It is always a good idea to check your learning materials once you’ve loaded them to the VLE – if you have access to a student account then I strongly recommend this, if no other reason so you can test to see file permissions are set correctly. Alongside this kind of checking it is worth trying your materials on a student PC (if you have access to the student PC labs) to see if video plays correctly.

For those who haven’t realised it YouTube recently changed the default code you use if you want to embed a video in a webpage. While the majority will not notice any difference (my included) some PCs are not set up to display the media in the same way and, for some poor souls, it doesn’t play at all.

So, what do you do? Thankfully YouTube have left the old embed code available for you to use. So, here is how you do it in Blackboard:

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I have been an advocate of the use of plagiarism detection / deterrent software ever since I was shown the benefit. The first time I saw TurnItIn in action was when I had to demonstrate it to a group of undergraduate students almost three years ago now, as part of a pilot study in the Business School.

Don’t forget my previous, recent, post on plagiarism: Video – A Plagiarism Carol

For various reasons we stopped using TurnItIn, but we are now getting ready for it’s re-introduction to our Blackboard installation, and I have started to see blog posts and various other links about an imminent upgrade to TurnItIn … TurnItIn 2.

Planned for an August launch (I wonder when we will be able to make use of upgrades?) it is looking like TurnItIn is upping the game in the plagiarism detection and deterrence industry, and are making the changes to help both students detect and the Institution to deter plagiarism.

Changes coming to Turnitin summer 2010? – This link came to me from JoBadge on Twitter;

“The biggest change is that student work will be shown with full formatting, including diagrams and figures. The matching text is highlighted in situ, a little like using a highlighter pen on real paper. This will give a far more intuitive feel to the analysis of originality reports and include a huge amount of context in a very visual way. The current system of highlighting matches using boxing out, tends to over emphasize their importance and makes it difficult to judge the amount and severity of the non-original text. Including figures will help us to judge whether the figures have been properly used and referenced.”

By all accounts the changes are only going to make TurnItIn an easier and clearer system to use, and hopefully encourage staff and students to make use of it’s facilities to ensure good honest work.

There is one downside for any Institution that relies on anything like plagiarism software; it will only look for the originality of the work. It does not, and cannot, replace the tutor’s knowledge of the individual who is supposed to have written the piece. There are many websites out there where, for a measly £75 or more you can buy a totally original assignment. Only the tutors knowledge of the student and their writing style will enable them to determine whether the student actually wrote the piece they submitted.

So, do you use any system for plagiarism detection (or deterrence), do you allow students to upload themselves to check for correct referencing, are your staff happy or comfortable using something like TurnItIn? What kind of emphasis do you put on the use of TurnItIn, is it for detection or is it as a deterrence?

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I recently found this awesome reference guide, created by Joyce Seitzinger, that shows a simple traffic-light system to see if the tool of choice is ‘appropriate’ for what you are trying to do (assessment, collaboration, etc).

Please look through this, it is a really simple and effective way to present the information.

I have worked on a version for the Business School at Bournemouth University, that covers the same kind of information in Blackboard, but have added a few of my own interpretations on the tools and reasons for using them. I will try and upload it here at some point.

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I’m really looking forward to our upgrade to Blackboard version 9 this summer. I’ve had a play on the BB development website (last year!) and on the test server here at BU, and I want to like it … I really do!

So, do I like it? I’m not sure yet, and I want to be fair to the system and the people who have worked, and are continuing to work tirelessly, to get it installed, configured, and integrated with our internal systems.

In the meantime I’m going to post a series of links and resources I find about Blackboard version 9 here, the good and the bad (I haven’t found any ugly ones yet, but a few of the bad ones are fairly damning!).

• University of Syracuse: BB9 Testing Issues:
  blogs.syr.edu/blackboard9testing
• University of Leicester: BB9 YouTube video guides for staff:
  www2.le.ac.uk/institution/lts/talent/blackboard/blackboard9upgrade/
• University of Leicester: Blackboard Staff Development:
  www2.le.ac.uk/offices/staff-development/courses/it/elearning
• Hack College: Blackboard 9 ‘enough is enough’ (and some interesting comments from staff and students):
  www.hackcollege.com/blog/2009/9/9/blackboard-9-enough-is-enough.html
• Leiden University: Log of Upgrade from BB7 to BB9:
  http://bb9.weblog.leidenuniv.nl/
• Kentucky Community College: Issue and Bug ‘fixes’ for BB9:
  efaculty.blogspot.com/2009/05/bb-v9-current-issues-and-work-arounds.html
• Keith Russell: BB9 the next generation:
  keithrussell.blogspot.com/2008/05/presentation-blackboard-9-next.html
• Getting started with BB9:
  www.ric.edu/faculty/revans/bb9/

If you have any links or resources you’d like to add to the list then please email me and I’ll include them (with your name as referral) or just leave a comment with the details below and I’ll publish it.

Either way I am interested to hear from all types of users of Blackboard, whether you are using the current version 9.1 or anything previous to this, whether you love or hate it (but please say why otherwise it is a little pointless!).

Additional Links/Resources:

• Blackboard On Demand – links and videos from Blackboard:
  ondemand.blackboard.com (thanks to alextronic)

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I believe that asking questions is a good thing, and can often bring a greater sense of understanding in whatever subject area you currently inhabit. The question of whether your current VLE (or LMS or CMS or whatever you classify it as) is the right one for your Institution seems to be one of those questions that people would rather you didn’t ask. I’m not sure why considering the costs involved in maintaining a VLE infrastructure; surely we can ask if we are getting value for money?

Which is when I found this:  Transition to Moodle, Florida International University

The article outlines the FIU’s position in the development of their VLE, from WebCT to BlackBoard via the BlackBoard purchase of WebCT, through to the evaluation of alternative systems.

“Our testing and evaluation of open-source alternatives showed that both Sakai and Moodle offer comparable tool/feature sets compared to Blackboard. However, the Moodle university, user, and developer communities are substantially larger than those of Sakai. In addition, Moodle is rated higher on ease of use by many in the LMS community.”

If the question is asked, and the answer (after proper consideration and evaluation) is that your existing VLE system (BlackBoard, Sakai, Moodle, etc) IS the right choice for you then so be it. I’d be happy with that kind of answer, so long as it has been properly addressed. If the answer is NO then that is the right time to ask the next logical question … what should you be using for your intended outcome?

Has your Institution asked this of itself? Are you migrating from one VLE or LMS system to another (if so from what to what)? Please share your thoughts and experiences by leaving a comment below.

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Blackboard have announced they’re releasing a custom toolbar for IE and Firefox users;

“Get notifications directly from your Blackboard Learn system with an easy-to-use browser toolbar. You’ll receive regular updates of new content items, grades, discussions and announcements. And you’ll save time and energy with an automatically generated set of links that give you one-click access to all of your courses.”

I’ve installed it and got it running in IE7 (although I usually use Chrome for the majority of my browsing, Blackboard doesn’t work well in it so I use IE7 for all Blackboard activity). However, when I try and login it crashes the browser, the same happens for Firefox 3 as well.

Is anyone using it yet, any comments on how it works, it’s effectiveness, etc, then please let me know, I’d be interested to know.

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Wow, talk about powerful stuff! I’ve just finished reading the report by Stephanie Coopman called “A Critical Evaluation of Blackboard’s eLearning Environment“.

For those interested, I found the report when I followed the reference to it from the eLearn Magazine post by Mark Notess; “Not Dead Yet? Why the Institutional LMS is Worth Saving”. Another article well worth reading, if you’ve time.

I will admit that this is slightly out of date, as Blackboard is now offering Blackboard vn9 to UK Institutions (the US have had this option for a year or more already) and her report concentrates on version 8 and CE6 (hybrid of Blackboard and WebCT), but this shouldn’t not detract from the points she raises; while there is a huge difference between ‘how‘ Blackboard works between versions 8 and 9, there is little difference in ‘what‘ it does.

So, what does Stephanie say:

“As the physicality of a classroom structures student–instructor and student–student interaction, online course delivery platforms such as Blackboard provide the framework for class communication. And like the room, seating arrangement, and other aspects of the in person classroom context, Blackboard’s structure largely goes unnoticed. Yet how a classroom is organized, whether in person or online, will influence how communicators interact within that classroom.”

In a previous post I show the video of Stephen Heppell looking at the Design of Learning Spaces, and this supports Stephanie’s writing here with his observations. The ‘revolution’ of the learning spaces must also happen online, in the VLE.

“The Blackboard learning management systems provide mechanisms for students to interact directly with each other and the instructor. But these platforms have yet to move beyond fairly basic communication features.”

Blackboard is gradually giving us more control, but over the same tools.

“Each new version of Blackboard includes upgraded assessment tools, such as the grade function for discussion boards, yet less control for instructors and students over how they wish to structure their online experiences. Facilitation of rich and sophisticated communication in online classrooms requires thinking outside the box — thinking outside of Blackboard Inc. and other for–profit learning management software systems.”

Upgrades are all part-and-parcel of software licences. Like Microsoft not all upgrades are welcome, not all changes work (!), and not everyone wants them. But, in order to receive one or two perceptible improvements, we must accept all the changes offered even when you might lose the functionality you previously enjoyed.

“As with the physical space of in person classes, students have little say in the technology used to deliver online courses. However, students can vote with their feet by not taking classes that rely on Blackboard or other proprietary LMS. Students can also request to communicate outside the LMS.”

This comes full circle to my earlier point (and link) to Stephen Heppell’s video about the learning space. If the students ‘can’ vote with their feet about a dissatisfaction with a physical learning space, what can they do about the virtual learning space we ask them to inhabit during their eLearning experience with us?

While Stephanie’s conclusion doesn’t go as far as actually saying that Blackboard is limiting us and is forcing an inherent structure on the students and instructors,  Blackboards dominance in the VLE market (especially since it’s acquisition of WebCT and ANGEL) should be questioned because;

• While we, as instructors and learning technologists, are trying to produce personalised learning and true eLearning materials, we are constrained in the tightly controlled structure that is imposed on us by the Blackboard marketing and designers. Thus we are passing this legacy on to our learners. Is that really acceptable?
• With the number of anecdotal examples I read on Twitter, and in the education press, increasing almost weekly informing us on different Institutions dropping Blackboard in favour of other systems, you would hope that the board at Blackboard are taking notes and looking at
  • what is going wrong,
  • what the other systems offer that they don’t, and
  • how can they make the Blackboard system a stronger and more relevant system for the changing learning environment.

As always, please let me know your thoughts below.

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As a user of Blackboard at Bournemouth University I have been involved in various discussion about it’s merit (or lack of). These are usually started by someone who doesn’t like Blackboard, and probably hasn’t used it much either (or even tried). They are usually fans of Moodle, even if they’ve not used it (but have talked to people who have).

You know the sort, and have probably had similar discussions yourself, from either side of the fence.

Thanks to @kennfj I found this report from the University of North Carolina (USA) on a comparison between Moodle and Blackboard Vista, with a view to which system will they implement across the Institution;

• Moodle vs Blackboard Vista evaluation report from University of North Carolina from May 2009

It is a fairly comprehensive study with some very interesting points on both sides of the argument, and I strongly recommend you read it, if you get a chance.

The conclusion states:

“The evidence gathered by this committee strongly favors a transition to Moodle on both pedagogical and financial grounds. Moodle provides better or comparable functionality with the benefit of increased relevance and control for what in the long run will be lower cost.”

We must remember, when reading the conclusion, that their decision is based on what is best for them and their “instructional mission”. It might not be the same for you or your Institution.

Interestingly enough, this report does reflect other anecdotal stories I am hearing on Twitter about a move away from Blackboard to other systems; notably Moodle and SharePoint. I have no experience of either I cannot comment on their individual merits, and I know that Blackboard has it’s faults and its difficulties (it can’t do everything we want, but does most of them fairly well).

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Isn’t it amazing what a few minutes with Google and/or Twitter can muster?

The link to this blog entry on ‘Blackboard coming to iPhone/iPod Touch‘ managed to capture, on video, a representative of Blackboard saying, in fact demonstrating, the Blackboard Apple App which is supposed to be free when it’s released!

Related Posts:

• Blackboard 9

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The PLE – Personal Learning Environment – has been at the back of my mind for a couple of months now, ever since it was raised, in passing, by a colleague.

So, what is it?

According to Graham Attwell it could very well be the future to eLearning. In his Internet White Paper ‘Personal Learning Environments – the future of eLearning?’ the PLE recognises that;

“… learning is ongoing, and seeks to provide tools to support that learning. It also recognises the role of the individual in organising his or her own learning.”

Despite what is sounds like, and what it is compared to (VLE, LMS, etc), the PLE is not necessarily a group of tools, or can even be described in terms of what it actually ‘offers’. George Siemens observed that the PLE is a “collection of tools, brought together under the conceptual notion of openness, interoperability, and learner control.” Therefore each one of us will have a completely different PLE than our neighbour, simply down to our differing needs and abilities.

Does this mean an end to the VLE, or LMS or CMS, or whatever you use? I don’t think so, not yet. Each of these have their own individual advantages over the other for the Institution involved but, as Graham concludes;

“… the argument for the use of Personal Learning Environments is not technical but rather is philosophical, ethical and pedagogic … PLEs can bridge the walled gardens of the educational institutions with the worlds outside. In so doing learners can develop the judgements and skills or literacy necessary for using new technologies in a rapidly changing society.”

Suggested Reading

• Graham Attwell: PLEs described/explained (slideshare)

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