Transcript From Student One to Blackboard

From Student One to Blackboard
A Snapshot of SCU Practices
Presented by Schelly Gardner & Roger Murphy,
Southern Cross University, NSW
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Session Objectives
– Show how user driven business rules were
built into the Bb6 snapshot process to
maintain integration with the SCU portal
– Show how SCU snapshot process was
developed to manage site creation and
access for more than just learning sites
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Session Objectives (cont.)
• Innovation
– Integrating the snapshot with SCU portal to
display Bb sites organised by site type, eg
learning sites, information sites
• Results/Outcomes
– Demonstrate how SCU snapshot, using an
extensive list of Data Source Key’s, is used
to deliver Bb sites with the SCU portal,
organised by site type
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Session Outline
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About SCU
System configuration
‘Pre-snapshot’ with BBCI 4.11
Transition to BB6 and current
Snapshot process
• Bb Integration SCU built portal
• Ongoing issues
• Future goals
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About SCU
• Small, multi-campus regional university based on
the NSW north coast
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Distinct students in learning sites about 10,700
Enrolment instances at about 25,000
Academic staff approx 640
Total learning sites about 1300 with about 50% actively used in
teaching
• Overlapping Teaching Periods
Semesters 1 and 2
Asian Semesters 1 and 2
Summer Schools
Trimesters A, B and C
Asian Trimesters A, B and C
Research Periods
• With Blackboard since 2000, starting with Bb
CourseInfo 4 then to Bb 6 in Dec 2003
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Current Configuration
• Blackboard Learning System Only
– Release 6.3.1.424 on high availability
architecture
– Oracle 9.2.06
– Linux, Red Hat Enterprise 3
– In-House built portal using Kerberos
authentication
• Staff, Students and Non-Standard Accounts
• Student Record System
– Student One Version 3.2
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How we began
BBCI 4.11 - 2000 until Dec 2003
• Developed ‘pre-snapshot’ process (MS Access) to
manipulate data from Student System (Student One) and
manage site creation and site access
• Based on solid foundation of business rules
– One learning site for each unit offered by the University
– Managed student access to learning sites
– Managed student access to school, course and information
based sites
• Developed SCU portal which was integrated with BBCI
using course categories to group sites by type
• Developed ‘Self Service Centre’ for support to staff to
manage site access requests and view student enrolments
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How we began, (cont.)
BBCI 4.11 - from 2000 until Dec 2003
• Very Manual Administration
– Site creation managed with batch files
– Copied content for lecturers to newly created
sites from previous teaching sites
– Opened and closed site access based on
specified dates and teaching period
– Archived sites at specified dates
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Our objectives for transition
• Objectives - BB6 snapshot controller
– Maintain and build on existing process
– Maintain portal integration and ability to group
sites by category/type
– Automate
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Site creation and site access requirements
‘Specialised’ site access requests
Archiving process
Management of an increasing number of exceptions and
variations to the rules
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Snapshot Controller vs Tool
• Snapshot Controller is defined by
Institution’s:
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Bb Version
Student record system
Authentication method
Infrastructure design
Business rules
• Snapshot Tool updates Bb database
with text files created by the
Controller
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Snapshot Controller (cont.)
• Bbsnap database
– Receives data from Student and Kerberos
systems
– Oracle procedures (snapshot controller)
• Manipulate data from source data tables using support
tables
• Exports data to text files on App Server
– Blackboard Snapshot Tool updates the Blackboard Database
• Extensive use of Data Source Keys (DSK)
– An identifier within Bb that identifies a subset of data
– Used by Admin for the management of these subsets of data
– Used to organise Bb sites on SCU portals
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SCU Data Source Keys (DSK)
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PK1
BATCH_UID
DESCRIPTION
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346
347
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286
267
309
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USERS
FLEXIBLE
TESTING
TEMPLATESTemplates
WORKGROUPS
INFORMATION
SCHOOL_INFO
COURSE_INFO
PAST_STUDY
CPD
ARCHIVED_2004
UNITS_2005_1
UNITS_2005_2
UNITS_2005_B
UNITS_2005_C
UNITS_2005_AT1
UNITS_2005_AT2
UNITS_2005_AS2
UNITS_2005_SS
ENROL_2005_A
ENROL_2005_B
ENROL_2005_C
ENROL_2005_1
ENROL_2005_2
Blackboard Users
Flexible Study Periods
Testing/Demonstration
Workgroups
School/Course Information
School Based Information Sites
Course Based Information Sites
Past Study Periods - Student Access
CPD units and enrolments
2004 units and enrolments
Semester 1 Units 2005
Semester 2 Units 2005
Trimester B Units 2005
Trimester C Units 2005
Asian Trimester 1 Units 2005
Asian Trimester 2 Units 2005
Asian Semester 1 Units 2005
Summer School Units 2005
Trimester A Enrolments 2005
Trimester B Enrolments 2005
Trimester C Enrolments 2005
Semester 1 Enrolments 2005
Semester 2 Enrolments 2005
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Snapshot Process
‘Text files’
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Snapshot Process (cont.)
‘Users’
• Data Source Key = USERS
– Our users DSK is much the same as everyone else –
staff, students and nonstandard
– Extensive use of nonstandard accounts to allow for
staff industry partners, guest lecturers and students in
industry and professional development programs
access to Blackboard sites.
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Snapshot Process (cont.)
‘Learning Sites’
Data Source Key = UNITS_YYYY_X
– Created with unit title and teaching period
• Eg ACC00123-2005-2, ACC00123-2005-2-HK
– Created from templates for each School
– Sites Merged by default
• All availabilities and locations merged into a single site
– Except for sites as per pre-defined support tables
• Unavailable by default, awaiting academic input
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Snapshot process (cont.)
‘Information Sites’
– Data Source Key = INFORMATION
– Based on academic program, not driven by teaching
period
• School Based Sites
• Course Based Sites
• Information Sites
‘Others’
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Archives
Past Study Periods
Flexible
Workgroups
Testing
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Snapshot Process (cont.)
‘Enrolments’
– Learning Sites
• Based on student’s enrolment against a unit availability
• Data Source Key = ENROL_2005_2… ENROL_2005_AS2
– Course Based Sites
• Based on student’s admission to a course
• Enrolled in COURSE_INFO DSK
– School Based Sites
• Based on student’s enrolment in a unit associated with a
School
• Enrolled in SCHOOL_INFO DSK
– Information Sites
• Based on academic requirements
• Enrolled in INFORMATION DSK
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Snapshot Process (cont.)
‘Data Sets’
• Therefore creating enrolments using the following
data sets
Learning Sites
Unit Code
Student_ID
Course Based Sites
Course Code
Student_ID
School Based Sites
School
Unit Code
Student_ID
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Snapshot Process (cont.)
‘Tables’
Bbsnap Database Support
Tables
• For Learning Sites
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Enrolment_Exceptions
Merge_rules
Location_Codes
Study_periods
Site_template
• For Information Sites
– Course_based_sites
– School_based_sites
– Information_based_sites
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Snapshot Process (cont.)
‘Data flow’
Student
One
Database
Kerberos
Database
BBSNAP Database
(Snapshot
Source
data tables)
(Snapshot
Support
data tables)
SCU
Snapshot
Controller
Blackboard
Application
Server
(Snapshot
tool)
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SCU Built Student Portal
• Using DSK’s,
provides links to
sites in sections,
eg Learning
Sites, Information
Sites, Past Study
Periods
• Sites not yet
available to
students are
displayed and
identified by icon
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SCU Built Student Portal
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Ongoing Issues
• Automate staff access to sites
– Need to get reliable staff teaching data from
student system
– Reinstate ‘Self Service Centre’ to manage
transitional period and then only nonstandard
sites
• Server clean-up at end of each teaching
period
– Identifying unused sites for removal
– Identify and clean up of nonstandard site access
(CPD, past study periods)
– Archiving cycle - when to move sites off server
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Future Goals
• Revamp and reinstate ‘Self Service
Centre’
– With access from within a link in the
control panel
• Move to a combined snapshot and
event driven snapshot process
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Summary
• IF YOU ONLY REMEMBER 1 THING:
– Solid business rules built into the snapshot
process can be used to simplify and
automate management of user expectations
and requirements
• Follow up Contacts:
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Schelly Gardner [email protected]
Roger Murphy [email protected]
Earl Whittaker (portal) [email protected]
Guy Waugh (unix) [email protected]
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Questions?
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