When to Use?
As an instructor, you can upload an image to be the thumbnail in the Courses page in Ultra Base Navigation. It can also be the internal course banner inside Ultra courses.
To create a Course Banner with the correct dimensions, instructors can use the attached banner template for creating a custom banner for use in their course. The size of the slide template has been pre-configured for 1200 pixels x 240 pixels, (12.5” x 2.5”). There is no need to make any changes to the slide size. Simply open the template in PowerPoint and insert an image and/or text to the template to suit your requirements. When you export/save the slide as a PNG image, it will automatically be sized to 1200 x 240, which is the needed size for an Ultra Course Banner.
Procedure
NOTE: To complete the next steps, you will need the Bb Ultra Course Banner Template. If you already have this file, proceed to Step 1, if you do not, please download and save the "Bb Ultra Course Banner Template_1200 x 240.pptx" file found in the Attachments section of this page (bottom-right corner of the screen) to complete the steps described below.
A complete set of instructions for exporting your newly created Banner as a PNG file and then uploading it into your Blackboard Ultra course have been added to the Notes section of the template. Otherwise, you can follow the steps below:
Steps for exporting Powerpoint slides as PNG:
1. Edit the GV Banner Template to fit your course description and instructor information. Make sure the first slide is selected.
2. Click on ‘File > Export’ in the toolbar at the top of the screen.
3. Change the Name of your file and the location you want to save it to.
4. Change the file format to ‘PNG’
5. Check that the width is set to ‘1200’ and the height to ‘240’
6. Click ‘Export’
Steps for uploading your Banner to Blackboard:
1. From the Courses tab, click on Grid view to view course banner (card) images.
2. Click on the three dots in the upper-right corner of a course banner's image and select Edit course image to add a new image. Click Save.
3. Enable the toggle for the Course Image, and it will show as a course banner on the course homepage. Include an image description for improved accessibility for those who use screen readers. Click Save.
