Blackboard Basic Essentials Template

The purpose of this template is to:

• Provide a structure that will make it easier for students to navigate the course content.
• Provide consistency to reduce questions with accessing readings, files, lectures, etc.
• Avoid excessive scrolling as well as excessive clicking.

This template is different than our other Course Structure Templates, it is more basic with fewer course content areas. This template includes the Announcement and My Grades tools and one content area titled Course Materials as well as links to external resources.

Each template allows you to develop your course by adding content, creating activities, and assessments within the course structure well in advance for upcoming courses.

To use the template of choice, you will need to import the template into an existing empty course shell by downloading and importing either of the provided .zip files under Attached Files at the bottom of this article. Once the template has been downloaded, follow the steps under the How to Import the Course Template guide.

How to Import the Course Template:

1. From the (A) Course Management Panel > (B) Click on Control Panel > (C) Click on Packages and Utilities > (D) Click on Import Package/View Logs > (E) Click on Import Package

2. On the Import Package page, click on the (A) Browse My Computer button to access the course package/zip file on your computer, from the Select Course Materials section, (B) click the Select All button, and then (C) click the Submit button.
   • NOTE: Faculty can ignore the node section.
   • FYI: If you're a Mac user, it's recommended to use Chrome or Firefox as a browser when importing the .zip file. If you use Safari, the .zip file's content will be extracted, which is not what you want.

 Faculty and Student Resources

The course template provides 3 external resource links for students and faculty.  Note, the Blackboard Faculty resource link is purposely hidden from student view.

1. Blackboard Student Help Guidelines

2. ECSU Help Desk

3. Blackboard Faculty Help Guides