Copying, Importing, and Exporting Brightspace Components

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Summary

Instructors can copy components of a Brightspace course (i.e., the source course), transferring some or all of its content, activities, and structural elements to another Brightspace course (i.e., the target course).

Instructors can import Brightspace course components into their Brightspace courses using export packages they created or that are shared with them by colleagues. Export packages are zip files that contain either all or selected course components (e.g., content, quizzes). Packages do not include student data (e.g., class lists, grades, assignment submissions).

Instructors can export Brightspace course components as a backup and to share with colleagues for importing into their own courses. Export packages are zip files that contain either all or selected course components (e.g., content, quizzes). Packages do not include student data (e.g., class lists, grades, assignment submissions).

Information Applies to

Faculty

Copying Components

Sign in to Brightspace and open the target course into which you want to copy components.
Select the Course Admin link at the top of the course homepage.
On the Course Administration page, select Import/Export/Copy Components listed under Site Resources.
On the Import/Export/Copy Components page, Copy Components from another Org Unit (i.e., course) should be selected by default. Click the Search for offering button.
In the course search popup window, enter a keyword and/or adjust the search options. Select the Search button to see a list of available source courses. Selecting Search without a keyword or search options produces a list of all your Brightspace courses on the server. It helps to be as specific as possible in this search, especially if you have multiple sections of multiple courses.
In the course search popup window, select the source course from which you want to copy and select the Add Selected button.
On the Import/Export/Copy Components page, double-check that the correct source course is listed. Then select the Select Components button at the bottom of the page.
Check the Select All checkbox to copy everything or pick and choose the components you want to copy. By default, Copy all items is selected for each component. If you want to copy selected items within a component (e.g., a subset of quizzes), choose Select individual items to copy. Select the Continue button at the bottom of the page.
If you chose Select individual items to copy for any of the components, you will be presented with a list of items for each component. Select the items you want to copy and click the Continue button to advance to the next component. Note that you may need to select the "+" icon next to the different categories that are listed to expand the list.
Confirm the material you are going to copy and select the Finish button. Select the Modify link if you want to make any changes.
You will see a Copy Summary page that will show the progress of the copy process. Wait until everything is copied. Successful copies will be indicated with a green check mark. Click the Done button.

Pro Tips

When copying course content, make sure to select both the Content and Course Files check boxes. In the copy process, Content refers to your table of contents (i.e., the names of modules and topics). Course Files refer to the actual files to which some of your topics link (e.g., Word and PowerPoint documents). If you just copy Content and not Course Files, you will only get your table of contents and any topic link that connects to a file will be broken. If you do this by mistake, you can simply repeat the copy process and copy the Course Files only.
If you elect to copy all components from a previous semester's course, this will copy over all restrictions (e.g., end dates) with old dates and times. These dates and times will need to be edited to correspond to the current semester. If you don't want these time-sensitive settings copied, don't select the Content Display Settings, Grade Settings, and Release Conditions components. If you do copy time-sensitive information from a previous semester, use the Manage Dates Tool to edit this information quickly.
After a copy, review your course to confirm that everything was copied and is working properly.

Importing Components

Sign in to Brightspace and open the course you want to import or copy into.
Select Course Admin and then select Import/Export/Copy Components.
Select the Import Components radio button and the from a course package radio button under Select a component source. Select Start.
Select the Upload button, find the .zip file on your computer or OneDrive, and select Open to upload the file.
Select the Import All Components button if you want to import everything. If you want to select components from the export package, pick the Advanced Options... button. Brightspace will begin downloading and reading the package. This may take a few seconds. Select Continue when it's ready.
If you selected the Advanced Options... button, select which components to import. You can select all components, select all components of a certain type (e.g., all checklists), or select specific items of a certain type (e.g., select some content items and not others). You will also have the option to set some Advanced Options. Typically, you use the default settings, but the options are discussed under Pro Tips below. Select Continue.
If you opted to select specific items of a certain type, you will be asked to select the items, one type at a time. Continue this process for every item type.
Confirm your selections. The Advanced Options are presented again in case you want to change any of them. Select Continue and the import process will begin (Fig 6).
When the import process completes, select View Content to go to the table of contents for your course. You can also import another export package or select Review and Manage Dates to go to the Manage Dates tool.

Pro Tips

When importing a course package of any sort, never pick Import All Components. Always pick Advanced Options... even if you are going to import everything. This gives you a chance to explore what's in the export package just in case there's stuff in there you don't need.
One of the Advanced Options is whether to overwrite files with the same filename. The default is "no." Think carefully before changing that. For example, if you are importing from a package that includes a file called syllabus.docx and you choose to overwrite, this file will replace the existing one. If you choose not to overwrite, this file will be added as if it was a unique file. Thus, you may have two topics in your table of contents called Syllabus. Duplication of topics and files can also happen if you upload the same export package to the same course more than once. Contact TLT (tlt@winona.edu) if you ever find yourself in a jam and need to reset your course.
Any dates and times associated with activities and content will probably need to be adjusted. One of the Advanced Options is Offest all dates of imported components. This can help you get dates into the ballpark in cases where you can calculate the amount of time that has elapsed since the things in the export package were last used. Select Calculate range between two dates to use a calendar to pick the first day of that previous term and the first day of the current term. This will not fix all dates and times, but it will get you within a few days.
When you import a .zip file, you can use an Advanced Option to specify where in the files area of your course it will save it. It defaults to the root folder of your course, but you could put it into a subfolder if you wish. Most people don't worry too much about under-the-hood file management in D2L, but some do.
Importing metadata can be important if you are doing things with SCORM and reusable learning objects in your courses. If you are, then check this checkbox in Advanced Options. Otherwise, you don't need to worry about it. If you have questions, contact TLT (tlt@winona.edu).

Exporting Components

When you export a Brightspace course, it generates a file with a .zip extension that you download and save. This special file type includes many other files zipped up into a single file or package. Sometimes these files are called cartridges (e.g., by textbook publishers). You can then unzip or extract all the files from the package later. Brightspace, and other popular LMSs, include an import function that allows you to extract and upload what you want from the course package into another course. Publishers also use these course packages or cartridges to deliver supplementary materials (e.g., test banks, presentations). They typically email the .zip file or provide a link to it and you import it into your Brightspace course as you would a Brightspace course package.

Sign in to Brightspace and open the course you want to export.
Select Course Admin and then select Import/Export/Copy Components.
Select the Export as Brightspace Package radio button and then select Start. Select Common Cartridge or Thin Common Cartridge if you are interested in importing into another LMS (e.g., Canvas).
Use the checkboxes to select the course components for export. You can select all components, select all components of a certain type (e.g., all checklists), or select specific items of a certain type (e.g., select some content items and not others). Select Continue.
If you opted to select specific items of a certain type, you will be asked to select the items, one type at a time. Continue this process for every item type.
Confirm your selections. Check the Include course files in the export package checkbox if you included Content items in the export package.
Brightspace will begin building the export package zip file. Select Done to return to your course.
When the zip file is ready, you will see a new notification in your Update Alerts list. Select that new notification.
Select the link to the zip file to begin downloading a copy.
Save the file to your local hard drive or your OneDrive. You can rename the file if you wish, but do not change the file type from .zip.

Pro Tips

If you don't want to mess with deciding which components to export, check the Select All Components checkbox and save some steps. You probably only need to worry about this if you are sharing your course with someone else, in which case you might want to be more selective.
You can only export Brightspace courses in which you are listed as the Instructor.
The export package is a zip file. Once you download it, you can move, copy, and share it as you would any file. It can be imported into another Brightspace course or opened directly (e.g., to extract individual files).
If you added Kaltura MediaSpace videos to your course, either by embedding them in files you created using the HTML Editor or via the Kaltura Media integration, and you want to include those links in your export package, make sure to select External Learning Tool Links when you select components to export. You can then decide to export all of them or select some.
Links to integrated textbook resources (e.g., Cengage, Elsevier) and other integrated applications (e.g., Flip, VoiceThread, Tevara) won't function properly when imported into another course. You always want to create these links to third-party integrated applications from scratch each term.
The default name of the export package is not very readable (e.g., D2LExport_1749836_201210543.zip). It includes the course ID, but not the course name. Either rename the file to something easier to understand (you won't break it) or organize your export packages into folders with the course names and semesters specified. Otherwise, it may be challenging to find the right export package when you want to upload it to a new course later.
Remember, export packages may include date and time restrictions, hidden modules and content topics, and release conditions tied to the term in which you previously taught the course. These will need to be updated to correspond to the current term after import.
There are two other ways to share Brightspace course components: via a shared sandbox course and using a shared learning object repository.

Learn More

Need additional information or assistance? Contact WSU TLT by email, phone (507.457.5240, option 3), or Zoom.

Copying, Importing, and Exporting Brightspace Components

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Summary

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Copying Components

Pro Tips

Importing Components

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Exporting Components

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