Course Links improvements – 3900.67

Richer Course and Content

Course Links improvements – 3900.67

Blackboard Learn SaaS
Ultra Experience
Ultra Course View
Impact: Instructors

To provide a better experience, we’ve made a series of improvements for Course Links:

Instructors have the option to add course links to folders and learning modules on the Course Content page. The option to add course links to folders and learning modules is hidden for nested content containers.
Instructors cannot move into another folder or learning module a course link to a folder or learning module. A warning message displays if an instructor tries to move a course link in this way.

Image 1. Warning message alerting an instructor that a course link to a folder cannot be moved into another learning module
Instructors cannot copy into another folder or learning module a course link to a folder or learning module. The option to copy course links to folders and LMs is hidden if an instructor selects the Copy Content option from the + menu while inside a folder or learning module.
To help users identify course links to folders and learning modules, we have made a new icon. This icon displays a link at the top left corner of the icon for a folder or learning module. In the past, the learning module did not have an icon. Learning modules now have an icon, which is the same one displayed for learning modules on the Create Item panel.

Image 2. Learning module iconography on both Create Item panel and learning module (as shown in the background on the Course Content area)
The context menu for a course link to a folder or a learning module now provides these options:
- Edit Course Link
- Edit Linked Folder or Learning Module
- Delete Course Link
Users can expand a course link to a folder or learning module as they would a folder or learning module. This allows the user to view the nested contents of the target folder or learning module. The contents displayed are read only. An instructor cannot modify the nested contents displayed for the course link. An instructor cannot move additional content into the folder or learning module course link.

Image 3. Course Link to a folder is shown as expanded, revealing the contents of the course link in a read-only view
When an instructor makes changes to the nested contents of a folder or learning module, the changes will appear for any related, expanded course link. These changes include:
- Adding/deleting nested contents
- Re-order nested contents
- Moving additional contents into the target folder or learning module
- Editing the names of nested contents
- Modifying the visibility or release conditions of nested contents
In the past, if an instructor copied a course link to an Ultra Document, some of the contents added via "Add Content" did not copy. This has been fixed. Now the Ultra Document and its contents, along with the course link, are copied as expected.
When creating a Course Link, an instructor can now select a folder and/or learning module from the Category section of Search Criteria. Additionally, instructors can expand the folders and learning modules in the search results to select one of its contents.

Image 4. Instructor may search categorically for folders and learning modules to create a course link to content in a folder or learning module
When upgrading an Original course to the Ultra course view, course links to folders and learning modules are not retained. The conversion report includes an exception for course links and explains their removal.