At the end of May 2012, Bowie State University will embark on a new and exciting path for its learning management system. We are pleased to bring Blackboard 9.1 to the campus community, the latest and greatest version of the Blackboard Learn platform. While many of the features are brand new, others will feel familiar to what we are using today in ANGEL.

Here are a few valuable resources that you may be interested in reviewing are listed below:

• On-Demand Learning Center – free access to video tutorials and getting started guides.
• Feature Showcase – review all of the new features.
• Help.Blackboard.com – assistance using the new Blackboard Learn platform, organized by role.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I access ANGEL?
Go to the University website and click on BSU Online. Or bookmark http://bsuonline.bowiestate.edu.

When will Blackboard be available to use?
Bb will be available to all students for the summer term beginning May 29. It is currently available now to faculty for training and course conversion/development.

When are course shells available?
New course shells are generated during the early registration period. Faculty have access at that time. Student enrollment is processed 1-2 weeks before the new semester starts.

Will my ANGEL course transfer into Blackboard?
Yes! There is some minor clean up, but content will transfer into Blackboard.  We have observed some quirks with a few components such as missing answers for fill-in-the-blank questions and YouTube videos. Elluminate/Collaborate sessions do not transfer over automatically, but there is a workaround to recover your recording links.

How long are courses available after the semester ends?
Blackboard will host our courses for one full academic year. For example, courses for Summer 2012 will be archived and deleted during Summer 2013. Faculty should always save their gradebooks as a matter of best practice at the end of each term as well as archive the course content. Upon request, the archived data will be provided to the instructor after its deletion, or restored briefly to the system.

How do I recover an old ANGEL course?
BSU will continue to have archival access to ANGEL through 2014. StoredANGEL  content is available only through a help desk ticket request (help@bowiestate.edu).  When requesting support, instructors should provide the following information:

• Instructor Login (e.g., jdoe)
• CourseID with Section Number and Term (e.g., ENGL102-181-Spring2012)
  

Once a ticket has been received, the ANGEL administrator will identify the file and forward the file to the instructor unless requested otherwise.  Allow up to 5 business days for this process to be completed.

NOTE: Only the instructor of record can request a previously archived ANGEL course shell. If the instructor of record is no longer employed at Bowie State University, then the department chair must request the ticket. Content prior to Fall 2008 was purged.

if you need help

First, check the list of known issues related to Blackboard. Follow the suggestions listed for your question.

If your problem is related to Blackboard, you must submit a ticket to help@bowiestate.edu. Please be as detailed and descriptive as possible. Include screen captures or any error messages you receive.