BLACKBOARD COURSE
CARTRIDGES
Course Cartridges
Course Cartridges are comprehensive
collections of publisher-created content, available for import into Blackboard
5.5 instructor-designed course Web sites. Content in Course Cartridges includes
slides documents, quiz banks, lists of relevant links, and other materials
although some of these materials are currently available via CD-ROM diskette;
Course Cartridges place all the material in one easily accessed already
Web-enabled location.
Benefits to Instructors
By using Course
Cartridges, instructors gain access to complete sets of teaching tools provided
by academic publishers. In one central location instructors can find relevant,
publisher-created materials. Once the materials are downloaded to the
Blackboard course Web site, instructors are free to customize the content by
adding and deleting materials as needed to correlate with specific topics
covered in the classroom.
Course Cartridges can
serve as supplements to already-existing online courses or provide an excellent
starting point for faculty who are just beginning to develop online teaching
strategies. Instructors will benefit from the ease of use, variety, and
professional quality of the materials available on Course Cartridges powered by
Blackboard.
Instructors download
Course Cartridges from the Course Cartridge Repository and install cartridges
into Blackboard 5.5 course Web sites during the course creation process. After
the instructor enters the "Access Key" provided by the publisher of
the Course Cartridge, the Blackboard 5 software automatically downloads and
installs the Course Cartridge into the course Web site.
The listing of Course
Cartridges, the Cartridge Catalog, can be browsed through the
Course Cartridges also
benefit students by providing a single point of access for the online content
of a Blackboard 5.5 - powered course Web site. Course Cartridges include tools
to help students prepare for class and do outside research like syllabi, study
guides, quiz banks, and links to relevant Web sites. Supplementing traditional texts
and lectures with Course Cartridge materials offers students the opportunity to
gain a deeper understanding of the course material by employing a variety of
pedagogical styles.
Students enter course
Web sites that contain Course Cartridge materials by using their own
publisher-provided Access Key that can come packaged with a textbook or can be
received separately. Students enter the course Web sites containing Course
Cartridge materials by entering a valid Access Key the first time they enter
the course Web site and access Course Cartridge content.