Blackboard Learn open and available for faculty!

Visit the Bb Learn Support Site and click on the Blackboard Login.  Enter your blazer id and password and logon to Bb Learn  http://www.uab.edu/bblearn.

What will you see?

The Summer 2011 course shells(s) do not have content and are ready for faculty/school support to load content and create a summer class using the new feature functionality!

The “SANDBOX_” is a course section that will remain in your list permanently. You can use it to copy course material from Bb Vista into Bb Learn, to create a course and then archive it for later use, to practice and learn about the new feature functionality.

Recommendations

• Follow the advice of your Blackboard school administrator as some schools, such as the School of Nursing, are making summer courses available to their faculty on a different schedule.
• Attend training classes to learn how to use Bb Learn.
• Play in and use your “SANDBOX_” to become familiar with new system.   
• Prepare for summer 2011

• Follow the advice of your Blackboard school administrator. See list at bottom of this webpage.
• If you want a previous course content copied from Bb Vista into the Bb Learn Summer 2011 course shell ,  complete the course request form at https://www.uab.edu/it/instech/auth/acad_form.html

• Be aware of Blackboard Learn known issues
  Browsers
  Blackboard's list of supported browsers includes Internet Explorer 8 and Firefox 3.6.
  Although not listed among them, Chrome also seems to work satisfactorily, and some higher education institutions explicitly recommend it.  If you encounter issues using a specific browser, you may switch to an alternate browser and check performance (different operating systems, java versions, and other system configurations can all result in different issues on disparate systems).
  For committed users of Explorer, you may want to access Blackboard in compatibility mode to clear up potential issues:
  
  In the horizontal tool bar at the top of the browser, click Tools, select Compatibility View Settings, Check Display all websites in Compatibility View  at the bottom of the dialog box and then hit Close.
  You will need to close IE8 and reopen the browser before this change takes effect.

What is coming?

• Guidance to working with a course which has been copied from Bb Vista to Bb Learn  ( e.g.  links are working,  all files transferred,  that look and feel  and use supports the learning process, copying material from Bb Vista into Bb Learn)
• A known issues page
• Guidance for obtaining material from all courses that you want to keep that are currently in Bb Vista and were used prior to Summer 2010. 

• Additional tools/building blocks will be made available in the coming weeks: 
• Turnitin2 
• CPS Integration

• Your Summer 2010 courses will be automatically moved out of Bb Vista into your Bb Learn Course list mid-March;  Fall 2010 courses will be moved the first part of April;  Spring 2011 courses will be moved at the end of May. 
• By August 31st 2011, obtain teaching material from all courses that you want to keep that are currently in Bb Vista and were used prior to Summer 2010.  Look for updates on the Blackboard Support Site.

IT Instructional Technology Support and Training

The Blackboard Learn Support Site - provides tutorials and additional information to help you build and run your course in Blackboard. Information and guidance for students is also available at this site. To access the site click, http://uab.edu/bblearn.

Four Training Classes -scheduled at various times and locations around campus

• Bb Learn Foundations
• Bb Learn Basic
• Bb Learn Enhanced
• Bb Learn Grade Center

For more information and to register, click http://www.uab.edu/it/instech/training.html.
Help Desk Support – online or live support is available 24x7x365 by:

• Contacting a support representative 24x7x365 by calling 205-996-5555 and then selecting option 2
• By submitting a ticket, accessing live chat or searching the online database at https://ask.it.uab.edu/BBIssue.aspx.

Comments and Issues

Bb Group Administrators - School and College Representatives

IT Instructional Technology and the Bb group administrators meet monthly and communicate regularly in planning for and addressing concerns with technology implementation.  Contact a Bb school administrator for school specific implementation and support details.

Arts and Sciences -  Sun Feng and Aeron Gault (for psychology)
Dentistry – Michelle Robinson and Candace Reese
Engineering -  Gregg Janowski
Health Professions -   Pam Paustian
Medicine – John Taylor and Kristina Panizzi Woodley (for pathology)
Nursing - Dan Murphy
Optometry – Rod Nowakowski
Public Health- Cheryl Johnson
Graduate School – Charles Tomberlin
Student Information Services – David Beeching

Introducing Blackboard Learn - January 18 and 19

In May of 2011, UAB will upgrade its centrally supported course management system from Blackboard Vista to Blackboard Learn. Bb Learn overview sessions will be held in the Hill University Center - Alumni Auditorium for faculty staff and students on January 18th and 19th . Light breakfast, lunch and/or snacks and beverages will be served . No Registration is required.

Faculty / Staff are invited to attend a 75 minute overview of Blackboard Learn:

• Tuesday, January 18th from 12:00-1:15pm
• Tuesday, January 18th from 3:00-4:15 pm
• Wednesday, January 19th from 9:00-10:15 am

The session will cover an overview of Bb Learn tools at UAB, potential impact on student learning including time on task, collaboration and engagement, potential impact on teaching methods (including efficiencies in communicating with students), efficiencies in conducting administrative tasks, use of the repository for grade information, potential integration with mobile technologies, and the UAB implementation timeline including preparation for migration, training and support.

Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend a 60 minute overview of Blackboard Learn:

• Wednesday, January 19th from 12:00-1:00 pm
• Wednesday, January 19th from 3:00-4:00pm

The session will cover an overview of Bb Learn tools at UAB, value as a repository for communication and collaboration with fellow students, value as means of communication with instructors, and the UAB Bb Learn implementation timeline.

We look forward to seeing you at HUC!

Changing from Bb Vista to Bb Learn May 2011

The UAB centrally supported course management system will be changing May 2011.  We will be moving from Bb Vista to Bb Learn. 

Why?

• UAB IT and school specific faculty , staff and student needs surveys and discussions provided feedback about the current system - Bb Vista.
• Blackboard has continued to modify and expand its platform, incorporate new feature functionality and address the needs of its clients: students, faculty, and administration. The product roadmap is taking us to Bb Learn, a platform that has improved collaborative tools and much more!

IT Instructional Technology is working with a team of representatives from each school, to embrace the change and to provide support to you, the current and future users of Blackboard.  We plan to frequently communicate about the changes, options, possibilities, alternatives, and obstacles.  Our goal is to empower you with information, tools and support which can contribute to an optimal experience during this change and in the future use of the Bb Learn system.

We look forward to the new platform and hope you will join in examining the new possibilities and in embracing the change to Bb Learn.