP files that contain course materials that can be reused in another Blackboard course; the .ZIP files do not contain student records. Discussion Board content can be viewed but there is no reference to the identity of the original poster; users are identified as Anonymous.
Instructors are responsible for keeping a copy of their own course materials; using Export Course and saving a copy of the .ZIP file to a thumb drive or other portable storage device is a good way to create a personal backup of course content.
Recommended Procedures to Complete Before Exporting:
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Download a copy of the Grade Center from each of your courses.
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The Export feature does not provide a backup of student records. If you wish to save student records, please contact blackboard@luc.edu for assistance.
Exporting your Course
- From the Control Panel, select Packages and Utilities.
- From the dropdown list, select Export/Archive Course.
- Click the Export button.
- Calculate the size of the course package to make sure it is not too large to import into another course. You will be given both the size of your course and the allowed package size.
- Select course materials to include in the export package; check only the parts of the course you wish to include.
NOTE: If you are exporting blogs, wikis, or journals, you must select Blogs, Wikis, or Journals and the Course Content Area to which you linked the blog, wiki, or journal. Blogs, Wikis, and Journals will only export and import correctly if they and their Content Area are exported simultaneously.
- Click Submit. You may log out of Blackboard; you will receive an e-mail when the .ZIP file has been created -- this should only take a few minutes.
- Once you’ve received this e-mail and are ready to download the .ZIP file, return to the course you are exporting from and, from the Control Panel, select Packages and Utilities.
- From the dropdown list, select Export/Archive Course.
- On the Export/Archive Course page, select your exported .ZIP file, then click Save.
- Locate the saved file on your computer; files are usually automatically downloaded to your desktop or My Documents folder. You will need this file to upload into your new course.
- You may also want to save a copy of the .ZIP file to a thumb drive or other portable storage device, as a personal backup of your course.
NOTE: Do not open the .ZIP file before you import it to another course shell, since opening the file may corrupt it.
Importing a Blackboard Course
After you have exported a course, the next time you need to use it you can import the entire course or selected parts of the course through Import Package.
Details to Consider before you Import:
- Never upload an Exported Course package that has been modified since it was created and downloaded. Opening the .ZIP file and changing any of the files in the Exported Course package will result in unstable and unpredictable behavior when the course is imported.
- Remember that if you time-released documents, you will have to reset the availability of course materials after importing.
- Tests, surveys and files created using the Assignments Feature will also have to be redeployed so they properly link to the Grade Center.
Once you’ve logged into Blackboard, follow these steps to import your course.
- From the Control Panel, select Packages and Utilities.
- From the dropdown list, select Import Package / View Logs.
- Click the Import Package button
and browse for the .ZIP file to import.
- Select the materials to include in the import.
- Click Submit.
NOTE: Please wait at least 15 minutes after you receive the email indicating that the course copy is complete before going into the destination course.