Under a new model for Blackboard instructor support, technical help is moving to information technology's Solution Center and will include evening and weekend service hours. The expanded services are effective Monday, Aug. 3.
Instructors will have five options to access Blackboard support:
- Contact the Center for Excellence in Learning and Teaching (CELT), which will continue to address questions that are pedagogical in nature, such as course design or instructional practices
- Visit www.it.iastate.edu/blackboard for links to common help topic articles, web-based help request forms and an RSS news feed
- Email solution@iastate.edu
- Phone the Solution Center at 294-4000
- Visit the Solution Center in 195 Durham Center
“This change will provide more accessible, comprehensive and on-demand technical support for faculty and students, and will allow the CELT staff to provide a broader scope of instructional support and faculty development services, aimed at promoting excellence in teaching and learning across campus," said Ann Marie VanDerZanden, CELT director.
"The Solution Center is excited to partner with CELT to provide technical support for Blackboard so that CELT may focus on instructional design and faculty pedagogical resources," said Mike Lohrbach, director of IT solutions, which includes the solution center.
Instructors should contact CELT for questions about developing new courses, effective strategies to engage students using Blackboard or other educational technologies, and other course design questions. The Solution Center will provide answers to faculty and students regarding technical issues, such as resetting passwords, enrolling students, assigning roles within the course, and storage or connectivity issues.
This new support model has been made possible through a collaborative development effort to build a comprehensive service that integrates CELT's knowledge base and the IT Solution Center's support structure. It comes just months after the Solution Center began offering Blackboard support to students.
