Strategies for Moving from Basic
to Enterprise Blackboard
Learning System
Presenters:
Ruth Newberry, Director Educational Technology
Sheryl Reinhard, Director Systems/Operations/Networking
Jeff Schwartz, Ed Tech Application Administrator
Duquesne University
Overview
• Moving from Basic to Enterprise
– Why make the move?
– Can you afford not to make the move?
– What is the value added for faculty and
programs?
– What do you need to know to make a
successful transition?
– Our lessons learned
Duquesne University
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Private, Catholic Institution in Pittsburgh, PA
Founded in 1878 by Holy Ghost Fathers
Mission: commitment to students
Aim: to enter first ranks of American Catholic
Institutions by developing a reputation for
academic excellence
• 10 Schools with 9,985 enrollment on 50 acre
urban campus
• 410 Full-time Faculty and 380 Part-time Faculty
Blackboard @ Duquesne
• Learning Systems client since 1998 (CourseInfo
v. 3) along with First Class and WebCT
– Open systems; faculty did about anything they wanted
except create sites
– Experimentation and exploration by early adopters
– No controls or policies
– 1 server and individuals supporting
– Voluntary workshops; mostly 1 on 1 consultation
Growth of Blackboard
• In Fall 2002 standardized on one platform for
learning system at Duquesne: Blackboard Basic
5.0
• Instituted required training for Instructors
wishing to use Blackboard
– F2F workshops and online self-guided tutorials
– Trained 236 instructors Summer 02 for Fall
Growth of Blackboard
• We had (manual) processes in place for
support
– Web site for course creation requests and
adding users
• Online submission by faculty
• Access Database driven
– Batch upload of rosters from Datatel
– Added only users for courses
Growth of Blackboard
• End Fall 2003 found us with
– 358 courses and 5000 users on system with only
manual removal
– undersized Windows Server for Bb 5.5
– increasing use of Blackboard for teaching and learning
– growing interest in Distance Learning
• Faculty frustrated with limitations of Basic
– Enterprise offered more features and building blocks
Campus IT Infrastructure Changing
• Data Center moving to Unix/Solaris
• MIS moving to Oracle
• Integration of Systems
– Blackboard with SIS
• Improved Campus Network
University Strategic Plan
• Committed to teaching with technology
• Improving infrastructure for university
(administrative network)
• Blackboard @ DU becoming critical
application for faculty and students
Poised for Transition…
Are You Ready to Make the Move?
• Is your BB system mission critical? Is it a CORE
application?
• Do faculty need expanded feature base?
• Do you need the system to make you
competitive?
• Do your students “demand” it?
• Do you wish to integrate with other CORE
systems?
• Do you have the infrastructure (people, money,
technology) to support it?
If Yes,…
• Some Challenges:
– Getting Funding
• ASP or In-house
• Negotiating with Blackboard
– Determining Needs (hardware and support)
• Blackboard’s Role
• Partnering with your IT Team
– Planning for Implementation
• It takes a village
Can you afford NOT to make the
move?
• Will you stay under the basic system’s user
limits?
• Will “basic” features for students and faculty be
enough?
• Will you have enough personnel to continue to
support manual application administration?
• Will the basic system keep you competitive in the
educational marketplace?
• Does the “basic” edition meet the strategic vision
of the institution?
What is the value added by moving
to Enterprise?
• Integration with SIS, Portal and other tools
• Expanded Features and possibilities through
Building Blocks
• Expanded Use Across Campus
– Teaching and Learning
– Communities for student organizations, department
and campus groups, staff development
• Scalability and growth to meet future needs
Strategies… or Lessons Learned
• Plan, plan, and plan …. Share the pain…Partner!
– Develop Project Plan
– Identify key players and target dates
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Faculty
Ed Tech
Systems
Help Desk
– Identify migration plan
– Identify key target dates
• Train faculty prior to system coming up
• Hardware installation, set up, testing
– Communicate… communicate…
Strategies ….
• Involve Blackboard Early
– Hardware and Sizing
– Also involve vendor partners
– Technical Support – establish your relationship
• Size for growth and scale
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9000 current—scaled for 20,000—currently 17,798
Storage—NAS or SAN?
Application Servers (how many web servers? V240s)
Load Balancer
Database (V880)
Strategies ….
• Understand Systems/Server Side Needs
– Unix/Oracle Knowledge
• Server care (monthly maintenance)
• Performance Tuning each semester
– Multiple Environments to Support
• Development – Test – Production
– Anti-Virus solution
• Proventia for Unix replaces Symantec for Windows
– Load Balancing
• Ability to add app servers as use grows
• Enables ability to take app server out for repairs without
system wide outage
– Training and R & D
Strategies ….
• Build Ed Tech/Academic Support
– Define processes and policies
• Course creation process
• Enrollment process
• Archiving/removal process
– Bb Services web site
• Coldfusion and oracle
• Dynamic online, trackable requests
• Improved support services
Strategies…. More Ed Tech Needs
• Will Require more faculty support staff
– Training support increases
– Troubleshooting, consulting, and application
administration increases
• Must involve Help Desk early for support of
students and faculty
Strategies …. And More Ed Tech
Needs
• Blackboard Application Administrator: New Position –
The Bridge
– Configures the application; understands how it works.
• Provides detailed documentation to standardize and improve
upgrades and migration
• Serves as Project Manager for installations, upgrades,
hotfixes and building blocks
– More formal Change Management Process
• Acts as liaison between Ed Tech group and Systems team
• Provides Tier 3 Support
– Sits with faculty support team
– Bridges Academic support with IT/Systems
Continued Growth & Next Steps
• 55% of courses on Blackboard;
Communities growth
• Entering “transformative phase”—
Blackboard’s ubiquitous presence
• Faculty want more tools for interactivity,
collaboration, and outcomes
Next Steps…
• Integrate Academic Suite
– Content Management—campus wide shared space
– E-portfolios
• Merge Universal Transaction System
– E-services for students, faculty, and staff
– More funding stream potential
• Provide Seamless Integration with Portal
• Add Building Blocks
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Horizon Wimba
Learning Objects
Turnit In
Copyright Clearance Center
• Desire Assessment Outcomes Module (“Calipher”)
Summary
• Need to be market competitive
• Need to meet faculty teaching and student
learning needs
• Need to partner and involve IT asap
• Need to build your staffing with each new
addition of Blackboard
• Need to meet institutional strategic aims
Thank You!
Ruth Newberry,
Director Education Technology
newberryr@duq.edu
Sheryl Reinhard,
Director
Systems/Operations/Networking
reinhard@duq.edu
Duquesne University
Jeff Fine,
Systems Administrator
fine@duq.edu
Jeff Schwartz,
Ed Tech Application
Administrator
schwartzj@duq.edu