A Multi-Institutional Deployment of Blackboard Learn

Kevin Corcoran

Interim Executive Director

Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium

Obligatory Slide: Who Are We & What We Do

• CTDLC: Connecticut Distance Learning Consortium

• CT State Agency providing eLearning Services to K-20 for past 12 years

• Hosting, Remote Management, Consulting, Integration, Block Development, Instructional Design, Help Desk

• Experience supporting Angel, Blackboard, CE, Vista and Moodle as well as integrating Banner, Datatel, and Jenzabar to Bb

• Developed the collaborative online tutoring program called eTutoring.org that serves over 100 institutions nationally

The Problem – Part 1

Online Learning’s Infancy circa 1998-99

• institutions just exploring online learning

• lack of resources (staff and funding) to support pilot projects

• lack of best practices and policies

The Solution – Sort of

Collaboration

• Institutions pool monies together to support a collaborative pilot (Bb licensing)

• CTDLC provides infrastructure & support

• Participating institutions develop processes and policies in unison

• Naming Conventions, Manually administered (.csv), Collective decision on settings

The Problem – Part 2

Online Expansion circa 2004

• Institutions running full course catalogs

• Mistaken enrollments• Branding issues• Want of increased control• Manual administration too

cumbersome

The Next Gen Solution

DSKs, Domains, Collections, & Brands

• Data Source Keys (DSK) allowed for the tying of all institutional records together through Snapshot Integration

• Domains allow for the grouping of Collections and Administrators for a particular institution.

• Collections are tied to Domains and allow courses, users, tabs, and modules to be segmented for individual institution control

• Brands allow institutions to create a color scheme/brand bound to a specific host name (FQDN)

Data Source Keys - Integration

• Data Source Keys– Allows for multiple data collections– Associates Snapshot processes to a data collection– Differentiates automated processes from GUI/System

• DSM Tool– Command line tool for creating keys– Provides some global data collection functions– Uses machine name and domain name

Integration Concept – Pre SP6

Data Extracts

•Users•Courses•Enrollments

SIS

Data Transfer

•Timing•Frequency

S/FTP

Data Processing

•Controller•Properties•Frequency

Blackboard

Integration Methods

• Snapshot Flat File (Being obsolesced) – Multiple file method– Each file serves a function– Provides flexibility

• IMS Enterprise XML– Single XML file– Combined user, course, enrollment management– Based on IMS standards

• Real Time Data Exchange– Event based data exchange– LIS for Banner – SP6

Domains

• Creates the container for users, courses and enrollments

• Allows for restricted administrative control

Collections

Domain Administrators

• Designate existing users with specific admin functions within the collections & domains

Brands

• Binds custom theme, color palette, site banner to a URL/host

• Does not touch login page

Samples

For More Details:Kevin LoweyU of SaskatchewanBranding Session

Hierarchies – SP6

• SP6 introduced Hierarchies in Bb Learn– Similar to Vista structure

Courtesy of Bb Admin Manual

Hierarchies & Domains

• “The primary difference between Hierarchies and Domains is the way the permissions are assigned. Hierarchies provide permissions based on the location, whereas Domains provide permissions based on criteria.”

Courtesy of Bb Admin Manual

Community/Portal System License

• Secondary Institution Roles– All institutional users will be

assigned an institution role, generally Faculty, Staff, or Student

– Secondary roles provide distinction between institutions’ Faculty, Staff and Student roles

– These roles allow for custom content to be delivered

• Custom Tabs, Modules, & Channels

– Customized content areas (tabs, modules, channels) can be restricted to specific secondary roles)

– Administration can be assigned through Domains/Collections

Course Templates

• Single institutional course shell– Branded– Customized course settings, tools, and menus– Institution-specific info & links embedded

• Avoids System-wide setting conflicts– Regarding course settings and tools

• Deployed via Integration– TEMPLATE_COURSE_KEY

Remaining Challenges

• Course/User ID collisions – Same SIS vendor– SP6 offer scripting work-around

• 3rd Party tools – No segregation of tools by DSK

• Customized/Branded Login pages– No ability to present custom login

based on host name– Can re-direct to portal page

• System-wide settings– One change impacts all

• We experienced many of these same issues with BbVista

Creating the Learning Community

• What makes an institution a good candidate?– Willingness to partner– Willingness to sacrifice

(control/functionality)– Openness to work-arounds– Accepting of SIS integration

workflow– Recognizing boundaries

– Small to Mid size helps too

Hosting Concerns

• Storage – need benchmarks on previous consumption

• Concurrent Usage – benchmark on users and sessions

• Overall Usage patterns (stress on system)– Controlling exports and archives– Controlling reporting– Educating about file size & type (large file/video

downloads)

• On-boarding process needed– Introduction to learning community

Policy

• Participating Institutions must understand shared sacrifice – some control must be given up for collaborative cost savings

• System Settings – Configuration for the common good – no special requests unless all members agree

• Building Blocks – Free blocks if for the common good; paid blocks if the vendor allows others not be license holders or as the ability to restrict by DSK or course ID

• Reporting – scheduled, non-peak hours if data can be isolated to the institution

• Upgrades – Common good or system-wide issues

• Maintenance Window – Good luck finding common downtime for maintenance or upgrades!

R&D - Multiple Installations?

• Bb 9.1 may offer the opportunity to install multiple sites on the same infrastructure– Installer allows selection of site root and database

prefix (previously hard-coded)– Will installer run 2nd time if existing site detected?– Multiple IPs may allow for multiple Bb Learn sites if

installer allows & doesn’t overwrite (IIS)

– We are testing this with our SP6 development environment

Questions & Contact Info

Any Questions?

Any Brain Lock-up?

Contact:Kevin Corcoran

kcorcoran@ctdlc.org

860-832-3889

Please provide feedback for this session by emailingDevConFeedback@blackboard.com.

The title of this session is:

A Multi-Institutional Deployment of Blackboard Learn