HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is the set of "markup" symbols or codes inserted in a file intended for display on a World Wide Web browser. The markup tells the Web browser how to display a Web page's words and images for the user. In Blackboard, you can use HTML to add simple formatting to text entered in a text box.
By default, Blackboard will format text to 12-point, left-justified Arial. Any other formatting must be done with HTML codes. The following will introduce you to some basic HTML codes you can use yourself to add simple formatting to Blackboard documents. If you have your Text Box Editor (WYSIWYG) turned off, knowing some basic HTML will be especially helpful in enhancing the look of Blackboard class.
Bold
<b>This is bold text.</b> This is bold text.
Italic
<i>This is text in italics.</i> This is text in italics.
Headings
<h1>This is heading one</h1>
<h2>This is heading two</h2>
<h3>This is heading three</h3>
Font Size
<font size="4">This is font size 4.</font> This is font size 4. <font size="+2">This is font size+2.</font> This is font size+2.
Font Color
<font color="#FF0000">Red</font> Red <font color="#3333FF">Blue</font> Blue <font color="#00CC00">Green</font> Green
Inserting a Hyperlink
<a href=”http://cnn.com”>This is CNN</a> This is CNN
Inserting Line Breaks
<br> will insert a hard return (no </br> tag needed) <p> will insert a return and an extra line (no </p> tag needed)
Inserting a Line
<hr> will insert a horizontal line across your screen.
When creating a new document in Blackboard, users are presented with a “Content Information” area. Within this area is a “Text” field that allows for HTML tags. To enter HTML tags follow these steps: Choose HTML tags (using table above) and type the appropriate tag and your text in the “Text” field. Select the “HTML” radio button below the field. If you do not, your students will see your HTML tags. Please Note: both the “Smart Text” and “Plain Text” options will convert a URL into a link. When using “HTML” the user MUST use the hyperlink tag (see table left) to insert a link. Use the Preview button to see how your text will appear to your students.
Course developers should not feel like the have to learn everything about HTML. It is possible to use Web authoring tools to generate the HTML for you. There are many applications you could use for this. Some of the most popular are: Word processors. Microsoft Word, Corel WordPerfect, Apple AppleWorks, and almost every other contemporary word processor contains the ability to convert your word processing documents to a Web page coded in HTML. However, the conversion from a word processing document to an HTML Web page is often far from perfect, especially for documents with complex formatting.
WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) Web authoring tools. These tools provide an environment similar to a word processor for Web page Development and entire Web sites and is now available on MATC's version of Blackboard.
Again, there are many products you could choose from in this category. Some of the most popular are Macromedia Dreamweaver, Adobe GoLive, NetObjects Fusion, and Microsoft FrontPage. The major browsers also come with free Web authoring tools. Netscape Composer is part of Netscape Communicator, and Microsoft FrontPage Express (a scaled back version of FrontPage) can be bundled with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Unlike word processors, Web authoring tools offer you an authoring environment tailored specifically to create Web pages. The Web, however, poses different problems than a print medium. For example, a Web page might appear different depending on which browser the audience is using, whether they're on Windows or Macintosh, etc. When using a Web authoring tool, you will not have the same level of control over the online medium that a word processor offers over the printed page, however creating well formatted Web pages will be much simpler with a Web authoring tool than if you relying upon a word processor's "Save as HTML" conversion.
HTML Editors: Applications like BareBones Software's BBEdit and Allaire HomeSite provide an editing environment for HTML documents. While they are not WYSIWYG, HTML editors usually have a "preview" mode that allows you to switch between viewing the raw HTML codes and previewing how those codes will look in the browser. These products will help you write HTML faster and easier, but they presume you already have knowledge of HTML. Experiment with some of these tools. You probably already have access to a word processor that can save your documents as HTML. Some of the Web authoring tools and HTML editors provide free trial downloads from their Websites, and the ones tied to browsers (Microsoft FrontPage Express and Netscape Composer) are entirely free.
After developing your Web page, you have two options for including that content in Blackboard:
For the former approach, just upload the HTML file as you would any other document. Blackboard will also automatically detect images in an HTML file and prompt you to upload the images as well.
For the latter, you will need to go through several steps:
If there are <IMG> tags in the HTML, Blackboard will automatically detect them after you submit the form. You'll receive a second form prompting you to upload the appropriate images. However, if you have other media (video, audio, Flash, Shockwave Director, Authorware, etc.) embedded in your HTML page or if you have included JavaScript scripts in the portion of your document, then you will need to package the file(s) before uploading.
Other Resources If you are interested in learning more about HTML, here are some online resources. Introduction to HTML This tutorial from Case Western Reserve University is an excellent starting point for beginners. The Beginner's Guide to HTML Even though HTML isn't a supercomputing application, the National Center for Supercomputing Applications has a great HTML tutorial. And they should know they're the people who created Mosaic, the first graphical Web Browser. Web Mastery The Web Mastery site has a lot of good information. More importantly, the "Learning HTML" section of this site links to dozens of other good tutorials. The Yale C/AIM Web Style Guide Not an HTML tutorial per se, but if you want to become skilled at HTML, you're going to have to start thinking about interface design and page design. The Yale Center for Advanced Interactive Media's Web Style Guide is an excellent introduction to those topics. The World Wide Web Consortium The World Wide Web Consortium (or W3C, for short) is a nonprofit group that is responsible for maintaining the official HTML standards. This is the end all, be all for official HTML information, though it is probably too technical for beginners.
CETL Instructional Technology : http://matcmadison.edu/cetl/ You may also obtain technical and educational support by contacting: Dennis James at 608-243-4501 or by e-mail to djames@matcmadison.edu
Last Updated: November 12, 2007