Blackboard resourceful to students, teachers

Blackboard is an educational website that has partnered with the University to bring students the newest technology in the online classroom. Last year, Blackboard was a place for checking our grades, pulling up assignments and seeing whether we did well on an assignment or not. This year, it has turned into something much more.

Now, Blackboard is a place where classes are being held for students from their own dorm room or computer lab. This past summer Blackboard has improved its use so that it is now a place where professors can teach a class even if they cannot make it to work or if students cannot make it to class.

The goal of the new edition of Blackboard is to allow students from all over the world to be able to log in, join the class and receive the same learning experience as other students.

Junior Eric Thorton, is one of many students who are using the new Blackboard system in class. Thorton said it is very different from sitting in a classroom and listening to lectures. “Now I can sit in my dorm room login and begin class with much more ways of learning,” Thorton said.

“With the new system we can give each of our classmates’ live feed back on certain topics that can help them as well on the assignment that day,” Thorton said.

Another feature of the new system is that students are able to help their classmates during class. Also, a student does not have to be on campus in

order to be considered present during the class. Skylar Park, a graduate assistant for the football team is also a student working towards his Master’s in Business Administration, has used the new system while out of the country.

“This past summer I took a trip to the Virgin Islands and still had class while on vacation, so I just logged into Blackboard and I was able to still be a part of class,” Parker said.

The system also allows students to Skype with the professor so that they can be sitting in class anywhere that they have access to laptops or computers.

It can be a challenge, however, to identify whether anything on Blackboard has actually changed. Some students who have the new system tend to not have much success when it comes to signing in. There have also been some difficulties with giving other students live feedback during class. There are some students that are just not enjoying it or can tell the difference between the two. Junior Cameron Hall, who is studying exercise science, has mixed feelings

about the new system.

“The new Blackboard system is okay, but I have trouble trying to get live

feed back from my classmates,” Hall said.

With technology improving every minute, we never know how far the new

Blackboard system can take college courses. One day, it may be that students will never have to take a class in a classroom and will still receive the same lecture and learning experience from the professors.