How do I get rid of those weird characters that show up when pasting text from Word into Blackboard?

You may copy and paste text from Microsoft Word into Notepad(PC) or Text Editor(MAC). This will rid the text of any extracted code or special characters before pasting into Blackboard. All formatting will be lost in this process.

In Word, the default setting for quotation marks and apostrophes is something called "Smart Quotes." This setting replaces "regular" quotes with the curly quotes. When you paste text into Bb, the text editor converts it automatically to HTML to be viewed on the Web.

Since Blackboard's text editor doesn't know what to do with "smart quotes, it replaces each "character" with a question mark. There is also a setting that converts two hyphens (--) into a long dash. If you do a lot of copy/pasting from Word you can turn off the "smart quotes" feature:

1. In Word, go to the TOOLS menu --> AUTOCORRECT.
2. Click the Format as you Type tab.
3. The first box is "Straight Quotes" with "Smart Quotes." Uncheck the box.
4. OPTIONAL: Uncheck the hyphen/dash box.

For existing text, you'll have to use FIND and REPLACE (from the Edit Menu) to change the "smart quotes" to "straight quotes" for the changes to take effect.

Directions for Uploading Video to iTunes U (Mac & PC)

1. Get started with the uploading process by first downloading and installing iTunes: http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/

2. Have your materials ready to post. Please note that only Quicktime (.mov) and MPEG-4 (.mp4) files are compatible with iTunes U. If you have another format, such as .avi, .mpg, etc., your video must be converted to Quicktime. Using Quicktime Pro ($30) is the easiest way to do this.

3. Log into iTunes U. using your network/email login info by going to http://itunes.philau.edu and clicking the “click here to launch iTunes U” link.

4. iTunes should automatically open on your computer. iTunes U will launch in the iTunes Store.

5. Select your program

6. Next, select your course

7. Once you are on your course page, choose “upload and manage files” from the right hand navigation menu. Note: you may not see any many options as pictured.

8. Clicking “upload and manage files” will launch your web browser and open the “Upload and Manage Files” page. Scroll down to the bottom of this page and click “Add New File.”

9, Click “Browse” and locate the video you wish to upload. Remember: only Quicktime videos will successfully upload.

10. Once you have chosen your video file, it will be added to the upload Queue. You will begin to see the upload progress in MB. Although iTunes accepts file sizes up to 500MB, it is important to note that these files may take VERY long to upload (especially if you are not on a broadband connection). It is highly recommended that your video is edited to a reasonable length and compressed to an acceptable video quality.

If you need further assistance or consultation with editing or video conversion, please contact Mark Clauburg, Instructional Design Specialist, by emailing clauburgm@philau.edu or calling 215-951-6332.