Is Blackboard Hard?

MrBill

Why do some lecturers (etc.) use blackboards lots, some not so much, and others only kind of? It's there. Why don't they use it?

Are they jerks?

Carstuck

Some don't because they think people will just print off the notes and not bother going to lectures at all.

blackbetty69

blackboards are old skool.. i thought whiteboards are the new balckboards?

Carstuck

blackbetty69 wrote: »

blackboards are old skool.. i thought whiteboards are the new balckboards?

Blackboard is NUIG's acadameic website where lecturers can make notes, additional materials etc available!

PomBear

the fact that some lecturers don't put up their notes is an absolute disgrace. Many people use notes as guidelines to make their own notes, that's why their put up, how many people who don't go lecture actually do look up blackboard to find what they miss to such an extent you wouldn't bother going to the lecture?

MrBill

The whole point of blackboard is so that you don't have to go to lectures. I learned how to read, so why do I need to go in everyday to have some monotone lecturer read to me in between yawns? Just gimme the notes and feck off (they're usually rubbish notes anyway).

And why do they always start slow and then dump a pile of assignments on you at the end of the semester? Why not the other way around so you can actually study for the exams.

xp90

MrBill wrote: »

The whole point of blackboard is so that you don't have to go to lectures. I learned how to read, so why do I need to go in everyday to have some monotone lecturer read to me in between yawns? Just gimme the notes and feck off (they're usually rubbish notes anyway).

And why do they always start slow and then dump a pile of assignments on you at the end of the semester? Why not the other way around so you can actually study for the exams.

True dat

Belmono

Think you're missing the point of Blackboard, MrBill.
The information provided on Blackboard should help to guide you in readings/general ideas on a topic, rather than to be the sole source of this info. Some 'old school' lecturers prefer not to put stuff up, as they're probably afraid of what you say - non-attendance.
A lot of notes up there also only really make sense when they're explained, so notes can appear rubbish if you don't get the narrative and context that lecturers can provide.
Obviously it's only towards the end of semester that you can be given assignments for certain subjects, as you've spent a semester being introduced to the area. Wouldn't really be fair to get the assignment without having the 'boring' lectures first! Most coursework should also be helpful in preparation for the exams, and especially with any feedback you get from lecturers/tutors.
You might find a Distance Learning Course more up your street than a College one!

MrBill

Belmono wrote: »

Wouldn't really be fair to get the assignment without having the 'boring' lectures first!

I didn't say they were boring. They just aren't necessary. A lot of lecturers just read out ppt. slides verbatim with no explanation. Nobody asks questions.

You might find a Distance Learning Course more up your street than a College one!

That would look great on my resume. :rolleyes:

Belmono

MrBill wrote: »

The whole point of blackboard is so that you don't have to go to lectures. I learned how to read, so why do I need to go in everyday to have some monotone lecturer read to me in between yawns? Just gimme the notes and feck off (they're usually rubbish notes anyway).

Sounds like you're implying 'boring' here!

I take your point, MrBill. There are far too many lecturers whose idea of lecturing is talking at students rather than engaging with, hence your views (perhaps) of the experience of lectures. I would say, though, that not all lectures are like that, and one thing you will notice as you progress is that they are many different lecturing styles, and you might be surprised! Slowly but surely there are efforts being made to shake up the preconceptions that both students and lecturers have about what a lecture should be.

I only mentioned 'Distance Learning' because you seem to have been put off by the experience of going to college, or at least of going to lectures. Hopefully associated tutorials and/or small group classes will help you feel more engaged in what you're studying. Hopefully we won't reduce the experience of third level teaching to merely putting it on the CV and ticking a box. It should be a lot more than this!
Good luck with the course!

MrBill

Unfortunately we don't get graded on the level of enjoyment we get from our courses. And the fact is, employers want to know three things: what school did you go to, what grade did you get, and are you inept.

I don't actually have an issue with attending college. I just think strictly adhering to the "old school" way of doing things favors a particular kind of student. Programs like Blackboard are great for students who have more success with different study strategies.

If the university has gone ahead and decided to implement Blackboard, I don't see why some lecturers have to be so half-arsed in their involvement with it. And if some intentionally don't use it in order to force students to come and pay tribute to them at the specified times, perhaps they should be let go. :mad:

Lockstep

It's a lecturer prerogative really; some are fine with it, some aren't. Some know how to use it, some don't. And some want to use it and some don't.

If you're attending the lectures then I don't see why it should matter to you if notes are put up or not.

Belmono

MrBill wrote: »

Unfortunately we don't get graded on the level of enjoyment we get from our courses. And the fact is, employers want to know three things: what school did you go to, what grade did you get, and are you inept.

Yes, all too true with certain employers, perhaps, but I do think there is a subtle difference between 'engagement' and 'enjoyment': I think the more involved a student feels in a course, the more enjoyment that can be derived from it. Of course, this presupposes a willingness on the part of students to get their hands dirty, so to speak, and to look at the original material on a course rather than rely on distilled information provided on Blackboard. As for employers gauging your relative worth, I think it's also interesting that, with complaints of grade inflation being levelled at Leaving Cert and maybe even Third Level, that other ways of measuring your suitability, beyond the piece of paper saying you got X, are being used by employers. Apart from the interview, of course!


If the university has gone ahead and decided to implement Blackboard, I don't see why some lecturers have to be so half-arsed in their involvement with it. And if some intentionally don't use it in order to force students to come and pay tribute to them at the specified times, perhaps they should be let go. :mad:

Bit of background required here to explain the situation with Blackboard: the college used to have a Q-drive facility, which in essence was a place where info such as lecture notes or hard to find readings could be stored. The big problem with this was that it was part of the college intranet, and could not be accessed off-campus. With the arrival of Virtual Learning Environments such as Blackboard and Moodle, it was now possible for students and lecturers to make use of the equivalent of a Q-drive off-campus. It was never intended as a substitute for lectures, but sought rather to harness technological advancements as well as to facilitate off-campus access to material. The move to place material from classes on to Blackboard in a way helped to resolve a range of practical issues such as photocopying (expense, amount of waste) and access to material from class should a student miss a class because of extenuating circumstances. It also opened up the lecture experience to multimedia, something which was a labour-intensive activity on the old system.
Its integration across the board is obvious (especially with the new student accounts where Blackboard is a core element); however, there is no obligation on lecturers to provide lecture material in this VLE, and is not really a contractual issue either, to be fair. A lecturer could quite feasibly argue that your course requires 'physical' rather than 'virtual' attendance, and is not a Distance Learning course, but rather one that requires you to be there. I'm not trying to be smart here, just pointing out that some approaches highlight a simple point that students lose sight of - full-time students are actually expected to spend a significant proportion of the 'working week' on campus, and attendance at lectures, in all documentation I've seen, is obligatory, whatever the discpline.
If access to materials is a problem on your course (considering all the caveats above such as the 'real' applications of Blackboard as stepping stone to info rather than actual source) then you could consider speaking to a Class Rep and it could be considered by the Discipline at a Staff-Student Liaison Committee. I would say, though, that an argument such as 'X never puts notes on Blackboard' doesn't really wash, unless it can be argued that an inaccessibility to basic info is preventing you from learning/completing assignments/preparing for assessments. Do bear in mind that if you cannot make a lecture because of illness/bereavement/etc, disciplines are often very willing to do their best to facilitate you. These things are done on a one-to-one basis, and this 'invisible work' is one of the strengths of the college.

PS Apologies if I can't quite get to grips with the use of 'Quotes' - I'm a newbie:)

MrBill

Well obviously I don't really think they should be sacked, just a fantasy of mine. Here is a good example of how to use quotes:

Belmono wrote: »

Slowly but surely there are efforts being made to shake up the preconceptions that both students and lecturers have about what a lecture should be.

Excellent! And I think Blackboard is a great opportunity for the university to become a more sophisticated learning environment. A broader range of "students types" can be better educated - which we all know is the primary pedagogical concern.

I'm fond of this attitude towards attendance brought to us from Arkansas:

Not all students come to class every day. There are a couple of reasons why this can adversely affect a students grade in the course. One type of student isn't really interested and doesn't really care. The consequences are obvious.

Another type of student learns better by reading and seldom gets much out of a lecture and so they don't go. There is a problem with this too. During the lectures I let students know what I think is important in the course and it turns out that I make up the exams and I tend to put what I think is important on the exams. A student who doesn.t pay any attention to what happens in class might miss this important connection ...

... there are good students who dont come to class but who study very hard and then find that their decisions about what was most important to study were wrong.

The fact that previous exams are readily available should soothe concerns about students not knowing what to expect. I think the university should have some consideration for type-B chronic truants and cut them some slack, rather than banishing them to distance learning. There are plenty of students left who can't live without lectures.

Lockstep

Assuming you're a student in NUIG, when you enrolled you accepted their Code of Conduct (which includes attendance of lectures)

pmg58

Belmono wrote: »

the college used to have a Q-drive facility, which in essence was a place where info such as lecture notes or hard to find readings could be stored. The big problem with this was that it was part of the college intranet, and could not be accessed off-campus.

Most people don't actually know this, but you can access your u drive and the q drive off campus. Just go to udrive.nuigalway.ie

I've found over the last few years that there are 3 types of lecturer when it comes to BB,

"The Old Hand" - Doesn't really get all this blackboard stuff and prefers the old fashioned methods. Look out for elbow patches.

"Average Joe" - Sticks all lectures on BB, uses it for assignments, avails of the blog and the forums

"The Sly Dog" - Uses BB for it's intended use, doesn't put up exact notes, just approximations. Usually uses forums and blogs to try and keep people interested. Watch out for this, often catches people out. "Sure the notes are on BB, no need to go to the lectures.." ---- Cue end of year panic when 'notes on BB' are not full notes at all!

Basically, just go to your feckin lectures. It's not meant to be a holiday

PomBear

1.To expect any students to go all lectures is unreasonable.
2.If you miss a lecture, is your next thought 'oh, must go on blackboard and catch up'?
3.Those notes aren't meant to be put up incase you miss the lecture, they're a guideline for you're own study.
4.To not have all information possible to aid study by the lecturer is is inexcusable in my opinion and they're in breach of their profession.

blackbetty69

Carstuck wrote: »

Blackboard is NUIG's acadameic website where lecturers can make notes, additional materials etc available!

lol.. ud know i dont go there anyway!!

terribletim

PomBear wrote: »

4.To not have all information possible to aid study by the lecturer is is inexcusable in my opinion and they're in breach of their profession.

This is slightly ridiculous, but the whole thing is kind of an irritating game. It's like:

1) Come to the lectures and we'll give you some information... :cool:

2) Come to the tutorials and we'll show you a little bit more...

3) And that's about it! If we didn't leave a few holes then we wouldn't be teaching you how to learn... :pac:

*

Or you can just find comprehensive online notes and explanations from an identical course at some other university.

Also, the SU should have PPT slides banned from campus. It's time to reign in the academic staff.

PomBear

terribletim wrote: »

This is slightly ridiculous, but the whole thing is kind of an irritating game. It's like:

1) Come to the lectures and we'll give you some information... :cool:

2) Come to the tutorials and we'll show you a little bit more...

3) And that's about it! If we didn't leave a few holes then we wouldn't be teaching you how to learn... :pac:

*

Or you can just find comprehensive online notes and explanations from an identical course at some other university.

Also, the SU should have PPT slides banned from campus. It's time to reign in the academic staff.

I don't mind PPT slides as they atleast provides a guideline to be making your own notes which was what we should be doing

terribletim

I dunno about that. I find that lectures where someones stands in front of PPT slides and then expands on them don't work out too well. There's something distracting about them. Something evil?

Maybe it's just me.

If I could have my way, .PPT would join .PDF in the universally loathed file format category. Then The Computer Nerd Community would eradicate them entirely and come up with something better.

Salt McMan

I checked on blackboard and it says all my marks are 0. I know this can't be true.