How does Blackboard (online system some colleges use) work?

[AZmom]

I have two different colleges to choose from who offer online A&P and I'm trying to decide which one is better to go through. They both use the Blackboard system. How exactly does that work? Is it a standard course structure that colleges buy into or does each college or professor come up with their own curriculum? How do labs generally work with Blackboard?

[sshannon]

I am at a community college in Central Texas that uses Blackboard for our distance learning classes. In my case, the course instructors have developed their own curriculum. In addition to posting the modules and other information related to the course topices, they use Blackboard to communicate with us about calendar changes, assignments, etc. We go to campus periodically for any labs or simulations.

[NightOwl0624]

I have had two online classes and our school uses blackboard. I found the system very easy and intuitive, and I think there should be a tutorial available for you. Both of my professors used the system a little differently, but I think every professor has different preferences as to how he or she likes to communicate. I think a good experience depends on the quality and commitment of the instructor. If there was a lab component, you would probably have to come in at a scheduled time to do the lab work.

[Multicollinearity, BSN, RN]

Hi there AZmom. I'm taking a course that uses Blackboard. I really like it! It's similar to WebCT, but I think Blackboard is just nicer. We have an e-textbook through Blackboard for our course. I'm not sure if all Blackboard courses work this way? I think many but not all do.

I find it interesting that the Blackboard e-text is much more brief than the traditional type of textbook. Also, a voice narrates each section of the text, although you can turn that off if you like. We have tons of interactive reinforcing activities also, like matching games, etc.

I'm not sure about the lab aspect with Blackboard because my course doesn't have a lab. I'm sure it could be done online, though. I can tell you that Blackboard is just nicer than Rio's system, IMHO.

All said, my experience with Blackboard is that it's the most user-friendly of any online system I've seen.

[chubbi]

Sorry I can't help you. I just recently started using blackboard to prepare for the accuplacer test.

chiari

[krenee]

My school uses Blackboard . . . for the online classes it's used as a place to post the assignments, syllabus, policies, etc. Also the grades are kept on there, which is nice to have for reference, including the class average.

For my classes that have lab, we have one weekend lab where we have to go to the campus. In addition, there is a lab portion on blackboard, which is basically just labelling exercises for anatomy. Those aren't even required, they are just basically a study aid.

As far as communicating, my professors normally use e-mail, when they communicate at all, which isn't much! It's basically self-learning.

Kelly

[AZmom]

Thank you for the responses! I'm especially glad to hear it's better than Rio's system. I didn't find theirs terribly awful, but it wasn't the easiest to navigate through either.

I hope there's no e-book. I already have the Marieb book and am comfortable with it, so I've got my fingers crossed that the second college which uses Blackboard uses that book as their text. I'll be able to find out next week once they're open from Spring Break. The first college used a different text last semester, so unless something changes....

[Multicollinearity, BSN, RN]

I bet each professor decides which content, options, and features to load on Blackboard.

Somehow I just find Rio's system clunky. Not sure if that makes any sense.