NOTE: Importing an Archive or an Exported Course File is possible for any course that you have an archived or exported .zip file for. However, if you are currently enrolled in both courses (the old course containing your content and the new course containing the blank shell appear in your Blackboard course list), it is quicker for you to use the Course Copy process (see the notes on Step 7 and Step 8 below for more explanation). Situations where Course Copy would be better would be transferring a course from a previous semester (ex: Fall 2022 course to a Spring 2023 course) or transferring a course to multiple sections (ex: 5 different sections of ED 305 taught in Fall 2022).
To Import an Archive / Export File, complete the following steps:
- Locate the archive or export file of your old course on your computer. This file will be in a .zip format and it should have a long name starting with ArchiveFile or ExportFile (ex: ArchiveFile_ED308.21436.201420_20140514023655)
- In Blackboard, go to your new course. In the Course Management menu, expand the Packages and Utilities section, and select Import Package / View Logs.
- Click Import Package.
- Click Browse... and locate and double click on the archive on your computer mentioned in Step 1.
- Under Selected Course Materials, click Select All.
- Toggle the Discussion Board material to Include only the forums, with no starter posts.
- Scroll to the bottom of the screen and click Submit. (see image below)
NOTE: Once you have clicked Submit, the system uploads the .zip file to the Blackboard server. Depending on the size of the file and the size of your course, this could take some time. Some larger classes have been known to take upwards of 30 minutes on a high speed Internet connection. Unless you receive a timeout error or an email in your Athens State Email account stating the process failed, please be patient at this phase. - You will be sent back to the Packages and Utilities screen where a message should appear.
An email will be sent to you Athens State email account.
NOTE: As with Step 7, this step will take some time to complete as well depending on the size of your course. Please give it time to process. - Go into the new course and your course should now be populated.