# Blackboard

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## Purpose

Connect a **Blackboard course** as a data source so a mentor can read course content and attached files, cite them, and answer questions from that material.

## Part 1 — Install the REST API Integration (Blackboard Admin)

1. In the **Blackboard Developer Panel**, create (or use) an application and copy its **Application ID** (this ID will be shared for installations).
2. In your Blackboard instance, open the **Admin Panel → search REST API Integrations**.
3. Click **Create Integration** and paste the **Application ID**.
4. Choose a user to link to the application (pick one who has access to the course).
**Permissions noted in the demo:**
  - Authorized to act as user: **Not needed**
  - Any user access: **Yes**
5. Submit. The test application shows as **integrated**.


## Part 2 — Add the Blackboard Course as a Data Source (Mentor Platform)

1. In Blackboard, open the **target course** and copy the **course URL** from your browser.
2. In the mentor’s **Datasets**, choose **Blackboard** as the data source.
3. Paste the **course URL** and click **Submit**.
4. The document queues for **training**; once trained, it appears in the list.
5. *(Optional)* Mark it **Visible** so you can see cited content.


## How It Works in Chat

- The mentor can answer questions from the **course’s text content** and **attached files** (e.g., PDFs).
- Source snippets appear, showing exactly **where the answer was drawn from**.


**Example (from the demo):**
A question about **Las Casas’s writing** returns an answer about Spanish colonists’ treatment of Indigenous people, with snippets pointing to the relevant attached documents/sections.

## Auto-Retraining

- By default, the Blackboard content is set to **auto-retrain every 7 days**.
- You can reschedule this to any number of days.


## Result

Your mentor now **ingests the specified Blackboard course and its attachments**, cites where answers come from, and stays **up to date via scheduled retraining**.