Blackboard Learn: Course Cartridges

Blackboard Learn: Course Cartridges
Course cartridges are publisher-made courses, available to instructors that adopt textbooks with a
course cartridge component. Not all books will have course cartridges available. Many textbooks have
test questions but have no other course materials available, while other books may not have any
supplemental material available at all -- your publisher representative can tell you more.
Course cartridges are essentially the same as e-packs for Vista. The process for setting up a course
cartridge, though, is quite different.
Requesting a Course Cartridge
One way to obtain a course cartridge is to communicate with a publisher representative for your
textbook. Alternatively, you can use the Blackboard’s Course Cartridge Catalog at
http://cartridges.blackboard.com/catalog/cartridge_catalog.pl. With either method, it is good to
request the cartridge well in advance. If you wait until the semester is about to start, the publishers will
be very busy with other requests.
The publisher will respond to your request by email, providing you with a Course Cartridge Download
Key – a code that you use to get the course materials. This is different from Vista, where you were given
a potentially large file from the publisher.
Using the Course Cartridge Download Key
The code that you receive from the publisher can be put into any Blackboard Learn course, provided it
does not already have course cartridge content in it.
From the Control Panel, expand the Packages and Utilities area. Click on
Import Course Cartridge.
Enter your access key in the space provided and click the Submit button.
When Learn has finished importing the cartridge content, it will let you
know in an email, provided that you have your email address in your profile.
Your course may look considerably different after importing the course cartridge, depending upon how
the publisher has designed it. Some content folders may now require that students have access codes,
but instructors can still view these materials without needing a code. Moving any of the cartridge
content will not bypass the code requirement for students.
1 Updated January 11, 2012

Student Access Codes
Students that have purchased new textbooks should get working access codes included with their
textbook. Otherwise, students will need to purchase access codes. There will usually be information
inside the textbook telling students how to purchase their access codes.
Once students have entered their access key, they will have access to all the course materials.
Copying a Course Cartridge
When copying a course cartridge course into a blank shell course, there is a checkbox that you will need
to check to make sure that the course cartridge materials are included.
This method will copy the course cartridge content only. The access codes are not copied and are
essentially refreshed – students in the new course will need to acquire their own access codes.
2 Updated January 11, 2012