Last year we upgraded to version 9.1 from version 8 of the Blackboard Learn application. Overall it was a fairly smooth transition though we continue to encounter issues with certain parts of the assessment feature. We have a couple of outstanding tickets with Blackboard support in trying to resolve the assessment issue and hope to do so as soon as possible. Regardless we continue to look for ways to improve the use of Blackboard through Kamehameha Schools and that is what I’d like to update you on.
Currently at Kamehameha Schools there are two instances of Blackboard. One is used by mainly the campuses and another is used by the Instructional Support Center (formally Distance Learning). Due to restructuring within the KS organization as well as needs for additional Blackboard modules it was recommended that the two instances be combined into a single Enterprise Blackboard system. By combining the two instances, support for Blackboard can be streamlined and new modules can be added with minimal cost. Two modules in particular include Blackboard Community Engagement and Blackboard Content Management. We’ll also be adding active directory authentication so that your Blackboard username and password will be the same as your KS username and password. Check back for more updates and leave a comment if you have any suggestions as we proceed.