working together: the blackboard academic suite at csu eastbay or how we learned to stop worrying...
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Working Together: The Blackboard Academic Suite at
CSU Eastbay
OrHow we learned to stop worrying and love the
omb
During this session we will:
• describe our installation of BB.• describe how we work together to
resolve, support and improve our BB installation
• describe each individual’s specific responsibilities
• showcase a successful and integrated campus wide BB installation
CSUEB’s LMS History• Support from beginning by Administration
– Deans– Provost– President
• 1990’s– Web Course in a Box– Added eCollege – 1998– Moved to BB at the time of Web Course in a Box
purchase.
• 2000 BB Implemented– Winter 2000: BB Level II with Portal – September 2000: Level III including automatic generation
of courses and users. Integrated with SIS.
CSUEB’s approach to BB
• Support from the upper management• BB is viewed as a communication tool
for the students first and a LMS second• Success is dependent on cooperation
and support from all departments on campus
• All aspects of campus life can benefit from the tools available through BB.
CSUEB’s Hardware Environment• Running on Sun Solaris 9• Separate Application and Database
Servers• Most data storage on SAN• Nightly backups to tape• Test environment is clone of
production
BB Site Information
• Academic Suite Enterprise – Version 6.3.1.505
• Content System– Version 2.3.1.417
Administrative Policies• Updates always performed on test platform
first• All major changes take place during
quarter breaks• Monitoring and notification system for
service outages• Nightly downtime for point in time backups • Work closely with Network Operation
Center (NOC) on any network issues
Database Support• Upgrade DB to newer version (currently 9.2.0.6)• Apply Oracle Critical Patch Updates• Work closely with support group and perform
DB record update if needed– Enable/disable courses or enrollments– Update courses/enrollments Data Source Key– Update user information when manual account
consolidation is needed
• Work closely with TSM on database related issues:– DB tuning based on guideline from TSM– DB insert/update/delete actions when needed
Other Duties/Admin Tasks• Work with Enrollment Services to troubleshoot
student information on BB side Troubleshoot course/assignment/enrollment snapshot.
• Work with Identity Management Group to troubleshoot student information on BB side Troubleshoot User snapshot.
• Quarterly admin tasks:– Running batch course archiving script quarterly.– Running course deletion for courses which are older
than 8 quarter. – Maintain only last 6 months of data in Activity
Accumulator table.
Building Blocks at CSUEB• Home grown building blocks
– E-Grades: Faculty can submit official grades online.
– Early Alert: Faculty can submit progress report online and send email to inform students of their progress in class early in the term.
• 3rd party building blocks– Turnitin 2.0.3: Plagiarism prevention – Gartner Business and IT Research – Seneca Webmail– MERLOT RSS
Enrollment Services
• Technical Staff – 2 programmers• Admissions• Records• Financial Aid
Enrollment Services – Student Information System (SIS)
• IBM Mainframe• DB2 backend database• FOCUS reporting software• Automated FTP process• Student Population
– 12 – 14K bodies
Enrollment Services
• Student Information System (SIS)– Snapshot generation
• Courses (2,500)– Fall 2006 – 2500 course sections
• Enrollments of 42-45K• Faculty Assignments (2,500)• Organizations (47K)
Enrollment Services – Snapshot Development Challenges
• Defining Course eligibility• Defining student eligibility• Defining student organization groups• Coordination between Identity Management
System (IMS) and SIS• Open University/Continuing Education• Snapshot key creation process• Frequency of updates• Ongoing Problem resolution
– Daily validation reports– Incorrect student records
Office of Faculty Development• Brings faculty concerns to the decision
making process• Communicates to Faculty• Provides Training/Workshops• User Support/Troubleshooting• Collaboration w/Media/Technology
Services, Instructional Computing Services– User Support– Functionality
User Support/Training
• Helpdesk– Virtual – Referral Only
• Faculty– In conjunction with Faculty Development
& Online Programs– Workshops, One-on-One, Boot Camp
• Students– No direct training – presentations on
request
Problem Resolution– Connectivity– Identity - Login– Course Availability– Course Tool Availability– Test Reset– Data Transfer
•Course assignment to instructor•Course enrollment for students
Hopefully we have demonstrated• the importance of communication
between the different groups• the importance of working across group
boundaries to support the application• the need for awareness beyond
individual support responsibilities • the variety of skills needed to
successfully support the application
Thank You!David Garcia Analyst/Programmer david.garcia@csueastbay.edu
Anne Judd Instructional Designer anne.judd@csueastbay.edu
Bernie Salvador
Instructional Technology Consultant
bernie.salvador@csueastbay.edu
Tracy Tan Web, Java and Reporting Programmer
tracy.tan@csueastbay.edu
Jeff Wisman Operating Systems Analyst
jeff.wisman@csueastbay.edu
Terry Smith Coordinator, Instructional Technology Service Ctr
terry.smith@csueastbay.edu
Questions…making the pieces fit.
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