Enhancements to the process of copying Announcements in Blackboard.

This guide introduces enhancements recently introduced to the process of Copying Announcements from previous or other BB modules.

Now, when you use the Copy Content feature to populate a new module with last year’s learning materials, you will also get the option to copy over last year’s announcements. Copied announcements will appear as “draft” in the destination module.

Reusing content is a time-saving practice that eliminates the need for creating everything from scratch. Instructors can now easily copy announcements from one course to another. Each copied announcement starts as a draft, streamlining the content development process.

This new feature supports and enhances the overall course copy option used when a previously completed course is to be run again.  For more information including a video walkthrough of the course copy process please see the following knowledgebase guide.

This enhancement streamlines the course rollover procedure, reducing the administrative burden. Module Leaders are no longer required to promptly reschedule or delete announcements after copying. As a result, Module Leaders gain the flexibility to review announcements at their own pace, adjusting as necessary.

How to use the Copy Announcements feature

Remember that when copying course content, the process can be thought of as a pull rather than a push.  This means that you will need to open the module that you intend to copy the announcements into to complete the process.  For example, the newer version of the module that will run in the new semester or academic year.

  1. Open the destination module.
  2. In the module content area and to the right of the Module Content title, click the three dots (also referred to as More Options).
  3. Select Copy Items
  4. Select the module that the content is to be copied from. It is also possible to copy content from multiple modules during this process.
  5. Selecting the source by clicking on its name will initiate the process of copying the complete module however if you want to be more selective in the copy process, click on the arrow to the right of the Module name to select just the content that is required.
  6. In this example, if just a single announcement is selected (for test purposes), only that announcement from the source module will be copied.

Image showing the use of the Course Copy feature and selecting individual items rather than the whole module to copy.

  1. Once the content (in this example, a single announcement) has been selected, click the Start Copy button.
  2. Once the copy is complete, all copied announcements will be available in the destination module and can be reviewed via the Announcements menu item, all announcements by default will be in DRAFT format.
  3. With the copied announcements now in draft mode you will have the option to either use the “Post Now” button or

Image showing the copied announcement appearing in the destination module with its current status being set to Draft.

Or click on the three dots (more options) and select Edit to schedule a release date and time.

Image showing how the recently copied announcement (in draft format) can be scheduled for release at a later date and time.

Contact Us

If you would like to discuss any of the above in more detail, please don’t hesitate to contact the Digital Learning Specialist team who will be more than happy to arrange bespoke coaching and mentoring sessions. They are contactable at elearning@tees.ac.uk.

Blackboard Ultra features and functionality update September 2023
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