ENDING THE DEBATE:

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ENDING THE DEBATE
Alicia Russell Director, EdTech Center Deanna
Aho UI Designer Susan Aman Applications
Developer
OFF-THE-SHELF VS. CUSTOM OR HAVING IT ALL
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• Background Our Solution
• Increasing Blackboard Use
• What is the Control Panel?
• Why Build the Control Panel?
• The User Interface
• Control Panel Demonstration
• Next Steps
• Questions and Answers

OVERVIEW
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BACKGROUND

• Some early adopter/developer faculty have used
  technology in teaching for many years
• Universities have built or purchased CMS to
  simplify use of technology in teaching
• Regardless of homegrown or purchased CMS, some
  faculty want to do it on their own

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Need to satisfy our constituents
BACKGROUND

• Early adopters who want custom solutions they can
  control
• University that wants ROI on it CMS (includes
  increasing use of technology among faculty)
• Students who want course material online

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Our Solution HAVING IT ALL
SOLUTION
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HAVING IT ALL
SOLUTION

• Build support structure to increase the use of
  Blackboard among faculty
• Develop Web Developers Control Panel for faculty
  who want control

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At Northeastern University
NORTHEASTERNUNIVERSITY

• 20,000 Undergrads
• 4,000 Grads
• Co-op school (5 yrs, alternate work and study)
• Blackboard adopted in 2000
• Integration with registrars database in Fall
  2003

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INCREASINGBLACKBOARD USE

• Build a Blackboard Course in a Day
• Build a Blackboard Course in Half-A-Day
• Custom Advanced Blackboard Training
• EdTechies
• Open Lab Hours

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• Teaching with Technology Workshops
• Online Documentation
• Syllabus Builder or Three Steps to an Online
  Syllabus

INCREASINGBLACKBOARD USE
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• Collection of functions
• Standardized, easy to use
• Self supporting

WHAT IS THECONTROL PANEL?
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Faculty and other U groups requesting
functionality outside of Blackboard
WHY BUILD THECONTROL PANEL?

• Stand alone (or a la carte) functionality
• Customization
• Interactivity when not related to a specific
  class
• Functionality that does not require a user account

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SCALABILITY
WISE USE OF RESOURCES?

• Selection of projects that had the potential to
  serve more than one use/person
• Programming done with an eye to
  scalability/RE-USE
• Well documented

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USERINTERFACE
Geared toward the less experienced user One
main navigation structure that lists / introduces
the tools No login required to view information
about the tools
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USERINTERFACE
Provides definition of each tool Provides ideas
on how to use each tool effectively in
teaching Provides example of each tool
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USERINTERFACE
Forms-based Intuitive
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Most questions have been anticipated and answered
SELF SUPPORTING

• Tool definitions
• Suggestions for use
• Example of tool
• Frequently Asked Questions
• Confirmation email includes
• Directory information
• Information of adding additional iterations of
  the tool
• Suggestions for adding design elements
• Information on editing the tool

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ARCHITECTURE

• UNIX/Windows Platform
• PHP and MySQL on Apache
• Portable - Can be be packaged and used on other
  servers
• Modular
• - Easy to make changes
• - Easy to add on new tools
• Contact s.aman_at_neu.edu

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THE POWER OF THE CONTROL PANEL

• Renew Account
• Delete Account
• Change Account Info
• Request Virtual Domain

Account Manager
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THE POWER OF THECONTROL PANEL

• Syllabus
• Blackboard Portal
• Faculty E-Portfolio

Page Builder
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THE POWER OF THECONTROL PANEL

• Poll / Survey
• Counter
• Forums
• Blog
• Site Search
• Custom FAQ
• Calendar
• Emailer
• Feedback Form

Interactivity Builder
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THE POWER OF THECONTROL PANEL

• Password Protection
• Limited Access by IP

Content Protector
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THE POWER OF THECONTROL PANEL

• Edtech Center
• - FAQ
• - Survey
• Hybrid Training
• - Forums
• - Emailer
• Institute on Race Justice
• - Feedback Form
• - Search

Examples
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• Complete Development of
• Online Faculty Portfolio
• Blackboard Portal Page
• Web Page Templates
• Integrate with University Faculty
• Portal Page
• Internal User Testing
• External User Testing (?)

NEXT STEPS
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Our way of ENDING THE DEBATE is to
CONCLUSION
Make the best use of our universitys chosen CMS
through improving Bb training and support
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Our way of ENDING THE DEBATE is to
CONCLUSION
Find ways of extending Bbs functionality by
creating portals that link to Bb courses
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Our way of ENDING THE DEBATE is to
CONCLUSION
Create a web developers control panel to address
the needs of a wider variety of users
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Our way of ENDING THE DEBATE is to
CONCLUSION
HAVE IT ALL
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QUESTIONS