Blackboard: General Information - Course Size and File Size Limitations

1. Currently there are no limits on the overall size of a Blackboard course site. However ITS has placed limits on the size of an individual file uploaded to a Blackboard course site.

• No individual file uploaded to a Blackboard course site can be larger than 50MB.

2. The following are some tips to lowering the overall size of your Blackboard course site.

• If you do not plan to use the Digital Dropbox function remove student access to the dropbox by going to Control Panel / Manage Tools / Enable Blackboard Tools. This will display the Enable Blackboard Tools form. Uncheck the box marked "Dropbox" and click on the "Submit" button at the bottom of the page. This will remove the digital dropbox from student access.
• At the end of each semester, when the student accounts have been removed, delete all of the files in your digital drop box. This can be done manually one-at-a-time by clicking on the "Remove" button located to the right of each item. You can also remove all of your dropbox files by going to Control Panel / Recycle Course. This will display the Recycle Course form. Checkmark "Dropbox" then type in "Remove" in the box at the bottom of the page. Click on "Submit". This will delete all of the files located in your digital dropbox.
• The Digital Dropbox function allows students to upload any number of files without sending them to the instructor. Generally speaking, it is much safer to use the Assignment function to exchange files with students than the Dropbox function.
• If possible, do not allow attachments to discussion board items. This can be adjusted by clicking on the "Modify" button for any Discussion forum and un-checking the "allow file attachments" option.
• Do not allow Groups to have access to the file exchange function unless required for the class. Students can upload any number of files to the group's file exchange if this option is allowed.

3. File size limitations can be affected by the size of files posted to the site by the instructor or TA. There are 4 file types that generally pose file size problems.

• Media Files:
  Adding audio or video files of any length can easily surpass file size limits or course size limits. For this reason ITS has configured a Streaming Real Media server to be used in conjunction with the Blackboard course sites. As a free service, ITS will convert any audio or video file to a Streaming Real Media format. They will also digitize any VHS (either NTSC or PAL), DVC, DVD or CD media into streaming Real Media format. Real streaming media format allows the video or audio to be "streamed" to the user allowing for extremely large file sizes to be viewed with very little downloading time. Since the Real Media file is accessed via a link you place on your Blackboard course site, the size of the audio or video file does not affect the size limitations in Blackboard.
• If you have such media and would like it transferred or digitized into streaming Real Media format, contact Neal Hirsig at: nhirsig@tufts.edu or 617-627-4026.
  
• Scanned PDF Documents:
  When scanning documents to Adobe Acrobat make sure that the scanner is set to "Black and White" document scanning. "Black and White Document" scanning creates an initial file of approximately 300KB per 8 1/2 x 11 inch page. Scanning at "True Color" or "Color Photo" setting creates an initial file of approximately 7.3MB per 8 1/2 x 11 inch page.
• Use the latest version of Adobe Acrobat (Version 6) to save PDF document. This version has much better compression characteristics than earlier versions of Adobe Acrobat.
• You can sometimes lower the file size of an old PDF document by opening it up in Adobe Acrobat Version 6 and using the File / Reduce File Size command which saves the file in Version 6 PDF format.
• Some old PDF files, especially those scanned in True Color setting, cannot be reduced in size using the Acrobat File / Reduce File Size function. These files need to be transformed as a series of JPG image files and then a new Acrobat PDF file is created from these multiple files.
• As a free service, ITS will transform any existing PDF file. They will also scan documents and convert them into PDF formatted files. ITS employs an automatic document feeder and will on scan 8 1/2 x 11 inch single-sided Xerox originals. They will not scan books or magazines.
• If you have documents that you would like transformed or scanned into PDF format, contact Neal Hirsig at: nhirsig@tufts.edu or 617-627-4026.
  
• PowerPoint Files:
  Microsoft PowerPoint documents can sometimes result in extremely large file sizes. This is usually the result of incorporating large format or high resolution images into the PowerPoint presentation. This may be of value when presenting the PowerPoint in class but presents problems when delivered over the Internet via a Blackboard course site.
• To reduce the size of a PowerPoint presentation see Blackboard Step-By-Step: Using PowerPoint in Blackboard.
  
• Word Documents with large images:
  The same problem that might apply to a PowerPoint presentation with regards to large format and high resolution images also applies to Word documents containing such images.
• To reduce the size of a Word document containing images, see Blackboard Step-By-Step: Using PowerPoint in Blackboard.
• As a free service, ITS will optimize any existing MS Word file containing images to be used on a Blackboard course site.
• If you have a Word file that you would like optimized for Blackboard, contact Neal Hirsig at: nhirsig@tufts.edu or 617-627-4026.
  

If you have any questions or comments regarding this Step-By-Step procedure contact the Tufts Blackboard Administrator at: nhirsig@tufts.edu