CMU to get Blackboard upgrade next year
The Office of Information Technology will take initiatives next year to introduce updates to Blackboard and other programs.
Central Michigan University is using version 8 of Blackboard and will upgrade to version 9 next fall.
Roger Rehm, vice president for Information Technology and chief information officer, said at the Academic Senate meeting Tuesday it was a substantial upgrade.
The version is expected to hit students’ Portals next spring or summer, costing the university $90,000 a year to obtain a license of Blackboard and cover software updates and hardware.
“It looks different and feels different than the version we’re using now,” Rehm said.
Chairman of the Political Science Department Orlando Perez said upgrading to the newer version is a good idea.
“Anything that improves the functionality of Blackboard is positive,” Perez said.
According to Blackboard.com, tasks can be completed more easily with the addition of contextual drop down menus, allowing more to be accomplished from each page without clicking page after page of menu options.
Students may set up notification alerts as to when a paper or assignment is due. It also includes social learning tools such as blogs and journals for students and staff.
The newer version also will enhance the ability professors have on Blackboard. The enhanced grade center has in-line grade editing and freeze frame capabilities to help professors spend less time on administrative tasks and more time on teaching.
Final grades will be automatically posted from Blackboard at the end of the semester, so professors will no longer have to manually enter individual grades.
Even though the version was already released, the OIT plans to wait until the end of the year to introduce it to students and faculty to resolve any possible bugs.
“I’m extremely glad we’re waiting a year to update to the new version so that they have time to get more of the bugs worked out,” said Phil Squattrito, chairman of the Academic Senate.
Squattrito uses Blackboard for his classes to post grades, make announcements and hand out assignments.
“I’m hopeful that it will be an improvement,” Squattrito said.
