Center for Instructional Delivery
DevCon ‘11
Enrolling in Blackboard
Learn for Campus
Edition Alumni
DevCon ‘11
Highlights
Background
Technical Requirements
 Linux
 Oracle
 Java JDK
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DevCon ‘11
Highlights
Installing Blackboard Learn 9.1
Installing and Using the Bbupdater
Demonstrate Applying New Building Blocks
Demonstrate Converting CE 8 Courses
Tips and Tricks
DevCon ‘11
University of St. Francis Background
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Located in Joliet, IL ~ 35 miles from Chicago
Private Catholic Franciscan institution
Established in 1920 ~ Celebrating 90+ years!
3rd Largest Online Program in Illinois
Enrollment is 3,500+ Undergraduate and
Graduate students
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Technical Info on Production Environment
 Banner version 8
 Blackboard CE 8 Service Pack 5
Red Hat Linux release 4
Oracle version 10.2.0.3
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Technical Info on Blackboard Learn Test Environment
 Blackboard Learn 9.1 Service Pack 6
Red Hat Linux release 5
Oracle version 11g release 1
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Blackboard Learn Technical Requirements
Application Server
 8GB to 16GB of memory recommended
 Database Server
 8GB to 16GB of memory recommended
 Oracle Memory
 Estimated SGA Size – 1GB to 4GB
 Estimated PGA Memory – 2GB to 8GB
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DevCon‘11
Installing Linux
Red Hat Enterprise Linux Server release 5.5 installed
using vmware.
 Use the Blackboard Learn Hardware Sizing Guide for
Release 9.1 to set the partitions.
 Disable / Turn off the Linux Firewall by typing in the
following two commands (as the root user):
# /etc/init.d/iptables stop
# /etc/init.d/iptables save
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Installing Oracle
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Install Oracle 11g (build 11.1.0.6.0) database and companion.
Create the database.
 IMPORTANT: No database template for Blackboard Learn
9.1.
Make sure the tnsnames.ora and listener.ora files include the
new database information.
Startup the database as the oracle user.
Run the lsnrctl start command to start the listener.
Next, execute the lsnrctl status command to make sure the
listener is working before performing the Blackboard Learn
install.
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Installing the Java JDK
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Blackboard Learn Release 9 Service Pack 1 requires JDK
1.6.x for installation and does not support JDK 1.5.
Set the JAVA_HOME
 Edit the profile
 # vi /etc/profile
 Next, setup PATH / JAVA_PATH variables as follows:
 export PATH=$PATH:/usr/java/jdk1.6.0_21/bin
export PATH=$PATH:/usr/java/jdk1.6.0_21/bin
DevCon‘11
Installing Blackboard Learn 9.1
Refer to the Blackboard Learn 9.1 Installation
Guide.
 Same guide for Windows and Unix.
 Run the following command to launch the Installer:
/pathToJDKbin/java –jar bb-installer.jar
 If Xwindows or a similar GUI is running, the
Installer will launch in GUI mode. Use the “-text”
option to force text mode even if a GUI is running.
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DevCon‘11
Installing Blackboard Learn 9.1
Blackboard Learn must be installed as root. Service
startup and shutdown must also be performed as root.
The Installer is run on a two-server system: the
application server and the database server. When
installing on one server, these machines are the same.
Once the install is complete, you must start the
Blackboard Learn application.
DevCon‘11
Installing Blackboard Learn 9.1
As the root user navigate to:
/local/blackboard/tools/admin
The following command will start up the
application:
./ServiceController.sh services.start
Log into Blackboard Learn 9.1 to ensure the
application is up and accessible.
DevCon‘11
Installing Bbupdater
Any file with the .bbp extension can be installed
with the Blackboard Patch Utility.
 This utility does not ship with Blackboard Learn,
and must be downloaded from the following
website:
http://kb.blackboard.com/display/KB/BbPa
tch+-+Blackboard+Patch+Utility.
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DevCon‘11
Installing Bbupdater
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On Unix platforms the utility assumes /usr/local/blackboard for the installation
location.
 It prompts you to set a BLACKBOARD_HOME environment variable if that
location cannot be found.
 NOTE: Windows clients must set a BLACKBOARD_HOME environment
variable to indicate the Blackboard application location.
The utility must be run as bbuser on Unix platforms, the shell script will attempt to
switch to bbuser if it is running as root.
The utility runs using the JAVA_HOME specified in bb-config.properties.
 Shell scripts are included for Windows and Unix platforms, bbpatch.bat and
bbpatch.sh.
 The utility takes an 'action' argument, followed by options specific to that
patch action: bbpatch.bat/sh [action] [options]. Running the utility with
arguments outputs the command-line help for each of the patch actions.
DevCon‘11
Using Bbupdater
The syntax for the bb patch is as follows:
bbpatch.bat/sh [action][options]
For example, you would want to use the following if installing the
patch on a Linux system:
bbpatch.sh apply -p as-155317
 IMPORTANT: Please note a pushconfigupdates is recommended
after the patches have been installed.
 List the patches using the following command:
bbpatch.sh list-l
 Rollback the patches using the following command:
bbpatch rollback -i AS-123456
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DevCon‘11
Using Bbupdater
To install any patches, the patch utility and the
bbp files must reside in the same directory, as the
patch utility does not know how to remotely call
the patch to be installed, be it in a directory one
level up or on a server across campus.
 Please note the utility must be run by bbuser.
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DevCon‘11
Applying New Building Blocks
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STEP 1: Log into Blackboard Learn, click the
System Admin tab, and select Building Blocks.
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Applying New Building Blocks
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STEP 2: Click on the Installed Tools link.
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Applying New Building Blocks
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STEP 3: Preview the Installed Tools.
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Applying New Building Blocks
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STEP 4: Click the Upload Building Blocks button.
DevCon‘11
Applying New Building Blocks
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STEP 5: Click the Browse button to select the
Building Block file.
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Applying New Building Blocks
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STEP 6: Preview your file selection and click the
Submit button to continue.
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Applying New Building Blocks
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STEP 7: Blackboard Learn will indicate success or
failure for the Building Block installed.
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Applying New Building Blocks
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STEP 8: Preview the Building Block version and
availability.
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Converting CE 8 Courses
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Demonstrate a Blackboard CE 8 course being
imported in Blackboard Learn 9.1.
 Using a .bak file.
 Performing a restore to upload the content from
the .bak file.
DevCon‘11
Converting CE 8 Courses
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STEP 1: Log into Blackboard Learn, click the
System Admin tab, and select Courses.
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Converting CE 8 Courses
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STEP 2: Click the Create Course button and
choose Restore.
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Converting CE 8 Courses
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STEP 3: Enter the Destination Course ID, select the
backup file to upload, and click the Submit button.
DevCon‘11
Converting CE 8 Courses
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STEP 4: Blackboard Learn will notify you of
success or failure.
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Converting CE 8 Courses
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STEP 5: Click the Enroll Users button.
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Converting CE 8 Courses
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STEP 6: Enter the Course ID and click the GO button. Now,
you can select Enrollments from the course action links.
DevCon‘11
Converting CE 8 Courses
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STEP 7: Enter the username, role, and click the
Submit button.
DevCon‘11
Converting CE 8 Courses
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STEP 8: Blackboard Learn will notify you of
success or failure.
DevCon‘11
Converting CE 8 Courses
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STEP 9: Navigate to the course and click the link.
DevCon‘11
Converting CE 8 Courses
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STEP 10: Preview your Blackboard CE 8 course
in Blackboard Learn 9.1.
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Tips and Tricks
Join the 9.1 Cohort program.
IMPORTANT: Great opportunity to receive the
FREE Student Orientation Course Cartridge!
The Blackboard Learn 9.1 Installation Guide is for
both Windows and Unix so use the links in the
documentation to guide you.
Download the bbupdater for patches and create
bbuser to execute .bbp files.
DevCon‘11
Tips and Tricks
Installing patches will automatically take the
application server down and start service.
Remember there is no down time for building block
implementations, which makes keeping current easy!
Blackboard CE 8 course backups in a .bak file format
can easily be restored to a new course in Blackboard
Learn 9.1.
DevCon‘11
Questions
&
Answers
DevCon ‘11
Contact Information
Suzanne Bogovich, MS, MBA
Instructional Database Specialist
Center for Instructional Delivery
University of St. Francis
500 Wilcox Street
Joliet, IL 60435
(815) 740-5050
sbogovich@stfrancis.edu
DevCon‘11
Session Feedback
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The subject of the email should be title of this session:
Enrolling in Blackboard Learn for
Campus Edition Alumni
DevCon‘11
Thank You
DevCon ‘11