As previously announced, DoIT will be upgrading the Blackboard (Bb) production system on Thursday, December 22 starting at 10 pm. Though final grades are not due until January 4, all FA2011 faculty are encouraged to back up their Bb gradebook by downloading it to Excel, before the upgrade starts. This is just a precautionary step as no problems are anticipated with the upgrade. DoIT staff will be available in ENGR 025 from 12- 1 pm on Dec. 13, 14, 20 and 21 to provide assistance, should faculty have questions about downloading their grades.

Bb course shells for Winter and Spring 2012 courses will be auto-created on Monday, December 26. Prior to that date, faculty can develop content using older course sites, and then use the export/ import process to move that content once the new shells are auto-created. However, given the start of Winter Session on January 3, DoIT will manually create Winter 2012 shells upon request, with the understanding that faculty who do so need to use a published work around if they encounter the broken links problem the upgrade is meant to resolve.

This upgrade is necessary in order to fix a growing number of web browser incompatibilities, and a known issue of broken links occurring in an imported course. There is no longer a convenient window of time when upgrades can occur during the academic year, but we have reviewed this decision with an informal advisory group of active Bb instructors in several disciplines, as well as the Faculty Senate’s Computer Policy Committee at its 9/16/11 and 10/7/11 meetings. We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to improve the campus’ use of Blackboard.

DoIT and the Faculty Development Center will be offering the Course Redesign/ Hybrid Course Redesign Workshop on January 20, 2012 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm in ENGR 023. In the morning session participants will learn the principles of good course design, including designing assignments and assessments that help students achieve the goals for their learning. In the afternoon session faculty will apply the principles of good course design from the morning session to planning a hybrid course (part-online, part face-to-face). This workshop is open to all full or part time UMBC faculty. To register, please go to this event on the myUMBC Training site.

The workshop will also help meet the requirements for a one-time course-redesign stipend through the Alternate Delivery program (ADP), which is sponsored by both the Office of the Provost, and the Office of Summer, Winter and Special Programs (OSWSP).

The 10th Annual EDUCAUSE Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference will be held at the Baltimore Marriott Waterfront Hotel from January 11-13, 2012. This year's conference is titled "Reimagining IT in a Changing Landscape" and will focus on the need to reimagine, reinvent, and innovate in a climate of constant change and challenge. The programming on Thursday includes a variety of sessions that may be of interest to faculty and educational technologists. For the second year EDUCAUSE is offering special one-day registration options. Early registration is open until December 14 and can be found at http://net.educause.edu/content.asp?page_id=1028976&bhcp=1#REG.

To fix a known issue of broken content links in some courses, reduce growing web browser incompatibilities, and install Collaborate (Blackboard’s replacement for Wimba), DoIT will be upgrading the Blackboard production system on Thursday, December 22, at 10 p.m. As a result, Winter and Spring 2012 course shells will NOT be auto-created until Monday, December 26.

Faculty can still develop 2012 content using older course sites, and simply delay the export/import process until 2012 course shells are auto-created on 12/26. However, given the start of Winter session on January 3, DoIT will manually create Winter 2012 course shells upon request, with the understanding that faculty who do so need to use a published work around if they encounter the broken links problem the upgrade is meant to resolve.

As part of campus-wide user support changes announced by the Division of Information Technology (DoIT) earlier this summer, the Blackboard Help tab inside Bb (available at www.umbc.edu/blackboard/help) is now run by the “Find Help - FAQ” wiki on the myUMBC Help menu.

The Alternate Delivery Program (ADP), sponsored by the Office of the Provost, and the Office of Summer , Winter and Special Programs, provides funding to faculty redesigning a course for hybrid delivery. Instructional design and technology support are also provided by the Faculty Development Center (FDC) and Division of Information Technology (DoIT). Faculty need to complete a series of requirements including developing and presenting two online course exercises. The WT 2012 ADP cohort will begin in mid-September. Interested faculty should read through the requirements and self enroll in the Hybrid Course Design Workshop Bb Organization by September 9. For more information contact Karin Readel at readel@umbc.edu.

Blackboard Collaborate has announced that UMBC's Wimba Classroom will be upgraded to version 6.1.4 during an extended maintenance window from Saturday, August 6 at 10:00 PM to Sunday, August 7 at 7:00 AM. The maintenance release will address server-side enhancements of Wimba Classroom. During this time, services, including live sessions and recordings, will not be available.

Thank you for your patience during this upgrade.

UMBC Blackboard update is provided by the Division of Information Technology for students, faculty and staff using Blackboard at UMBC. If you have questions or need help, please consult the Blackboard Help tab inside Blackboard or directly at http://www.umbc.edu/blackboard/help. You can also contact the DoIT Help Desk at 410.455.3838, ENGR Room 020, or submit an RT ticket via the myUMBC Help menu or directly at http://rt.umbc.edu.

HEADLINES

1. Summer Course Shells Created on 4/19
2. End of 24/7 Bb Support for Students / DoIT Help Desk Moving to RLC
3. End of LO Building Block (Blogs/ Wikis/ Journals)
4. Hybrid Faculty Workshop June 9
5. Call for Software for Lecture Halls/ Lab Images & Preliminary Lab Reservations
6. Bb Courses Older than Fall 2005 Will Be Deleted August 25

DoIT and the Faculty Development Center will be offering the Hybrid Course Redesign Workshop on June 9, from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm in ENG 023. Participants will learn the principles of good course design and apply them to a traditional, face-to-face (F2F) course that could be delivered as a hybrid (part-online, part F2F) course. Using hybrid delivery to demonstrate best practices of hybrid teaching, this workshop is open to any UMBC instructor considering teaching a hybrid course in any semester. To register, please go to this event on the myUMBC Training site.

The workshop will also help meet the requirements for a one-time course-redesign stipend through the Alternate Deliver program (ADP), which is sponsored by both the Office of the Provost, and the Office of Summer, Winter and Special Programs (OSWSP).