Blackboard Users,
Are there old courses that you would like to save or course content that you would like to access outside of Blackboard?
You can save your Blackboard course content to your computer, and there is a free tool from UNC called “bFree” that will organize it for you. Here’s how…
Save Your Course
- Go to the Control Panel and click the Archive Course link. This will allow you to create a zipped file and save it to your desktop.
- Go to this Web site (http://its.unc.edu/tl/tli/bFree/) and click the Information & Download link.
- Scroll down and click the Click here to download bFree link
- Once you have installed the application, you will see the following interface.
- Click the Open an exported zip file… button
- Navigate to the location where you saved your archived course and select that zipped file.
- Your course content will appear as directories in the bFree window (below)
- Choose what content you want to extract by checking the boxes on the right
- Then choose whether or not you would like to extract your course as a Web site (where you navigate content using an HTML page) or as a directory structure. (See examples at the bottom of this message.)
- Click Extract button you choose at the bottom of the window.
- Choose where you would like to archive your course content. If you would like to save it to its own directory, enter the directory name at the prompt
Files/Folders Vs. Web Site Navigation
Here is the difference between the two different types of navigation based on the two different extraction types:
Extract as Files/Folders Extract as Web Site (links)
Saving your course will allow you to access to all your course content on your own computer, and you will be able to view it outside of Blackboard. If you have any questions, call the Help Desk: 305-284-3949.
bFree works with Windows and Mac OS X. It requires that you have the latest Java Software installed.
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JENNIFER CLISTER
Blackboard & Technology Integration Analyst
305-284-3949
