Products & Services

The debate over the value of online learning has been going on for a while now – and has featured speculation from many critics who assume that there is no way that online education can fulfill the educational needs of today’s students, and vocal support from many who tout the importance of online learning platforms for education today. While there may be a few conversational tactics to address the doubters – the supporters of online education are getting a boost from a study released over the summer.

Imperial Valley College, a member of the California Community College system, has chosen Blackboard Learn as its new learning management system (LMS) for Fall 2012.

The decision comes after a thorough evaluation of alternative enterprise learning systems, and was driven after a comprehensive round of strategic planning at the College.

“We are really striving to be an exemplar among the California Community Colleges,” commented Todd Finnell, Vice President for Informational Technology. “When we sat down to implement our strategic vision for our institution, it became apparent that a review of our current e-Learning systems was necessary.”

Summer is wrapping up. You’ve put away the inflatable pool, put the cover on the grill and you’re getting ready to retire your t-shirts and shorts: school is about to begin again.  Back-to-school season is the perfect time to prepare for new online students and take into consideration how to engage active learners.

We’ve put together our top three ways to prepare for online higher-education students, as they return to the digital classroom:

It seems every year we hear more from Faculty that students just aren’t reading their course content. Blame it on last night’s big party or this weekend’s football game all you want – your students today just aren’t the same. They want instant access to their course content, grades and assignments – and they want it all in one place. With the start of the new school-year around the corner, we have just the fix for your biggest problem. Introducing: Blackboard Digital Content.

As Senior Director of Product Management for Learn Course Delivery, Jim Chalex conducts research & guides the development of new capabilities to help instructors, learners, and staff get the most out of their online learning environment.  He specializes in assessment, data visualization, and analytics.

 

Data is in, but you don’t us need to tell you that. It’s evident by the number of infographics that pop up every day presenting data in a compelling way on any number of topics; these past few weeks, it’s been all about which Olympic athletes are getting the most social buzz and how the winningest Olympic nations fare when it comes to education.

But, regardless of the topic, it’s what we do with data that really matters. The same can be said for integrating EdTech into the classroom.

We know that students are already grabbing their education by the reins and looking for ways to personalize every part of their learning process – from where they get content to the tools they use in the classroom – they are in control.

So why shouldn’t we give them the opportunity to evaluate themselves?