Quick Navigation

Northern Illinois University

Teaching with Blackboardme

Adding Content

A wide variety of types of content can be uploaded to Blackboard, including:

  • Microsoft Office files (.DOC, .XLS, .PPT, .MDB, .PUB, .etc.)
  • Read-only files (.SWF, .PDF)
  • Image files (.GIF, .JPG, .PNG, .BMP, etc.)
  • Plain & rich text files <.TXT, .RTF, .CSV, .etc.)
  • Multimedia presentations (.SWF)
  • Audio & video (.WMV, .SWF, .FLA, .etc.)
  • ...virtually any file type that a user can open on his/her computer

In addition, external links may be added to a course making it possible to link to any freely-available online content, such as

  • Websites
  • Streaming audio
  • Streaming video
  • Podcasts
  • RSS feeds
  • Social bookmarks
  • ...and the list goes on!

Finally, pre-built supplemental course materials (ie: quiz questions, supplemental readings, learning objects, etc.) offered by textbook companies and often referred to as "course cartridges" may be easily uploaded into Blackboard.

Learn more about adding course materials here.

Blackboard Frequently Asked Questions FAQ


Find more answers...
Are you looking for more information related to posting course content in Blackboard? Review the answers to frequently asked questions asked by NIU faculty and staff regarding course content in Blackboard. Also, consider attending an upcoming Blackboard workshop.

Last Updated: 09/05/2007