Blackboard Learn Upgrade
Coppin Moves to Blackboard Learn Ultra
Project Team
Executive Sponsors
- Dr. Leontye Lewis, Provost and Vice-President for Academic Affairs
- Dr. Ahmed El-Haggan, Vice-President of Information Technology Division and CIO
Strategy and Implementation Group
- Dr. Dionne N. Curbeam, Deputy CIO for IDEA (ITD) – Project Manager
- Dr. Rolande Murray, Assistant Vice President for Academic Operations (AA)
- Mr. Robert Reddish, Senior IaaS (ITD)
- Dr. Carleton “Witt” Salley, eLearning Coordinator (AA)
- Ms. Annie Torres, IT Trainer (ITD)
- Ms. Wendolyn (Wendy) Velez-Torres, Senior Instructional Technologist (ITD)
Campus Resource
- Faculty Information Technology Committee
Partner Company
- Blackboard
Overview
Did you know Coppin State University has been on the same version of Blackboard Learn for approximately 11 years? Let’s be frank...the university’s current version of Blackboard Learn is outdated, isn’t highly compatible for diverse mobile devices, and isn’t scalable to support diverse pedagogical and assessment practices. IT’S TIME FOR A CHANGE!
After an extensive LMS review process, Blackboard Learn Ultra was selected as the next generation of LMS for Coppin State University. For us to move to Blackboard Learn Ultra, we must migrate to Blackboard’s SaaS platform. (SaaS stands for Software as a Service. It is a method for delivering software applications over the Internet.)
Blackboard Learn Ultra provides a modern, intuitive, and personalized Blackboard Learn user experience. Learn Ultra is characterized by simplified workflows and an accessible, fully responsive design—making it easier than ever to teach and learn from any device. By the time Blackboard Learn Ultra is fully implemented, everyone will notice a positive impact:
- Students will obtain high-impact learning opportunities facilitated through a reliable digital platform that offers an intuitive user experience accessible from any type of device (tablet, phone, laptop, desktop).
- Faculty will receive a flexible and scalable digital learning platform to facilitate varied, meaningful, and authentic student-centered learning experiences, along with implementing diverse pedagogical practices.
- IT will manage a secure, scalable solution that can accommodate university growth, minimal downtime, and provides persistent releases of features that aligns with digital trends.
Three Phase Approach to Implementation
Currently, Coppin hosts its Blackboard Learn environment on-premise (in-house). The first phase of this project is to move Blackboard Learn from on-premise to the cloud. Benefits of moving to SaaS include:
- Limited impact to faculty and students during updates: With a cloud-computing environment, Coppin benefits from continuous updates (new features, enhancements, fixes, etc.) with zero or minimal downtime.
- Higher quality: A SaaS model allows Blackboard to deliver maintenance, updates, and fixes to production faster than ever before, and the cloud platform easily scales during periods of high usage.
- Fast access to new features: A SaaS model allows Blackboard to deliver enhancements and new features faster than ever before, so Coppin can have the latest and greatest features versus having to wait longer periods of time.
- Peace of mind: Experienced Blackboard staff manages operations 24x7x365.
The Ultra Base Navigation is the experience faculty and students have outside of a course. It is a very different look and feel from our current navigation experience. Blackboard removed all of the “My Institution” tabs and modules and created a modern, intuitive navigation that provides quick access to the most critical information from across all courses.
The course migration philosophy is: Review | Redesign | Refresh. This is an awesome opportunity for faculty to review components of their courses, then redesign and/or refresh content based upon either campus’ Digital Design Standards for a Positive Student Experience (in-person courses) or Quality Matters standards (online courses).
Migration will occur in a phased-in approach based upon department/schools. This will allow faculty in the same department to be trained jointly, to serve as collegial resource and support for one another. Additionally, it will help students have a similar learning experience as much as possible. Lastly, it will give space for support units to provide deep, comprehensive support for faculty.
Timeline
| June to December 2021 | Transition of Blackboard Learn from On-Premise to SaaS |
| Fall 2021 | Faculty Training Commences for Blackboard Ultra |
| May 2022 | Enable Ultra Base Navigation |
| June 2021 to June 2025 | Faculty “Redesign, Refresh, Renew” course content from the Experience into the Ultra Experience |
| August 1, 2025: | Original Experience No Longer Supported at Coppin State University |
Faculty Kick-Off Webinar
Watch the Blackboard Ultra Faculty Kick-Off held on Wednesday, November 17, 2021 to learn about the transition to Blackboard Ultra.
Resources
Slide Deck