How to put an RSS feed on the main BB page

Create the channel in the BB system

1. determine the URL of the RSS feed
   1. for a feed generated out of Wordpress for a specific set/category of posts it will look like http://blogs.williams.edu/oit/category/security?feed=rss where 'security' is the name of the category int his example
2. log in to BB using an account that has system administrator privileges
3. go to the System Admin tab
4. under Blackboard Community System Management click Channels
5. add a new Channel
   1. the Title is the name by which you will refer to the feed in the BB system
   2. the Description is largely for administrative documentation - end users generally won't see it
   3. generally leave the Image Source and Image Link empty
   4. the Data Source is where you put the feed URL
   5. the update frequency is how often the BB system checks for new content in the feed
      1. even if this is set to a really short time, the users won't actually see the new content until they refresh the page containing the feed

Create a module containing the feed/channel

1. go to the System Admin tab
2. under  Blackboard Community System Management click Modules
3. add a new Module to display the channel - this takes two steps
   1. First Step : General Properties of the Module
      1. the Title is both the name by which you will refer to it in the BB system AND the name the user will see (though if you don't want them to see it you can check the box to keep the title hidden)
      2. pick Channel from the drop down list for Module Type
      3. leave the Reference Name blank - not sure what it's for, but it's optional
      4. the Description is again mostly internal documentation
      5. under Availability, set the radio buttons to Yes
      6. click Submit to go to the next step
   2. Second Step : setting the feed
      1. select the channel you'd like from the drop-down list
      2. set the colors as you like
      3. click Submit to be done

Put the feed/channel module on the front page(s)

1. after logging in to BB go to the System Admin tab
2. under  Blackboard Community System Management click Tabs
3. click the the Modify link for the Blackboard @ Williams Login tab
4. click the Default Content link
5. check the Displayed and Required boxes for the feed module
6. click Submit
7. click the Default Layout link
8. under Set Content Layout position the module(s) as desired
9. click Submit
10. If you want it to be seen also after a user logs in, repeat 4-9 for the Blackboard @ Williams tab
11. Your DONE! Now go look at the pre- and post- login pages to make sure it looks right

 How often is PeopleSoft-Blackboard link updated? (ie, When do Add/Drops get updated?)

Updates from PeopleSoft occur twice a day. Approximately 8-9AM and again at approximately 5-6PM. The differences depend on daylight savings.