Integration of Other Online Technologies in Blackboard

Start with Blackboard, but use a technology you are familiar with

Blackboard is great for many things, but it may not be a solution for everything. 

If you have other online tools that you would like to have your class participate with, we recommended that you embed them in your Blackboard course, rather than just using the external tool as a stand-alone device. 

Even if Blackboard does not fit your needs, the administrative benefits of Blackboard warrant using it as the entry point for your course. (Being the Student 'Portal' for other classes, announcement/email functions, automatically updated class list, posting your course outline).

Some examples of online technologies that you may wish to incorporate into your Blackboard course are:

 
How to integrate these tools into your Blackboard course:

Basically, you will link the external URL/web address to your Blackboard course.  Here's how:

1. Copy the web address URL of your course tool (C2C, WebKF, etc.)
2. "Create External Link" in your Blackboard course menu
3. Give the link a name, and paste your URL.  Make available to Users
4. Modify menu item to "Set Link to Open in New Window".

For a more detailed step-by-step, follow the directions below.

1. Copy the web address URL of your course tool (C2C, WebKF, etc.)

Open the website for your external online tool and copy the URL.  You can do this by copying the entire URL from the email sent to you, or from your Internet browser.  Be sure to have highlighted the entire URL website address before you select "copy".  Copy can also be performed using the top "Edit" menu, or "Ctrl-C" / Command-C.

A C2C URL will look something like:
http://c2c.oise.utoronto.ca/?courseid=xx

An Adobe Connect session URL will look something like:
http://connect.oise.utoronto.ca/xxxxxxx/

A WebKF URL will look something like:
http://online.oise.utoronto.ca/webkf/xxxxxx.html
or
http://aqonline.oise.utoronto.ca/webkf/xxxxxxx.html

2. "Create External Link" in your Blackboard course menu

Open your course in Blackboard (Login to Blackboard, and select your course in the "My Courses" section).

Make sure "Edit Mode" is ON

Click the Plus Sign + in your course menu, and select "Create External Link"

3. Give the link a name, and paste your URL.  Make available to Users

Enter the name for your course menu (in this example, "C2C").  Paste the URL.  Check off "Available to Users.  Click Submit.

4. Modify menu item to "Set Link to Open in New Window".

Click the double down arrow beside your link name.  Select "Set Link to Open in a New Window"

Other Options to consider

Editing your Blackboard course menu

You may wish to move your link to a higher position in your course menu.  To re-arrange the order of your menu items, click on the little up/down arrows to the left of the menu item, and drag&drop to a new position. 

You may also wish to clean up your menu by deleting or hiding any unused menu items.  To do this, click on the little double down arrow icon beside the menu item you want to get rid of and select "Hide Link".  This will allow you to hide the link from your students, but retreive the item at a later date if you change your mind.  For example, most instructors at OISE do not use the Grade Centre, so hiding the "My Grades" menu item is recommended.

Remember, you will need to Make Your Course Available before you students can see and access your links.

Issues that may arise

A few things to consider when linking inside Blackboard.

The Double Login Dilemma
Remember that Blackboard uses your UTORid username and password to allow access to your course.  Your external online tool may have it's own set of login credentials (a different username/password). For example you will still require separate WebKF2 login information since you need to login to WebKF when inside Blackboard.

C2C utilizes the UTORid system, and therefore does not require a double login.  A link to your C2C website is all you need.

Open in a New Window
You can also link to your external website URL's in any of your Content Areas.  You can do so through Create Item, or Create External Link.  In either case, remember to select the option "Open link in new window".  Some web browsers (mostly Internet Explorer), may have security issues when linking to external websites from within Blackboard.  To avoid this, we always recommend selecting the "Open in a New Window" option when creating a link in Blackboard.