Blackboard 9.1, SP 8 - Import Package: How do I import course materials from another course into my course?

Import Package: Import

You may use the Import Package option to upload course materials from another course, especially from a different system. You must upload a .zip file resulting from a course export process. You can import the whole course package or selected parts of the course.

TIP: Never upload an export .zip file if it has been modified after it was downloaded. Opening the .zip file and changing any of the files in the exported course package will result in unstable and unpredictable behavior when the course is imported.

Importing a package into an existing course copies the content of the package into the existing course. Import packages do not include user enrollments or records, such as discussion board posts and assignment and test/survey attempts.

TIP: If you want to copy content, as well as student data, from one course to another on the same system, and if you have instructor-level access to both courses, consider using Course Copy and the option Copy Course with Users (Exact Copy).

To import a .zip file of exported course content:

Step 1: In the Control Panel, select Packages and Utilities, then select Import Package / View Logs.

Note: If this option is not listed here, then your campus or organization has not made this feature available to you.

Step 2: Click the Import Package button.

Step 3: Click Browse to search for the course package on your computer.

You are looking for a previously exported course package file with a .zip extension; for example:

ExportFile_<course ID>_20090427033643.zip

Step 4: Select the check boxes for each course area and tool in the exported course that should be imported.

If you do not see all of these options, then your campus has not made some of them available to you.

See article What is Course Copy? in this knowledge base for details about how data from these materials is handled in the import process.

Step 5: Click Submit.

Be patient as the export file is uploaded and the import process completes. A large export package may take a long time to upload. Once uploaded, a confirmation saying the import action has been queued appears. The import will be processed in order.

Once the import is complete, a link to a text file appears on the Import Packages / View Logs page for viewing the log of the import. For example:

Step 6: Click on the link to view the log, and confirm your course includes all the data that you selected to be imported

Notes:

Resolving Course Menu items: the Course Menu must resolve itself in the destination course. The table below describes how Course Menu items are resolved.

If . . .	then . . .
a Course area in the package does not exist in the destination course	the area will be added to the Course Menu in the destination course.
the Course area in the package and the Course area in the destination course have the same name and are of the same type (for example, External Links, Contacts, or content)	the content from the package will be added, but will not replace, the content in the area within the destination course.
the Course area in the package and the Course area in the destination course have the same name but are of different types	the Course area from the package will be added to the destination course under a different name. The new name will append an incremental numeral to the name (for example, Course Materials will become Course Materials1).

Links: links to parts of a course that are not included in the export package will break when the links appear in the destination course. For example, if there is a link to a Test in a course area and Tests, Surveys, and Pools are not exported, the link to the test will break.

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Blackboard 9.1, SP 8 - Import Package: How do I import course materials from another course into my course?

Lindenwood University