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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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U N I V E R S I T Y O F P I T T S B U R G H |
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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Major Courseweb Upgrades Underway
By Nick Laudato, CIDDE Associate Director The University is undertaking a major upgrade and extension of its Blackboard course management system. The new systems are being tested in the fall for full deployment in the spring term, 2008. Over the summer, Computer Services and Systems Development (CSSD) made several upgrades to CourseWeb, the University’s implementation of the Blackboard course management system, and many more are coming. During three consecutive weekends in July, CSSD installed a series of patches to bring CourseWeb up to the most current implementation of Blackboard, version 6.3. CSSD also acquired new servers to begin deploying a still newer edition of Blackboard, version 7.3. Along with this major upgrade, we are also testing the newly acquired Blackboard Content System, the “Scholar” building block, and the “SafeAssign” anti-plagiarism tool. In addition, we will be assessing the “Learning Objects” (wiki, blog, podcast) building block as part of a special one-year trial license. During this fall term, about 20 faculty members are participating in a pilot program to test the new servers and software. The goal of this pilot project is to configure the new applications, develop training and support resources, and make the system available on the CourseWeb server for all spring term (2084) courses. What’s New in Version 7.3 Blackboard version 7.0 implemented a significant rewrite of the Blackboard course management system database and software. The latest upgrade, version 7.3, provides:
The Blackboard Content System The Content System, a sister-product to the Blackboard Learning and Community Systems already implemented at Pitt, provides every instructor with a permanent Web-accessible content area (called “MyContent”) that is integrated with CourseWeb and searchable via metadata. The content can consist of any electronic document (Word, PowerPoint, PDFs, graphics, audio files, etc.) and is accessible using WebDAV, a utility that lets you drag-and-drop files from your computer to Blackboard, and vice versa. You then build your CourseWeb section by pointing to files in your MyContent area. The Blackboard Content System will facilitate access to shared instructional materials at the school, program, departmental, and course levels. It will also enable the future use of ePortfolios, pending the creation of a school-based implementation plan. Learning Objects Building Block An award from the Provost’s Innovation in Education Program to Richard Ruben, Dental Medicine, has enabled the acquisition of a one-year trial license to install the Learning Objects building block on the Blackboard 7.3 pilot server. This building block allows faculty to insert wikis, blogs, podcasts, and journals into their Blackboard courses and provides students with the ability to search an entire course site for content. The wiki tool, with its ability to accommodate multiple authors, should prove valuable in support of group projects. For example, you could divide your class into Blackboard groups and assign them the task of creating a wiki within your CourseWeb section, instead of submitting a joint paper or presentation. The “history” feature of the wiki tool will allow you to determine exactly what each student contributed to the group assignment and to easily compare revisions to the wiki. Blackboard Scholar Blackboard Scholar is a social bookmarking service that facilitates finding instructional resources on the Web. The Scholar building block allows you to search an online repository of learning objects organized by discipline and easily insert selected resources into your Blackboard course. The entire Blackboard user community participates in tagging and evaluating these resources based on their instructional relevance and reliability. SafeAssign Blackboard version 7.3 now contains the SafeAssign anti-plagiarism tool. SafeAssign provides similar functionality to Turnitin, the University’s current anti-plagiarism software, but is integrated with the assignment tool in Blackboard. During the fall term pilot test, faculty will carefully evaluate the capabilities and features of SafeAssign. Summary We expect to have the new systems generally available in November, so faculty can begin developing spring term course materials. CIDDE is offering a wide variety of training and support options to help you get the most of the new features of version 7.3, the Content System, and the wiki tools. Look for more details in the October edition of Teaching Times .
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A newsletter devoted to the support of teaching and learning at the University of Pittsburgh |
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