What can I do about large files in my course?

Blackboard is not a streaming server so it cannot adjust the size of a file according to the user's internet speed or device's capacity. As a result, large files must be served entirely to the user, which slows down access for everyone. This isn't as much of an issue on campus, but off campus internet access or mobile data connections can make it challenging for students to access these large files. Even if a file is under the limit, the connection speed between the user's browser and our Blackboard Learn server might create browser timeout issues when downloading or attempting to view very large files.

Here are some ways instructors can manage their large course files:

Video 

• Link to videos rather than uploading video files to a course. Upload your videos to Panopto or Youtube, then link to them in your course.

  • Unlisted YouTube videos help protect your content while still making them available to students.

  • Be mindful of intellectual property rules, however, if you do not own the video content. For example, it might not be legal to host a video from National Geographic on Vimeo, even if you licensed it to use in a course, but you may still be able to find that content through the NatGeo website or channel.
    
    

Reduce File Sizes

• Before uploading, reduce file sizes for:

  • Microsoft Office Files

    • Use the tools available in Microsoft Office to reduce file size for Powerpoint and Word files.

    • Additional Microsoft Office resources are available here.

    • You can also save files as PDFs before uploading, which often makes smaller, read-only versions of the files.

  • Images

    • Use the GIF for graphics with fewer colors, graphics that contain text, or graphics that contain large blocks of one color

    • Use the JPG format for graphics with many colors and details such as photos 

    • Avoid TIFF and BMP

    • Use a graphics program to resize images for screen viewing before uploading. There are several free online services:

      • Image Optimizer

      • Shrink Pictures

      • PicResize

  • Audio 

    • Use software to resample or trim audio files to reduce their size.

Send the file to a compressed ZIP folder

• Windows:

  • Right click on the file.

  • Scroll to Send to.

  • At the next contextual menu, click Compressed (zipped) folder.

  • A progress pop-up will open as Windows processes the file.

  • Check your computer for the file. It will have the same name plus zip (e.g., image.zip).

• Mac:

  • Control - click on the file.

  • Scroll to Compress (file name).

  • A progress pop-up will open as the Mac OS processes the file.

  • Check your computer for the file. It will have the same name plus zip (e.g., image.zip).

Course Files 

• In general, watch for:

  • Unused files and folders

  • Duplicate files

  • Outdated files