When clicking a link in the materials section of a learning activity or assignment page on the syllabus, a blank page or about:blank window will open up but no download appears or opens.

Browsers such as Chrome and Firefox by default will download files to the Downloads folder in the C:\Users\[User] folder on Windows computers. 
The blank page will open up when clicking a hyperlink, even if it is not a direct web page that can be displayed. In the case of a Word document download, it is a direct file download, not a web page, but Chrome or Firefox may open the page as though it were a website.

Open the Downloads folder in File Explorer, if on a Windows computer, or check in Downloads in Finder on a Mac.
or
Open the Downloads history list in Firefox or Chrome to locate a history of the downloaded file, and a link to open it or the containing folder.

There is no additional information.