When you're ready to copy content from your template/prior course version into the live shell, select "Export Course Package" from the source course.
Once the export package is ready, download that to your local computer. Then, open the destination course (live course), and select "Import Content," and choose the zip file you just downloaded from the Export process.
You should be able to import a course package if it is under 2.5GB. If you receive a failure message: clear your cache, log out, restart your computer, and try again.
Sometimes, if the export package is too large (or for an unknown reason), Blackboard will fail to import this zip file. In that case, you can copy items week by week, or even lesson by lesson. To do this, choose the "Copy Items" option.
Once you click "Copy Items" you will search for the source course and select which items you'd like to copy over. This may take some time, so it's best to copy week by week.