eLearning with the Blackboard Learning System

With all the discussion on eLearning this week, we might not realise that it is more pervasive in our lives than we think it is. Recognise this logo?The Blackboard Learning System is one of the product lines under Blackboard Inc., which serves over 2200 education institutions in more than 60 countries.

Being the core system which the students at UB-SIM interact with their modules, let us take a look at two of their features.

Content
The Blackboard Learning System allows the student an overview to the modules they are currently taking. From the individual course module section, they can access the files uploaded by the instructor, assignments to be completed, or view their current grades of their progress.

Communication
Using the Blackboard Learning System, instructors can make announcements to all the students in their class, and their students can engage in discussions with each other. This system also allows students to contact all their other classmates via email. This provides an efficient method to disseminate information to a large class without having to collect the emails individually.

Having seen how the Blackboard Learning System is an effective one stop solution for eLearning, how much should we rely on it? Unfortunately, it seems that Florida State University, the City University of New York, and Utah State University have all experienced network issues which have caused system crashes and data loss.

So, what other forms of eLearning do you see in your life, and how reliable do you think it is?