Services

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• Services

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Agenda

• Overview
• Managing the Transitions of The Networked
  Learning Environment
• Blackboard Consulting
• Who We Are and What We Do
• Blackboard Training
• Who We Are and What We Do
• Blackboard ASP Services
• Why Choose Blackboard ASP
• Blackboard Client Support
• How Blackboard Provides Support
• Summary and Discussion
• Next Steps

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What we are seeing

• Leading institutions are harnessing the power of
  information networks to connect people and
  resources in new and powerful ways.
• In moving beyond Course Web Sites, these
  institutions are deploying their core
  technologies in an effort to establish a dynamic
  and cohesive learning network
• a networked learning environment.

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The Networked Learning Environment
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The Path to the Networked Learning Environment
INSTITUTIONAL GROWTH
MISSION CRITICAL
EXPLORATORY
SUPPORTED
STRATEGIC
TRANSFORMATIVETHE NETWORKED LEARNING
ENVIRONMENT

• Course web sites

• Commercial enterprise course management system

• Online courses, organizations, and institutional
  services integrated with back-office systems

• A full online campus with learning communities
  and shared digital content resources

• When any student or teacher can view
  instructional content, collaborate with
  educators, evaluate academic performance, and
  access learning resources at any time to achieve
  their educational objectives.

Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
Phase I
TIME
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Transitions to be Managed
INSTITUTIONAL GROWTH
MISSION CRITICAL
EXPLORATORY
SUPPORTED
STRATEGIC
TRANSFORMATIVETHE NETWORKED TRANSACTION
ENVIRONMENT
Phase 2
Phase 3
Phase 4
Phase 5
Phase I
TIME
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Organic vs. Planned Adoption

• Planned Adoption
• Planned/Foundational Adoption
• Initially driven by Executive Sponsor
• Accelerated growth
• Strategic planning upfront

• Organic Adoption
• Organic / Exploratory Adoption
• Initially driven by End Users
• End User Plateau
• Strategic Phase Necessary for continued growth

Transition Management is the key to successful
adoption regardless of approach.
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Managing the ETF Phase Transitions to Achieve
Adoption

• The Transitions represent specific steps that
  must be managed to mature along the technology
  framework
• Two components for successful transition
  management exist
• Implementation Approach A specific process for
  managing the institutions maturing technology
  environment and usage
• Implementation Activities Those specific
  activities required for successful transition at
  each phase

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Blackboard Services

• Blackboard Consulting
• Blackboard Training
• Blackboard ASP
• Blackboard Support

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Blackboard Consulting Who We Are

• 100 consultants
• Experienced in leading and assisting with Bb
  Academic Suite implementations
• Consultant Profile
• Technical consultants experienced in core
  Blackboard languages (Java, Perl), databases, and
  operating systems
• Project managers experience in software
  requirements and project implementation
• Special skill sets in advanced database
  operations, backup and recovery, OS management,
  and network operations
• Experience since 1999 with 450 client
  engagements

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Blackboard Consulting What We Do

• e-Education Planning
• Blackboard System Planning
• Business Continuity and Recovery
• Systems Architecture Design
• Application Load Balancing and Database
  Clustering
• High Availability Infrastructure Design 
• Performance Engineering
• Solution Implementation and Maintenance
• Application Installation, Migration and
  Configuration
• Systems Integration
• Application Development and Building Blocks
• Business Intelligence Reporting
• Systems Maintenance Programs

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Blackboard Academic Suite Planning

• Client Objective
• Partner with Blackboard in the implementation and
  ongoing growth and management of Blackboard
  infrastructure
• Ensure that the joint Blackboard-Loyola team
  focuses on improving the Loyola student
  experience
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Design Loyolas Blackboard system infrastructure,
  integrate it with the Datatel Colleague system
  and train staff on the intricacies of the new
  system.
• Jointly manage system upgrades with client
• Collaborate on implementation of the Blackboard
  Content System and the Blackboard Community
  System
• Outcomes
• Secure and reliable Blackboard environment and
  prepared support team
• Loyola well-positioned to take advantage of new
  features and functions within the Blackboard
  Academic Suite.

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Blackboard Learning System Planning

• Client Objective
• A course management system to power online and
  web-enhanced learning for all Dallas ISD
  students, faculty, and staff.
• Need for planning assistance to prepare for the
  integration of data systems, the development of
  courses and the training of multiple groups of
  users
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Assisted Dallas ISD in identifying its goals for
  online learning, developing a strategy for
  achieving these goals, and creating an
  implementation plan
• Interviewed Dallas ISD personnel, analyzed
  strengths and weaknesses of current online
  education processes and technical support
  infrastructure.
• Delivered Blackboard system administration
  training and provided specific recommendations
  for achieving its online teaching and learning
  objectives.
• Outcomes
• Dallas ISD was prepared for the various
  challenges it would face and was able to budget
  its capital and resources expenditures
  appropriately in order to achieve stated goals.

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Blackboard Community System Planning

• Client Objective
• Implement the Blackboard Community System to
  personalize Minnetonka Public Schools web site -
  creating a powerful and dynamic communication
  link between the district and the community.
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Working with key stakeholders, Blackboard
  Consulting developed a strategic framework for
  community building activities.
• This framework enabled Minnetonka to build and
  tailor its portal services to meet the ever
  changing needs of its user community.
• Client Outcomes
• Fully implemented Blackboard Community System
  that will eventually replace their existing
  public website
• Branded Blackboard application that maintains the
  schools identity and marketing strategy

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Blackboard Content System Planning

• Client Objective
• Need to provide content to the right people, in a
  timely fashion, and in the right format. The
  challenge was that enterprise content at BCUC
  spanned many different departments, and had a
  multitude of content providers and consumers
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Defined a strategic objective for the Blackboard
  Content System and audited BCUCs current content
  management practices including reviewing the
  content lifecycle to identify content providers,
  consumers, and reusable data elements, all of
  which were captured through use-cases.
• Designed a solution, leveraging the content
  lifecycle and required metadata to derive a
  structural permissions model
• Implemented the system for enterprise-wide usage
• Client Outcomes
• BCUC has streamlined many of its internal
  processes. For example, the process for
  validating new courses and building their syllabi
  is clearly defined and requires far less manual
  intervention.

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Business Continuity and Recovery
Insert Client logo

• Client Objective
• Need to provide advanced levels of system
  availability and immediate response times to
  system outages and/or failures
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Designed highly available infrastructure,
  minimizing single points of failure, as well as a
  robust backup solution
• Developed business continuity plan, outlining
  exhaustive list of potential system failure
  scenarios and their proper response activities
• Documented detailed steps for system recovery for
  every failure scenario
• Rehearsed recovery processes for every failure
  scenario
• Client Outcomes
• Pearson is able to deliver its Blackboard content
  through a highly-available environment and
  recover from system failures with minimal end
  user impact

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Application Load Balancing and Database Clustering

• Client Objectives
• Implement a highly available, centralized system
  for all 19 CUNY member campuses and 200,000
  users.
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Designed and developed an infrastructure capable
  of supporting over 200,000 users and reliable
  enough to minimize system outages.
• Built redundancy into each layer of the
  application, leveraging best of breed solutions.
  For example, collaborated with SUN on a clustered
  back-end solution which facilitates real-time
  failover of both the database and file system.
• Client Outcomes
• CUNY supports its user community on an
  infrastructure capable of sustaining expected
  load and scaling as the need arises.
• CUNY contracted a third-party load testing firm
  to push the limits of the system, which yielded
  highly positive results.

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High Availability Infrastructure Design

• Client Objective
• A robust backup and recovery solution to increase
  overall system availability
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Designed a backup and recovery solution tailored
  to VSCs specific recovery needs, documented its
  supporting processes and developed an
  implementation plan that minimized system
  downtime.
• Implemented, tested the solution thoroughly and
  trained VSC staff on various problem-solution
  scenarios within the system.
• Client Outcomes
• VSC has increased operational availability of
  their Blackboard system and alleviated
  administrations concerns around data security.
• In the event of failure, VSC can minimize the
  risk of data loss and downtime of the database
  and application servers to a number of hours
  until full recovery.

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Performance Engineering

• Client Objective
• Surge in Blackboard system usage led to increased
  number of system errors and ultimately to
  degraded performance.
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Audited system infrastructure in order to
  diagnose the performance problems roots.
• Followed performance improvement methodology to
  optimize the environment, recommending
  configuration and infrastructure changes and
  developing a schedule for rapid implementation.
• Educated the management team on the routine
  maintenance needed to support the system and
  maintain performance levels.
• Client Outcome
• Cornell experienced increased operational
  availability of the Blackboard Learning System

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Application Installation, Migration and
Configuration

• Client Objectives
• Migration of existing data to a recently upgraded
  Blackboard Learning System (Release 6.2.)
• To allow Blackboard to perform real-time
  authentication against Susquehannas LDAP
  servers.
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Configured and executed a test migration to
  identify data and/or network-level errors as well
  as determine time and system requirements for
  production process.
• Updated Susquehanna on the implications of the
  new system, executed the production migration and
  prepared the system for enterprise-wise usage.
• Defined LDAP authentication workflow and security
  requirements and configured Blackboard to
  validate login credentials using Susquehannas
  LDAP servers
• Client Outcomes
• All Susquehannas users and courses were migrated
  to the upgraded system in a timely fashion with
  limited change management requirements.
• Blackboard users no longer have to remember an
  additional username and password, limiting
  administrator challenges

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Systems Integration

• Client Objective
• Implement an integrated, enterprise scale
  e-Learning solution to enhance the technological
  and social development of Colombias educational
  system.
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Automated process for generating user accounts
  and courses as well as enrolling students. This
  eliminated a great deal of manual effort formerly
  associated with system administration.
• An infrastructure capable of supporting expected
  growth.
• Client Outcomes
• With a high-performance, scalable, and reliable
  solution, SENA is able to focus its efforts on
  the user outreach and improved teaching and
  learning.

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Application Development and Building Blocks

• Client Objective
• Introduce parents to FCPS online community to
  facilitate greater participation in their
  students learning experiences.
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Developed an integrated calendar that displays a
  students multiple activities. This allows
  parents to see all of their childrens progress
  at a glance.
• Built a module that simplifies a parents ability
  to participate in their childrens educational
  experience. It lists each of their children and
  provides observer access to each of their
  classes.
• Client Outcomes
• FCPS achieved a fully implemented Blackboard
  Community System that brings parents, students
  and teachers together in the partnership for
  learning.

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Business Intelligence Reporting

• Client Objective
• Gain insight into specific Blackboard course
  usage in order to measure outcomes and return on
  investment
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Defined reporting goals and developed a flexible
  Blackboard Building Block to meet goals
• Reporting interface made available through a
  portal module that allows an administrator to
  query active courses and/or active users
  (students or faculty) by timeframe
• Report generates a delimited file that allows for
  further analysis
• Client Outcomes
• South Carolina understands specific usage numbers
  and growth rates, which provides information for
  return on investment calculations and public
  funding needs

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Systems Maintenance Programs

• Client Objective
• Assistance to manage, maintain and support
  Cincinnatis advanced usage of the Blackboard
  Academic Suite.
• Blackboard Consulting Deliverables
• Ad-hoc consulting to assist with are non-software
  related issues, such a hardware and network
  engineering as well as Building Block development
  support
• Scheduled services including semi-annual health
  checks to evaluate system performance,
  capability and general health. This is followed
  by a performance assessment, whereby Cincinnati
  is able to assess system capability in
  conjunction with expected usage growth.
• Dedicated project manager and system architect
  manage the process and review and communicate
  all activities and plans
• Client Outcomes
• Cincinnati experienced increased operational
  effectiveness through a holistic approach and
  documentation that treats the system as one
  entity rather than a group of disparate hardware
  and software systems
• Cincinnati is better able to plan for upgrades
  and identify and manage risks

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Blackboard Training Who We Are

• 100 trainers
• Trainer Profile
• Skilled project managers and professional
  educators with extensive experience in K-12
  teaching, higher education and commercial
  training
• Experience since 1999 with training thousands of
  users from 900 client institutions
• Play substantive roles as part of Bb Academic
  Suite implementation teams at client sites

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Blackboard Training What We Do

• Types of Training
• Administrator and System Support Training
• Instructor and End User Training
• Developer Training
• Custom Training
• Training Series
• Administration Series
• Essentials Series
• Effective Course Design
• Building Blocks Training
• Training Location Options
• Onsite Workshops
• Online Workshops
• Regional Events

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Blackboard Administrator and System Support
Training

• Client Objective
• Train system administrators and support staff on
  management of the Blackboard Academic Suite
• Blackboard Training Deliverables
• Blackboard Learning System Administration
• Introduction to tools and functions of the System
  Control Panel
• Reviews the administrative features of the
  application and the procedures for in stalling
  and managing system extensions.
• Provides an overview of the Blackboard Learning
  System Operations Workbook which is designed to
  help administrators maintain the Black board
  application.
• Blackboard Community System Administration
• Introduction to community-related tools and
  settings of the System Control Panel
• Reviews the distributed administration features
  of the application and the procedures for
  managing roles, assigning tabs and importing and
  exporting modules.
• Blackboard Content System Administration
• Introduction to content-related tools and
  settings of the System Control Panel
• Reviews four main areas of the application
  personal online file storage, learning content
  management, e-Portfolios and library digital
  asset management
• Introduces strategies for effectively managing
  the Blackboard Content System
• Client Outcomes
• Reduced support costs with well prepared
  Blackboard administrators who can effectively
  anticipate and address end user questions
• Improved system uptime and performance with
  administrators who know how to properly manage
  the system

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Blackboard Instructor and End User Training

• Client Objective
• Train instructors, instructional designers and
  other end users on the Blackboard Academic Suite
  to ensure successful adoption and maximum return
  on investment
• Blackboard Training Deliverables
• Blackboard Learning System Essential
• Introduction to content areas, communication
  tools, assessment and course management settings
• Reviews the pedagogy of online learning
• Presents best practices for teaching and learning
  online
• Blackboard Community System Essentials
• Introduction to features and functions for
  building online communities, managing information
  exchange and delivering community-based
  information and services.
• Blackboard Content System Essentials
• Introduction to web folders, e-Portfolios,
  document management (tracking, permissions,
  versioning, passes and searches), workflows and
  the linking of content to the Blackboard Learning
  System
• Blackboard Effective Course Design
• Introduction to instructional design theory
• Provides practical exercises to help individuals
  plan the overall architecture of their courses.
• Client Outcomes
• Greater adoption and more effective use of
  Blackboard applications
• Minimized support costs due to strong base of end
  user knowledge

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Blackboard Developer Training

• Client Objective
• Train technical developers on Blackboard Building
  Blocks to enable them to develop system
  extensions
• Blackboard Training Deliverables
• Building Blocks Essentials training
• Blackboard Architecture and APIs
• Development environment overview
• Data integration system extensions
• Bb Community System extensions
• Bb Content System extensions
• Reporting system extensions
• Designed and facilitated by trainers who have
  technical experience with Blackboard Consulting
• Client Outcomes
• Academic clients empowered to develop their own
  unique solutions
• Commercial vendors prepared to make their
  software interoperate with Blackboard
  applications

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Blackboard Custom Training

• Client Objective
• Columbus Public Schools engaged Blackboard
  Training to develop a customized program designed
  to ensure rapid Blackboard adoption over the
  course of a semester by the entire district
• Blackboard Training Deliverables
• Delivered Blackboard System Administrator
  training
• Provided Jumpstart training to teachers 6
  trainers delivering intensive training to 11
  schools simultaneously
• Delivered consultation training Blackboard
  trainer deployment to Columbus Public Schools on
  a monthly basis to promote adoption
• Client Outcomes
• 170 teachers trained on Blackboard
• Secured new grants to extend the use of
  Blackboard in Columbus and across Ohio
• Blackboard to power Columbus Virtual High School

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Blackboard ServicesBlackboard ASP Services

• Over 300 Customers from All Market Sectors
• Over 3 Million Users in our Systems Over 2
  Million Enrolled Users
• 500,000 Courses
• 1000 Servers
• 11 Terabytes of Storage Capacity Growing
• 7 Terabytes of Data Transferred Daily
• 72,000,000 HTTP Requests Served Per Day
• 99.7 or Better Uptime Guarantee

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5 Key Reasons to Choose Blackboard ASP Services
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Reliability Build Redundancy Stability

• ASP Infrastructures located in Tier-1 Datacenters
  at key Internet hubs
• Multiple physical connections to three Tier-1
  ISPs for redundant access to Internet aggregate
  2.4 Gbps capacity
• Multiple, Redundant Routers, Firewalls, Load
  Balancers, Switches Servers
• 4 levels of power backups for 100 power
  availability
• Climate control for optimal network environment

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Security Protect Network and Backup Data

• Physical Security Tier-1 datacenter security
  including
• limited access to authorized personnel
• identification badges
• security cameras
• 24x7 on-site security
• Network Security Including
• Firewall Intrusion Detection System
• Full-time Security Engineer
• Third Party Audit
• Data Security Multiple levels of database and
  file backup

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Scalability Build an Environment to Support
Growth

• Bandwidth and Storage is Never Capped
• Additional Bandwidth on Demand
• Available in 1 Mbps increments
• Additional Storage on Demand
• 10 GB unit increments for Learning System
• 1 TB unit increments for Content System
• Additional Servers Added as Needs Grow
• Additional Active Users Support
• Includes incremental bandwidth, storage and
  hardware
• Software Updates/Upgrades Made Easy

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Fully Managed Service 24x7 Operations and Support

• One Stop Client Support from experts who design
  and host the software
• Services backed up by 99.7 Availability
  Guarantee credit issued for violations
• 24 x 7 ASP Support
• Dedicated Application Support Manager
• Single Point of Contact for Blackboard Software
  and Hosting
• Two Designated Client System Administrators
• Phone, Web and Email based Ticketing System
• Escalation and Response Time based on Severity
• All Upgrade and Patch Applications Provisioned by
  Experienced Professionals

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Cost Control Lower Costs than Self-Hosted

• By hosting their Blackboard systems through
  Blackboard ASP Services, institutions realize
  significant savings when compared to hosting the
  systems on campus.
• Savings depend on the type size of
  implementation institutions circumstance.
• Blackboard ASP can provide a customizable
  three-year Total Cost of Ownership (TCO)
  calculation document.

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Blackboard ServicesBlackboard Client Support

• You and your staff quickly responded to the
  problem and understood its importance. The
  service we received this week in response to
  this issue was exemplary. You really care about
  your product and your customers.Larry McGrath,
  University of California Riverside
• "I simply can't be happier with the level of
  quality support that I'm receiving from
  Blackboard right now!Eric Kunnen, Grand
  Rapids Community College

• System Administrator Support
• Dedicated Technical Support Manager
• 24 hour support and toll free number
• Access to Behind the Blackboard, the web-based
  support solution
• Surveys, newsletters, and other client
  communication
• Client service reviews
• Six global support locations
• Faculty and Student Support
• Professional support staff provide a customized
  end-user support experience via phone, web and
  email
• Premium Support
• Advanced system consulting and health checks

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Blackboards Support Standards The 4 Cs

• Competency
• Professional and efficient communication
• Thorough analysis
• Leverage of knowledge resources
• Commitment
• Exceeding expectations
• Ownership
• Developing relationships
• Holistic and forward-thinking approach to
  assisting clients
• Communication
• Responsive
• Proactive
• Clear
• Care
• Respect and understanding
• Sensitive to the importance of every situation

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How Blackboard Implements our Support Standards
People
Performance Indicators
Process
Technology

• System Administrators
• Client Advocacy
• Underlying Technology Expertise
• TSM
• AM
• Community
• User Groups
• List_serv

• Project 24
• Engineering Services
• Global Services and ASP Operations
• Client driven requirements
• Enhancement Requests
• Application Packs
• Performance Benchmarking Team
• Root Cause Analysis

• Client Satisfaction
• Response Time
• Case Reviews
• Live Call Rate
• Total Contacts
• Employee Satisfaction
• Cost/Productivity Goals
• Organizational/ Maturity goals

• Behind the Blackboard
• Peoplesoft
• Google
• IP Telephony
• Parature
• Lab infrastructure
• How to Documentation
• Release Notes
• Tutorials

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Next Step

• Questions and Comments
• Follow-up Items