Management, Integration &
Organisational Alignment of
Blackboard at CBS
Gordon Cunningham
Academic Development
Curtin University of Technology
Curtin Business School
Overview
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History of LMS at Curtin
Implementation History
Organisational Overview
Online Teaching & Learning, IT Services
Strategic Position
Online Development
Strategies for Adoption
Support
Technical Infrastructure of Bb
Integration
Management of Online Units
Building Blocks
Lessons Learned
Future Directions
History of Learning Management Systems at Curtin
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Multiple LMS (5) across Curtin
1997 – WebCT
1997 – Staff Web Sites
1998 – Lotus Learning Space (CBS)
2000 – Blackboard (CBS), migrated from WebCT
2004 – Lotus Learning Space decommissioned
Implementation History
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2000 – Implementation CourseInfo 4
2000 – Upgraded Bb 5 Level 1
2002 – Implemented Bb 5 Level 3 (Snapshot)
2004 – Upgraded to Bb 6.1
Blackboard is now seen as true corporate application
Organisational Overview
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31,000 Students (Total)
11,928 Business Students
600 F/T and P/T Academic Staff
Curtin Business is the largest of 5 teaching divisions
7 sub schools – B.Comm
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Accounting
Business Law
Economics & Finance
Information Systems
Management
Marketing
Graduate School of Business (MBA)
Organisational Overview (Cont’d)
 Bentley in Perth WA is main campus
 Partners in 33 locations spread across 10 countries (40% are
international students)
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Australia
China and Hong Kong
Singapore
Malaysia
Indonesia
Mauritius
Sri Lanka
Vietnam
Pakistan
Online Teaching & Learning Facility
and IT Services
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3 Bb User Support Staff
2 instructional designers
1 Graphic/Web Designer
1 Web Programmer
1 Project Manager
3 Systems Engineers
2 Database Administrators
1 Manager
OTL
IT Services
Strategic Position
 Level 1: Strategically focused complete online courses
 Level 2: online units and components of units
 Level 3: infrastructure and services
Online Development
 Master of Accounting (12 units)
 Bachelor of Business Administration (25 units) African Virtual
University
 Master of Business Admin. (12 units)
 Grad Certificate in Marketing (4 units)
Strategies for Adoption
 Online Learning Essentials (Students)
 Online Teaching Essentials (Staff)
 Online Creation Pack
Strategies for Adoption (cont’d)
 1 to 1 training for staff
 Classroom based training for Bb
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“New Features in Bb”
“Voyage of Discovery” – Intro
“Forget the Bush Telegraph” – BBS
“Tips and Strategies for Teaching Online”
 Email and phone based support
 Template for Bb courses
 “How to”/FAQ Movies for Bb
Student Support – 2661/yr
Blackboard - Total Student Support Requests / Month
900
777
700
600
537
500
400
304
300
178
148
83
97
89
Jun-04
93
May-04
59
100
164
132
Apr-04
200
Month
Aug-04
Jul-04
Mar-04
Feb-04
Jan-04
Dec-03
Nov-03
Oct-03
0
Sep-03
No. of Support Requests
800
Student Support
Blackboard Student Support Requests by Classification
October 2003 - October 2004
Student - Unit not on BB, 88, 3%
Student - Account Creation /
Reset, 265, 10%
Student - Trouble-Shooting /
Advice, 364, 14%
Student - Study Period not
Active, 307, 12%
Student - Enrolment Issue S1,
797, 30%
Student - Information/Query, 679,
26%
Student - Feed Issue S1->BB,
122, 5%
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Staff Support – 1863/yr
Staff Support Requests by Classifications
October 2003-October 2004
350
300
286
250
231
200
165
150
68
21
19
15
12
161
127
100
74
50
11
24
34
26
154
126
83
72
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30
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16
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Staff Support
Staff Support Requests / Month
October 2003-October 2004
160
138
140
120
100
80
70
60
60
49
25
28
Nov-03
40
Oct-03
47
39
36
26
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26
20
Aug-04
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May-04
Apr-04
Mar-04
Feb-04
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Technical Infrastructure of Bb
Scalable Mode
Application Server
V440 (16Gb)
Failover Mode
Application Server
V440 (16Gb)
DB Server
V440 (16Gb)
Chat Server
V440 (16Gb)
Storage Array
/global data
Cluster Framework Sun Cluster 3.0
Integration
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Student One – SIS
Novell Directory Services (NDS)
SAMS – Student Account Management System
PHP Web Application
Data-warehouse
On the hour updates from SIS
 Student No, FName ,LName, DOB, Course ID, Location, Mode, Study
Period, Start Date, End Date
Integration
Management of Online Units
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Over 650 courses taught annually
522 course entities in Bb
360 days a year operation (4 days)
Over 35 Study Periods in a year
Over 33 locations
Rolling Study Periods, many overlap
Bb sites can be combined or separated by study period
or location
Management of Online Units
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Staff request courses according to requirements
SAMS manages ALL student/staff accounts
3 clear out periods per year
Staff are too busy to manage students
Staff are too busy to manage staff
Access is dependant on Enrolment
Who is teaching what? and where?
Building Blocks
 Advanced Group Management (modified)
 Online Categorisation Tool – Modes
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Informational
Supplemental
Essential
Fully Web Enabled
 Online Journal Tool
 Seneca Who's Online
Lessons Learned
 Senior Management support for e-learning
 Find academic mentors in schools
 LMS is now treated as core application and underscores business
continuity
 Never skimp on hardware. Plan for expansion
 Provide incentive for staff in development
 Deploy fully online courses strategically
 Ease of Use of Systems is paramount for success
 Resource support staff adequately
 Too much flexibility can be unmanageable
Future Directions
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Voice Over IP Applications with Bb?
Content Management with Bb?
E-Portfolio?
Single Sign On with OASIS (Online Access to Student Information
System) – Student Portal/Email - SunONE
 Mobile Web - HP iPAQ – trials in 2004/5
 Wireless Implementation 2004