As
with some of my previous entries, this is a post that can apply to nearly all
majors, but can be especially beneficial to those taking a Social Studies or
History course. As everybody who has
taken a course in this content area is aware, an essential aspect of it is
reading, and at times reading quite a bit.
And another essential aspect of a Social Studies class is note-taking,
as it is almost impossible to remember everything that is covered in each
class, and what is covered in each book, without some form of a written
reminder of it. Thankfully, with a tool
like Blackboard, reading and remembering what was covered in a course is much
easier for students.
I’ve
written previously about the convenience of things like databases and e-books
for the Social Studies classroom.
Blackboard can make things even easier for the student. On Blackboard, teachers have the ability to
post articles and excerpts from books directly onto the website for students to
read, without the need to search for it themselves, or to pay money to purchase
a textbook. One of the required courses
for the Education department, “Historical Foundations of American Education,”
posted all of its required readings online, saving the students money and also
being environmentally friendly in the process.
Teachers can ensure that students are getting the needed materials for
the course, and the students can get this material without needing to spend
money for a book.
Another
tool I have seen Blackboard used for is the ability that teachers have to put
class notes on it for students to see.
This helps to ensure that students can see any potential material that
they missed during class, and what occurred in the event that they were absent. One potential downside to this is that it may
lead to some students choosing not to pay attention in class, or simply not
show up at all. But for those that are
serious about their education, this can be a great aide for them. I believe the benefits far outweigh the potentially
poor consequences of this.
Blackboard
is a great tool for the classroom. It
has been a great aide to me in my time at MSU, and I cannot recommend it enough
to other teachers.
Great post Ian,
ReplyDeleteIn my personal experience Blackboard has been a great tool. Despite the fact that it sometimes has crashed while I'm taking an online test, the ability to hand in work online, use group discussion forums, receive grades online, and email the class all from blackboard makes it organized and efficient both for the students as well as the teachers.
-Peter
I have been to two other schools before Montclair, personally I have had much better experiences in other places with blackboard. I am not sure if montclair has a choice as to how much blackboard has to offer but there are many other schools who also have blackboard but with much more options once logged in. I agree Montclair did make a good choice by paying for us to have blackboard. Blackboard is good because it allows us to hand is assignments and what not. I do also have a problem because many teachers don't want to use it or don't want to be bothered to learn how to properly use it. I find it very frustrating when a teacher expects you to know how to do everything and then you are waiting three months for a grade. All in all blackboard is a helpful tool.
ReplyDeleteAt my time at MSU I have found blackboard to be particularly finicky. The site crashes often, there are numerous folders in which to extract information from, and sometimes it can be confusing to navigate. I think it is extremely beneficial if every teacher at the university used this tool, because in many instances we need to learn to navigate more and more sites that we've never used before. It becomes exceedingly difficult to keep tract of the operations of all these sites, and unfortunately the only people who suffer are the students, the teachers and professors only worry about one website to maintain.
ReplyDelete