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1. Blackboard Blackboard Academic Suite Faculty Release Notes Release 7 Application Pack 3 Blackboard Community System Blackboard Learning System Basic Edition Blackboard Learning System Enterprise Edition Blackboard Content System Blackboard Outcomes System Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 3 Faculty Release Notes Release Notes 173021en_US Publication Date June 2007 WORLDWIDE HEADQUARTERS INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS Blackboard Inc Blackboard International 1899 L Street NW 5th Floor Dam 27 2nd Floor Washington DC 20036 3861 USA 1012 JS Amsterdam The Netherlands 800 424 9299 toll free US amp Canada 1 202 463 4860 telephone 31 0 20 520 6884 NL telephone 1 202 463 4863 facsimile 31 0 20 624 3361 NL facsimile www blackboard com global blackboard com Blackboard the Blackboard logo Blackboard Academic Suite Blackboard Learning System Blackboard Learning System ML Blackboard Community System Blackboard Content System Blackboard Outcomes System Blackboard Learning Environment Connector Blackboard Transaction System Building Blocks and Bringing Education Online are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Blackboard Inc in the United States and or other countries Intel and Pentium are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and or other countries Sun Solaris U2. Atop the page is the Grade field and entry box for the Instructor Within the action bar like the Course Discussions page there are icons for Mark Read and Mark Unread Within the Filter action bar the user will notice a filter that includes filters for Author Status read Status and Tags As well under this bar the user can sort by a number of options and choose the order in which they are displayed Within each post the Instructor has the ability to Reply Quote and Mark as Unread the preceding post Also there is now an area for Tags that displays the tags that correspond to a particular post There is also an Add icon to allow Instructors to add tags Thread Detail The Thread Detail page has been changed and enhanced Now within the action bar are the icons to Subscribe and Unsubscribe As well there are the icons to Mark Read and Mark Unread Also a new field New Replies to my Post has been added Clickable number links for Unread Posts and New Replies to my Post have been added and direct the Instructor to either the Unread Posts or the New Replies to my Post The new Quote icon is located within the action bar of a post Selecting the icon directs the Instructor to the Reply to Post page to reply to a post and within the Message text box is included the text from the post to which the Instructor is responding Within a post an Instructor can now rate a post based on a star rating system The Instructor can also nav
3. Instructors and users have several feature capabilities within the Recycle Bin Instructors can search and access their previously deleted content items and restore them to Content Collection Instructors have the ability to enable or disable the Recycle Bin restore permanently deleted items modify and rename items and search for items in the Recycle Bin Archive Restore Instructors now have the ability to fully archive and restore content items including their associated Metadata Search Tool The Content System Search tool has been enhanced to yield more accurate search results including the Content Collection courses and organizations Advanced Searches can be saved and shared with other Content System users Unique ID Tool Upon upgrade to 7 3 the Unique ID Tool assigns a unique ID to every new item in the Content System Links to the Content System files and folders are no longer stored as absolute paths in the database tables and with the Unique ID Tool Content System items may be moved freely within the application Upon upgrade to 7 3 and if Content System is being installed for the first time a unique ID will be created for only new Content System items To create IDs for Content System items created prior to the update refer to the Update Instructions included in these release notes see Executing the Unique ID Tool DISCUSSION BOARD ENHANCEMENTS Course Discussions Restoring the capability in release 7 1 the Ins
4. customizable modules e Blackboard Learning Environment Connector The Learning Environment Connector tab provides direct access to Instructors Vista or CE institution A tool panel and four modules are available on the Learning Environment Connector tab for Vista and CE integrations The information on each tab is specific to that Learning Environment Multiple tabs may be present for users with access to multiple Learning Environments e Courses The Courses tab links to the Blackboard Learning System It contains the Course List module that lists Instructors Blackboard Learning System Courses and the Course Catalog All Blackboard Learning System and Blackboard Vista and Blackboard CE courses can be listed in the Course Catalog e Community The Community tab lists Organizations specific to each Instructor the Organization Catalog for the institution and institution Discussion Boards Instructors click on a link from the Community tab to access an Organization The Community tab is only available with the Blackboard Community System e Content Collection The Content Collection tab opens the Blackboard Content System when available The Content System is a file repository with several sophisticated features for working with content Instructors can access personal content course organization and institutional content based upon system settings and system role Other content system features are available here as well including Portfolio
5. N A gt 6 9 1 2 N A Sa 2 N A N A N A N A N A KEY Certified fully tested and supported Compatible key application areas tested N A Not tested specified Browser is not supported for the Operating System Provisional will test on Beta versions of new platforms and browsers Certification is dependant on release by parties All configurations marked as Compatible and have undergone a limited engineering analysis to test areas of the Blackboard Academic Suite that may have browser issues Additional information on known browser issues may be found in the Knowledge Base Microsoft Windows 2000 supported configurations are considered compatible when run on Windows 95 Windows 98 and Windows ME Gecko is the shared rendering engine at the heart of the Firefox 1 0 Netscape 7 1 and Mozilla 1 5 browsers which are all considered compatible browsers Only Firefox has undergone testing that qualifies it as Certified The Safari Web browser and the Gecko browsers for Apple do not currently fully support the Live Connect technology used by some features in the Blackboard Learning System The Equation Editor Collaboration tool and SCORM Content type may experience issues when these browsers are used See the Knowledge Base articles 181 2429 181 2428 181 2431 181 2432 for detailed information The preview version
6. behind blackboard com These materials include MANUAL NAME DESCRIPTION Blackboard Academic Suite End User Manuals User Manual Instructor Manual Reference manual detailing the tools and functions included in the platform from the general user perspective This manual includes information on the Blackboard Learning System and the Blackboard Community System Reference manual providing detailed information about building and managing courses and organizations This manual includes information on the Blackboard Learning System and the Blackboard Community System Blackboard Content System End User Manuals User Manual Reference manual detailing the tools and functions included in the system for all end users This manual includes information on the Blackboard Content System 2007 Blackboard Inc Proprietary and Confidential Page 21 of 21
7. new application and existing Blackboard applications in the field Also it includes information on which server configurations are supported with this release and which end user browsers and operating systems are supported e Reference materials Lists and describes reference manuals available for this release 2007 Blackboard Inc Proprietary and Confidential Page 4 of 21 Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 3 Faculty Release Notes NEw FEATURES AND ENHANCEMENTS Overview In response to user feedback Blackboard Academic Suite Application Pack 3 Release 7 introduces a number of new features and enhancements to the existing features This section reviews the new features in Application Pack 3 Release 7 explains their default availability upon installation and specifies Blackboard license requirements New features and enhancements fall into the following categories Blackboard Outcomes System Upgrade Blackboard Content System Enhancements Discussion Board Enhancements Support for right to left languages Blackboard Learning Environment Connector 2007 Blackboard Inc Proprietary and Confidential Page 5 of 21 Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 3 Faculty Release Notes BLACKBOARD OUTCOMES SYSTEM UPGRADE Information Visibility An immediate improvement to the Blackboard Outcomes System is the greater visibility of Outcomes information Now the module My Outcomes Evaluations can be e
8. e right to left support BLACKBOARD LEARNING ENVIRONMENT CONNECTOR Overview Blackboard Learning System Vista Enterprise and Blackboard Learning System CE Enterprise can now be integrated into the Blackboard Academic Suite The Connector provides Instructors and Students with access to a set of powerful new features that will deepen and strengthen their experience within the Blackboard Academic Suite while maintaining their normal Vista or CE environment All existing personalization features Powerlinks and authentication systems work as before within a rich array of useful and interesting Academic Suite functionality Interface Changes The Blackboard Academic Suite environment includes a header frame with images and buttons customized by the System Administrator and tabs that navigate to different areas Once integrated each instance of Vista or CE will have its own tab Clicking on a tab will open that area in the content frame The tabs that are available to Instructors are determined by the systems that are installed and the system role The most common tabs are listed below My Institution The My Institution tab contains tools and information specific to each Instructor s preferences Tools and information are contained in modules Instructors can add and remove modules from their My Institution tab The My Institution tab is available for all licenses however only Blackboard Community System users have access to advanced
9. igate to both the Previous Post and the Next Post Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 3 Faculty Release Notes Tagging Messages Tags allow arbitrary message grouping independent of thread or thread status Forum managers or Instructors can create and apply text labels of their own choosing to messages in a forum other Discussion Board users can read filter and search messages using the tags but cannot create new ones Modify Forum Within the Modify Forum page there are new available Forum Settings The Forum Moderator can select the Forum Availability date and time restrictions 2007 Blackboard Inc Proprietary and Confidential Page 12 of 21 BLACKBOARD ACADEMIC SUITE CHANGES The table below displays a quick look at the functional changes in Application Pack 3 COMPONENT SUBSYSTEM LICENSE CHANGE NEW FEATURE DESCRIPTION Discussion Board All Licenses Discussion Board All licenses Discussion Board All licenses Discussion Board All licenses Discussion Board All licenses Discussion Board All licenses Discussion Board All licenses Discussion Board All licenses Discussion Board All licenses Discussion Board All Licenses Discussion Board All Licenses Discussion Board All Licenses Course Discussions gt Tree View Course Discussions Collections Thread Detail gt Mark as Read Course Discussions Collections Thread Detail gt Mark as Unread Course Discussion
10. irectly associated to the Outcomes System for targeted assessment Blackboard Outcomes System provides comprehensive set of tools and instruments for student and program assessment For more information on using and administering the Blackboard Outcomes System see the Blackboard Outcomes System User Manual BLACKBOARD CONTENT SYSTEM ENHANCEMENTS Metadata Metadata and its privileges are now displayed prominently in the Content System as a default icon in the Tools menu Metadata forms organize content for an institution managing Metadata an Instructor can facilitate the access to and the use of multitudinous documents files and content for one or many institutions thus improving the spread of educational content As well Instructors can now import or export items with their associated Metadata Instructors now have the ability to create modify and search for Metadata forms and their fields to efficiently organize content As well Metadata can be applied to content folders and not just individual files Metadata templates are setup with three default templates and an icon for custom templates The IMS Metadata template has been enhanced with added multiplicity fields that allow a Instructor to add multiple values to one field As well Instructors have the privilege to modify some of the default templates fields Recycle Bin A new feature in the Content System is the Recycle bin The Recycle bin stores deleted content items
11. ltraSPARC and Java are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Sun Microsystems Inc in the United States and or other countries Oracle is a registered trademark of Oracle Corporation in the United States and or other countries Red Hat is a registered trademark of Red Hat Inc in the United States and or other countries Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds in the United States and or other countries Apache is a trademark of The Apache Software Foundation in the United States and or other countries Macromedia Authorware and Shockwave are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Macromedia Inc in the United States and or other countries Real Player and Real Audio Movie are trademarks of RealNetworks in the United States and or other countries Adobe and Acrobat Reader are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and or other countries Macintosh and QuickTime are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc in the United States and or other countries WebEQ is a trademark of Design Science Inc in the United States and or other countries JSpell is a trademark of The Solution Caf in the United States and or other countries Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners U S Patent No 6 988 138 Patents pending 2007 Blackboard Inc All rights reserved Made and printed in the USA No part of the contents of this
12. manual may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher Blackboard Inc 2007 Blackboard Inc Proprietary and Confidential Page 2 of 21 Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 3 Faculty Release Notes TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents 3 Introduction 4 New Features and Enhancements 5 Blackboard Outcomes System Upgrade 6 Support for right to left languages 7 Blackboard Learning Environment Connector 8 Content System Enhancements 10 Discussion Board Enhancements 11 Blackboard Academic Suite Changes 13 Compatibility Matrixes 17 End User Configuration Matrix 18 Supported Paths for Importing and Restoring Courses 20 Reference Materials 21 2007 Blackboard Inc Proprietary and Confidential Page 3 of 21 Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 3 Faculty Release Notes INTRODUCTION About the Release Notes The Release Notes provide Instructors with information about new features and enhancements to Application Pack Release 7 of the Blackboard Academic Suite also includes changes to existing functionality that may impact the way the system is currently used What is in the Release Notes The Release Notes contain the following sections e New Features and Enhancements Describes new features in this release as well as additional important enhancements that have been made to the system e Compatibility Matrixes Explains dependencies between the
13. nabled to be visible on the My Institution homepage The Instructor can view and evaluate all Portfolios and Artifacts As well throughout the Blackboard Outcomes System tab the Instructor will be able to view existing Rubrics Outcomes Portfolio Templates Outcomes Artifact Templates Course Evaluations and Surveys Each of these can be expanded to view the sub contexts of the unit Home Page The left navigation area of the Home Page has been redesigned as well as the location and design of the Blackboard Content System Blackboard Community System and 360 View icons Discover Page The Discover Page has been redesigned to provide the most relevant information by default Helpful information accompanies each of the various items available on the Discover Page with the added option to expand for further detail 2007 Blackboard Inc Proprietary and Confidential Page 6 of 21 SUPPORT FOR RIGHT TO LEFT LANGUAGES Overview A new feature in the Blackboard Academic Suite allows Instructors to view the application from right to left so that using Arabic languages and the Hebrew language reflect the correct orientation of text on the screen This feature will affect the entire Academic Suite including all features and tools in the Learning System the Community System and the Content System with the exception of those items listed below The right to left text function will be automatically applied to Blackboard Academic Suite
14. oard Content System Tools Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Content System Metadata Templates Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Content System Metadata Templates Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Content System Metadata Templates Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Content System Metadata Templates Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Content System Metadata Templates Blackboard Content System License Thread Detail New Replies to My Post clickable number icon Thread Detail gt Quote Thread Detail gt Previous Post Modify Forum page time and date restrictions A new icon for Metadata Templates Add Templates Manage Attributes Modify Copy Remove Displays the number of new replies to a particular user s post Selecting the number will direct the user to the text of the posts Selecting this icon in a post will direct the Instructor to the Reply to a Post page and will paste the text into the Message Box Selecting this icon will direct the Instructor to the previous post in the thread Forum moderator can now set the time and date restrictions of a forum Gives Instructors the ability to navigate to the Metadata page Allows Instructors to create and modify their own metadata template may be restricted on the System Administrator level Displays the attributes or fields created and or usable for Ins
15. of Mozilla Firefox version 0 10 0 is not supported Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 3 Faculty Release Notes SUPPORTED PATHS FOR IMPORTING AND RESTORING COURSES Supported Paths for Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 The table below identifies the supported paths for importing or restoring a course that was exported or archived from an earlier version Certified paths are fully tested and supported by Blackboard Compatible paths are not fully tested but should function correctly based on past performance SOURCE SUPPORT Academic Suite Release 7 Certified Academic Suite Release 6 Certified Blackboard ML Certified Blackboard 5 5 Certified Blackboard 5 0 Compatible Courselnfo 4 Not Supported Paths for Importing and Restoring courses are not backward compatible Courses may be Imported or Restored to a newer version but courses from a newer version may not be Imported or Restored to an earlier version Blackboard 5 and Blackboard 5 5 did not include an Archive and Restore function Courses from these releases may be imported but courses cannot be restored with user data and interactions intact 2007 Blackboard Inc Proprietary and Confidential Page 20 of 21 Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 3 Faculty Release Notes REFERENCE MATERIALS About Reference Materials A full suite of reference materials is available with the Academic Suite All materials are located in the Reference Center at http
16. rses tab Allows Vista CE users to take advantage of the Content System functionality through the Blackboard Community System Content Collection tab Allows Administrators to associate Outcomes System Sections to Vista CE sections and to affiliate OS Person Records to Vista CE users Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 3 Faculty Release Notes COMPATIBILITY MATRIXES Overview This section of the document includes information on the following e User Compatibility Matrix Reviews which end user browsers and operating systems supported with this release 2007 Blackboard Inc Proprietary and Confidential Page 17 of 21 END USER CONFIGURATION MATRIX End User Configuration Guidelines End users must use a certified or compatible operating system and browser configuration with the Blackboard Academic Suite Release 7 3 Windows Operating Systems Mac Operating Systems Vista 2000 XP Desktop 10 2 10 3 10 4 5 2 48 5 5 N A N A N A N A N A N A 629 6 9 7 N A P N A N A N A 2 9 NS 7 1 8 m 3 NS 8 0 N A N A N A Firefox N 10 Firefox 15 N A 9 3 Firefox 2 0 N A P N A N A P z2 1 4 95 1 1 N A N A N A
17. s Collections Thread Detail gt Subscribe Course Discussions Collections Thread Detail gt Unsubscribe Course Discussion column Add Tags Course Discussion column Tags Course Discussion column Grade Course Discussion column Thread Detail Subscribe forum Course Discussion column Thread Detail Flagged forum Course Discussions and Thread Detail Date columns Time Course Discussions and Thread Detail Unread Posts clickable number icon Displays the forums and their respective posts Instructor may mark a forum thread or post as read Instructor may mark a forum thread or post as unread Instructor may subscribe to a forum thread or post Instructor may unsubscribe to a forum thread or post Instructor can add tags to selected Messages or Threads Displays any tags associated with a forum Includes a grade icon or a Modify icon or displays the grade Displays a visual indicator of the subscription status of a Forum or a Thread Displays a visual indicator for a flagged forum or a thread The time of the most recent change to a forum and a thread User can select the number of unread posts to be directed to the unread posts COMPONENT SUBSYSTEM LICENSE CHANGE NEW FEATURE DESCRIPTION Discussion Board All Licenses Discussion Board All Licenses Community System Discussion Board All Licenses Discussion Board All Licenses Blackb
18. s a Learning Objects Catalog and a set of tools for locating and managing digital content e Outcomes The Outcomes tab opens the Blackboard Outcomes System when available The Outcomes System is a fully customizable application for supporting and coordinating systematic assessment processes throughout an institution Logging In and Out All Instructors log into the system through the Blackboard Community System Instructors who attempt to log in to MyWebCT by entering the URL in the address bar will be redirected to the Blackboard login page Instructors may experience login inconsistencies when using an alias based path and Due to general browser cookie handling limitations integrated environment they may not be able to access Vista or CE material All Instructors log out using the Blackboard Community System logout button which logs Instructors out of both systems Getting Help Help for all Blackboard applications is provided through the Help icon located in the top header frame Help is linked to a URL that has been configured by the system administrator to provide access to online resources to assist users Help for all Blackboard Vista and Blackboard CE applications is provided in the My Features tool panel on the integrated learning environment tag In addition most pages include a Help button at the top of the content frame that will direct Instructors to the page corresponding to the tool they are curren
19. strator level Allows Instructors to modify the fields labels and organization of the form may be restricted on the System Administrator level Modify the availability of the template may be restricted on the System Administrator level Allows Instructors to run available reports Accesses My Workflows page where Instructors can organize and manage their Workflows impacts all users of the content system A storage area for deleted content items all tool available to users for other content items are available in the Recycle bin Allows the user the ability to permanently delete content items from the system Allows Vista CE Instructors to access their Vista CE sections courses and tools via the Bb AS Community System COMPONENT SUBSYSTEM LICENSE CHANGE NEW FEATURE DESCRIPTION Blackboard Community System My Institution tab Blackboard Vista CE License with Community Blackboard Content System Courses and Users areas Blackboard Vista CE License with Community and Content Blackboard Outcomes System Learning System Associations Blackboard Vista CE License with Outcomes Added Vista CE sections courses to My Institution Course List and Courses gt My Courses Automatically create a Course User folder when a Vista CE Course User is added Vista CE courses users added Allows Vista CE users to enter their Vista CE sections courses from within the My Institution tab and the Cou
20. tly using Blackboard Community System The Blackboard Community System enables educational institutions to build vibrant online communities and improve information flow The system is deployed by institutions to develop an academic gateway providing central access to course management systems libraries content management tools and student information systems Instructors can personalize available components to best meet their own needs The system can also support educational and extracurricular activities Blackboard Content System The Blackboard Content System is a file repository with several sophisticated features for working with content It is fully integrated with the Blackboard Learning System and the Blackboard Community System and can create repositories for Blackboard Learning System and Blackboard Vista and Blackboard CE courses and Instructors as well as for Library and eReserves For detailed information on using the Blackboard Content System see the Blackboard Content System User Manual Blackboard Outcomes System The Blackboard Outcomes System is fully customizable application for supporting and coordinating systematic assessment processes throughout an institution The system supports and connects the academic and administrative assessment processes across an institution s many departments enabling the planning measuring and improving of outcomes Learning contexts sections courses from Learning Environments can be d
21. tructor can again view the Course Discussions in a Tree View in which the post titles to a particular thread are visible The use must select the Tree View icon located on the right side of the Course Discussions page Selecting a post from the Course Discussions page will navigate the user to the Thread Detail page and will display the post as well On the action toolbar there are new icons Mark as Read and Mark as Unread allow the Instructor to classify which forums have been read or not The Search area has been rolled up into a graphic icon of a magnifying glass Selecting this icon will drop down the search area Within the Search tool it is now possible to search by time Also Subscribe and Unsubscribe icons allow users to subscribe or unsubscribe to a forum Within the Thread table of the Course Discussion page several enhancements have been made Grade and Tag columns have been added to the page as well as a Grade icon that allows the Instructor to navigate to Modify Grade Item page and grade the students forum performance As well the Subscribe and Flag indicators columns have been added allowing the user to see the subscribed and flagged forums Also the Date column includes the exact time of the latest change to the forum Also the number of unread posts in the Unread Posts column is a clickable icon that directs the Instructor to the text of these unread posts Collections There are several new features on the Collections page
22. tructor for Metadata may be restricted on the System Administrator level Allows Instructors to modify Metadata may be restricted on the System Administrator level Allows Instructors to copy metadata may be restricted on the System Administrator level Allows Instructor to remove Metadata may be restricted on the System Administrator level COMPONENT SUBSYSTEM LICENSE CHANGE NEW FEATURE DESCRIPTION Blackboard Content System Metadata Templates Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Content System Metadata Templates Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Content System Metadata Templates Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Content System Metadata templates Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Content System Tools Blackboard Content System License Content System My Content Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Content System Recycle Blackboard Content System License Blackboard Community System Blackboard Learning Environment Connector Tab Blackboard Vista CE License with Community Modify gt Properties Modify gt Form Design Modify gt Availability Run Reports Workflow Activities renamed My Workflows Added Recycle folder Empty Bin Connector tab containing Connector modules Allows Instructors to modify the name and description of the template may be restricted on the System Admini
23. when an existing right to left language pack is applied to the Blackboard Academic Suite Academic Suite sub systems that do not support right to left text orientation Some sub systems and functions within the Blackboard Academic Suite are not part of right to left text orientation These include the following e Making functional changes to Course Statistics e Enabling right to left language support the Collaboration Tools including Virtual Classroom and Chat e Engineering changes to any external service that feeds information to or from the Blackboard Academic Suite such as RSS e Blackboard Backpack does not support right to left viewing e data that is entered as mixed orientation some text formatted left to right and some formatted right to left in the same file e Visual Text Box Editor will not spell check for right to left Viewing data in a right to left environment Blackboard is not responsible for how imported and exported data will be displayed to the user when it is viewed using third party applications that are not configured to view right to left languages or do not support right to left languages For example if the user decided to view an exported Arabic spreadsheet in Microsoft Excel and the Arabic language pack has been installed then Microsoft Excel will automatically reorder the text and the columns from right to left Though if the data is viewed in the file of another application it may not hav
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