Faculty - Sharing a OneDrive file with your students in Blackboard

To share a OneDrive file with your students in Blackboard:

Step 1: Get the share link for the file you would like to share.

• Navigate to your OneDrive and locate the file.
   
• Put your mouse over the file to reveal the share icon and click on it 
   
• The Send Link box will open (first screenshot below), and from here you can select your options for sharing by clicking where it says "People you specify can edit." It will open the Link Settings page (second screenshot below)
   
   
• For sharing content in Blackboard, you have two options:
  • Option 1: You can choose to share your file with the setting "Anyone with the link" which will guarantee all of your students can access the content, regardless of whether they've ever logged into Office 365. Note that a student could potentially take the link and share it outside of the course and outside of the College. If this is an issue for you, you'll want to use Option 2 below.
    • If you are a Cumberland instructor, you must to use this setting for Cumberland students to access your file. Cumberland students do not currently have access to Office 365.
  • Option 2: You can choose to share your file with the setting "People in RCSJ with the link" which will allow all of your students to access the content as long as they sign into their Office 365 account. Only those who can authenticate with an RCSJ username and password can access this content.
    • For some students, they won't be asked to sign in when they click to view the document because they've recently authenticated to Office 365.
    • For some students, they will be taken to the Office 365 login page and will have to login with their RCSJ account.
       
• Next, determine if you would like to allow your students to edit the file you are sharing. In most cases you will probably want to uncheck the "Allow Editing" box.
   
• You are given the option to set an expiration date. It you want to ensure the file is no longer available after a certain date, go ahead and put that in.
  • Note: if you set a date here, when you do a course copy to a new semester in the future, you will need to create a new share link and update the one that exists in your course. If you want to keep things simple, do not use an expiration date.
     
• Next you have the option of setting a password. If you set a password, everyone who accesses the file will need to enter the password to view the file. For the purpose of sharing this link within Blackboard, you should not set a password.
   
• If you disabled editing, you will now have the option to block your students from downloading a copy of the file. Choose the option you prefer.
  • Note: if you want your students to use the file for an assignment (for example, type in answers to questions and submit the file back to you for grading), you'll want to make sure they can download a copy.
     
• Next, click the Apply button to save your settings and you'll be taken back to the Send Link page. From here, click "Copy Link" to create your shareable link. (screenshot below)
  
   
• The link has automatically been copied to your clipboard. To be safe, you may want to click the blue COPY button and paste the URL into a document for easy reference in the next step. You're ready to move onto Step 2.

Step 2: Post the share link in your eLearning/Blackboard course

• Log into eLearning/Blackboard, and go into the course where you'd like to post the link.
   
• Navigate to the place within your course where you'd like to post the link. (Click here for instructions on how to create a Content Area in your course.)
   
• Go to Build Content >> Web Link to be taken to the Create Web Link page
   
• On this page, type in the name you'd like students to see (example: Course Syllabus)
   
• Next, paste the URL you copied from the end of Step 1 into the provided text area.
   
• You can type additional instructions or information into the large text box under the "Description" heading. 
  • Note: You might consider adding text that says something like, "Click the link above to be taken to the Course Syllabus." This will help explain to students where to click to view the content.
     
• Skip over the option to add attachments
   
• Leave the default setting for Web Link Options (open in a new window = yes)
   
• Under the Select Date and Time Restrictions, feel free to enter a date, or skip this section to make the link always available to students. 
   
• Then click the Submit button!