Don’t panic yet; nothing will happen to fall 2012 courses! They will be delivered in our current version. In fact, faculty should already have access to their fall semester course shells.

However, IIT Online has been working closely with OTS as the university upgrades our learning management system (LMS) to its new version, Blackboard 9.1. Faculty access and orientation to the new version will begin this September. The new version will become the live system for students and courses with the spring 2013 semester.

New features do improve functionality, yet our approach is that this transition is more than a technical upgrade. For starters, because faculty identified the need for more time to development content, faculty will be able to access their very own permanent course shell in the new Blackboard just after Labor Day! Faculty will have early access to their spring 2013 course shells as well.

Faculty orientation sessions, workshops, Google sites, and more will be announced as they become available throughout the fall semester. So keep an eye right here for more Blackboard @ IIT details!