From Vista 8 to Blackboard Learn ™ 9.1 – Lessons Learned and Tips for Success

1. From Vista 8 to Blackboard Learn™9.1 – LessonsLearned and Tips for Success Dan Stoffel, Northern Arizona UniversityErin Shelley, Northern Arizona University

2. Overview of Northern Arizona University • ~22,000 students • Vista 8.0.4, transitioning to Bb Learn 9.1 • ~6,000 sections/semester currently created automatically in the LMS • General info: http://www.nau.edu/~d-elearn/bblearn

3. Migration Process • Bulk of migration work is done by student employees • Anticipate ~1500 – 2000 total migrations • Over 1700 requests as of July 2011 • One challenge is getting accurate, timely requests from instructors • Use as many communication channels as possible • Academic department meetings • Direct emails • Vista announcements • Inside NAU publications • Newsletters

4. Migration Requests • Authentication automatically gathers instructor’s Vista course information • 3 key pieces of information: • What course and section needs to be migrated from Vista? • When will it first be taught in Bb Learn? • When does it need to be done (i.e., the latest the instructor needs to start working on it)? • We check for duplicates • Multiple sections of the same course are not necessarily identical • Encourage different instructors of the same course to work on a common course design • Link to Request Form (mockup): http://tinyurl.com/NAU-migration-request

5. Migration Database • Tracks every migration request from start to finish • Sortable/searchable/filterable by instructor, course, department, semester, process, etc. • Instructors may see the status of their own migration requests • Each request also opens a ticket in our support-tracking system • Each migration broken down into separate processes • 28 processes (currently!); not every process will necessarily pertain to every migration • Processes are modified as service packs are released or issues are discovered or corrected • Each process is checked out (locked) then checked back in by a migration worker; comments may be added

6. Migration Database Main Migration Database view • Filters used to limit # of results returned

7. Migration Database Migration Detail view • All main details on right; process check-in/out on left

8. Migration Database Process Detail view • Comments may be added; check “Completed” when done

9. Migration Processes 28 Separate Processes (still evolving) Link to Processes -- http://tinyurl.com/NAU-migration-process • First process is to check for duplicate requests (multiple sections of the same course, either by the same instructor, or different instructors) • 5 are done by Admins; all others may be done by student employees • 1.1: Copy Vista Section • 1.2: Enroll Migration Workers • 1.26: Enroll and Notify Instructor (Future Course) • 1.27: Fix Banner Image and Header • 1.28: Copy Migration to Real Shell • Migration Worker role created on Bb Learn for Student Employees (local accounts on both Vista and Bb Learn) • May archive, restore and categorize courses • May quick-enroll

10. Questions & Resources Northern Arizona University e-Learning Centerwww.nau.edu/elc Dan StoffelDan.Stoffel@nau.edu928-523-8182 Erin ShelleyErin.Shelley@nau.edu928-523-9285 Links from presentation • www.nau.edu/~d-elearn/bblearn • tinyurl.com/NAU-migration-request • tinyurl.com/NAU-migration-process

11. Please provide feedback for this session by emailingBbWorldFeedback@blackboard.com. The title of this session is: • From Vista 8 to Learn 9.1 – Lessons Learned and Tips for Success