Hello!  Welcome to Athens Technical College.  To help you get started, I wanted to make sure you have a few resources at your fingertips.

 

You can access our Blackboard login using the Athens Technical College OKTA single sign-on at:


 https://athenstech.okta.com



Learning Management System (LMS)

We use Blackboard Learn Original, SaaS as our LMS.  If you are not familiar or even a bit rusty with the Blackboard platform, you can find some helpful information to get you started setting up your classes using these links:


Blackboard Support

There are two resources available for Blackboard issues, the CTL Solution Center and CTL Support Request.  Both resources are available to students and faculty.  


Solution Center: This knowledge base has solution articles based on frequently asked questions and is accessible to faculty and students.  You can search the articles by keyword or browse by category.


CTL Support Request: If you can’t find an answer to your question in the Solution Center, you can submit a CTL Support Request into the ticket system.  A link to the support request form is on the Blackboard Dashboard page and our intranet. 

For non-Blackboard questions or immediate assistance you can reach us by using the following contact information, we are always happy to help.


Andrew Robison, Coordinator, CTL, and Blackboard Administrator

arobison@athenstech.edu, 706-552-0960


Missy Lockhart, Director, Online Learning and eCampus

mlockhart@athenstech.edu, 706-355-5080


Minimum use of Blackboard

Athens Technical College requires all instructors to use Blackboard for their course shells.  Including all on-campus, blended, and online classes.  Listed below are the minimal requirements for all courses (including on-campus).   All faculty should use the Blackboard course shell for the following, though extensive use of Blackboard is encouraged.  (Blackboard Minimum Use Requirements, July 2023; see document attached at bottom of page).

 

  1. Gradebook - All faculty members must maintain their grade book in Blackboard for all classes, regardless of course type.  The Blackboard Grade Center should be maintained throughout the semester so students are aware of their progress. At the end of each semester, instructors will use the ILP Grade Push process to submit final grades to the Office of Registration and Records before the published deadline. 
  2. Announcements - All class cancellation notices and Continuation of Instruction assignments must be published using Blackboard Announcements.
  3. Course Orientation Documents - We recommend adding a folder to your Table of Contents titled Welcome/Start Here and including all of the course orientation documents in this folder. Documents to include are:
  • Syllabus link
  • Addendum link
  • Course Calendar
  • Faculty contact info
  • Publisher link (if applicable)


All Distance Education courses (Blended, Online, eCampus, and DAP) require an online component to meet seat-time minimums; therefore, more extensive use of Blackboard is required.  Please contact your program chairperson, learning community leader, or division dean for further clarification.

 

Training Resources

Once you have gotten your feet wet, you may want to browse through the Blackboard training resources available:

 

Blackboard 1101 and 1102

GVTC offers two Blackboard Faculty Training opportunities to all Athens Technical College faculty members.  Both Bb1101 and Bb1102 are highly recommended, self-paced, and accessed through Blackboard.  Once you have completed Bb1101, or if you feel comfortable with Blackboard, you can enroll in Bb1102.  It should take about six hours to complete each training course. The time can be credited to your Professional Development hours for the year by using the Add Your Own feature of the Professional Development page on the Intranet to log your time.   To register for either training, email the following information to CTL_Support@athenstech.edu:

 

  • Name
  • Email address
  • Employee ID number (starts with a zero, not your Banner ID which starts with 910)
  • Which course do you want to take: Bb1101 or Bb1102

 

Again, welcome to Athens Technical College.  Have a great semester!




Hyperlinks used

Athens Technical College Faculty Handbook (requires Intranet login): https://www.athenstech.edu/documents/documentRetrieve.cfm?file=Faculty%20Handbook%20-%20Final%20with%20Cover%20August%202022&d=10

Blackboard Help: help.blackboard.com

Blackboard login page: Athenstech.blackboard.com

CTL solution article: New Faculty Resources for Blackboard

Bb1101 and 1102 Enrollment: CTL_Support@athenstech.edu 

CTL Blackboard Training Modules: https://athenstechctlsupport.freshdesk.com/support/solutions/folders/66000423460

CTL Support Request: https://athenstechctlsupport.freshdesk.com/support/tickets/new

CTL Solution Center: https://athenstechctlsupport.freshdesk.com/support/home

GVTC link to Faculty Quick References: https://gvtc.tcsg.edu/training/Faculty-Training/Faculty-Quick-References

GVTC Training Page: https://gvtc.tcsg.edu/training