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In the past ten years, technology has changed so much in our everyday lives, and education is no exception. Yet for centuries, a core concept of education has remained the same: group learning stimulates greater learning.

In other words, we boost our knowledge by connecting with others.

Recently, four common myths associated with social learning were debunked. A fifth myth could be that social learning is just for students. Yes, social learning is revolutionizing the student experience, but it’s a powerful tool for educators as well.

Saving time while building courses? Actually, it is possible! The Content Editor, which is based on the industry standard TinyMCE WYSIWYG editor, was recently launched and vastly improves the user experience for entering text and adding content to all areas of your Blackboard course.

Kevin Lowey, System Administrator at the University of Saskatchewan and Liuz Teixiera, Course Manager at UCLA Extension, both participated in the Content Editor Early Release Program which gave nearly 200 clients early access to the new editor.

They shared with me how one seemingly small improvement in education software means one big leap toward educator efficiency.

Disaster recovery isn’t a subject that many of us would like to think about. The likelihood of a catastrophic event—be it a tornado, hurricane, earthquake or even deliberate sabotage—is so low that many institutions simply forgo the effort to plan for one. It’s a mindset I can understand and appreciate. But as a leader of Blackboard Managed Hosting, it’s my job to plan for these kinds of things—and ensure that my clients have the business continuity they need should disaster strike.

Whether your institution is self-hosted or managed by a vendor, there are five worthwhile exercises that I think every institution should do to have peace of mind:

Why give and take when you can give and give?

This holiday season, educators who give their students more course content within their Blackboard Learn course will also help give new books and critical resources to children in low income families.

It’s special. It’s simple. Educators, here’s how:

1. Make your course dynamic by adding content from our digital content partners McGraw-Hill, Pearson, WileyPLUS, and/or Cengage Learning to your Blackboard Learn course. Get easy-to-use tools that make teaching more effective and learning more exciting.
2. Blackboard will make a donation of $1,000 to First Book in the name of all institutions that pair a course by December 28, 2012, as well as the individual names of the persons who pair the course.  Our donation will be generously matched by our digital content partners.
3. Let us know when you have paired your course!

Take advantage of this opportunity to give…and give again.

See how easy it is to create a better learning experience—for everyone. Learn how to pair your courses.

Guest Blog Post from Geralyn Stephens, Assistant Professor – Clinical College of Education at Wayne State University and 2012 Catalyst Award Winner for Blackboard Exemplary Course.

I aspire to be a great teaching Professor.  However, factors used to determine teaching effectiveness at the University-level are most often subjective.  There is seldom an opportunity for peer review and critique.  The 2012 Catalyst Award for my online course, CTE 6010: History and Principles of Career and Technical Education, provided the evidence to support that I reached that pinnacle!