Strategies for Moving from Basic to Enterprise

Blackboard Learning SystemPresenters:

Ruth Newberry, Director Educational TechnologySheryl 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• 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

• 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– 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

– 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 Technologynewberryr@duq.edu

Sheryl Reinhard, Director Systems/Operations/Networkingreinhard@duq.edu

Jeff Fine, Systems Administrator

fine@duq.edu

Jeff Schwartz, Ed Tech Application

Administratorschwartzj@duq.edu

Duquesne University