Del Mar College is changing course management systems from WebCT Campus Edition 4.1 to Blackboard Campus Edition 8.0. The switch to BB 8 will provide DMC faculty and students a feature-rich educational environment from which to interact with online courses and materials.
This site answers the most commonly-asked questions about the switch from current WebCT faculty as well as current and future online students. We hope you find this site useful. And please provide us feedback on questions you may have that are not included.
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- When will I begin teaching in Blackboard?
- How do I get my current course materials moved to Blackboard?
- Why are we changing to Blackboard?
- How much training will I receive?
- Will I continue to have access to WebCT
- How do I add students to a Blackboard course?
- I currently teach an online course using WebCT. What is required on my part to begin using Blackboard?
- What changes can I expect when I migrate my WebCT course to Blackboard?
- When does training begin?
- A select group of faculty are pilot teaching courses in Spring 2009. We encourage faculty teaching online courses during Summer I and II to use Blackboard but this is optional. WebCT will be phased out after Summer II. Blackboard will be in general use beginning Fall 2009 when all WebCT faculty will begin using Blackboard. The e-Line program with be the only exception. TOP
- The migration of instructional materials located in WebCT to Blackboard will begin February 2009. Courses being actively taught in upcoming terms will have first priority. You will be contacted by E-Learning Services during Spring 2009. Or you may contact E-Learning Services to request that your WebCT course materials be migrated at any time. TOP
- The current version of WebCT will no longer be supported in the near future. After investigation of other course management systems, it was decided to upgrade to the latest version of the software, Blackboard Campus Edition 8.0. Technically, the college has been using Blackboard since the corporation bought WebCT in 2008. TOP
- All faculty users of WebCT will be required to complete a series of modules designed to familarize users to the construction and administration of the Blackboard learning environment. Training consists of an introduction to the Blackboard environment, the course construction process, the course management process, interaction methods, and assessment methods. The introduction session is seat-based. All other workshops are available online or seat-based. Each module is approximately two (2) hours in length. A teaching effectiveness academy for online faculty is also in the works that will demonstrate best practices in the use of learning technologies in the online classroom. TOP
- The college will continue using WebCT CE 4.1, the current version, until Summer II 2009. Faculty teaching Summer I and II online courses will have the option of using WebCT or Blackboard. All courses will use Blackboard beginning Fall 2009 (except e-Line). TOP
- One of the benefits of the new Blackboard systems is that it integrates with our new Datatel Colleague system. Students will be enrolled automatically, without the need of faculty enrolling their own student rosters. TOP
- You will need to do three things: 1) Let E-Learning Services know which of your WebCT courses will be actively taught in the near future; 2) successfully complete the training modules familiarizing you with Blackboard; and 3) review (with E-Learning Services) your new Blackboard course to ensure all of your content, quizzes, assignments, media files and other materials successfully migrated and the course is ready for teaching. E-Learning Services is ready to assist you in whatever capacity is needed to ensure your WebCT courses are migrated successfully to the new Blackboard system. TOP
- Expect very few, if any, changes in your course.
- The biggest challenge will be in learning the new Blackboard system. Although much of the system will seem familiar, there are also some areas that our pilot faculty indicate need getting used to. Look for a BB Course Development FAQ in the near future.
- Courses using embedded audio and video files will move these files to a streaming server. This will improve Blackboard efficiency for both faculty and students while providing a secure environment to media files. Faculty can use the college streaming server or upload directly to the upcoming iTunes U server (coming soon). You are then provided links to your media files for placement into your BB courses. More information on media file streaming will be available in the BB Course Development FAQ. TOP
- Training begins February 26th with an Introduction to Blackboard for Faculty. The Introductory workshop will be held several times at both East and West campus locations. The Blackboard Tools workshops with begin soon after. The latest scheduling information is available HERE. TOP
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- What is Blackboard?
- Is Blackboard the same as WebCT?
- Do I log in to Blackboard or WebCT?
- I’m have difficulty logging in. What do I do?
- Why are we changing from WebCT to Blackboard?
- Blackboard is the latest version of the course management system used by the college for teaching online courses and supplementing classroom-based courses. The version we are moving to is Campus Edition (CE) 8.0. TOP
- Yes and no. Blackboard and WebCT are both course management systems for delivery of instruction online. Technically, the college has been using Blackboard since 2007, when the Blackboard corporation bought the WebCT corporation. Our current course management system is still labelled WebCT but it is now a product of Blackboard. TOP
- The vast majority of students will continue to log in to WebCT during Spring 2009. There are eight faculty teaching 11 courses using Blackboard this Spring. However, students logging in to these courses through WebCT will be given a link that takes them to the proper course login page. All courses will use the new Blackboard login beginning Fall 2009. TOP
- Students having difficulty logging in to either WebCT or Blackboard should contact the DMC Helpdesk at 361-698-2330 or helpdesk@delmar.edu TOP
- The current version of WebCT will no longer be supported in the near future. After investigation of other course management systems, it was decided to upgrade to the latest version of the software, Blackboard Campus Edition 8.0. Technically, the college has been using Blackboard since the corporation bought WebCT in 2008. TOP
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