Blackboard is a seemingly ancient technology employed by NYU to organize academics online, but I must say it works swimmingly. I have always found it to be highly functional and useful, although I've heard that professors are at times flummoxed by it. As a means to share files, list assignments, connect students and teachers, and host class discussions, Blackboard is very successful and relatively easy to use. We've all gotten the emails that NYU is planning to switch over to another company for this type of online academic suite, but my vote stays with Blackboard.
My favorite part of every Blackboard website is the Communication tab. The simple ability to access a class email list to communicate with fellow students and/or your professor is an invaluable asset, in my book. This feature alone makes Blackboard worth the while, I feel.
The two most practically useful functions, after the Communication tab, are the Assignments and Course Documents pages. Here students can keep up with all their assignments, both short- and long-term, as well as access readings, extracurricular material, and digressions or extensions of material presented in class. These pages help organize a student's experience of the class and extend its scope and meaning beyond the conventional class period. Simply from a philosophical point of view, this is revolutionary and signifies an important attitude toward education that I happen to support. Namely, that learning does not stop and start at a bell and that it does not exist solely between the walls of a classroom.
R.I.P.
Blackboard
2011
We're gonna miss you!!!
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