Blackboard Expanding the

Limits of a Course
Management System
CUNY IT Conference, December 4, 2015
Chris Caprioglio
Director of Application Services, CIS

Carlos Cruz
Instructional Design Specialist, Brooklyn College

Helen Keier
Manager of Support Services, John Jay Online; Adjunct Professor

Stephen Powers
Professor, Education & Reading, Bronx Community College

Sylvie Richards
Media and Instructional Technologist, SPS

Expanding Limits in Bb
Top Down Theory

Bb

Bb

CIS CUNY

CIS CUNY
Campus

Campus

Faculty
Students

Faculty/Students

Expanding Limits in Bb
CIS

Blackboard
Management
Council

STEERING
COMMITTEE
Chris Caprioglio-CIS
Carlos Cruz-BC
Helen Keier-JJC

Steering
Committee

Wei Liu-CIS
Steve Powers-BCC
Sylvie Richards-SPS
Krafins Valcin-CIS
Shen-Wei Wu-CIS

Bb CAT

CUNY CAT
Committee on
Academic
Technology

Expansion of Bb Use

Expanding Limits in Bb
Building Blocks What are they?
Blackboard Building Blocks are small
applications added to the Blackboard Learning
System that extend the usability and
functionality of Blackboard, provide
customization, or help with administration.

Expanding Limits in Bb
TESTING COMMITTEE
Steve Castellano, Lehman
Wenying Huang-Stolte, York
Michael Castelli, CSI
Sylvie Richards, SPS

Expanding Limits in Bb

Where
do I
find
them?

Expanding Limits in Bb
Current list of installed Building Blocks:
Section Merge Tool
Barnes and Noble Nook Study
Browser Settings Test Browser
Collaborate Voice Authoring
EAC Outcomes
iTunes U
Link Checker
Pearson MyLab and Mastering (Under Review)
Softchalk Publish with Score Center (Under Review)
Starfish (Under Review)
Tegrity AAIRS
Wiley Plus

Expanding Limits in Bb
Current list of installed Building Blocks (AMENDED):
NOT ALL BB2s ARE FOR USE BY ALL CAMPUSES
Section Merge Tool (Not Permitted for use by SPS)
Barnes and Noble Nook Study
Browser Settings Test Browser
Collaborate Voice Authoring
EAC Outcomes (for use by limited # of campuses)
iTunes U (No longer functional as per i-Tunes)
Link Checker
Pearson MyLab and Mastering (Under Review) Approved
Softchalk Publish with Score Center (Under Review)
(Approved)
Starfish (Under Review) Approved
Tegrity AAIRS (LICENSED BY HOSTOS)
Wiley Plus
VOICETHREAD licensed by individual campuses

Expanding Limits in Bb
Building Blocks: How we support them
On the preceding slide is a list of the Blackboard Building
Blocks currently in use or under review at CUNY. Links to
manuals or instructions for their use are provided where
available.
Please note: some Building Blocks are installed for particular
campuses only and not all Building Blocks currently being
tested will be accepted for later use

Expanding Limits in Bb
All Building Blocks are reviewed in an exhaustive testing
process and must receive approval before being installed in
the live Blackboard environment.
In order to suggest that a new Building Block be considered for
use at CUNY, please contact your local campus
Blackboard Administrator.

Bluepulse Implementation: Some

Lessons Learned

Bluepulse Implementation: Some Lessons

Learned
o

Request
Complete the security questionnaire and license agreement
Negotiate a free trial period that does not include the installation time

Proposal Submission
Follow all steps required in the proposal template
Schedule the users view presentation with vendors
Request technical or multidisciplinary team from vendor presentations

Configuration and Testing on Staging Environment

Schedule configuration meetings with CIS representatives, local
Blackboard System Administrator and vendors
Create a document with itemized configuration and testing information

Final Approval and Installation on Production Environment

Coordinate training details with vendors
Arrange flexible schedules for upgrades
Put together a support plan that includes: instructors and students
guidelines as well as vendor resources

Expanding Limits in Bb
Bb Steering Committee -- Planning
for the Future.
Governance
Facilitate Community Decision Making
Encourages Stakeholder Engagement
Project Management Techniques
Application Lifecycle Management
Release Planning
Analytics

Expanding Limits in Bb

Suggestions for possible BB2s?

Alternatives to Bb?
Suggestions for possible alternatives?
Course Sites (owned by Bb)
Instructure Canvas
Digication
MYEDU
Sakai
Moodle
Google Classroom
Word Press

Alternatives to Bb
Support Issues
Central
Local
Student
Faculty

Student Training
Faculty Training
Help Desk Training

Alternatives to Bb
What do we need to do to
enable faculty to go off the
reservation without really
PILOTS
leaving the reservation?

CIS approved
CIS supported
Cross Campus
Discipline Specific