|
|
Throughout generations, we moved from a society based on agriculture, through one based on industry, to the highly technically oriented society we live in today. This era demands the greatest asset to any field of work or pursuit in life--knowledge, or human talent. Consequently, in order to keep up with this dynamic society, a sound educational system, including training, is a fundamental source of achieving the competitive advantage for any individual or organization. However, we are not only talking about a four-year degree, but the idea of a forty-year degree, where students learn throughout their lives. It doesn't matter whether they’re full or part time students or have already begun working in their field. Because of this expanding knowledge demand, today’s education landscape is characterized by rising enrollments, changing demographics, and greater demand for anytime/anywhere learning. An intriguing example of this need is seen in the idea of e-learning, which is considered the fastest growing sector in educational approach. Therefore, it is very important to assess the quality of education offered through e-learning. We decided to do so through an examination of the quality and the possibilities for of Blackboard.com, one of the leading providers of e-education. As the Internet grows, Blackboard's roots in e-Education strengthen. What began as a collaborative effort among a team of students and faculty at Cornell University, has grown into a user base of two thousand clients (over five million individuals) in more than seventy countries worldwide, including colleges and universities, corporations and associations, as well as leading commercial education providers. In order to closely examine the quality of this site, we decided to look at its major advantages and disadvantages by following evaluation principles from the text, as well as an inside view from the student-learner’s perspective, since two of our group members took an educational course through Blackboard. ADVANTAGES Blackboard facilitates educational process in many institutions around the country. The website has many advantages which we divided into five following categories: 1. Convenience 2. Consistency 3. Customization 4. Privacy 5. Long-Term Cost Effectiveness Convenience There are two kinds of convenience that Blackboard offers: • Time flexibility: Education is available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. • Place flexibility: Education is available any place that has a computer and Internet access, i.e. learning is not a constraint to a particular geographic location. This idea of anytime/anywhere education is of crucial importance to working individuals, students with physical/mobility disabilities, and mothers on maternity leave. They do not have to leave their house or take off from work, or spend time and money commuting in order to receive an education. Consistency Blackboard offers consistent quality of education from group to group over time, unlike courses relying on several different instructors for different groups, even within the same class. This has been an issue throughout the existence of organized education, because different schools, depending either on economic or social status were receiving different education. With e-learning, the idea of inequality or discrimination is brought to a minimum. In addition, material is consistent over the length of the course, and not susceptible to disruptions due to unexpected trainer turnover or illness. Customization Blackboard offers customization and interoperability that focus on individualized needs of students. This is achieved through following approaches: • Customized Features: Blackboard offers a number of user-centric features that provide the sense of a learner-focused approach. This is achieved through the following tools: Personal calendar, address book, user directory and to-do list.
|
