Blackboard and Web 2'0

1
Blackboard and Web 2.0

• JQ Johnson
• 2 May 2008

2
Blackboard a classic Web 1.0 application

• First released 1997
• UO adopted Courseinfo in 1999
• Incremental change to UI since then
• But Bb has been working slowly to add Web 2.0
  features

3
Typical opinions circa 2005

• From a blog post dated Nov 28, 2005
• With all of the buzz about Web 2.0 and what it
  is, why dont we take a look at what Web 2.0 is
  not.Blackboard is a nightmare from a user
  perspective. If you dont empower developers
  to use your application, ESPECIALLY an enterprise
  application such as Blackboard, theres something
  horribly wrong. Instead of listening to countless
  feature requests, why not let a bored webdev guy
  at some podunk university use your API to do it?

4
Blackboards corporate position, 2008

• From a press release Apr 30, 2008 describing
  Blackboard World 2008 (July 15-17 in Las Vegas)
• At BbWorld, participants will take part in more
  than 140 sessions highlighting innovative and
  entrepreneurial approaches to address some of the
  most important challenges in education,
  including
• Measuring student learning and learning outcomes
• Engaging students with Web 2.0 technologies
  (blogs, wikis, podcasts, gaming simulations)
• plus 6 more bullets

5
Blackboard Web 2.0 features

• Just beginning to catch up with a 5 year old
  trend!
• Web 2.0 is lots of things. Ill focus on
• collaboration tools that encourage user
  participation
• modern user interfaces through AJAX and similar
  technologies
• mashups and other ways to combine information
  from multiple sources

6
Collaboration tools

• Existing discussion board, etc.
• New tools, e.g. Bb 8.0 Peer and Self Assessment
• Blackboard Community System (not licensed by UO)
• Blackboard Beyond properties, e.g. Blackboard
  Scholar, Blogs and Wikis for product support
  (e.g.
• http//kb.blackboard.com
• http//wiki.safeassign.com
• Third party addons, e.g. Learning Objects Campus
  Pack (not licensed by UO)
• Easy linking to external resources such as PBwiki

7
Collaboration tools whats not there

• Integrated modern blog/wiki
• Student voting on quality of discussion posts,
  instructor-provided readings
• Collaborative tagging of instructor-provided
  content
• Etc.

8
Modernized user interface

• A usable wysiwyg html editor (finally!)
• SafeAssign originality reports
• Bb 8.0 Grade Center

9
Mashups and other tools for combining data

• Blackboard sites can display RSS feeds
• Blackboard Podcast support can generate RSS
  feeds (playable in iTunes)
• New Bb 8 interface to Facebook pushes out Bb
  data
• Instructors can upload arbitrary learning objects
  to implement mashups