For those at Bowdoin who are less technologically savvy than they would like to admit or who just want easier access to course material, Bowdoin is aiming to make life simpler through its recent utilization of the web site Blackboard (http://blackboard.bowdoin.edu).
Though widely used on other campuses, Blackboard made its debut at Bowdoin last spring in a pilot program during which 24 courses used the site as a resource for class material.
With Blackboard, professors may post syllabi, articles, course announcements, and links to related web sites. Blackboard also allows for online discussion of the course material and makes available students' grades.
Though Information Technology (IT) had previously provided many of these services through course web sites, Blackboard creates a campus-wide network providing access to information pertinent to one's courses.
After investigating various standard systems that Bowdoin could implement, IT found that Blackboard had been widely used in the market and was well-received by colleges and faculty members who had prior experience with it. According to IT Director Mitch Davis, some of the faculty who recently came to Bowdoin were surprised that the College was not already using this resource, which they had used previously and found helpful.
According to an email from President Barry Mills, the transition to the use of Blackboard is part of the College's goal of offering "the technology support for our faculty, students, and staff to provide the most sophisticated and effective means to enable teaching and scholarship at the College. The Blackboard initiative is an important new part of this continual responsibility of the College."
At the conclusion of the Blackboard pilot, students were selected from the courses for an evaluation of their experiences using the program, during which 79 percent responded that they found it easy or extremely easy to use, and 87 percent said that it was helpful in terms of increasing access to course materials. The survey was sponsored by IT.
Davis said that many students in the pilot courses expressed a desire to use Blackboard in more, if not all, of their classes in the future.
"I have used Blackboard for a couple classes and I think that it's convenient and easy to use as long as the professor is consistent with updating it," said Sarah Schlotterbeck '08.
The evaluations also revealed that many students appreciated the ability to foster interaction through the online discussion boards but felt that having such discussion through technology felt removed and impersonal.
Sophomore Merry Segal sees potential improvements for the web site.
"I think that it would be good if you could access courses other than those in which you're currently enrolled. During add/drop period, it would be nice to be able to browse the syllabi of other courses in deciding what to take," Segal said.
"I think it would be great also if professors made more use of the capacity for students to post to Blackboard and to trade materials over the site," she said.
Nevertheless, Blackboard allows for professors to distribute necessary information to students while reserving class time for important and interesting discussions.
Russian Professor Ray Miller was originally apprehensive about utilizing the program.
"I'm part of the generation that didn't grow up with technology and am intimidated by it," Miller said.
"However, people generally enjoy my literature in translation courses and the complaint I had gotten was that the biography lectures were boring. People wanted to find more time discussing the works. There was no reason why I couldn't do the biography work online. I went to a workshop and sure enough, [Blackboard] is incredibly easy to use," he said.
Over the summer, the Dean of Academic Affairs Office sponsored a pair of two-day workshops during which faculty members discussed the benefits of incorporating technologies like Blackboard into their courses. They also participated in hands-on training to gain experience using the program.
"It's a useful tool to disseminate information and make accessible the information you give to students," Professor of Government Michael Franz said.
"It's a one-stop shop for students and their courses," he said.