Blackboard is a technological aid to the educational field. It is a way for communication to flow quickly and directly between instructors and students on the internet. It allows for instructors to either add an internet extension to the traditional classroom, or the instructor can even use blackboard to teach an entire course on the internet. An instructor can place learning materials, course documents, assignments, announcements, class discussions, provide external links, post grades, and even test the students on the website. All students and instructors enrolled in the course are able to access the material posted for the course. Students are not only able to view everything posted by the instructor, but they are also able to post discussion comments and submit documents to the instructor with the drop box. For additional information on blackboard please visit the Blackboard Hompage
There are many advantages and disadvantages to using blackboard. Different teachers feel differently about the effectiveness of blackboard. Overall, many instructors find blackboard very useful, one professor at Trinity University has explained how blackboard is very useful. Some people feel that simply using web pages would be more effective, and they have compared and contrasted the advantages and disadvantages of a web page verses using blackboard. Others simply don't feel that it is an adequate tool for communication so there are arguments about advantages and disadvantages of using blackboard as a method of communication.
Blackboard was created in 1997 to enhance learning opportunities and educational development. It was an attempt to use the internet as a tool for education. While it was originally designed for the use of education in grades kindergarten through twelfth grade, it is now being used for higher education, corporate and government communication, and has even extended its boundaries to be used internationally.
I have been working with Blackboard for 3 years now and it has proven to be very beneficial to my learning experience as a college student. I have been able to view all my course information, assignments, calendars, grades, and announcements. Not only have I been able to receive all the information my professors provide for my classes, but I have been involved in discussion boards, handed in assignments through the digital drop box, taken quizzes, and just recently submitted a writing exam through blackboard. It is much more organized and accessible than traditional handouts and submitting work by hand. It eliminates the confusion of missing classes, losing handouts, and those inevitable printer problems. Also, because I am often out of the country it has proven to be a quick way to access class information and submit work to my instructors, even when I am out of the country. Though I would not like to take an entire class on the internet using blackboard, I think it is a helpful addition to the tradition classroom learning styles.
If you have the opportunity to use blackboard as a student or an instructor, there are some things that could make your use of blackboard more successful. As an instructor it is important to keep up-to-date information on blackboard and it is your responsibility to have announcements, course documents, and assignments posted up so they are accessible to the students. It is also important that your students know how to access the information you are putting up and can navigate through blackboard well enough to do what you are expecting. For students whose instructors are using blackboard regularly, take advantage of it. Make sure you understand how to navigate and use all the tools that are provided for you. As it is the responsibility of the instructor to update the information, it is the responsibility of the student to log on to blackboard and keep updated as well. For blackboard to work successfully, both students and instructors must understand how to use it (maybe use a Blackboard Tutorial) and must also keep updated.