Pedagogy
blackboard > about blackboard > blackboard vs. webct > pedagogy
Strategies for teaching and learning
Main audience is faculty who have not yet adopted Web technologies. Possible reasons:
Lack of time
Degree of difficulty in implementation
Lack of awareness of the possibilities
Any tool chosen must facilitate collaboration among students and professors.
The group focused on comparisons of:
Course syllabi
Course calendars
Online quizzes and tests
Collaboration tools (threaded discussion, chat, and file sharing)
WebCT
- Possesses strong pedagogical orientation
- Provides a wider range of functionality
- Established user base at UT
Blackboard
- Has less functionality, and not likely to have equal functionality by August 2001
Conclusions
Any implementation must not hinder or interfere with faculty who are early adopters
and who have already "got something that works well." To reach those who have
not adopted Web technologies or those with minimal adoption, they will need
a quick, easy implementation of the tool. WebCT came out ahead in terms of teaching
and learning styles and the capabilities that it afforded faculty. Blackboard
was found to be a more limited tool "out of the box." In addition, if Blackboard
is chosen, then present WebCT users must be allowed to continue their work until
Blackboard can provide tools with functions comparable to those faculty use
at this time.
Outcome: WebCT wins
Support materials for Bb 9 are available at:
https://wikis.utexas.edu/display/bbsupport/
Blackboard is a campus-wide initiative of:
comments about the site to: Malaika Boyd: mboyd@mail.utexas.edu.
