Blackboard Next Generation Upgrade and Support Plan
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The document outlines a presentation on the upgrade plan for Blackboard, focusing on new features and support available for NIU faculty and staff. It includes details on current usage statistics, the upgrade timeline to Blackboard 9.1 scheduled for May 2011, and a five-phase faculty support plan for transitioning to the new system. The presentation highlights the importance of faculty involvement and preparation for a successful upgrade.
![Faculty Support Plan Phases
Phase 1: Documentation and Support Materials Preparation (Beginning Summer 2010)
Phase 2: Communications of New Features and User Interface Changes (Beginning Fall 2010)
Phase 3: Preview Sessions (Beginning Spring 2011)
Hands-on preview sessions 90 mins each; Online preview sessions 60 mins each
Phase 4: Hands-on Face-to-Face Workshops
(Beginning Summer 2011) All workshops 90 mins
Phase 5: Open Labs
& Special Sessions
Install new system on
a development
(BbDev) server
Test new features and
system interfaces
Create upgrade page
to document new
features, changes,
and include links to
applicable support
materials provided by
Blackboard
Update Teaching with
Blackboard support
site
(niu.edu/blackboard)
to reflect new
features major
interface changes
Convert site from
WebCRMA to new
Cascade CMS as part
of the redesign
update process
Outline of features and
pre-existing support
materials at
niu.edu/blackboard/ng
Articles in Fall ’10 &
Spring ’11 newsletters
and campus media
Episodes on Teaching
with Blackboard
Podcast devoted to
changes
Notices of new features
posted to FacDev blog,
Twitter, and Facebook,
and notices to users
Screencasts and/or
quick tip highlighting
changes
Online preview sessions
archived for on-demand
viewing
2 invite-only hands-on
preview sessions for
support staff and
faculty power users
[3/29, 4/6]
3 online preview
sessions [60 min] for
faculty/staff & TAs via
Wimba Classroom
[3/30, 4/12, 4/27]
3 hands-on preview
sessions for
faculty/staff & TAs [4/8,
5/3, 5/16]
2 invite-only hands-on
preview sessions for
faculty teaching during
intersession [4/28,
5/16]
6 Bb Tune-up sessions
for experienced users
offering hands-on
overview of changes
and new features [6/9,
8/9, 8/11, 8/17(2),
8/19]
7 Bb I & II hands-on
sessions for users new
to Bb [6/2, 6/15, 7/13,
7/21, 8/15, 8/19]
2 Bb NG Boot Camps (4
in-depth hands-on
sessions for
faculty/staff on 9.1 new
feature sets) [6/3, 8/10]
Blackboard Open Lab
sessions [11AM-1PM]
each day during 1st
week of summer & fall
2011 terms [6/13, 6/14,
6/15, 6/16, 8/22, 8/23,
8/24, 8/25, 8/26]
College-specific sessions
available upon request
Consultations with
individual faculty/staff
and TAs upon request
Hands-on preview sessions and face-to-face workshops will be 90 minutes in length; Online preview sessions will be 60 minutes in length](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/bbngpres111010-101109154754-phpapp01/85/Blackboard-Next-Generation-Upgrade-and-Support-Plan-22-320.jpg)
Blackboard Next Generation Upgrade and Support Plan
- 1. Blackboard Next Generation Upgrade and Support Plan Presentation for Council of Deans Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center November 10, 2010
- 2. Presentation Goals • Highlight information on current Blackboard support available for NIU faculty/staff and TAs • Introduce new features to be available in Blackboard following upgrade scheduled for May 2011 • Share faculty support plan and timeline of support activities • Obtain your feedback on the plan and ideas on how we can help your faculty proactively 2
- 3. Blackboard Usage at NIU 3 3
- 4. Blackboard • Learning management system available campus- wide for teaching since 2002 • Used for range of activities from posting course materials to teaching online • This fall 2010, 97% of NIU students and 75% of faculty use Blackboard More details: www.niu.edu/blackboard 4
- 5. Use of Blackboard by (individual) Students Usage % for fall ‘10 with 23,795 enrolled is 96.8% of total number of students 23,040 5
- 6. Use of Blackboard by (individual) Faculty/Staff/TAs to Teach Usage % for fall ‘10 with 1,761* faculty/instructors/TA/teaching staff is 74.96% *1,761 includes only those providing direct instruction 1,320 6
- 7. Number of Credit Course Sections in Blackboard Usage % for fall ‘10 with 5,106* sections is 49.23% *No. of course sections including thesis, dissertation, and independent studies is 5,106 2,514 7
- 8. Number of Course Enrollments in Blackboard Students enrolled in several courses that use Blackboard in a semester 87,687 8
- 9. Current Support Provided by Faculty Development and Instructional Design Center 9
- 10. Blackboard Support • The comprehensive support provided by our Center on teaching with Blackboard includes the following: – Hands-on workshops (series of 39 different workshops) – Individual consultations (In FY10 alone, 523 consultations on Blackboard were offered to 230 unique individuals) – Usage documentation (250+ webpages) (9,800 unique visitors per month to the help site in FY10) – 246 answers to Frequently Asked Questions (searchable) – 37 step-by-step tutorials (searchable) – Podcasts (23+ episodes) on teaching with Blackboard – Quick Guides on using Blackboard – 24 archived online workshops, Ask-A-Question, etc. 10
- 11. Current Blackboard Version (Release 8.0) 11 Current Blackboard Version (Release 8.0)
- 13. Control Panel 13
- 14. Edit View 14
- 15. Blackboard Next Generation (Release 9.1) 15
- 16. Blackboard Next Generation • Most significant upgrade to Blackboard to date seeking to accomplish 3 main goals: 1. Deliver highly engaging but powerfully simple user experiences for faculty and students 2. Combine new innovation with the best of both Blackboard and WebCT (acquired by Blackboard) 3. Expand Blackboard’s open interface so that it integrates more easily into existing campus technologies More details: blackboard.com/projectng 16
- 17. A Few of the New Features… • A more collective and collaborative learning experience for students through the integration of – Blogs, Journals, Wikis, and Mash-ups, as well as new Group Tools. • Increased educator efficiency through – contextual editing, content management at the course level, drag-and-drop navigation, etc. • More centralized control over assessment instruments through expanded question management capabilities available for use when – creating Tests, Surveys, and Question Pools. 17
- 18. Upgrade to Blackboard 9.1 • Blackboard released version 9.1 in fall 2009 • Blackboard will not continue to support current version (8.0) after 2011 • NIU’s upgrade to version 9.1 planned for May 2011 (Memorial Day weekend) • Our staff and ITS staff began testing version 9.1 in summer 2010 to ensure all the features and interfaces work properly, and identify quirks • Our staff are working on developing new workshops and documentation for version 9.1 • Upgrade will not impact course materials, only interface • Students won’t see a drastic difference 18
- 20. Blackboard Next Generation Upgrade Faculty Support Plan 20
- 21. Faculty Support Plan • We have organized the plan into 5 Phases: – Phase 1: Install and test Blackboard version 9.1 and begin developing user documentation – Phase 2: Communicate new features and user interface changes to users by several means – Phase 3: Conduct preview sessions (f2f and online) – Phase 4: Upgrade to version 9.1 and begin hands- on workshops for basic as well as advanced users – Phase 5: Offer open lab and special sessions for colleges and departments as requested 21
- 22. Faculty Support Plan Phases Phase 1: Documentation and Support Materials Preparation (Beginning Summer 2010) Phase 2: Communications of New Features and User Interface Changes (Beginning Fall 2010) Phase 3: Preview Sessions (Beginning Spring 2011) Hands-on preview sessions 90 mins each; Online preview sessions 60 mins each Phase 4: Hands-on Face-to-Face Workshops (Beginning Summer 2011) All workshops 90 mins Phase 5: Open Labs & Special Sessions Install new system on a development (BbDev) server Test new features and system interfaces Create upgrade page to document new features, changes, and include links to applicable support materials provided by Blackboard Update Teaching with Blackboard support site (niu.edu/blackboard) to reflect new features major interface changes Convert site from WebCRMA to new Cascade CMS as part of the redesign update process Outline of features and pre-existing support materials at niu.edu/blackboard/ng Articles in Fall ’10 & Spring ’11 newsletters and campus media Episodes on Teaching with Blackboard Podcast devoted to changes Notices of new features posted to FacDev blog, Twitter, and Facebook, and notices to users Screencasts and/or quick tip highlighting changes Online preview sessions archived for on-demand viewing 2 invite-only hands-on preview sessions for support staff and faculty power users [3/29, 4/6] 3 online preview sessions [60 min] for faculty/staff & TAs via Wimba Classroom [3/30, 4/12, 4/27] 3 hands-on preview sessions for faculty/staff & TAs [4/8, 5/3, 5/16] 2 invite-only hands-on preview sessions for faculty teaching during intersession [4/28, 5/16] 6 Bb Tune-up sessions for experienced users offering hands-on overview of changes and new features [6/9, 8/9, 8/11, 8/17(2), 8/19] 7 Bb I & II hands-on sessions for users new to Bb [6/2, 6/15, 7/13, 7/21, 8/15, 8/19] 2 Bb NG Boot Camps (4 in-depth hands-on sessions for faculty/staff on 9.1 new feature sets) [6/3, 8/10] Blackboard Open Lab sessions [11AM-1PM] each day during 1st week of summer & fall 2011 terms [6/13, 6/14, 6/15, 6/16, 8/22, 8/23, 8/24, 8/25, 8/26] College-specific sessions available upon request Consultations with individual faculty/staff and TAs upon request Hands-on preview sessions and face-to-face workshops will be 90 minutes in length; Online preview sessions will be 60 minutes in length
- 23. Faculty Support Plan Timeline 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10 1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 Support plan drafted & shared with Provost, Council of Deans, and Faculty Development Advisory Committee Version 9.1 installed on bbdev. FacDev & ITS begin testing system Redesign of existing support site begins Initial draft of redesigned support site ready on new CMS New support site goes live Phase 1: Documentation and Support Materials Preparation Phase 2: Communications of New Features and User Interface Changes Phase 3: Preview Sessions Phase 4: Hands-on Face-to-Face Workshops Phase 5: Open Labs & Special Sessions Preliminary info on 9.1 available on current support site New tutorials, quick guides, etc. developed in response to questions received New features in 9.1 covered in all future Blackboard workshops Consultations with individual faculty/staff and TAs upon request Last updated: 11/7/10 Outage / Upgrade to Bb 9.1 (5/29 - 5/30) 2010 2011 23
- 24. Workshops Scheduled • 35 workshops currently scheduled for Spring & Summer 2011: – 10 preview sessions prior to upgrade – 8 hands-on workshops for new users – 8 “tune-up” workshops for experienced users – 9 open lab sessions 24
- 25. Faculty Support Plan Challenges • Faculty Focus Groups on documentation needs • Issues related to moving Blackboard users’ documentation from current web management system (WebCRMA) to the new one (Cascade) • Priority training for those teaching intersession courses that overlap the upgrade in May 2011 • Need to train nearly 1,300 instructional faculty/ staff/TAs over summer 2011 • Retraining current basic to advanced users • Training new faculty/staff/TA users from Aug ‘11 25
- 27. Summary • Faculty Development workshop closely with ITS in preparations for Blackboard 9.1 upgrade • Faculty Development staff will be available for – College-meetings in spring 2011 to demonstrate the new Blackboard system – College/department-specific workshops • We need your support for a successful upgrade – Mention the upgrade in college meetings – Recommend faculty to start early for Su and Fall ‘11 – Encourage college tech staff to help 27