Welcome to Blackboard Connect! This video is the first in a series of videos that will walk you through the three phases of implementation:

Video Transcript

Welcome to Blackboard Connect! This video is the first in a series of videos that will walk you through the three phases of implementation:

Phase 1: Account Setup

Account Setup involves the following steps:

  • Identifying who will be in charge of Blackboard Connect for your institution or agency, someone we refer to as the "champion"
  • Determining account structure and hierarchy
  • Identifying the individuals who will use the system to send messages or monitor results
  • Managing data integration

The key members involved in implementation include:

  • Institution/Agency Champion, who establishes protocol, identifies users, schedules training sessions, and determines when the service will launch. (If you're watching this video, this is probably YOU!)
  • Staff Users, who will be trained on the Blackboard Connect system to send targeted messages out to recipients.
  • Technical Contact and Network Administrators, who will interface with Blackboard Connect's Integration Specialist to upload contacts and add certain Blackboard Connect domains/IP addresses to an allowed list.
  • Communications Office, who coordinates the campaign to inform your constituents about the institution's use of Blackboard Connect.

Phase 2: Training

Training can be handled in various ways. Blackboard Connect offers weekly live Open Training webinars that you can sign up for and attend. Training is conducted in a lecture style format within a 60-90 minute timeframe. Minimal set-up and equipment are required. Unlimited, New User, and Refresher webinar trainings are included for the duration of your contract.

You may wish to have all of your users get trained this way, or perhaps you prefer to go to the training yourself and then train your staff. This second approach would allow you to tailor the training specifically to your institution's or agency's needs and policies.

Phase 3: Launch

Launch is when you go live using Blackboard Connect 5. We recommend sending a test message at a predetermined date and time that your contacts have been made aware of. The results of this test will give you a baseline to which you can compare future message results. For instance, if you have a high percentage of bad numbers, you can focus on improving the accuracy of your data. If your local telephone lines are overwhelmed by the traffic, we can throttle the speed back for certain exchanges. And if you've never had a rapid notification system before, your contacts have a chance to experience receiving an automated call before it's critical.

Now that you're familiar with the three phases of implementation (Account Setup, Training, and Launch), let's begin with Phase 1: Account Setup.