Blackboard System Migration Notice

The system upgrade of our campus Blackboard System from version 5.5 to version 6.1 will begin on December 22, 2004 at 3:30 PM. The migration process is scheduled to complete by December 23, 2004 at 11:00 PM. During this time the Blackboard System at NSU will be unavailable. Please make note of this schedule to ensure that you have taken care of any business, grading, publishing, etc. before this scheduled migration. If you have any questions about this migration, please see the articles "New Features of Blackboard Version 6.1" and "NSU Blackboard Migration FAQs".

NSU Blackboard Migration FAQs

These are common questions and answers about the Blackboard System Migration at NSU.

• Q: When is the migration going to happen at NSU?
• A: The NSU Blackboard System Migration will begin on December 22, 2004 at 3:30 PM. The process is scheduled to complete on December 23, 2004 at 11:00 PM.
• Q: Will the Blackboard Server be available for use during the migration process?
• A: No. The system migration will require that ALL Blackboard services be unavailable during the migration process. Access to the Blackboard System at NSU will not be available during the migration/upgrade.
• Q: Will all of my courses and materials be copied to the new system?
• A: Yes. All courses, course content, users, discussions, and all other content will be copied from the current Blackboard System (Version 5.5) to the new Blackboard System (Version 6.1).
• Q: Will my password or username change on the new system?
• A: No. Your Blackboard username and Blackboard password will remain the same. You will access the system with the same credentials that you currently access Blackboard at NSU.
• Q: Once the migration is complete, will I still be able to access Blackbord from off-campus?
• A: Yes. The Blackboard system at NSU will continue to be accessible both on-campus and off-campus, once the migration process has completed.
• Q: What are the new features of Blackboard Version 6.1?
• A: There are many new features and enhancements, too numerous to mention here. If you would like more details about what features are coming in Version 6.1, please review the document: http://blackboard2.nsuok.edu/bbls_rel6_new_and_changed.pdf, which contains details about the new version.
• Q: How do I get new courses created in the new Version of Blackboard at NSU.
• A: In order to facilitate automatic loading and maintenance of student rosters in the Blackboard System, please send your course-creation requests as an email to the Blackboard Administrator: bbadmin@nsuok.edu. Please be sure to include: Your username, The semester and year for the class, and the NSU ZAP number of the course.

Recycling Your Course at the End of the Semester

To recycle your course at the end of the semester, go to the Control Panel to remove the areas that you no longer need, i.e., Announcements, Users, Groups, Discussion Board, Assessment, Gradebook, Statistics, Dropbox. To get there:

• Go to Control Panel
• Course Utilities
• Course Recycler

It would be a good idea to save the entire course to another destination for backup purposes such as a CD or L drive. You may choose that option under Course Utilities as well. For information about how to Archive your course, please see the article "Archiving Your Course" in this newsletter.

Archiving Your Course - For Backup Purposes

The following steps outline how to archive your course in order to keep your own personal backup:

1. Open your course
2. Click Control Panel
3. Click Course Utilities
4. Click Archive Course
5. Fill in the Blanks
6. Submit
7. When you click Submit, the next screen will ask you if you want to download your course file.
8. Click here
9. Click Save File button.
10. Select where you want to save it (the drive). It will save as a zip file.

Free Digital Multimedia Library Internet Archive

The Internet Archive is a 501(c)(3) public nonprofit that was founded to build an ‘Internet library,’ with the purpose of offering permanent access for researchers, historians, and scholars to historical collections that exist in digital format. To access the website: http://www.internetarchive.org/

Contributed by Charles Dreveskracht

Password Change

For students needing password changes for their Blackboard course, they may e-mail help@nsuok.edu or visit Microcomputing Services on the third floor of the NET Building.

Blackboard 6.1 Workshops

Blackboard 6.1 Workshops will be held on Thursday, January 6th at 10:00 and 2:00 in NET 621. Notify Stacy Hicks at 5585 or murphyst@nsuok.edu to enroll. The workshops will be for beginning users.

New Features of Blackboard 6.1

As you may be aware, NSU is planning a System Upgrade on the Blackboard Server over the Christmas Break. We will be upgrading from Blackboard Version 5.5 to Blackboard Version 6.1. The new version has many enhancements such as:

• New, smoother user interface.
• Fewer clicks to get a task done.
• Improved Gradebook, with more views, and easier management.
• Rich Text Editor (Internet Explorer Only) allows you more control over the look of your Announcements, Documents, and other Content. Includes a Spell Checker!
• Instructors can "copy" and "upload" their course archives without having to contact the Blackboard Administrator.
• New "Quick Edit" view allows you to toggle between what students would see and an edit mode for quickly updating documents.
• Improved Assessment management and features. Students are now warned if they leave any unanswered questions on an Assessment. A new "Force Completion" option is available to enforce the completion of an assessment by the student.

See the following document for more detailed information about the new features of Blackboard Version 6.1:

http://blackboard2.nsuok.edu/bbls_rel6_new_and_changed.pdf

Getting a Course Created on Blackboard at NSU

During the Fall 2004 semester, NSU has been "piloting" a new way for setting up course on NSU's Blackboard Server. This new process allows NSU to copy the student enrollment from Osage/Excells to your Blackboard Course on the NSU Blackboard Server.
Here's how the process works:

1. An NSU Instructor contacts the Blackboard Administrator: bbadmin@nsuok.edu, and sends an e-mail request for the course including: the Instructor username, the semester and year for the course, and the NSU ZAP Number.
2. The Blackboard Administrator finds the course information in the Osage/Excells system and creates the Blackboard course shell on the server with a standardized course_id. The course_id will be in the form: Semester-Year-ZAPNumber (for example: "03-05-1123").
3. The Blackboard Administrator automatically loads the student roster from the current enrollment for the course in the Osage/Excells system into the Blackboard course.
4. The Instructor can now begin loading course materials and content to make it available for the students.

**New feature available in the coming upgrade to Blackboard 6.1: Once the standardized course shell is created, and the student roster is loaded into the course, you will be able to COPY or upload and ARCHIVE of course materials right into the newly created course shell! Here's how:

• Open the "old" course that has the content you want to copy.
• In the Control Panel, select "Copy Course".
• In the "Copy Course" screen, select "Copy Course Material to Existing Course".
• In the following screen, Click the "Browse" button next to the "Destination Course" field.
• Find and select the "new" course shell that was created for you by the Blackboard Administrator.
• Select which content items you want to copy from the "old" course to the "new" course.
• If the "new" course shell already has the NSU Student enrollment, make sure you leave the "Enrollment" option UN-Selected, or it will copy the Roster from the "old" course to the "new" course.
• Click on Submit, and the content items you selected will be copied from the "old" course into the newly created course shell. This will make it far easier to get up and running each semester if you teach similar courses and want to re-use your course content from semester to semester!

First Week Statistics

So far this Fall 2004 semester, NSU has created 204 new Blackboard Courses that are being actively used. In those courses there are over 5000 students and instructors actively using the system. That is a great leap for this semester. Some of the interesting uses for Blackboard at NSU this semester includes using the system to facilitate over 40 sections of the "College Strategies" curriculum for the entering Freshmen. There are over 1300 students and instructors enrolled in the College Stragies online courses.

NSU Blackboard News Startup

I just want to welcome everyone to the NSU Blackboard News Blog. This is a great way to keep everyone informed with news, events, and features for the NSU Blackboard Instructor Community. Check Back often for new tips, tricks, and enhancements for Blackboard at our Campus.