Entries Tagged with “collaboration”
How has Blackboard changed the way you teach and manage a classroom? And how has it improved your students' ability to communicate and learn?
I have received very positive comments from the students showing their appreciation for posting numerous additional practice problems. It has also saved the department a great deal of time and money, since materials now do not have to be printed and distributed to the students. I can post .pdf documents to Blackboard and the students can print them as needed. My teaching style now has more flexibility, giving me a wider range of tools I can incorporate into my lectures. I use Blackboard on the overhead sometimes, the old fashioned overhead projector at other times, and the chalkboard or whiteboard at still other times; and I can easily transfer media approaches, thus keeping the students’ attention without becoming too locked into one approach. Classroom management has become much easier due to the ease in distributing materials. The communication is much enhanced. Since I typically exchange between 500-1000 emails with my students per class each semester, I need all the ease in communication I can get. This enables me to send blanket emails to all my students, specific emails to various individuals, and emails to various team members within the class all from the same place.
— James Beatty, Information and Decision Systems
How has Blackboard changed the way you teach and manage a classroom? And how has it improved your students' ability to communicate and learn?
Students feel more organized; it’s easy to access and share documents and easy to receive feedback on their homework. They can also compare their performance with the rest of the class, which encourages self-regulated learning. I do feel more organized! The Digital Dropbox and Assignment tools helped me save lots of hard drive space. Communication has definitely improved! Blackboard reduces my email traffic. Students can easily email each other, and I can easily email the class without going through a listserv. The teamwork space also increased the visibility of team communication and their thinking process as well. Blackboard also has a great data-capturing system, which enables me to conduct action research. I was able to view and download course usage (individuals and the entire class), frequencies of material access, and download the discussion transcripts. I just finished a paper called “Correlational Analysis of Student Visibility and Performance in Online Learning.” This paper (publishing in process) would not be possible without the Blackboard data. It feels great to be able to teach and research at the same time.
— Minjuan Wang, Educational Technology
Why did you choose to use Blackboard?
Blackboard helps manage the distribution of course material and assigned readings. My classes (Art History) are very visual and the Bb service allows me the flexibility of posting and augmenting images associated with lectures. It allows me to update my course material in real-time, without the delays associated with using other web-posting services and crafting web pages from the ground up.
It allows me flexibility in developing and deploying examinations and other evaluation projects, I am able to consult and update the quizzes and exams on short notice. It allows me to use a more objective examination format, regardless of course size, and by administering exams in a “take-home” format online, it frees up valuable course time for lectures and discussions.
Blackboard provides me with a tool that encourages student collaboration, for instance, I have my students post their research bibliographies online and contact each other regarding access to research materials and other course related projects. It provides a convenient outlet for students to coordinate test study sessions and preparation. I usually provide a discussion group (managed by the students alone) where students can ask one another about lecture material, the definition of terms, and concepts covered in class and readings.
— William Barnes, Art
How is your use of the technology innovative or different?
I encourage cooperation between students for both their exams and their research projects. I feel that this is much more in keeping with the academic tradition, where none of us operate in a vacuum, but are constantly aided by the input and collaboration of our colleagues. In having students post their research progress online, they aid one another in the completion of projects, but also learn that one’s colleagues can also be great resources. Also, in administering essay-type exams online, it encourages students to prepare for these by organizing and reviewing their class notes and course readings, and also by consulting with their classmates and learning to use these classmates as resources.
— William Barnes, Art
How has Blackboard changed the way you teach and manage a classroom? And how has it improved your students' ability to communicate and learn?
I have more student collaboration in my classes than ever before. Students are able to contact me and classmates at their leisure through Blackboard, giving them the ability to ask me about topics they may be hesitant to address in class and establish academic relationships with their fellow classmates on their own, rather that being forced to do so via stilted classroom activities and projects. Also the communication center allows students to contact me via email instead of using up class time going over assignments and answering questions about grades because I am able to address grades individually via the Bb gradebook. I have more class time freed up for lectures and discussion and don’t need to spend so much time going over material I can explain or highlight online.
— William Barnes, Art