2. Blackboard is a web based online course management system
that allows instructors to add course content for students to
access. Blackboard was founded in 1997 and through the years has
made updates to make its system appealing to the consumer.It has a
recent application calledBlackboard Sync. This provides access for
users to link from Facebook. Blackboard Sync is an application that
delivers Blackboard course information and updates through Facebook
to keep students connected with their academic studies. This is
just one of the recent advances in an effort to reach out to
digital learners. Blackboard also has new software applications for
professional development and the k-12 learning communities. 3.
Blackboard is available for instructors and students who want to
participate in online learning.Instructors Students 4. Instructors
can: Students can: share course materials access course syllabus
communicate with students/ be more accessible to students access
course materials/ assignments/assessments/ grades/ use Bb for large
storage of course content participate in synchronous/synchronous
communication use Bb to deliver whole course content or as a
supplement for f2f learning e-mail/chat/message accommodate
different learning styles receive content delivered in a variety of
multimedia formats assess and evaluate student progress access 24/7
5. Strengths of the Platform The key to its great success is the
ease of navigation. Youaccess the Blackboard site from any internet
connection. You click the login button, add your user name and
password to view the courses main page. Another strength of the
platform is that it is widely used by many universities. This has
created a comfort level of familiarity for both instructors and
learners. While other platforms such as WebCT offer a great
product, converting populations is a challenge so Blackboard (Bb)
has many faithful followers. The interface is intuitive which users
appreciate. 6. Instructors like to have more ownership in
structuring/designing the e learning environment. Blackboard is
more of a model template from which you plug in your course
content. An improvement would be for Bb to offer instructors more
freedom in setting up the course site. 7.
Schools that use the Blackboard learning platform take the
students through an orientation session. Students learn how to
access course content and materials as well
as learn the features and tools used for the course. A
navigation bar on the course website page assists the student to
access different sections with great ease.
8. Students have reported that the instructors orientation
session gives the student enough time to feel comfortable
navigating the site. Technical support is available through links
to FAQ and/or contacting the schools tech support center by phone
or email. 9. Recommendations For professional development: Many
teachers are looking for a change in the delivery of staff
development. Blackboard can be used to deliver traditional f2f PD
in a more appealing medium. Some schools are using a blended model
which is very popular. Offering a blended model gives teachers some
traditional f2f time as well as online time. This decreases travel
time which teachers have related is an issue. They love the
convenience that e-learning offers and it saves on gas mileage too.
It can offer ongoing and relevant topics when and where teachers
need it. For students: Using Blackboard in the K-12 environment can
provide students with an alternative way to receive instruction
from traditional f2f learning. It can be useful to target certain
students such as those that live in rural areas, students that are
hospitalized, students needing AP classes, and summer classes too.
It has also been noted that online learning keeps more children in
a learning environment and decreases the drop-out rate. Parents
also like being able to access their childs assignments and grades.
10.
[email_address]
Student Orientation Guide
Parent Blackboard Tutorial
Blackboard Bootcamp Orientation
Creating and Customizing Your Blackboard Class
These are good tutorials for a variety of Blackboard users
(teachers, students, parents).
