Blackboard Tip: Using the Course Copy Tool

Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)

It's mid-August, and that means the start of the Fall semester is right around the corner. For instructors with online courses, this means it's time to get their new course shells ready to use. For most instructors, the first step is to use Blackboard's Course Copy tool to copy the contents of a previous semester's course shell into their new shell. Here are a few tips to help make the process as smooth as possible.

The most common mistake I see is starting the copy process from the wrong shell. You must initiate the copy process from the course shell you want to copy from. In other words, the old course shell, not the new one. We frequently get support tickets from instructors who get this error message: Source ID cannot match Destination ID.

This error message usually means that the instructor initiated the copy process from the new shell and is therefore trying to copy the new shell into the new shell. In rarer cases, it can also mean that the instructor initiated the process from the correct shell but inadvertently selected the same shell from the Destination Course ID list and is therefore trying to copy the old shell into the old shell. For the process to work correctly, you must initiate the process from the old shell and select the new shell in the Destination Course ID list.

Another common mistake is selecting the wrong copy type. The first option in the copy tool is Select Copy Type. There are three options in the drop-down menu: Copy Course Materials into a New Course, Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course, and Copy Course with Users (Exact Copy). Because you are copying contents from an old shell into a new shell, it is natural to think you should choose Copy Course Materials into a New Course, but that is incorrect. That option would create a new course shell identical to the one you are copying. At UHCL, your new course shells are created automatically. Therefore you need to choose the Copy Course Materials into an Existing Course option, then select your new course shell from the Destination Course ID list.

The last tip I have is to make when you get to the Select Course Materials option is to only choose Select All. Do not check or uncheck any other boxes, even if you don't want to copy a particular item. We have found that selecting anything other than Select All can lead to problems with the copy process, resulting in an incomplete copy of your course contents.

If you have any questions about the Course Copy tool, please read this document: How to Use "Course Copy" in Blackboard. If you need further assistance, contact your designated Instructional Designer or the Support Center.