Blackboard Learn widely adopted; time running out for Angel

By Richard H. Miller, Academic Outreach & Innovation

blackboard-learn-250PULLMAN, Wash. – WSU’s transition from the Angel learning management system to Blackboard Learn is 85 percent complete, according to data from WSU Academic Outreach and Innovation.

As of this week, 430 courses remain active in Angel while 2,464 are active in Blackboard, said Derek Worthen, AOI application systems analyst and developer. Angel goes offline Dec. 30. All remaining Angel courses must be migrated to Blackboard by then.

WSU education professor AG Rud made the transition after attending a Blackboard workshop in the summer: “Blackboard Learn is far more robust than Angel,” he said, “and I really like its functions.”

Full suite of help available

The changeover began in fall 2013 when a faculty committee determined that Angel no longer met the needs of WSU. A transition committee was formed, surveys were conducted, open forums were held and Blackboard Learn was selected.

Since then, WSU has been offering a full suite of transition assistance. Faculty can:
• Have an expert come to their office
• Drop by the open lab
• Attend one of the weekly workshops
• Get answers by email or through live chat

To access any of these resources, visit http://lmstransition.wsu.edu. To access the Blackboard course spaces, go to http://learn.wsu.edu and log in with your WSU network ID and password. If you have any questions, email migrationhelp@wsu.edu.

Other WSU resources include tutorial videos, such as Blackboard Learn–Basics, which covers basic functions. Blackboard also has its own video series.