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The Lesson File Format

BlackboardView lessons are written in plain text files (the kind you could open in any basic text editor). You don’t need any special software to create one — just a few simple symbols on their own lines to tell the app where your private notes end and your blackboard content begins.

This guide explains each symbol with examples, so you can write a lesson file from scratch or edit one you’ve already imported.

Why Plain Text?

Plain text files work everywhere — you can write them on your iPad, your computer, or even in an email draft, then bring them into BlackboardView with Import a Lesson. There’s no special app or account required to create one.

The Five Symbols

Your lesson is built from five simple markers, each on its own line by itself:

SymbolWhat it does
---Starts a new card (like a new slide)
>>>Separates your private notes (above) from the blackboard content (below)
>>Splits the blackboard into a new column
??Marks a spot where you can add something live, on the fly, while teaching
>text<Creates a tap-to-reveal answer button with text as the hidden answer

Everything else is just your regular notes and blackboard writing — type normally.

A Complete Example

Here’s a full, working example you can copy directly into a text file and import:

Remind students about the quiz Friday.

Ask if anyone read chapter 4.
>>>
Newton's Second Law

F = ma
??
>>
Example problem:
A 2kg block...
>F = 6N<
??
---
Second card's teacher notes go here.
>>>
Second card's blackboard content, single column, no hotspots.

Let’s break down what this produces:

Card 1:

  • Notes (private, only you see this): a reminder about the quiz, and a question to ask the class.
  • Blackboard, Column 1: “Newton’s Second Law” and “F = ma”, followed by a ?? which shows up as a small ”+” button you can tap during class to add something underneath — like a second version of the formula, or a student’s answer.
  • Blackboard, Column 2: an example problem, then a “Show Answer” button that reveals “F = 6N” when tapped, followed by another ?? add-on spot.

Card 2:

  • Notes: a short reminder.
  • Blackboard: a single column of content, no columns, no hotspots, no answer buttons — just plain text.

Writing Your Own Lesson: Step by Step

  1. Open any plain text editor (Notes app set to plain text, a text editor on your computer, etc.).
  2. Type your private notes for the first card.
  3. On its own line, type >>> to start the blackboard section for that card.
  4. Type what you want to appear on the projected screen.
  5. If you want more than one column on the blackboard (for example, to separate a definition from an example), type >> on its own line between them.
  6. If you want a spot to add content live while teaching, type ?? on its own line wherever you want that ”+” button to appear.
  7. If you want a tap-to-reveal answer, type the answer surrounded by > and < on its own line, like >42<.
  8. When you’re ready to move to the next card, type --- on its own line, then start the next card’s notes.
  9. Save the file with a .txt ending, and import it into BlackboardView.

A Few Important Details

  • A card with no >>> at all is treated as notes-only — nothing will show on the blackboard or projector for that card. This is handy for a card that’s purely a reminder to yourself, with nothing to display.
  • The ?? marker line stays in your file even after you use it — so the same spot is ready to use again the next time you teach that lesson. See Using Hotspots for how that works.
  • A >text< line must be the whole line by itself — start with >, end with <, nothing else on that line. If you ever write a line that happens to both start with > and end with < for some other reason (rare, but possible with certain math notation), it will be treated as an answer button instead of plain text — so avoid that pattern unless you intend it.
  • You can also style your text with bold, italics, colors, and more — see Text Styling.
  • If you wrote your file on a Windows computer, don’t worry — BlackboardView handles the line-ending differences between Windows and Mac/iPad automatically.

What’s Next

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