LMS Migration Information

Turnitin data will become unusable when migrating to a new LMS server, upgrading an LMS server, or making any changes to the system, which results in deleting or changing existing LMS IDs (also referred to as database primary keys or PKIDs). This occurs if the system was copied using the archive / restore method when moving to managed hosted.

When migrating to a new Blackboard Learn instance, it is possible to retain access to your existing Turnitin content. Cloning the database of your existing Blackboard Direct 2.5 plugin ensures that its configuration and content mapping (Turnitin users, classes, submission attempts, papers, and grades) can be migrated and accessed in your new Blackboard Learn environment. In this process, you need to ensure the ip_tii_* tables listed below are included in the cloned tables of the database schema. Cloning the tables exports the necessary data records, including their primary key fields (PK1) or (ID).

Blackboard Learn Turnitin
users ip_tii_user
course_main ip_tii_class
course_users ip_tii_membership
ip_tii_submission (via user batch id)
course_contents ip_tii_assignment
ip_tii_assignment_part
ip_tii_assn_defaults
gradebook_main and attempt ip_tii_submission
  ip_tii_config (Holds plugin configuration setup. E.g. account id, shared secret key, Turnitin Api URL, etc)

The tables within your Blackboard Learn database contain records that are linked to the row IDs of Turnitin ip_tii_x tables. That is why exporting data from the old system to the new, will not achieve the aim of maintaining access to existing TII assignments and submissions via the new LMS.

It is recommended that you create a backup of your database by making a request to Blackboard to clone your existing system in order to ensure the PKIDs will remain unchanged and Turnitin data will not become corrupt during the migration process.

In your new LMS:

  1. If you have cloned your data - the recommended option as it provides the best migration experience

    1. Install the latest Blackboard Direct Plugin to the new Blackboard Instance

    2. Configure the Blackboard Direct plugin with your account ID, shared secret key etc. (Use the same Turnitin configuration details which were used within your previous LMS otherwise errors will appear when attempting to access migrated content)

    3. Start using your content. Existing Turnitin assignments and submissions should work as normal.

    4. You (or Blackboard) need to ensure the sequences tables on the server, for all the cloned tables are updated to the max(PK1) + 1 or max(ID) + 1 per table cloned.

    OR:

  2. If migration is not possible and you have had to export/import your data - Previous Turnitin content will not be accessible within your new LMS

    1. Install the latest version of the Blackboard Direct 2.5 plugin.

    2. Configure the Blackboard Direct plugin with your account ID, shared secret key etc. ( you can use a new account id, a sub-account or the same account id. As the mappings are kept within Blackboard, this should not matter too much.

    3. Start using your plugin to create new TII Assignments and content. Previous Turnitin content will not be accessible within your new LMS, however, it will still be possible to access these submissions in native Turnitin.