Copy content from one shell to another

Use this method if you have the Instructor role in both the source shell and the destination shell.

1. Inside your destination course, go to Course Admin > Site Resources section > Import / Export / Copy Components.

2. Select the option to Copy components from another org unit.

3. Click the Search for offering button.

4. Enter the course code of your original course (the course containing the contents to be copied) in the field, then click the magnifying glass.

5. Select the appropriate course shell from the search results.

6. Click the Add Selected button at the bottom of the page. The popup window will close.

7. Choose whether to Copy All Components or Select Components to be copied.

If you chose to copy all components:

The copy process may take some time to complete. Once it is complete, you may choose to Copy Another Package, View Content (which will bring you directly to the Content section of your destination course shell) or Review and Manage Dates (which will bring you directly to the Manage Dates tool).

If you chose to select specific components to copy

1. You will see a list of the various areas of the course, including things like Content, Course Files, etc. Check the boxes for the items that you wish to copy into the destination course. If you don't wish to copy all items from a tool, select the appropriate setting. You will be given further options on subsequent pages.

2. Click Continue.

IMPORTANT: for some things to copy over completely, you may need to select more than one component. For example, if you have any attached files or tests in your Content modules, you should also check Course Files, Grades and Quizzes. (We will try to include some of these pairings below, for your convenience).

3. At this point, if you are copying components from a course shell from a previous term, you can use the Offset Dates settings to shift any due/start/end dates/times on content a given number of days forward, to reflect the dates of the term of your new course shell.

If you know the number of days/hours you wish to shift, choose Offset all dates of copied components, select Offset by direction and range, choose the direction and number of days and/or hours.

If you don't know the number of days but you know the date from the previous course and the date you wish to use in the new course shell, choose Calculate range between two dates, and you will then see options to select the dates.

4. Click the Finish button to complete the content copy. This process may take some time to complete - please don't close your browser until it is finished.

Once it is complete, you may choose to Copy Another Package, View Content (which will bring you directly to the Content section of your destination course shell) or Review and Manage Dates (which will bring you to the Manage Dates tool).

Find the Import/Export/Copy Components tool

1. Click on Course Admin, in the menu bar.
2. Locate Import/Export/Copy Components

Start the "Export" Process

• Select "Export as Brightspace Package" from the list of options.
• Click the "Start" button

Select the areas you want to export

• Check the boxes for all of the areas that you want to include in the export file.
• If you want to export only certain pieces (i.e. a specific Quiz), be sure to check "Select individual items to export"
• Click "Start" to begin the export process.

For tips on which areas to select when exporting specific things, please see the tips section of this page.

Select specific items

In the previous step, if you indicated that you want to select specific items within an area (i.e. individual quizzes), you will be given the opportunity to select those items now.

Each area type will have its own screen. This is an example of selecting a specific quiz from the list of quizzes.

Click "Continue" to proceed to the next screen at each step.

Confirmation and summary pages

Please carefully review the confirmation and summary pages to ensure the correct items are part of the export file.

*IF you want to include any attached files or embedded images, be sure to check "Include course files in the export package".

Wait for notification that your export is complete

You will see a message confirming that your export has started. Depending on the size of your export, this may take a while. If necessary, you can leave this page to do other tasks.

When your export is ready, you will see an orange dot on the notifications item in the mini-bar at the top of the page. Click on the icon.

You will see the notification in a popup box. Click on "Export finished".

Download the export file

DO NOT click the "Done" button until after you have downloaded the export file.

Click the link to download the export file to your computer.

If the file is large, it may take some time to download. Please be patient.

Once you have confirmed that the whole file has downloaded to your computer, you may click the "Done" button.

How do I share this file with others?

As long as there is no confidential (i.e. student) information in the exported materials, you can email this file to others and direct them to the instructions on this page to import the materials to their own shell.

DO NOT, under any circumstances, try to unzip the file to use parts of it. The files in the export file are not usable on their own.

Find the Import/Export/Copy Components tool

1. Click on Course Admin, in the menu bar.
2. Locate Import/Export/Copy Components

Upload the "export" file

• Click the "Upload" button and locate the export file on your computer. Alternately, you can drag and drop the file onto the dotted box.
• Wait while the file uploads. The progress indicator will show you when it is still being uploaded.

Select your next step

If you select to import all components:

Be prepared to wait. It will take some time to read the export file and process the content to be imported.

Don't close your browser window.

If you select to import selected components:

Keep reading...

• It will read the export file and detect the areas that can be imported. This may take some time.
• You will be presented with the contents of the package and can choose which areas to import.

Start the "Import" Process

• Select "Import Components" from the list of options.
• Click the "Start" button

Upload the "export" file

• Click the "Upload" button and locate the export file on your computer. Alternatively, you can drag and drop the file onto the dashed box.
• Wait while the file uploads. The progress bar will indicate when it is still being uploaded.

Choose "Advanced Options"

While it is possible to simply "Import All Components" in one step, it isn't the recommended option.

Instead, click "Advanced Options" to walk through some important steps, including the selection of the items you want to import and the creation of a folder in which to put any files.

• Wait while Brightspace reads the export file.
• Click "Continue" when it is ready.

Select components to import

• Check the boxes for all of the areas that you want to import into your shell
• If you want to include only certain pieces (i.e. a specific quiz), be sure to check "Select individual items to import"

For tips on which areas to select when importing specific things, please see the tips section of this page.

Create a folder for imported files

If the course materials you import have the same filenames as any of your pre-existing course materials, you run the risk of having your files overwritten!

• It is important to always create a new folder for the imported files, by entering some text into the "Import file to" field.
• You can name the folder something like "imported" or name it based on the date of the import.
• Be sure to also select "Do not overwrite the existing file".
• Click "Continue" when ready.

What is the date offset for?

If there are any date & time released items (content, quizzes, etc.), you can tell Brightspace to shift the dates according to rules you give it.

This is an advanced tool and is not recommended for first-time content importers!

Select specific items

In the previous step, if you indicated that you want to select specific items within an area (i.e. individual quizzes), you will be given the opportunity to select those items now.

Each area type will have its own screen. This is an example of selecting specific question sections from the Question Library.

Click "Continue" to proceed to the next screen at each step.

Importing!

The import process may take some time to complete.

Please be patient while the process completes, and do not close your browser window.

Once you see this image, the import is complete!

• Make sure to select the entire Content section, or select specific areas of Content to copy.
• If you have any attached files in your content, you also need to select all of Course files, or the specific files you need.
• Keep in mind that in most tools, when you copy content from one course to another, you also copy any start/end/due dates, as well as release conditions. You will need to check and update these once they are copied into the new course shell.
• If you would like to retain the Content Display Settings, be sure to check that option as well.
• If you have quizzes deployed in a Content area, you likely need to select Quizzes as well (please see below for other information about copying quizzes).
• If you have Rubrics attached to any assessments, you likely need to select Competencies as well.

Which items should I select to export/import?

If you want to copy a quiz, with corresponding question library sections and an associated grade item, select the following:

• The quiz
• The question library section(s)
• The grade item

*If any of the quiz questions include embedded images or attached files, you will need to copy the Course Files.

Copied/Imported Quizzes are 'inactive'

Please note that when you import/copy a quiz from one course shell to another, the default status will be 'inactive', so that students will not be able to access the quiz until you have had a chance to review the questions and set the due/start/end dates and other restrictions. You will need to set the status to 'active' before students can see the quiz.

Check the Submission Views settings

If you had changed the Submission Views in the original shell, you should double-check them in the copied version. The settings don't copy over in all methods.

Copied/imported Intelligent Agents are 'disabled'

Please note that when you import/copy an Intelligent Agent from one course shell to another, the default status will be 'disabled'. You must review the details of any copied Intelligent Agents, and then 'enable' them, so that they will run according to the settings you choose. This is to ensure that students will not accidentally receive email messages that you are not aware of or have not approved.