Using Snapshot Technology for Daily Maintenance Blackboard

Peter VerheijenUniversiteit Maastricht

The Netherlands

2004 Blackboard European Users Conference

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Schedule

UM and Problem Based Learning Concepts of synchronizing data What is snapshot Architecture Account, course, organization, enrolment management Monitoring Steps for realization snapshot environment

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Universiteit Maastricht

Founded in 1976; youngest university in the Netherlands

Still growing now 11,000 students, 3,000 staff Seven faculties and one university college

Innovation in education and research International orientation in the content of study

programmes and the nature of academic and social life Small-scale and student-oriented concept of Problem-

Based Learning (PBL)

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Organization education

Curriculum is divided in blocks (themes) Block period is 6-8 weeks Problem tasks / block books Tutorial groups 10-12 students Block coordinator / Tutor Twice a week tutorial group meeting PBL-based SIS: Premium Faculty Educational office is responsible for

organization education within the faculty

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Student services architecture

Premium

Active Directory

Exchange

Fileservices

Persons

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Student services architecture

Premium

Active Directory

Exchange

Fileservices

Blackboard

Persons

Snapshot

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Data synchronisation

Efficiency: changes are done one time Quality: less mistakes Security: less pollution of data Clearity: when it’s clear who is the owner, it

is clear who is responsible

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Db connection– Difficult to make– Permission/support– Update– Event driven is possible

API interface– Difficult to make– Event driven is possible

Text-based export/import– Easy– Security– Only batch processing

Data synchronisation Concepts

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Records are created or changed with an “identifier”: Data-source-key

Fields can be defined as:

– Blackboard owned: when changed with Bb UI, snapshot does not overwrite

– Snapshot Owned: when changed with Bb UI, snapshot does overwrite

Snapshot Concepts

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Input has three variations:

– Snaphot: all data in input file + DCK will be processed. Data in Bb with the same DCK which is not in the input file will be disabled.

– Manual: all data in input file + DCK will be processed. Data in Bb with the same DCK which is not in the input file will stay the same

– Remove: all data in the input file + DCK will be removed

Features

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Snapshot generator:– Custom build software to generate input files

Snapshot tool: – set of commands, to be executed at the command prompt, to

change a large number of records using an import file.

Snapshot controller:– Determines input files– Checks validation of data– Import input files, using the appropriate snapshot commands

and data source key’s– Generates log files

Snapshot components

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Snapshot programs

Snapshot Manual Remove

USR

CRS

ENR

STAFF

ORG

ORGMEMB

CATEGORY

LINKS

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USER Maintenance

EXTERNAL_PERSON_KEY

USER_ID

SYSTEM_ROLE

FIRSTNAME

LASTNAME

EMAIL

INSTITUTION_ROLE

+++

I123456

I123456

NONE

JOHN

SMITS

J.SMITS@STUDENT.UNIMAAS.NL

STUDENT

Bold = bb-owned

Users.txt

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Course and Organization Maintenance

Bold = bb-owned

COURSE_ID, EXTERNAL_COURSE_KEY

COURSE_NAME

 

START_DATE

END_DATE

AVAILABLE_IND

ALLOW_GUEST_IND

TEMPLATE_COURSE_KEY

+++

FDCW_0405_BP1_BLOK_9001

34460

De Wet van de Natuur (9001-0304)

 

20040901

20041010

N

N

FDGW_TEMPLATE

0405_courses.txt 0405_org.txt

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Enrolment and staff assignments

Bold = bb-owned

0405_enroll.txt 0405_orgmemb.txt 0405_staff.txt

EXTERNAL_COURSE_KEY

EXTERNAL_PERSON_KEY

ROLE

AVAILABLE_IND

+++

34460

I123456

STUDENT

Y

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Catalogue

Category.txt– Manage course and organization catalogue structure

Links.txt– Links course/organization in the appropriate place in catalogue

structure

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Monitoring

Controller.log Bb-services-log-snapshot-jdbc.txt

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Monitoring II

Copy the input files to a webserver where they can by monitored by key users of Bb: LINK

www.unimaas.nl - /eleum/logfiles/[To Parent Directory]

Tuesday, October 05, 2004 6:00 AM 221312 0405_COURSES.TZATuesday, October 05, 2004 6:00 AM 2018976 0405_ENROLL.TZATuesday, October 05, 2004 7:01 AM 22620 0405_ENROLL.TZA.invalidTuesday, October 05, 2004 6:00 AM 57199 0405_LINKS.TZATuesday, October 05, 2004 6:00 AM 597822 0405_ORG.TZATuesday, October 05, 2004 6:00 AM 1361296 0405_ORGMEMB.TZATuesday, October 05, 2004 7:04 AM 14952 0405_ORGMEMB.TZA.invalidTuesday, October 05, 2004 6:00 AM 105824 0405_STAFF.TZATuesday, October 05, 2004 7:02 AM 4539 0405_STAFF.TZA.invalidTuesday, October 05, 2004 6:00 AM 16842 CATEGORIES.TZATuesday, October 05, 2004 7:04 AM 6750 controller.logTuesday, October 05, 2004 6:30 AM 2453086 USERS.TXTTuesday, October 05, 2004 6:44 AM 6552 USERS.TXT.invalid

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Steps

Make an inventory of fields needed for maintenance of– Users– Courses– Organizations– Enrolments in courses and organizations– Staff assignments

Determine syntax (Course-id’s, course-names etc) Determine source for data needed Determine snapshot or Blackboard ownership Determine data source key’s Write snaphot generator application Create course and organization templates

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Input

Documentation Blackboard consultancy

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Missing features

Additional Administrative role:– View all courses– View all organizations– View all enrolments in courses and organizations– View all staff assignments– View users– Cannot change anything

This would make it a lot easier for educational offices to analyze problems in Bb and correct them in the SIS.

Maintenance of group pages

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Questions