eLMS Blackboard Building Block
1 Introduction

The eLMS Blackboard Building Block provides an interface that allows Blackboard users to access services provided by the experimental Learning Management System (eLMS). The building block design limits the support required by Blackboard administrators to installing and configuring the building block. Thereafter, the building block provides its services to instructors, co-instructors, teacher assistants and students, with no need for these users to reauthenticate themselves with eLMS.

Instructors have access to the course management services of eLMS such as creating and removing eLMS courseware assignments, synchronizing a roster from Blackboard or recording grades using the eLMS delivery records of a courseware assignment. These services are supported by context-sensitive help incorporated into the building block's user interface.

Blackboard students can launch and optionally review eLMS courseware assignments, which are accessed in the same way as their other Blackboard assignments.

The eLMS Blackboard Building Block is available for use by primary and affliated institutions of the NSF Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Bioengineering Educational Technologies, called VaNTH. The building block can also be made available to others by request to the ERC.

Requests to use the building block should be sent to eLMS Developers.

In response, a package will be sent to the requesting organization that includes the following elements:

• An eLMS server address
• A Shared Secret
• The building block Web Archive file

The requesting organization will be entered into the approved institution list on the supporting eLMS server. Individual instructors at the institution will need to be authorized on this eLMS server. Requests for credentials can also be sent to eLMS Developers.

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