So it seems the two largest suppliers of enterprise education software have become one. Blackboard has purchased WebCT for $180 million cash. I’m a college student that uses both tools daily, and the most positive thing I can say about this is: possibly future students won’t have to remember that their Econ homework is in WebCT, but assignments for my Systems Development class are on Blackboard, they’ll both be in the unwieldingly huge and difficult to use BlackboardCT Ack.
Further, both tools are compeletely sub-par. Let me tell you why.
One thing that I like to do with websites: I use bookmarks. A lot of people use bookmarks, say, to store the address of an important site (like an Econ assignment page) so they can access it with one click.
What happens when I try to bookmark my Econ assignment page, and load in in WebCT? WebCT prompts me to login, which I happily do. Then, I’m redirected to myWebCT, WebCT’s fancy-scmancy dashboard page. I didn’t want myWebCT. I wanted Econ! No such luck. Don’t even get me started about WebCT’s file download links.
On to Blackboard, apparently the bigger fish of the two companies. Would you like to login to Blackboard? I’ve used this new-fangled technology called “bookmarks” to store the login page for easy, one-click access right here. If you’re registerd with Terry, try to login.You’ll be suprised to see a strange error message:
Challenge token null
Challenge what? Try again and it works. Or, you could use visit Terry’s Blackboard homepage, NOT the login page itself, then click on the login button, and you’ll see no such inflamitory remarks about your tokens.
Further, neither tool has ANY sort of notification system. That is, I frequently get e-mails from my professors saying “I’ve added a new assignment to WebCT/Blackboard.” This seems to me like a common task: upload new content, then notify a list of contacts. But software that automates mundane, repetative tasks? Alas, that just makes too much sense. RSS feeds would be perfect for this, but really, who am I kidding.
Anyway, I’m glad to be using both WebCT and Blackboard for my last semester. I hope they’re happy together as one huge educational software conglomerate. Maybe then they’ll take a second to develop software that doesn’t require huge manuals and trainings for instructors and headaches for students. Here’s my plea:
Oh BlackboardCT, or whatever you would like to be called, great software conglomerate, I bow before you and ask of you only this: would you please write software that helps students learn rather than requires them to learn how to use it? Oh Blackboard CT, next time around, help teachers teach and don’t make more work for them by requiring them to attend lenghty trainings. BlackboardCT, please heed my call.
Really, it’s all insignificant. In 5 years we’ll all be wirelessly connected together and to the Library of Congress via our BrainChips™. I’m all for that, as long as BlackboardCT isn’t in charge.
That is all.
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I was thinking that myself when webct was bought for $160 million
“Wait, I can write a large, clunky, web-based “educational” software and make $160 million?”
The only class I use webCT for at tech is my Management. All my CS classes use Webwork, an homegrown solution. Its not perfect, but hey at least I can use bookmarks :)
seriously concerned about that brain chip stuff. big brother and all. be careful what you wish for… cellphones were a sci fi fantasy just a few years ago.
I hate WebCT as well, the built in message board software is so behind the times. You can’t edit your posts, its hard to format your messages. I could go on and on….
Hi all, I run both WebCT and BlackBoard systems on a west coast university and teach classes as well. I agree with your observations about the bookmarks but think that you are missing the larger point: Most Learning Management Systems are still in their infancy. Both BlackBoard and WebCT allow individual developers or campuses to modify the system to provide whatever functionality they feel is missing or done improperly. For example, BlackBoard has a building block called “My bookmarks” that allows you to bookmark a page and it will properly return you to the place you bookmarked. All LMS’s are a compromise. Faculty want to post lecture material and tests that they know students not currently enrolled will not see. That requires a login. Login’s prevent bookmarks. While BlackBoard, WebCt or any other LMS have come a long way, they are not perfect. Yet what would you suggest: return to the days where faculty posted stuff on individual websites that may or may not work? Where faculty who didn’t know jack about computers were unable to post anything online? Where only the those faculty and students technically savy enough are able to use online educational tools? The current move is towards “Learner Centered” teaching rather than “Teacher Center” teaching but it takes time. The current crop of teachers still is in the dark ages. It will take a generation before we realize the full pontential of technology in the classroom but instead of bitching about lousy bookmarking ability of some LMS, why don’t you complain to your adminsitration to invest heavily in developers and staff to support this type of learning? I spend way too much time helping faculty learn the basics, things they should learn before they ever step foot in the classroom. Faculty get little to no professional training on how to teach. It is just assumed that faculty can teach because they have a PhD or Master’s degree. Most don’t know anything about effective teaching let alone how to incorporate technology in the classroom. James
James, I never suggested that we “return to the days where faculty posted stuff on individual websites that may or may not work? Where faculty who didn’t know jack about computers were unable to post anything online? Where only the those faculty and students technically savy enough are able to use online educational tools?”
Two years ago I worked for a certain department of a certain Universtiy. As part of my duties, I was to prototype a complete revamp of the department’s website and frequently used teacher-student message boards (this certain department had shied away from the University wide WebCT tool). My prototype included a departmental intranet for teacher, student, and administrative use: a “Learning Center” if you will.
What happened? My prototype was rejected because I was a student, and in the eyes of my boss “not a professional”.
I’m guess I’m not really bitching about the bookmark support, I’m bitching about the same thing that you are: the generational/technological gap.
But about the bookmark support – try clicking here:
http://jnewland.projectpath.com/projects/236442/msg/cat/1614098/1218902/comments
Notice that you were redirected from the URL that you clicked on to a login screen? If you entered a username and password to my Basecamp extranet, you’d be taken to the comments page of a specific message posted in a specific project from that login page. My authentencation is cached in a cookie in my browser, so if I was to click on the link above, I’d be taken directly to the page I intended to view. Bookmarks work, yet the pages are protected. Logins [sic] do not prevent bookmarks.
sigh… my blog’s first flamewar. tear!