By Richard H. Miller, Global Campus
PULLMAN, Wash. – Faculty seeking help with Blackboard Learn can go to the transition page, select the live chat button, and get a quick personal reply from Geoff, Cassie, Grayson or several other Washington State University Global Campus experts.
Live chat offers more than discussion, said Blackboard Learn specialist Geoff Collins.
“There’s also the ability for me to view people’s screens at two levels,” he said. “I can use a highlighter to tell them what buttons to press. If they wish, they can give me permission to actually take control of the screen and fix any of the Blackboard Learn settings for them.”
The chat function is staffed 8 a.m.-5 p.m. by Global Campus staff. Other personalized options include a drop-in lab and tool- and function-specific workshops in Van Doren Hall.
For situations that require one-on-one support, the Global Campus offers office visits for Pullman campus faculty. All these resources and more information can be found at the website above.
Global Campus faculty will make the switch from the learning management system Angel in spring 2015. All other faculty are welcome to start then but can begin the transition in the summer if they like. Angel will go off-line on Aug. 10, 2015.
To access Blackboard Learn, visit http://learn.wsu.edu and log in with your WSU network ID and password.
More than 1,300 faculty members are already building their courses in Blackboard Learn. But the chat function has been fairly quiet, said Celisse Ellis, the Global Campus production coordinator who supervises the chat specialists.
“We’ve had very few support requests ,” she said. “I think that speaks to how familiar WSU faculty are with online technologies.”