You can save courses semester to semester in BB, but BB’s assignment structure can’t be copied without duplicating the entire course–members and all. If you don’t exactly duplicate your course, you have to rebuild assignments for each new iteration of the course.

I think the entry level requirements for students and teachers are quite reasonable. BB has a point and click (and click and click and click) interface that, while tedious at times, is easy to use. An hour long introduction is all that is probably required to get something up and running on Blackboard. However, the deeper functions–using the grading center effectively, embedding media, etc.–require more training and experience. The biggest issue we face with training isn’t how to provide it–it’s getting faculty to avail themselves of it.

Training seems to also be an issue with Bb. Can anyone tell me what the typical teacher needs in training to get started and to keep up? How about students?

Thanks.

Teaching math via audioconference. Is that even remotely possible?

I did read “The Problem With Synchronicity” – very interesting.

This entire discussion is particularly important because students tend to generalize their first online learning experience to all online learning experiences. So if a student’s first online learning experience is not rewarding, they will say “Distance ed sucks, it’s not for me.” They don’t generalize face-to-face classes in the same way.

This is why it’s so labor-intensive to design it and design it right, and why the labor load is really very front-heavy.

Good discussion, excellent insight, and a focus group is a good idea.
Shawn

The old saw about “when all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail” certainly applies when you are talking about asynchronous/online instruction. If the only tool you have is Blackboard, then your solutions are limited by Blackboard’s vertically integrated system. I’m not suggesting it’s a useless development platform. As it was for you, Blackboard and Elluminate was my universe for a couple of years until I begin feeling held back by it’s frustrating limitations. I should emphasize, though, that while BB was frustrating for me, it may be liberating for others. It has a place–an increasingly small place, but a place nonetheless–in my asynchronous instructional repertoire. I’m willing to put the time and effort into developing on other platforms (Google Sites, wikis, etc.) because the rewards for my students are greater. I’d rather be able to pick from a variety of tools than to automatically default to the same one every time. That’s why I think it’s a good idea to talk about these tools in the larger context of asynchronous teaching and learning. Maybe we need a campus focus group…

I follow this thread with great interest…I have been very frustrated by many of the same issues as Skip with BB. I definitely push Blackboard to it’s limits. One of Skip’s points really connected with me:

My students set up real blogs and used real wikis for their work and we linked them to the class site. Instead of working in a vertically integrated management system, students were working with real tools and learning skills that would help them in their future careers. They were developing portfolios using Google Sites (some purchasing their own domains from Google) and creating online materials for use in their classes. They were in control, not Blackboard. It has been liberating for all of us….
[Blackboard is] an artificial construct–the work you do there basically stays there and isn’t integrated with other social networking tools. Learning to work within the BB system doesn’t prepare you for anything other than working in the BB system, at least in terms of leveraging social media for teaching and learning. I’d argue that my instructional time (and students’ learning time) is better spent learning to use real world tools that will carry over into their professions once they graduate. I prefer that students use “open” tools. They need to learn how to protect their privacy and operate in a social environment–time well spent, in my estimation.

I DO want my students to gain more experience and capability creating workspaces online that will benefit their professional lives and their own students.

The number ONE thing that keeps me from leaving Blackboard, however, is time. I am currently leading 4 courses this semester and completely wiped out time-wise. The thought of recreating the good parts of Blackboard while also integrating the parts of better, open tools is very intimidating – and I’m pretty advanced tech-wise compared to many of my peers…

Maybe this summer when I can catch my breath, I’ll take a look at revamping the online presence of my courses…I’ll continue to follow this discussion too…

Blackboard is a great first step for instructors new to online learning, and I’m still encouraging our faculty to use it–particularly for embedding media files and Google Docs, which is something that BB excels at. Getting more people involved in BB is a good way to promote online learning, but therein lies the rub. It’s really not a good tool for online learning. It perpetuates a teacher-led instructional model of “reading the book and answering the questions” that is driving so many students away from traditional classrooms when they have the choice. Without a social media foundation–or at least some way of integrating with SM tools outside of Blackboard–it’s only part of the instructional process. That’s why I went looking for tools that could engage students with each other and with me and why I settled on Google Sites, personal learning networks, and open avenues for publishing students’ work. I don’t see why BB can’t be part of that process to some degree, but as the only solution it just doesn’t meet my needs or the needs of my students.

What we need is a university-wide focus on online learning and not simply on the bits and pieces that make that up.

I appreciate your feedback. A new version of Bb is out, and we’ll upgrade sooner or later. It has a much different, and in my opinion much improved, interface. It also allows for integration of some, but not many, social media tools.

As far as the assignments, I certainly understand. Other than creating a related assignment, there is no way to submit multiple version of the same assignment. You can for tests, but not for anything else. I wish this was different, and you are correct in the fact that those cannot be copied over, unless you copy the entire course (including the Grade Center).
Whether the next version of Bb will change this I don’t know. I certainly hope so.

I never liked the term “Learning Management System”, as I think it doesn’t manage learning. It manages courses, not the learning. I think we agree that learning has a different meaning, and that Blackboard is a closed off system, therefore not really contributing to learning skills that can be used after an academic career.

I wish more faculty would give Blackboard another look. It has had its flaws over the years, but I really feel there have been improvement in the current version. So far, the faculty that I have had a chance to sit down with in training, seem to think that the improvements are working for them.
And it helps to know that there is a dedicated support staff for Blackboard, that addresses problems/issues when they come up, in a timely fashion. That has been different in the past, and the higher adoption rate is likely due to that.

I’m excited for the new version of Bb. The system will not likely change in where it is no longer the vertical silo, a closed system. But even Bb sees that without giving in at least some, their system will become obsolete. Blackboard is an easy to use system, that is fully supported by the University, and it has a relatively low threshold for faculty to get started.

The need to “put courses online” is greater than ever before. Teaching faculty what tools can be used, how to use them, and how it can tie in to a students learning experience is the real challenge. It’s difficult to advocate change…

Thanks again,

Chris