Updates to Berkeley SuiteC Instructional Tools

June 8, 2021

The Asset Library and Engagement Index tools are being rebuilt, and new versions will be available in the fall, while Whiteboards and Impact Studio are being retired.

Background:

The SuiteC tool set was developed as part of a grant-funded project and first piloted in 2015. Over time, technologies have modernized, class sizes have increased, and the performance of SuiteC has fallen behind, ultimately leading to the need to retire the current toolset.

Since these tools are critical to many instructors and their pedagogy, we are happy to announce that we will be releasing new tools in Fall 2021 designed to better deliver the most popular functions for courses of all sizes.

The new SuiteC focuses on the most-used tools: the new Asset Library and Engagement Index will be available in Fall 2021. While the whiteboard tool is going away, students can use third-party Whiteboard tools, and link those to the asset library. We are exploring the ability to integrate third-party whiteboards, such as Google Jamboard(link is external), which can be accessed by all students through their Calnet accounts.

Timeline:

  • On Monday, August 9th, the new Asset Library and Engagement Index will be made available for use in the Fall 2021 terms and beyond. 

  • The current SuiteC tools will remain available and usable for Summer 2021 instruction until August 16th, after which the older versions of the four tools will go into a read-only mode: assets, whiteboards, and other data in these courses will remain visible, but new assets cannot be created. 

  • These tools will remain in a read-only mode until the end of the Fall 2021 term, when they will be removed from bCourses on December 17th.

Next Steps:

If you plan on using SuiteC in Fall 2021, refer to the SuiteC service page, which will be updated with guides on using the new SuiteC tools in mid-July.

If you wish to retain any assets or whiteboards from the old SuiteC tools, see this guide: How to save or archive material from SuiteC(link is external)

If you wish to migrate assets from the old asset library to the new asset library, complete this SuiteC Migration Request Form(link is external) by Friday, August 6th.

If you wish to use whiteboards in your Fall 2021 courses, you may consider a third-party alternative such as Padlet(link is external), or Google Jamboards(link is external), which can be created via Google Docs.


Please direct any questions to bCourseshelp@berkeley.edu