Teaching and Learning with Web Course Management Systems

The Good, the Bad, and the Frustrating:
Using Blackboard with Preservice Teachers

Deborah E. Bordelon (Division of Education)

Introduction

This paper will focus on the use Blackboard with preservice teachers in a senior level reading methods course during the Fall 2000 semester. The course chosen for this case study was Clinical Procedures in Remedial Reading. The course structure included class lectures and hands-on activities with a field component. The preservice students worked with fourth grade students at a local elementary school and, by administering an informal reading inventory, developed a tutoring plan based on the results. Each week, the entire class went to the school to work with their respective students.

This course was chosen for this case study because of a need for a medium for discussions, peer interactions and the exchange of information on the teaching of reading. The choice of Blackboard was influenced primarily by familiarity. Several colleagues at other institutions had shared their successes with Blackboard.

My previous experience with Blackboard was limited, so the endeavor required an examination of how my teaching strategies would change by using this medium. Students were required to post assignments on the Discussion Board, take on-line quizzes, develop group Web pages, and use a variety of external links for information to assist them in the tutoring component.

Setting the Course in Motion

Student training sessions at the beginning of the semester were offered on the use of Blackboard. Of the 13 students enrolled in the course, 9 attended the sessions. The other four had experience with Web-based course management systems and did not attend. The training sessions were essential to increase the level of student comfort and it gave them an opportunity to participate in basic posting and responding activities.

Blackboard was used as a supplement to the traditional class. The main purpose was to have the students use the discussion board and the virtual classroom as a means of responding to hypothetical classroom scenarios and their real-life tutoring experiences. One obstacle was finding the right combination of traditional classroom instruction and on-line instruction. Most of the students had access to a computer at home. If not, they had access to computers on campus. As a result, access to a computer was not a problem; however, accessing Blackboard proved to be much more of a challenge.

For this course, the free version of Blackboard was used. Accessing this site through the university's server was almost impossible. It took between 15 to 20 minutes to log-on to the course through the server. When going through other Internet providers, logging on was quicker. Students became very frustrated with the process, because the majority of students used the university's server for Internet access. Access was noted as the biggest problem with Blackboard on the course evaluations.

Students did have some positive reactions to Blackboard. On-line quizzes and the grade book were identified as the best features of Blackboard; student Web pages were also favorably received. The goal of the Web page assignment was to have the student Web pages on various reading instructional strategies posted on their home pages on Blackboard. This would allow everyone in the class to access the information. The Web pages were completed; however, because of the access problems, they were not posted on the student homepages.

Considerations for Future Implementation

The Center for the Advancement of Teaching provided instructor training and support through an on-line course and several meetings as part of the Case Study on Web-based course management systems. Additional training and support in the particular Web-based course management system are necessary to ensure successful implementation. I feel that I need more experience in using the interactive features available with Blackboard and will explore these features during the Spring 2001 semester. The amount of time and stress was much more than I anticipated, so I see a strong need for additional support meetings or on-line discussions on regarding management issues. In the future, ongoing student training and support should also be provided throughout the semester.

Overall, this was a positive experience for both students and instructor. It sparked an interest in using Blackboard in future courses. It also encouraged a thorough examination of teaching strategies and activities to facilitate student learning through this medium.

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