Do you know who to call for your Blackboard issues? Both LT and IT support Blackboard here on campus, but in different ways–though we might overlap sometimes. Here’s what we each do:
Learning Technologies
LT is focused on the day-to-day use of Blackboard. This means that we can help you with setting up various parts of your course, troubleshooting things that don’t seem to be working correctly, designing your course content or assessments, and providing training and support on any issues you encounter in trying to use any part of Blackboard (this includes Course Tools like Collaborate Ultra and Ally, too).
Sometimes, we also help facilitate things that need to be done by IT, like your requested Blackboard integrations or we can sometimes request course shells for you (though you can also go directly to IT). We also support various accessibility tools (we can help you caption or improve overall course accessibility), help you make instructional videos, and enter your grades in to the ARI system.
However, overall, most of what we do is teaching you how to use Blackboard (and all the accordant course tools) and helping you utilize the features available to you to their fullest extent to deliver the best possible course content.
Information Technology (IT Help Desk)
There shouldn’t be a whole lot of times that you’ll need to call IT directly for a Blackboard-related issue—with a few exceptions (most of the time if you mention Blackboard you’ll get sent to us anyway).
IT is responsible for the backend upkeep, updates, and the technical functionality of Blackboard. So if there is a larger technical issue (Blackboard is down or otherwise nonoperational) with Blackboard or a Blackboard integration or something that’s beyond a basic question of how something works or how to get it working, you should direct your call or email to IT.
IT is also your source of help for all things Zoom, as LT does not provide Zoom support.
Bottom Line
Here’s the thing: even if you call the wrong place, we’ll still get you hooked up with someone who can help you in the right department. It happens all the time and it’s our job to make sure you get the help you need–so don’t stress. We just thought it would be nice to provide a little more clarity on what each department does with respect to Blackboard, so you’ll know more about how things work and have a better idea of where to head for help!
