Blackboard: Providing Help for Users

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Blackboard Providing Help for Users

• JQ JohnsonDirector, Center for Educational
  Technologies
• University of Oregonjqj_at_uoregon.edu
• 18 May 2006

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This presentation

• Blackboard at the University of Oregon
• a look behind the scenes
• Overview and institutional context
• Brief review of hardware/software/management
• Providing user support
• Discussion

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What is Blackboard?

• A commercial, web-based Course Management
  System
• An integrated, easy to use environment offering
  wide variety of features for teaching
• access control only enrolled students
  participate in course
• easy web publishing of syllabus, lecture notes,
  etc.
• asynchronous communication announcements,
  threaded discussion, surveys
• synchronous communication chat room, virtual
  whiteboard
• online quizzes, homework submission, and
  gradebook
• collaborative workgroups
• A UO Library service, in collaboration with CC

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Timeline of UO Blackboard project

• Needs assessment (1996-1999) evaluated CMSs
  trial courses using WebCT and Blackboard
• Production (summer 2000) Blackboard becomes
  standard library service
• Upgrade (fall 2003) to Blackboard 6 Learning
  System (aka Enterprise Edition)
• Most recent upgrade (March 2006) to Bb 7.0
• Planned upgrades many, mostly between terms (see
  Bb news for details)

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Blackboard usage at UO consistent growth since
1999

• Statistics as of 9 Mar 2006
• 17,213 student users (85 of all students)
• 1209 active fwinter-term or spr-sem Banner (CRN)
  sites
• 1278 faculty, GTFs, and staff teaching using
  Blackboard
• Approx. 51,000 fall coursesite enrollments
  (estimate at least 60 of all UO student credit
  hours now have a Blackboard component)
• Approximately 1.5M webserver hits/day, 12,000
  logins/day

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The UO Blackboard home page https//blackboard.u
oregon.edu
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The Blackboard team at the Library

• Not shown
• Library Systems staff
• CET Consulting (faculty support)
• ITCs (student support)
• Media Services, CETIM
• etc.

Tim Boshart Blackboard Coordinator and system
admin
JQ Johnson Director, CET and project manager
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Collaboration with other units

• Managed by Center for Educational Technologies
  (CET, part of Library), in close collaboration
  with the Computing Center
• Blackboard Advisory Committee (mix of support
  staff, teaching faculty, administrators)
• Lots of CC people involved, e.g.
• Tim Ketchum, database programmer
• Stephany Freeman, DBA
• Connie French, Accounts

• Many other units involved too!
• Teaching Effectiveness Program
• Registrar
• Continuation Center Distance Ed
• Support staff in many departments

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Server/network architecture
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Server details production systems
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Application server architecture
User requests (https)
Radiusauth.
files
DB server (ebony)
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Blackboard users

• Each user has an entry in the Bb database
• Data ID (CC userid), name, email address,
  external key (PIDM), student/faculty ID
• Set of users loaded from Banner twice a day
  (11am, 5pm)
• Users include registered students, faculty and
  staff, etc.
• To log in, user needs both Blackboard db entry
  and matching CC ID (used via RADIUS to validate
  password)

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Blackboard coursesites

• Coursesites are created automatically for
  (almost) all UO CRN courses each term.
• Instructors can request a merged site combining
  CRNs
• UO instructor of record is Blackboard
  instructor
• Default to unavailable to students instructor
  must activate before use
• Sites created starting beginning of registration
  period for term, then twice a day
• Also sites for department (staff) major
  (undergrad) by request to courseinfo_at_blackboard

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User support online
http//libweb.uoregon.edu/cet/blackboard/help/ A
lso Blackboard FAQ, news blog, vendor manuals,
etc.
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User support for students

• Only minimal user support typically needed
• Mostly self-help
• Some support provided in Library ITCs
• Problems with usernames/passwords and with
  browser configuration referred to Micro Services
• Escalation for 2nd level tech support
  courseinfo_at_blackboard.uoregon.edu (Tim Boshart,
  JQ Johnson)

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User support for faculty

• For instruction in using Blackboard
• CET Consulting, Knight Library Rm 19, 6-1942
• Teaching Effectiveness Program
• Escalation for 2nd level tech support
  courseinfo_at_blackboard.uoregon.edu (Tim Boshart,
  JQ Johnson)

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Referring people for 2nd level support

• Good general rule if you tried debugging the
  problem, then escalate if you punted then send
  user to Knight ITC first
• Email to courseinfo_at_blackboard.uoregon.edu is
  preferred escalation path
• Encourage the client to provide adequate
  background information
• Who both real name and UO email address
• What specific problem or error msg (and what
  coursesite)
• Where Mac or PC? What browser? On or off
  campus?
• And any additional information on what you may
  already have tried to help resolve the problem

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Typical question 1 I cant log in

• Typical reasons
• Trying to log in with id other than
  user_at_uoregon.edu
• Password expired
• Student may not be currently registered /
  Instructor may not be currently on payroll
• MSIE security set too high
• Response
• Explain the login architecture / verify users
  syntax
• Verify radius login and password (more on next
  slide)
• Check if student can log in from computer lab w/
  Firefox
• See http//libweb.uoregon.edu/cet/blackboard/help/
  login-help.html for additional tricks
• If student not in online directory (and hasnt
  requested directory restriction), refer to
  registrar

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I cant log in continued

• Look at the error message blackboard gives
• Make sure student can log in to CC (since
  Blackboard uses radius authentication)
• Try login to email.uoregon.edu
• Try ssh to shell.uoregon.edu (most reliable)
• Reset password at https//password.uoregon.edu
  (many problems are due to expired password)

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I cant log in (continued)

• Example suppose weve determined that student
  uses MSIE on PC and has changed security to
  high
• One possible resolution Tools/Internet Options/
  Security/Trusted Sites add https//blackboard.
  uoregon.edu

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Question Blackboard doesnt work on my computer
at home.

• Check browser version Firefox preferred
  current MSIE/PC well tested current Safari/Mac
  mostly works.
• Faculty sometimes publish very large files (long
  download times on narrowband connections).
• Best debugging advice
• Send student to an on-campus computer lab to make
  sure it works there.
• Check browser plugins and settings.
• For a browser configuration test, see
  http//libweb.uoregon.edu/cet/blackboard/plugin/

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Question Is Blackboard down?

• Visit https//blackboard.uoregon.edu. Check news
  
• Check http//status.uoregon.edu
• Regular Bb downtimeFri 10pm-11, plus one Sat.
  each monthnext July 8
• For tech. problems,system down, etc.
• Library Systems6-3049

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Question My course doesnt show up in My
Courses

• Typical reason
• Instructor probably hasnt made the site
  available yet
• Response
• Explain that not all courses use Blackboard, and
  suggest contacting professor, who can make site
  available
• If that doesnt work, refer student to
  courseinfo_at_blackboard.uoregon.edu

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Question My course is unavailable. What
does that mean?

• Professors version of previous question
• Instructor can enter and add content, but student
  doesnt see course listed
• Instructor can make site available
• Go to Control Panel for site.
• Click "Settings" at the bottom of the first
  column.
• Click Course Availability
• Click "Yes" and then "Submit". You're done.

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Question How do I enroll in a Blackboard
class?

• Response
• You dont have to. The system enrolls you
  automatically based on course registration.
• If you are a UO student but not registered for
  that CRN the instructor can add you. Contact the
  professor.
• If you are teaching a course and want to use
  Blackboard, contact CET Consulting, 6-1942.
• If you are faculty/staff and want to use
  Blackboard for non-course activity, contact CET
  Consulting.

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Question Im not getting class email

• Typical reason
• Student reads aol or gmail, but mail from inside
  Bb always goes to uoregon.edu address
• Response
• Teach student about email accounts, and maybe set
  up mail forwarding

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Question I cant view a particular file.

• Response
• What is the file name and type? Mouse over and
  look in status bar.
• Make sure user has the right plugins. Many
  instructors post .doc or .ppt files. Some post
  .mov or flash .svg
• Cross-platform issues? E.g., Safari doesnt
  handle commas in filenames well MSIE doesnt
  handle filenames without extensions well.

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Question I see little question marks
everywhere.

• Explanation Bb now generates UTF-8 web pages,
  but some text in database was pasted from Word
  and may have broken code and windows-1252 chars
• Solution usually prof. must fix content.

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Question I see little question marks
everywhere. (continued)

• Variant if prof did save as web page from
  Word then uploaded, Bb now overrides any ltmeta
  http-equivContent-type content"text/html
  charsetwindows-1252"gt when doc is displayed in a
  Bb frame.
• Workaround student may get better results by
  forcing charset. When you see a bunch of ?
  characters
• MSIE on a PC Right-click in document frame, and
  choose Encoding-gtWestern European (windows).
  Dont use View menu for the browser window as a
  whole.
• Safari on a Mac Use View menu and select
  View-gtText Encoding-gt Western (ISO Latin-1).
  Youll be bounced back to top level of
  coursesite, but when you navigate back down to
  the page youll see the correct text. When done,
  reset the encoding by View-gtText Encoding-gt
  Default.
• Firefox on Mac or PC Use View menu and select
  View-gt Character Encoding-gtWestern (ISO-8859-1).
• Better solution faculty should save documents
  as PDF files before uploading.

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Typical student questions (continued)

• For more QA, see the Blackboard FAQ
• http//libweb.uoregon.edu/cet/blackboard/faq/

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For more information

• Help for Blackboard at UO http//libweb.uoregon.e
  du/cet/blackboard/ help/
• Southworth, Howie, et al. (2006). Blackboard for
  Dummies. Hoboken, NJ Wiley.
• Or contact
• JQ Johnson, 6-1746, jqj_at_uoregon.edu
• Tim Boshart, 6-1458, tboshart_at_uoregon.edu