Blackboard Blogs

Tips for a BbWorld First-timer

Newbie.  Freshman.   First-timer.  Whatever the name for it, there is always a first time for everyone and everything.  Are you a first-time BbWorld attendee?  Are you wondering how best to take advantage of all the resources and opportunitites at BbWorld?  How can you make the most of it?

Here are some tips for first-time BbWorld attendees:

Why Blackboard ASP Became Blackboard Managed Hosting

Since my first day working for Blackboard, I have been greeted by the same puzzled expression when I tell someone which department I work in: “ASP?”

It didn’t matter whether I was talking to Blackboard users, co-workers or our partners, there always seemed to be a lack of understanding of what our hosting organization was all about.  Are we really an ASP?  If not, then what are we?  Does it really do us justice to just say we are hosts to Blackboard applications?  While we do set up and maintain the servers on which applications runs, this is such a small fraction of what we do for Blackboard users.

I’ve found one of the main reasons our clients stay with us year after year is that we provide a fully managed hosting solution.  This means we have people available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, monitoring servers, performing upgrades and troubleshooting any problems.

In addition to those more task-related duties, we have teams of engineers working on the “next big thing.”  A few of the types of experts we have working behind the scenes to improve our solutions and optimize performance include:

Jessie Woolley-Wilson Invites K-12 Educators to BbWorld '08

Blackboard’s K-12 president, Jessie Woolley-Wilson, invites you to attend our annual users conference, BbWorld '08, in Las Vegas, July 15-17:

The BbWorld Program Committee, comprised of 55 Blackboard clients, reviewed more than 325 submissions from peers seeking to present at the conference this year.  Among the client presentations selected are a high number of very useful sessions for K-12 educators, that directly address the priorities, opportunities and challenges within K-12 education.

Recommendation: Cherokee Trail High School Student-Teacher Podcast Series

Working within Blackboard K-12 Marketing, I relish the chance to get a bird’s eye view of how our clients are using Blackboard products and services.  Usually this happens through school visits, like the trip we made in March with our Advisory Board to Alexandria City Public Schools.  However, recently we were connected with a teacher-user of Blackboard software through a school tech blog.

At Cherokee Trail High School (CTHS) in Aurora, Colorado (part of Cherry Creek Schools), students are facilitating a podcast series of interviews, "2-Minute Teacher Tech Talks," that allow teachers to discuss their uses of technology at CTHS.

In a recent post, a student interviewed a social studies teacher, Mrs. Schimmel, about the growing use of Blackboard software at CTHS.  Mrs. Schimmel uses Blackboard software with her classes to enable students to better prepare for class and access information when they're absent.  Take a listen to the podcast to find out how she thinks her classroom would look different without the technology.

It's always good for me to stay connected with Blackboard users.  Email me at Shana.Glenzer@blackboard.com if you have a story you'd like to share here with the K-12 community about how you or someone you know is using education technologies.

And don't forget to check out our video testimonial contest – there's still time to submit an entry and win a free pass to BbWorld '08!  The annual Blackboard users conference will be held in Las Vegas this year, from July 15-17.

Facebook + Blackboard = Blackboard Sync

At BbWorld '07 in Boston, Blackboard CEO Michael Chasen announced we were going to help our clients connect with their students on their level and in a way that gets them the information they want, when and how they want it.

Today we took a big step toward that goal with the launch of Blackboard Sync, which combines Facebook with our Blackboard software.

Now, when a student is logged onto Facebook, they can use Blackboard Sync to receive a notification that there's an update or other information has been posted on Blackboard about their courses.  Receiving course information and updates through Facebook will help students be more in touch with their academic studies on a day-to-day basis.  The idea behind Blackboard Sync is to make academic information available to students wherever they are—and we know a lot of them are on Facebook.

Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day: Bb Style

Frequent readers of the Blackboard community blogs on this site may have seen previous posts from me related to K-12 marketing.  This K-12 entry, though, takes a bit of a different spin . . .

It’s been a little over a week now since 17 kids invaded Blackboard’s DC office for "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day" 2008.  We had kids from the age of 4 to 18 participate in a range of activities, including a scavenger hunt and time in our Blackboard training lab.

During the scavenger hunt, the kids went from floor to floor learning about the various departments in the company.  Along the way, they gathered pieces of "Bb Bucks" that they later put together to use to "purchase" Blackboard gear.  Even I was excited about gathering the pieces of my "puzzle" and putting them together!

Using Video to Teach "The 3 R’s”

On Earth Day everyone who entered the lobby here at Blackboard’s DC office building was given a gift by the property's management company: we could choose an apple, orange or banana.

This small gesture in recognition of the 38th Earth Day, coupled with an increase in recycling opportunities around our offices, actually seemed to lead to a raised sense of environmental consciousness.

Of course we could all spend a bit more time thinking about ways to be more strategic in the reduction of our global footprint.  For example, even though I commute to and from work by bicycle, and consider myself a decent recycler, this Personal Footprint Calculator from the Global Footprint Network is a sobering reminder of just how much more I could and should be doing.

On a positive note, I think the concept of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” appears to come naturally to our contemporary generation of learners (like a new “Reading, ‘Riting & ‘Rithmetic”).  Perhaps this stems from a natural sense of environmental awareness or maybe it’s something else . . .

Anyone remember what the animated TV series "Schoolhouse Rock!" did for math, grammar and civics lessons?  Famous artists are now creating their own public service announcements about the environment spun to catchy, keyboard- and percussion-infused tunes, like this video for Jack Johnson’s song “The 3 R’s”:

I have a feeling if you teach in a classroom you may have integrated Earth Day ideas into your lesson plans this past week.  If so, did you use video?

At BlackboardTV we’re always looking to publicize and share great examples of how you’ve used video to complement important themes in your teaching, so please send them along to me at BbTV@blackboard.com.

Blackboard Client Support: Someone on the Phone for You

This month Blackboard hired a new vice president of Client Support.  His name is Tony Mandaro, and prior to Blackboard he worked for a software company managing operations for 12 years.  Tony's experience is just what Blackboard needs.  He served in the United States Navy, received his BS and a Masters in Education from the University of Connecticut, and taught high school in Virginia for seven years!

While interviewing for his new position, Tony asked me some of the typical questions you would expect any interviewee to ask: What is the staff like?  How do you measure success?  What are the key operational challenges I will encounter, walking in the door?  What do Blackboard users perceive as their biggest challenges?  Where do I get a good cup of coffee around here?

Besides the coffee question, most of the answers were not short.  Tony and I had a long discussion about the challenges we've encountered while the company and the size of our client base have grown, the benefits of our solutions and how we can exceed our clients' expectations of us.  One of Tony's questions in particular did catch me off guard.  Tony asked, "What is the one most important thing Blackboard can do to help clients view Client Support in a positive way?

Making an Impact

As this Eduwonk blog illustrates, the Teach for America (TFA) program is a commonly discussed topic.  So it is no surprise this week that a new study came out from the Urban Institute about the impact TFA teachers are having in the classroom.

The report, entitled “Making a Difference?” found that “TFA teachers tend to have a positive effect on high school student test scores relative to non-TFA teachers, including those who are certified in-field.”

When I was a TFA Corp Member (’99 D.C.) I saw this first hand.  Many of my fellow teachers were having an incredible beneficial impact on student achievement.  Whether it was a TFA teacher or a veteran teacher at my school, it didn’t matter how they actually arrived in the classroom.  What mattered most was their hard work and dedication.

Blackboard's User-Centered Design

This entry was written by Blackboard User Experience Architect Rob Fay (right in photo), a member of Blackboard's Product Development group.

Of all the courses I took in undergraduate and graduate school, only one of my classes used Blackboard software for limited course management functions.  The instructor for that course chose to post her syllabus online; she posted the weekly assignments and readings to the space, and she encouraged the use of the discussion board.  That instructor didn’t enable many features the system had to offer, but her effort was a start.  And as a student, I didn’t know the full breadth of what Blackboard software had to offer anyway.

Nonetheless, I was excited that that instructor decided to use Blackboard software for her course management needs.  Why?

Well, after all, the class focused on human-computer interaction methodologies.  Why teach a course on system interface design and not leverage educational technologies?

Interestingly, we had a group assignment to apply traditional user-centered design methods and research to critique a chosen Web-based system.  One group decided to critique the Blackboard system we were using.

Fast forward a few years.

Now I work with the User Experience ("UX") team in Blackboard’s Product Development group.  It is my team's responsibility to critique Blackboard products and to make them easier and more enjoyable to use.  "User Experience" is a somewhat nebulous concept, but our team follows Peter Morville's "User Experience Honeycomb" model (Morville, 2004) by striving to make our products accessible, credible, desirable, findable, usable, useful, and valuable.

To achieve such high standards, we must get you – Blackboard users – involved in the design process.  So, how do we do it?  And how can you help?

Engaging Students through Music

Does anyone else think of music when the seasons change?  This morning, I couldn’t stop thinking about Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.  With a daily routine that relies heavily on music, I turned to Pandora radio to see if I could quickly catch a listen to “Spring.”

I was instantly successful!

In addition to an immediate desire to be outside, I also remembered a time where Vivaldi proved to be an invaluable resource in my classroom.  While teaching English abroad several years back, I often turned to my limited music collection for inspiration in my efforts to enrich the learning experience of my students.  Fortunately, Vivaldi’s Four Seasons helped bridge the language barriers between teacher and a class full of nine-year-olds.

Reflecting back on those days trying to introduce new English words to fourth graders in a remote village, I thought about how I would plan the same lesson today. 

After doing a quick YouTube search for Vivaldi, I found this great video accompaniment from a 1998 film made in Venice featuring this excerpt of “Summer”:

With a rich resource like this at my fingertips, I’m certain my students and I could have engaged in deeper discussions of instruments, sound, architecture and geography.

I welcome you to share with me stories of how you have used music and video to engage your students and enhance your lessons.  I’m always looking for your stories, so please send them along to me at BbTV@blackboard.com.

Remember the Titans

This week Blackboard held its inaugural K-12 Advisory Board meeting comprised of education experts from around the county and from a variety of backgrounds.  Representing teacher quality, educational technology, and district leadership, the Advisory Board will keep our K-12 group apprised on education trends and help guide our future product innovation.

To kick off the event, the Advisory Board and some K-12 team members took a field trip to T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria City Public Schools to learn how teachers and students use Blackboard applications in their daily lives.  As part of the Technology Integration Project, all students in grades 9–12 are equipped with a laptop computer and charged with the mission to “increase student achievement through the full integration of technology as a tool for learning.”

In many of the classes we visited, students immediately logged onto their Blackboard site to access their materials, take practice quizzes, and participate in class discussions.  It was enlightening for the entire group to see and hear, through teacher and student panels, how technology was impacting their academic lives.  We also took home some suggestions to guide our future development efforts – which are always great to gather directly from the people using our technology on a daily basis. 

And if T.C. Williams High School sounds familiar to you, that is because it was the high school portrayed in the movie Remember the Titans starring Denzel Washington, about the true story of the first season of a racially integrated football team.

Look for much more to come from our K-12 Advisory Board in the months ahead.