UCit Implements a Major Upgrade
to the University's Blackboard System
by Paul Foster
Instructors and students returning to campus this fall have found a greatly improved Blackboard system. Throughout the summer, the Blackboard Support Team has been hard at work, installing new hardware, upgrading the Blackboard software to version 6, and creating additional documentation.
Because Blackboard is a mission critical system, UCit implemented a major upgrade to the Blackboard hardware. Blackboard now runs in a clustered and load balanced environment based on Linux and Oracle. The new hardware delivers improved response times, and Blackboard is now better able to withstand hardware failures, up to the loss of a complete server.
In August, UCit upgraded Blackboard to version 6. While retaining the same look and feel of version 5, Blackboard 6 contains many improvements, including giving the user greater control over the layout of a course, an improved assessment engine, and a new feature called the assignment manager. For a complete list of new features and changes in Blackboard 6, we encourage all instructors to download the Blackboard 6 Transition Guide. This handy two-page document offers a great way for instructors who are already familiar with Blackboard to get started using the new system.
The Blackboard Support Team has also created a manual for instructors, and a series of multimedia tutorials for both instructors and students. Blackboard Basics & Beyond can be an invaluable resource for instructors as they create courses on Blackboard. The manual covers topics such as intellectual property, uploading PowerPoint files, using the communication tools, and creating online assessments. Following the manual, an instructor will be able to create a basic Blackboard course in a mere 30 minutes. Flash-based multimedia tutorials on how to use Blackboard contain screen animations and audio. These tutorials offer a great way for instructors or students to get started using Blackboard. To access the tutorials, please visit the Blackboard Support web site, and click on the Multimedia Tutorials button.
Although most instructors have already migrated their courses to Blackboard 6, we will keep the Blackboard 5 server available for a limited time. Instructors who have courses they have not had migrated to the new system can still archive the courses on Blackboard 5 and import them into course shells on Blackboard 6. Please see the Blackboard Support site for instructions.
UCit will remove Blackboard 5 from service on 30 October 2003.
You may send email to the author at Paul.Foster@UC.Edu.
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