Pilot Overview:

• A pilot of the Bb 8 was chosen as the most authentic way of testing our upgrade from Blackboard 7 to Blackboard 8.
• The current pilot Blackboard version is: 8.0.209.9

Pilot Course Preparation:

Please use the following instructions to set up your courses for the Bb 8 Pilot.

STEP 1: Prepare your Course and your Students on the Bb 7 Server

1. Login to Bb 7
   
   Go to the Bb 7 production system at: http://bb.grcc.edu
   
2. Create a Permanent Announcement
   
   Go to your summer courses on Bb 7 and create an announcement with the Bb 8 URL. We recommend placing a PERMANENT announcement in your Bb 7 course such as the following:
   
   "Welcome to [course name]! During the summer, some of GRCC's courses are being moved to a new version of Blackboard. This course has moved to:

   http://bb8pilot.grcc.edu

   As always, please contact our Student Technology Help Desk (sthd@grcc.edu) if you have technical issues and inform them that you are using Blackboard 8.

   Note: Keep in mind that you may have other courses that have not moved to the new server yet. You will continue to access them on this server (http://bb.grcc.edu)."

3. Turn OFF Course Menu on Bb 7
   
   After placing a permanent announcement, we recommend turning OFF (make unavailable) all other course menu items. In the control panel, click Manage Course Menu, then click the modify button on all course menu items (except for announcements) and set those areas as "unavailable". This will prevent students from using Bb 7 to complete their courses work, etc.

STEP 2: Prepare your Course on the Bb 8 Server

1. Login to Bb 7
   
   Go to the Bb 7 production system at: http://bb.grcc.edu
   
2. Export Content from Bb 7
   
   Go into your course that contains the content you would like to use in Bb 8. And then use the Control Panel | Export Course tool to create an export file. Save the resulting file to your computer.
   
3. Import Content into Bb 8
   
   Go to Bb 8 at: http://bb8pilot.grcc.edu and navigate to your summer course and use the Control Panel | Import Package tool to import the file that you saved to your computer in #2 above.

STEP 3: Communicate, Learn, and Share

1. Tutoring/Help Desks
   We will be communicating information regarding the pilot to tutorial labs, the Enrollment Center, and the Help Desks.
2. Extra Student Assistance
   Ensure that students are comfortable navigating between servers. You may need to do some extra monitoring at the beginning of the semester to ensure that students are able to make the server transition successfully.
3. Bb 8 Pilot Organization Site
   Share your feedback with Bb 8. I've created a Bb organization site on Bb 7 to allow us to email each other, post messages, etc. You are all "leaders" in the site as well... feel free to tweak the site as to your needs.
4. Email Contact
   Please keep Eric Kunnen and Garry Brand (ekunnen@grcc.edu - gbrand@grcc.edu) in the loop with anything you are running into that isn't working or that you or your students may need help with. Please email us (rather than call) since it will be easier for us to track issues. You may also want to download and install Wimba Pronto as another way to connect with each other.
5. Learn
   We will be posting specific sessions and how to's for Bb 8 through the Learning Academy, along with how to documents on our Learn Bb tip sheets page.
6. Help Desks - Emergency/Critical System Errors
   Emergency concerns should be directed to the Student and LRTS Help Desks. These would include major system outages, critical issues, no server available, login issues, etc.
7. Issue Reports
   Problems, bugs, or errors with the application should be reported to Eric Kunnen and Garry Brand (ekunnen@grcc.edu - gbrand@grcc.edu) and these will be tracked online on our Acceptance Test Spreadsheet.
   

Pilot Faculty:

• The following faculty are participating in the Summer'08 pilot:
  

  Professor	Courses
  Garret Brand	BA201.1192.S08
  	BA207.1194.S08
  	BA208.1988.S08
  Cathy Wilson	BA284.2566.S08
  Tim Hoving	BI101.1546.S08
  	BI101.1550.S08
  	BI101.2398.S08
  	BI101.2400.S08
  Luann Keizer	CO105.1942.S08
  	CO146.2590.S08
  Kenneth Smith	CO101.2592.S08
  	CO124.2564.S08
  Gary Ebels	CJ110.1300.S08
  	CJ110.2500.S08
  Ann Alexander	BA106.2252.S08
  Kristin Roberts	CO127.2604.S08
  	CO148.2893.S08
  	CO101.2026.S08
  	CO140.2028.S08
  	CO145.2030.S08
  Amy Koning	BA145.1820.S08
  	BA245.2747.S08
  Steve Abid	EC251.2042.S08
  	EC252.2054.S08
  	EC252.2426.S08
  Moss Ingram	STEC110.8250.C08
  	STEC110.8251.C08
  Kevin Dunn	CA102.1712.S08