This document provides an overview of Blackboard, the learning management system used at Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC). It discusses how GRCC has expanded its use of Blackboard from basic course sites to a fully integrated enterprise system. Key features of Blackboard like the learning system, community system, and ecommerce system are summarized. The document also highlights some of Blackboard's more advanced and emerging capabilities.

1. eLearning @ GRCC An Overview of the Blackboard Experience at Grand Rapids Community College Eric Kunnen Coordinator of Instructional Technologies The Learning Academy Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids, Michigan [email_address] 616-234-3415 www.grcc.edu

2. About Grand Rapids Community College One of 28 Community Colleges in Michigan Established in 1914 Located in Grand Rapids, Michigan Main Downtown Campus 2 Off Campus Technical Education Locations Credit Enrollment 15,000 Non-Credit Enrollment 10,000

3. Issues & Needs Faculty and students are driving instructional technology applications. The education experience … campus activity is more than just what happens in the classroom (physical or virtual). Increasingly, campus communication, sharing, and collaboration extends beyond the physical boundaries of the institution. With multiple campus sites, multiple course delivery formats, and a high population of part time students, there was a need for an easy-to-use, unifying, scalable elearning and course management system…

4. Blackboard’s Academic Suite

5. Learning System Enables institutions to connect users to online communities, deliver targeted content to diverse user groups and incorporate e-Commerce in the learning experience. Enables instructors to create and manage course content, utilize publisher content, evaluate performance and communicate with students. Community System Content System Allows digital content to be shared, repurposed, and managed in diverse ways.

6. Blackboard @ GRCC

7. From Basic to Enterprise... Timeline Basic CourseInfo/Learning System August 1999 - Blackboard CourseInfo 4 April 2001 - Blackboard 5 Level 1 Enterprise Learning System January 2003 - Blackboard 6 Learning System and Community Portal System Current Deployment - Blackboard 7.1 Learning System, Community System, and eCommerce System ?

8. From Basic to Enterprise Course Management System Requirements Scalable (Mission Critical, Enterprise Level System) Integration with SIS and other systems for Automation Usability ( Ease of Use ) Flexibility Customizable Effortless & Efficient (Administrative and Faculty) Indispensable Role and Value to e-Education ( Relative Advantage ) Contributes to the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning

9. Blackboard @ GRCC Blackboard is… An online classroom for our online and hybrid courses. A course web site for traditional courses. A web-based environment for student organizations to share materials and communicate. A resource for college employees to communicate and share materials. A college wide professional development resource. A survey and assessment tool. An ecommerce system for parking, printing, door access, etc. Blackboard Components Learning System (Courses) Community System (Organizations) eCommerce/Transaction System (Cards) Content System Outcome System (Beta)

10. Learning System - Online Courses Bb is the Classroom 30+ Courses Offered + 1 Non-Credit Workshop Instructors Required to Attend Online Training Delivered with Bb Orientation Course

11. Learning System - Classroom Web-enhancement Content Management and Delivery Assignments Communication Gradebook Quizzing In Class Organization and Presentation Video

12. Learning System – Training, Support, and Professional Development Training and Support Online Course Development Training Faculty Support Tutoring/Department Communication Student Technology Help Desk Learning Academy (Professional Development via Portal/Course) Training, Employee Orientation, FERPA, Blood Borne Pathogen etc.

13. Community System - Departments, Teams, & Committees Content/Document & Idea sharing Communication Easy-to-use Web Publishing Tracking Off Campus Access to Information & Documents A Few Examples Academic Senate Strategy Team Faculty Laptop Project Developmental Communication FIPSE Grant Registrar – Training Materials and Reference Business Department – sharing materials, ideas, activities English – communication, material/idea sharing Video

14. eCommerce System - GRCC RaiderCard Raider Card April 2004 Bb Transaction System Current Use Door Access Food Service Parking Vending Printing Library Bookstore Future Plans eMarketplace Payroll Deduction Video

15. Blackboard’s Most Commonly Used Features

16. Announcements Enables instructors to post important information.

17. Content Ability to create learning units, upload course materials, and access a wide array of publisher cartridges.

18. Communication Ability to send email, create discussion boards, instant message, grou pages, chat, etc.

19. Discussion Board

20. Other DB Features Built-in discussion forum & thread grading . A Rate postings option allows users to rate posts in the forum on a scale of one to five stars (peer review potential). Users can save drafts until ready for posting. The Subscribe to Thread option notifies users via email each time a new post is added. Instructors can copy forums within and between courses and select whether the entire forum or only its settings should be copied to the new location. Forums have an availability option that replaces the “archive” forum feature. Moderation capability is available.

21. Assignments Send and receive electronic assignments with feedback. Download all submissions or only ungraded.

22. Gradebook & Multiple Attempt Tracking Grading is managed in the gradebook. Ability to turn off gradebook averages. Overrides & Extra Credit Instructors have the option to clear (or delete) the last/first/highest/lowest attempt or all attempts within a specified date range.

23. Control Panel & Quick Edit

24. Blackboard’s Enhanced Features

25. What’s New Module This module alerts students of any key changes or updates since the last time they logged in. Examples include: new announcements, new assignments, new discussion board posts, etc.

26. Review Status Content items include a setting that allows students to mark those items as “Reviewed”. The User Progress page reports which students have reviewed the content item.

27. Adaptive Release Provides the ability for an instructor to create custom learning paths through course content and activities. Content items, discussions, assessments, assignments, or other activities can be released to students based on a set of criteria including: date/time, specific individuals , group membership , institutional role, grade on a particular test or assignment, or Review Status .

28. Assessment Questions Allows the creation of additional questions types within assessments. Calculated Formula Calculated Numeric File Upload Hotspot Either/Or Fill in Multiple Blanks Jumbled Sentence Opinion Scale/Likert Quiz Bowl Short Answer

29. Performance Dashboard A course tool that allows instructors to see key information and outcomes for all course users. The Performance Dashboard displays the last time each user logged in, their course role, Adaptive Release criteria, Review Status for content items, and grades. Instructors can sort the information by multiple criteria.

30. Additional Tools

31. Extending Blackboard With Building Blocks

32. Building Blocks Blackboard Open Source Community Sharing & 3 rd Party Integration Science Toolkit Advanced Group Management Discussion Grader Link Checker RSS Merlot Podcasting Photo Roster Horizon Wimba Voice Tools Respondus StudyMate Securexam SafeAssignment Learning Objects Campus Pack (Blogs & Wikis) Instant Messaging (Pronto) And more…

33. iTunesU, Podcasting, and MP3s

34. Instant Messaging & Voice Chat - Pronto!

35. Blackboard Backpack Blackboard OFFline Blackboard ONline

36. Community & Collaboration

37. Conferences, Client to Client Connection, and Collaboration

38. And Beyond…

39. Blackboard Beyond Initiative 5 initial Web Services Based on Web 2.0 Social Networking & XML & Tags Connecting Users across Institutions New Scholar.com Student Research Tools Collaborative Benchmarking Global Learning Object Catalog ePortfolios for Life

40. Thank You! Questions Comments Eric Kunnen Coordinator of Instructional Technologies Learning Academy for Faculty & Staff Grand Rapids Community College Grand Rapids, Michigan [email_address] 616-234-3415