Blackboard Next Generation (Version 9.1) Introduction to New Features Coming Summer 2011

Blackboard at NIU 2

Blackboard Learning management system acquired by NIU in 2000, available campus-wide for teaching since 2002 Used for range of activities from posting course materials to teaching online In fall 2010, 97% of NIU students and 75% of faculty use Blackboard for 50% of course sections More details: 3

Use of Blackboard by (individual) Students Usage % for fall ‘10 with 23,795 enrolled is 96.8% of total number of students 23,040 4

Use of Blackboard by (individual) Faculty/Staff/TAs to Teach Usage % for fall ‘10 with 1,761* faculty/instructors/TA/teaching staff is 74.96% *1,761 includes only those providing direct instruction 1,320 5

Number of Credit Course Sections in Blackboard Usage % for fall ‘10 with 5,106* sections is 49.23% *No. of course sections including thesis, dissertation, and independent studies is 5,106 2,514 6

Number of Course Enrollments in Blackboard Students enrolled in several courses that use Blackboard in a semester 3.6 course sections on Blackboard/student 87,687 7

Current Blackboard Version (Release 8.0) 8

Blackboard 8.0 9

Control Panel 10

Edit View 11

Blackboard Next Generation (Release 9.1) 12

Blackboard Next Generation 13 Most significant upgrade of Blackboard to date

Redesigned Faculty Interface Contextual editing requiring fewer clicks! Faculty features have been reorganized and as a result faculty workflow will be streamlined 14

New Features and Changes in Blackboard Next Generation (Release 9.1) 15

Major New Features Coming in Blackboard NG Redesigned faculty interface Blogs Wikis Journals ePortfolios Learning Modules Lesson Plans Mashups Notifications New Group Features Workflows iTunesU Blackboard Mobile Learn Listing of all 80+ new features available at 16

Blackboard Mobile Learn Apps for accessing course content & activities on iPod, iPhone, iPad, BlackBerry, Android 17

Mobile Learn on iPad Customized version of Mobile Learn App specifically for tablet size and features 18

Brief Demonstration 19

Features Removed Digital Drop Box: replaced by more robust Assignment Tool Student Homepages: replaced by new blogs tool Electric Blackboard: replaced by new Journals tool 20

Upgrade to Blackboard NG Blackboard NG released in fall 2009 Blackboard will not continue to support current version (8.0) after 2011 NIU’s upgrade to Blackboard NG planned for May 2011 (Memorial Day weekend) FacDev and ITS staff began testing NG in summer 2010 to ensure all the features and interfaces work properly, and identify quirks FacDev staff are working on developing new workshops and documentation for NG Upgrade will not impact course materials, it will impact only user interface Students won’t see a drastic difference 21

Workshops Scheduled 40 workshops currently scheduled for Spring & Summer 2011: – 10 preview sessions prior to upgrade – 8 hands-on workshops for new users – 10 “tune-up” workshops for experienced users – 2 “boot camp” days of in-depth advanced sessions – open lab sessions every day of the first week of summer and fall semesters for individual assistance 22

Preparing for The Upgrade Become aware of the new features that are coming Watch for announcements of workshops from Faculty Development – Preview sessions beginning after Spring Break – Hands-on sessions April-July Attend a workshop in Spring or Summer – don’t wait until August! 23

More Information niu.edu/blackboard/ng 24