Out with the old, in with the new! That phrase invokes images of grimaces from those resistant to experiencing change, or thumbs up from those seeking new opportunities. Below, we explore some of the common questions instructors have said when saying “Goodbye to CLEW” and “Hello to Blackboard.”
Q: It is the start of a semester and I have to get my site ready. I have spent hours creating materials in CLEW (Sakai) and I don’t want to lose all of my work. How do I transfer materials to my Blackboard site?
What about course material from several semesters ago? I don’t have a course shell for that!
A: The good news, fellow instructors, is there’s an app for that! When the University of Windsor migrated from CLEW to Blackboard, our skillful programmer designed a tool that will copy material over from CLEW into your Blackboard course site. While not every piece of your CLEW site can come over (student work, Drop Box, Polls, Gradebook, Feedback, etc.), you can bring over your instructor built content from the Announcements, Assignments, Discussions and Forums, Lessons, Resources, and Syllabus tools. Further, if you are migrating content to an Organization site, vs. a Course site, you can also bring over the Roster of Users, Discussion and / or Forums Content and structures. The CLEW Import Tool article comes complete with a video and instructions on how to perform this task which is located in the University of Windsor’s Blackboard Online Self-Help Wiki.
Q: What do I do if I don’t have a “shell” to move this material into? I have my current course shell, but I want to maintain my materials in a more organized, historical approach. For example, I’d like to have my materials in shells by previous semesters, like 09-10-100 W14 or 09-10-100 F12. How do I get those shells? How do I get an Organization site?
A: To get an Organization site, or a customized Course Shell to contain prior semesters’ work, complete an online service request and include information such as the following:
- site name (or course name if applicable),
- course code (if applicable, e.g. 09-10-100 W14)
- site description,
- site lifetime (1 semester, 1 year, indefinitely), and
- site functionality (what you want to be able to do in the site).
Log into the Service Request form, http://www.uwindsor.ca/bbhelp, using your UWin ID and password, which will automatically populate some parts of the form so we can complete your request.
You do not need to request course sites for current and future semesters if you are listed as the instructor of record, and the course is known to the Student Information System (SIS). The magic of automated programming will produce a course shell for you in those circumstances without you lifting a finger! Check out your Courses after logging in to Blackboard under the Courses tab at the top of the screen. Organizations are also found at the top of your screen beside Course.
Happy Digital Archiving!