Blackboard have just released one of the most impactful enhancements in course design with Document pages.

Document pages are a great way to create and present a variety of visual elements. The good news is that they are now even easier to create, and the new content designer gives you more options on how to lay out your content.

With the new content editor, you can now place content side by side without the need to insert a table first, simply drag and drop content or use the menu commands.

Enhanced Document with diverse content laid out in rows and columns
Image 1. Enhanced Document with diverse content laid out in rows and columns

When you create a new document page you will now be presented with a menu like the one below. 

Empty Document with block options
Image 2.  Empty Document with block options 

It is advisable to chunk your content into separate blocks in order to take advantage of the new layout features.

Existing document pages will remain as they are but once you click edit you will be able to utilise the features.

Demo of Document page Content Editor

Convert a File

With the addition of the new file converter option, you can upload any Word/PowerPoint or PDF directly to the page and it will bring in text and images.  It will even bring in Alt text if they have been included in your original document. 

Simply select ‘Convert a File’ from inside of the document page, find the file you want to convert and select open.   It may take a couple of minutes to convert the document

Demo of Converting a File within a Document Page