1. Teaching and Learning with Blackboard
  2. Adding Content
  3. Organizing Your Course Content Using Folders

Organizing Your Course Content Using Folders

Folders are content containers in your Blackboard course. Their function is identical to the folders you would use on your personal computer: to organize content in meaningful ways. Folders can hold a variety of items, including documents, Blackboard tools, and other folders.

Best Practices for Folders

  • Use meaningful names to help students navigate your content, like chronological names (Week 1, Unit 1, or Module 1) or categorical names (named after the primary topics in the course)
  • For chronological structures with folders that become available on specific dates, list folders in reverse chronological order, so that the newer folders that students need are at the top of the list
  • Minimize the number of nested folders to reduce the number of clicks to find a file or assessment

Folders in Original Course View

Adding a Folder

  1. From inside a content area, click the Build Content button
  2. From the dropdown menu, select Content Folder
  3. On the following page, provide a name for the folder
  4. Provide a description (optional)
  5. Set restrictions (optional)
  6. Click Submit

add_folder

Setting Restrictions

  • You can set the availability of a new folder using the Standard Option Permit Users to View this Content. Select Yes or No.
  • You can also make content available or unavailable at particular times using the Select Date and Time Restrictions feature.

Note: if you set the overall availability to No, the Date and Time Restrictions will not function. Instead, leave the overall availability set to Yes, then use Date and Time Restrictions.

Note: availability restrictions on a folder also affect its contents, meaning you do not need to change availability settings for anything within the folder.

Adding Content to Folders

Once you have created a Folder, click its title to open it; then you can add content or assessments within it using the Build Content or Assessments menus.

Folders in Ultra Course View

Status: Available

In the Ultra Course View, folders open and close on the same page to make it easy to find the content and assessments inside. Folders may be nested two levels deep (one folder inside of another); this prevents additional clicks and layers that makes it difficult to find the item you are looking for.

You may want to consider using Learning Modules instead of Folders. Learning Modules also act as containers to organize content, but are more clearly defined visually. In a Learning Module, students can progress from one item to the next with arrows at the top of the page. The most significant feature, though, is the ability to enable sequential viewing in the Release Conditions. This forces students to view each item before opening the next and provides visual progress indicators to students to help them determine whether they have completed all of the items in the module.

Adding a Folder

  1. On the Course Content page, click the plus sign (+) 
  2. Click Create in the drop down menu
  3. In the side panel, click Folder
  4. Type a Name and an optional description
  5. Click the Save button

Setting Restrictions

Use Release Conditions to determine when the folder should become visible to students, but make the items within the folder Visible. Students will not be able to access anything within the folder until the folder itself becomes visible.

Adding Content to Folders

  1. Click on the folder to open it
  2. Click the plus sign (+) within the folder to add content

You can also use drag and drop to move content that already exists in the course into the folder.

Learn More

Tutorials

Quick Guides

See Also...


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Technical Support and Student Help

Division of IT Service Desk

815-753-8100
servicedesk@niu.edu

Teaching Support and Faculty Help

Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning

815-753-0595
citl@niu.edu

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