• Introduction
• Course Management
  • Course Settings
    • Making Course Available
    • Customizing the Course Main Menu
    • Archiving a Course
    • Deleting a Course
  • Content Areas
  • User Management
• Assessments
• Grade Center
• Tools

Customizing the Course Menu

The main Course Menu on the left side of the screen in your Blackboard course or organization site allows access to the most commonly used Content Areas, Tools and settings for you and your students. You can customize the Course Menu to hide specific items or to set options for your class.

To learn how to customize a course menu, you can watch the short video by clicking on the image below or see the instructions.

To customize the menu, enter the Blackboard site you wish to configure and open the Control Panel. Click Manage Course Menu on the lower left of the Control Panel in the Course Options section.

To change the order of the menu items that appear in your course, use the numbered drop-down menus. Blackboard will change the order automatically.

To change the name or hide a menu item, click the Modify button next to the name of the menu item.

On the next screen that appears, type in the name for the menu item you wish to use. Or, you can hide the menu item by clearing the checkbox next to the option Available for Student/Participant users. Click Submit to make the change.

Note:  We strongly recommend that you not use the Remove option on menu items; by hiding a menu item instead, you will be able to make it visible again to the participants in your site at a later time.

You can also add four types of menu items:

To add a new Content Area, an empty space similar to Course Documents where you can upload your own material, click the Add > Content Area option. On the screen that appears, enter a name for the Content Area and set options for access. When you are finished, click Submit to create the menu item.

Tool Link

A Tool Link lets you add a menu item that goes directly to one of the Blackboard Tools in your course. For example, you might create a direct link to a Blackboard Blog or Wiki that your students are using for a particular assignment or to the Discussion Board.

To add a Tool Link, click Add > Tool Link. On the screen that appears, enter a name for the menu item. Then, click the drop-down menu to choose which Blackboard Tool to which the menu item will point. When you are finished, click Submit to create the menu item.

Course Link

A Course Link lets you add a menu item that goes directly to a document or folder in your course. For example, you might create a direct link to a folder containing items related to a topic in your course or to your syllabus.

To add a Course Link, click Add > Course Link. On the screen that appears, enter a name for the menu item. Then, click the Browse button to bring up a menu that will allow you to select the destination for the menu item. When you are finished, click Submit to create the menu item.

External Link

An External Link is a menu item that can direct course participants to web content outside of your Blackboard site. You might use this option to create a menu item that connects to a commonly used website for your course or to an auxillary external website you've created for the course.

To add an External Link, click Add > External Link. On the screen that appears, enter a name for the menu item. Then, in the space provided, enter the full URL for the site you wish to use. When you are finished, click Submit to create the menu item.