Running head: BLACKBOARD

Blackboard: The case for an updated Collaborative Learning System Cynthia Hernandez Jose Jimenez Kelly Knowles Lauren O Leary Evelyn Olivas The University of Texas at El Paso

Running head: BLACKBOARD Introduction Throughout the duration of attaining a college degree, students often find themselves

facing many obstacles. While many of these challenges are unavoidable, technological services that are provided by the university should not be one of them. The collaborative learning system (CLS), Blackboard, that is used at the University of Texas at El Paso, creates an opportunity for students to connect with their peers and instructors outside of the classroom. Unfortunately, this system is not always up to par with the needs and expectations of the students and faculty. Our goal is to improve upon the faults of Blackboard, making it a stronger resource for both faculty and staff. History Blackboard was first founded in 1997 by Matthew Pittinsky and Michael Chasen. As educational advisors, both Pittinsky and Chasen set out to develop technical standards for online learning. Blackboard's vision was to provide a user friendly means by which college professors could put course information including: syllabi, reference sites, and study guides on the web (Bradford, Porciello, Balkon, & Backus, 2007). In 1998, Blackboard merged with a course management software provider called CourseInfo LLC. In the years that followed, Blackboard expanded by acquiring several other companies. After merging with their rival e-learning software company WebCT in 2004, the companies were said to control eighty percent of the academic course management system market across the United States. The growth of the Blackboard learning system occurred in such a short period of time; however, they managed to develop a set of principles that separated them from their competition.

Running head: BLACKBOARD The Blackboard learning system (BLS) is based off of several learning principles that

should be used to help instructors accomplish effective online learning. The first three principles include: student and faculty contact, cooperation among students, and active learning. These principles encourage cooperation between both students and instructors in order to provide one another with an effective learning environment. The following three principles, which include prompt feedback, implementing deadlines, and upholding high expectations, help to ensure responsibility in the student's academic life. The last principle incorporates respect of diverse views and learning styles. Keep in mind that regardless of the principles implemented by Blackboard, it is still important to have an in depth understanding of what an effective learning environment consists of. Characteristics of Effective Learning Environments When introduced to new concepts, the learning styles of students can differ. An instructor must therefore be able to modify his instruction to meet the needs of all students. Students can be visual, tactile, or auditory learners, or may possess a combination of characteristics from each style. The most effective learning environments cater to every kind of learner, and collaborative learning systems (CLSs) are no exception to this rule. Learning through these environments can be very interactive and provide resources to students that mere classrooms may not. However, this is only true if the CLS is designed in a way that allows the students to engage in their preferred learning style. Visual Rhetoric in Designing Collaborative Learning Systems In today's society, texts are often multimodal, meaning they incorporate a variety of modes, including visual images, hypertexts, and graphic design elements along with written text

Running head: BLACKBOARD (Serafini, 2011). Appearance is an essential part of the learning experience. Public images are

used to produce diverse communication forms, and function to persuade. Rhetoric, as defined by Aristotle is the art of seeing, in any given case, the available means of persuasion. Hence, visual rhetoric is the technique of utilizing graphics and typographic style to make ones message more valuable and applicable to the audience. In much the same way visual rhetoric performs these tasks but through the use of images and graphics. Take for example the widely used social networking websites (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, etc.). These websites utilize graphics to work in collaboration with text in order to create a more pleasurable experience. As children, we enjoyed books filled with pictures to guide the reading process. That yearning for graphics throughout the text is still alive in adults whom are pursuing their degrees. As students transition from the familiarity of a classroom environment to CLSs, concessions need to be made to help make the process successful (Hocks, 2003). Providing visual aids that connect them to a classroom setting and make the space more interesting is something that would no doubt make the CLSs more valuable (Landoni, 2000). People organize information or perceptions into schemata. When introduced to something new or confusing, they often try to relate it to familiar schemata in order to grasp a better understanding of the unfamiliar. From there they are able to create new schemata to organize or label the newly acquired information. In other words, they relate the new information to something familiar to gain comprehension. In much the same way, a metaphor must be introduced to help users of CLSs transition from the familiarity of classrooms to a new, online learning environment. This idea has been used successfully in a variety of human computer interfaces such as electronic books (Landoni, 2000).

Running head: BLACKBOARD Interaction Essential to Designing Collaborative Learning Systems In a classroom setting, student interaction is usually defined as student-to- instructor

interaction and student-to- student interaction. The ability to talk, reason, and question through these interactions helps to reinforce learning. Once a student can interpret and explain a concept to others in the classroom, it is then clear that he/she has truly made the knowledge theirs. In order to ensure that students do not miss out on the benefits of interaction, CLSs must provide a means for students to share their thoughts and questions. This means that there must be a level of interactivity between the instructor and the students, discourse among students, and an environment that promotes these interactions (Lall, 2010). Students will not communicate if they do not feel comfortable in expressing their ideas. Often, this is the case in classrooms and CLSs. To foster an atmosphere of safety and acceptance, a brief profile should be created, much like the ones used in Facebook or any other social networking website. By doing this, the space becomes personal and inviting to the users and less like talking to strangers. With this supportive environment, students will then feel more relaxed in talking with their instructor as well as their fellow peers. For students to participate in different levels of interactivity, not only must the environment be accommodating but the tools by which to have this communication must be easy to use. It is difficult enough finding the right words to say; the way in which to send these words should not be a pre-requisite or additional skill (Georgiakakis, 2010). Although it may seem obvious, it is important that students are effectively notified when someone is attempting to communicate with them. Lall (2010) explains that one rational for using CLSs is the 24/7 availability to course content. The social networking websites have mastered this feature by updating users constantly through email and other notifications that do not require the users to be

Running head: BLACKBOARD logged in to the website to receive this information. The ability for a CLSs to provide high

quality interactivity will help to cultivate an effective learning experience that has the ability to surpass that presented in a classroom environment. Pros and Cons of the Blackboard Learning System Aspects and features of the Blackboard learning system will be analyzed in terms of benefits and setbacks including: system quality, net benefits, learners self-regulated learning, system layout, announcements, course documents, discussion board, assignment submission, assessments, group work, collaboration, communication, and grade book. The system quality refers to the degree of availability, reliability (is the system error free), and time taken to respond to the users requests (i.e. file download and upload time) (Tella, 2011). Blackboard can be accessed from the Internet at anytime and any place making it easier for students to access their course materials at their own discretion (Bradford, 2011). However, some of the setbacks we came across were find when test taking, some students are not able to access the exam and others are kicked out when working on it resulting in the loss of work. Additionally, it takes a long time for instructors to upload documents that contain a lot of pictures or large amounts of information (West, Waddoups, & Graham, 2007). Because of the dependence on sever portal systems the network is subject to problems. For example, the system often crashes when an overload of users are trying to access Blackboard at the same time. This can also cause the system to run slow. Scheduled updates and maintenance also cause the system to crash resulting in the loss of student work and vital information. Along with this, critical emails are often lost. The use of Blackboard requires some technological knowledge, and can therefore be hard for students who are not as technologically savvy (Bradford, 2007).

Running head: BLACKBOARD Net benefits improve the performance in students learning (Tella, 2007). Some of the pros of Blackboards net benefits are the needs they meet of all types of learners whether they are visual learners, tactile learners, or auditory learners. They do so by incorporating the use of lecture notes, audio recordings, animations, activities including simulations, puzzles, and matching exercises, video clips, diagrams, flowcharts, pictures, and assessments. The fact that Blackboard is able to accommodate all different styles of learning helps to improve individual performances (Bradford, 2007). Though, there is room for increased cheating which leads to improved performance but decreased learning. Because it is time consuming for instructors to upload different materials across semesters, they often use the same materials i.e. quizzes and test. These quizzes and test can in turn be passed down from student to student. This can cause

an increase in higher grades, but in many cases, there is no real learning involved (West, 2007). Learners self-regulated learning refers to the learners discipline, organization, and willingness to actively participate in the learning process (Tella, 2011). Online course materials can be accessed by the student according to their availability and convenience. If group work is assigned, members do not have to meet face to face, but rather can take advantage of the tools that Blackboard offers to communicate with one another (Liaw, 2008). Some of the cons to selfregulated learning would be the lack of requirement for note taking on course management systems which negatively impacts learning. Students are also more likely to skip class because all of the course materials are made available online for them to view at a later time. There really is no form of encouragement that motivates students to embrace learning (West, 2007). Because of this, a high level of self-discipline is required since the majority of the work is done outside a classroom setting and students have the option of working at their own convenience. Online learning also requires students to dedicate more time to fully comprehend the subject matter

Running head: BLACKBOARD since they do not have instructors on hand to reinforce the material and ask questions to (Liaw, 2008).

The systems layout includes the arrangement of BLS and its features. The navigation bar to the left shows the different tools that Blackboard has to offer (Unal, & Unal, 2011). Some of the pros to the systems layout would be the placement of the tools to the left side of the screen which makes it easy to navigate from one feature to the other. However, the layout is not flexible to accommodate for individual needs. There is no opportunity for customizability or adaptability. While the instructors can enable and disable certain tools, they cannot be customized to an individuals preferences (West, 2007). This system limits creativity by confining instruction to a restricted format. The navigation is also difficult and requires multiple clicking in order to reach needed materials (Bradford, 2007).

Figure 1: Blackboard Course Layout

The announcements section is where instructors can update users about important course information. It is the first page students see after they select a particular course (Unal, 2011). As soon as you log on to Blackboard, a window containing any announcements immediately pops

Running head: BLACKBOARD up assuring that students are up-to-date on what is going on in the class (Bradford, 2007). We

found that announcements, however, cannot be replied to directly. The user must navigate away from the announcement section and access their e-mail in order to reply to the announcement. Additionally, files cannot be simultaneously attached to announcements so instructors must utilize a different tool to upload them i.e. the course documents. Because of this, once again students must navigate away from the announcement section to find the corresponding files. Course content section contains course documents (i.e. lecture notes, PowerPoint presentations, etc.) and instructions (Unal, 2011). Information is readily available so that if you miss something in class you can always refer to Blackboard for reinforcement. Being able to access the material before class also allows you to print out lecture notes and PowerPoint presentations so that you can have them available to you during class to take notes on. Some of the problems in the course content include the downloading of documents, which is sometimes tedious, and at times formatting issues can cause the documents to download wrong or not at all. At times when trying to open or download files, a credential window opens up where you have to log in all over again, but even when you put in your credentials you still cant access the material. You essentially have to press cancel when the credential window opens instead of logging in again. This is extremely annoying and confusing for students. The discussion board section provides a means of communication between Blackboard users, and is also an area where instructors can post discussion questions for students to openly participate in (Unal, 2011). The discussion board creates an ideal opportunity to maintain up-todate and regular communication between instructors and peers from different locations (Liaw, 2008). This promotes participation through social interaction and the application of critical thinking concepts. Students are often times presented with questions that require research before

Running head: BLACKBOARD answering. The students can then post an answer for others can read and provide feedback on

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(Bradford, 2007). It can be difficult to moderate larger classes. The vast amount of responses and replies can be overwhelming to read and provide proper feedback on (West, 2007). Assignment submission is the section in where assignments can be posted, supplemental files can be uploaded with comments, and grades can be published (Unal, 2011). This section allows students to submit their assignments, as well as view grades for previously submitted work. Date and time stamps are included in the Last Submitted/Modified section of the submitted assignment, allowing instructors to easily identify late work (Bradford, 2007). The flaws we found consist of re-submission for assignments that are revised are not allowed even if attempting to revise before the due date. In Blackboard, submissions are final. Blackboard does not allow you to upload assignments containing multiple files separately. Blackboard requires you to make one submission so you have to compact those files into one whole package (Unal & Unal, 2011). Quizzes and tests that should be completed by the students are found in the assessments section (Unal, 2011). Short quizzes can be given in the form of multiple choice answers allowing instructors to give timely feedback on what the student got wrong and what they got right, correct answers are provided to students allowing them to compare and contrast their exams (Liaw, 2008). Quick feedback can also be given on quizzes with a mix of multiple choice and open-ended questions. The multiple choice questions are graded and sample answers are given for the open-ended questions so students can have an idea on whether they got the correct answers (Bradford, 2007). Regardless of the pros there are several cons found in the assessment section as well. The process of creating a test on Blackboard is slow, because only one test item can be created at a time. The process of uploading video images used in quizzes or tests can also

Running head: BLACKBOARD

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be very time consuming causing the instructors to use the same quizzes and test every semester. As previously stated, this can lead to cheating where students pass down tests to one another across semesters. Blackboard is not flexible when it comes to implementing multimedia or to importing large amounts of questions or information into the tests/quizzes thus limiting the instructor on what they can include in their exam (West, 2007). Group work, collaboration, and communication refer to several different tools of Blackboard including the ability to send emails, chat, see who is online, and view the class roster (Unal, 2011). Blackboard allows you to send e-mails to individual students, to groups of students, or to all students. Each students email address can be stored within the students profile area (Bradford, 2007). However, many instructors have a difficult time figuring out how to enable/access the virtual chatting features in the control panel (West, 2007). There is no learning atmosphere due to the fact that everything is done online. The lack of face-to-face contact creates less engagement between students and the instructor (Liaw, 2008). Finally the grade book section is where instructors can post grades for completed assignments (Unal, 2011). It is a convenient way for students to see their class progress and grades. Often times, however, complicated grade calculations cannot be done on Blackboard, therefore the instructors have to download the grades to Excel (West, 2007). Improvements on Blackboard In order to combat the exiting flaws of the Blackboard learning system we recommend particular suggestions that we feel Blackboard should incorporate. We would like Blackboard to create a restore feature similar to that of Microsoft and Internet explorer. Many times while working on an assignment or quiz we find ourselves getting kicked off the Blackboard system.

Running head: BLACKBOARD Because of this we have to re-log onto the system and restart the documents we were working on, causing us to lose valuable time. This feature would help reduce the frustration that occurs when the system fails because we would automatically be prompted with a restore feature that allows us to recover what we were previously working on. We previously mentioned that the

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Blackboard layout is inflexible and that navigation is difficult. We would like for Blackboard to create a layout that allows for flexibility in order to accommodate the needs of both instructors and students. We believe that implementing the use of visual aids to create a virtual classroom atmosphere would help build up communication between students and instructors. Additionally, we feel that in designing a layout where everything you need to access is readily available, navigation would be more user friendly. When participating in a course via Blackboard, the students are physically monitored in any way by the instructor. This can provide an opportunity for cheating. Not only can peers work on assignments, quizzes and exams as a group, but because the process of generating different versions of exams is so time consuming and challenging, tests can be passed down from semester to semester. A possible solution to this problem would be to improve the uploading process so that instructors can easily upload different versions in a timely manner. In conducting our research we came across the Blackboard app which instantly caught our attention. We were unaware such an app existed because we at UTEP do not have access to it. This is something we believe every university should have access to regardless of their Blackboard version. In doing so, the student's learning experience can be vastly improved by receiving on the go notifications and alerts to messages, announcements, and calendar updates. We further suggest that Blackboard add an instant messaging feature to its app in order to increase communication between peers and instructors.

Running head: BLACKBOARD

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Figure 2: Blackboard Application on Smart Phones

Conclusion There are aspects of Blackboard that are very effective; however they are not sufficient enough in meeting all the needs of college students. For a university to acquire a collaborative learning system that provides the level of satisfaction outlined in the previous sections of this report, there will have to be an increase in the moneys allotted. This will all be worthwhile if the faculty and students are able to utilize a system that makes for a more pleasurable and successful learning experience. In the race between Blackboard and other collaborative learning systems, innovative ideas will provide the edge needed to stay ahead of the competition. If Blackboard wishes to regain its position as the leading collaborative learning system in North America, they need to take drastic measures to increase the loyalty of their users. It should be noted that this report is based on experiences from the University of Texas at El Pasos version of Blackboard. Therefore, applications and features found on newer versions of Blackboard where not readily available for inspection. Looking towards the future, we would like to gain insight on other universities opinions by conducting our own research. Perhaps through this research we could find a system that accommodates the needs of both instructors and students across the nation.

Running head: BLACKBOARD References Bradford, P., Pociello, M., Balkon, N., & Backus, D. (2007). The blackboard learning system: The be all and end all in educational instruction?. J. Educational Technology Systems, 35(3), 301-314.

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Running head: BLACKBOARD Lall, V. & Lumb, R. (2010). Successful design, development and delivery of online courses: Lessons from operations management and global leadership. Indian Journal of Economics & Business, 9 (2), 377-384.

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Landoni, M. & Gibb, F. (2000). The role of visual rhetoric in the design and production of electronic books: The visual book. The Electronic Library, 18 (3), 190-201.

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Running head: BLACKBOARD Unal, Z., & Unal, A. (2011). Evaluating and comparing the usability of web-based course management systems. Journal of Information Technology Education, 10, 19-38.

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West, R. E., Waddoups, G., & Graham, C. R. (2007). Understanding the experiences of instructors as they adopt a course management system. Educational Technology and Research Development, 55(1), 1-26.