Blackboard – Adding a Course Link

The Course Links tool is useful for adding relative links to other areas of the Blackboard course. This type of link is relative to each Blackboard course and does not need updating when course content is rolled over.

1. Check that Edit Mode is turned ON.  This can be switched by clicking ON or OFF.

2. Choose the Content Area into which you wish to add your course link.  All the content areas work in the same way, if you have renamed or added content areas to your Blackboard course the screenshot above may vary from what you see.

3. Hover your mouse pointer over Build Content and then click on Course Link.

4. Click on Browse.

5. You will be presented with the course map. Select the item to which you wish to create a link.

6. You may now complete the other information about the link:

Name
The name will automatically be populated with the name of the content item to which you are creating a link. If the text is not clear delete it and enter something more appropriate.

Location
This box is automatically populated. It shows where the link will take the user.

Description
Use this text box to explain to students what this link is and why it is there.

7. The following options are the same as those that can be applied to most content you add to Blackboard:

Permit Users to View this Content
Do you want students to be able to access this course link? Selecting No would prevent your students from viewing it, but you would still be able to view it while Edit Mode is ON. The date restrictions option below is a more powerful way of doing a similar action. The default for this option is Yes.

Track number of views
Select Yes to indicate that the system is to track the number of times a user accesses this course link. Select No to indicate that the number of times this page is accessed will not be tracked. Only use this option when you particularly require tracking information. A general report on Course Statistics provides tracking information for the whole course and is available from the Control Panel. For more information about this feature check the link on the right under “What’s Related”.

Select Date and Time Restrictions
If you wish you may restrict when this course link will appear. Tick the boxes and determine times and dates as appropriate. Ticking Display After will mean that the content will appear from the time and date that you select. Ticking Display Until will mean that the content will no longer be visible to students after the date and time selected has passed. This only affects the way the material appears to students. As a course instructor you can change this setting at any time and the content will always be available to you.

8. Click on Submit to finish.

9. Your Course Link has been created. Further options are accessible from the Modify button beside the name of the link.