After providing service to the campus for two semesters, Blackboard, an online framework for out-of-class interaction between professors and students, is receiving mixed reviews.

Professors who use the system are generally pleased with it but students are more skeptical.

According to EMU Director of Instructional Technology Mark Zollinhofer, Blackboard is one of the more popular learning management systems available, the other being WebCT. The system provides professors with file space, e-mail distribution and discussion board in one neat, web-based package.

Zollinhofer says Blackboard is intended to enhance the way professors use class time. "[Blackboard] can provide . . . structure, and then that hopefully will reduce some of the overhead for them as faculty and they can concentrate more on . . . the learning. Hopefully it provides them with some tools to make their administrative . . . work a lot more efficient, so they don’t have to waste class time on that, and it can provide some additional interaction that wasn’t there before because you only had class time."

Zollinhofer and his staff have made an effort to put all classes onto Blackboard whether professors have expressed an interest in using the system or not, so that they won’t have to go to the trouble of applying to have their classes set up.

Right now EMU pays $5,000 per year to use the Blackboard system, which will increase to $7,500 next year. Zollinhofer says that given the scope of the system and the cost of other essential software, the price is quite reasonable: "We spend $11,000 each year just to license Microsoft’s Office product and that’s only for the campus computers, whereas Blackboard is potentially used by all faculty, all staff and all students."

Although the system is not equipped to collect data on campus-wide usage, Zollinhofer said he has heard plenty of anecdotal evidence that EMU is making good use of Blackboard. In addition to distance-learning applications, he cited the library’s use of Blackboard-based online tutorials to teach first-year writing students how to use the research resources available at EMU; Seminary Dean Ervin Stutzman’s creation of a community discussion forum for all seminary faculty, staff and students; and applications in the Adult Degree Completion Program which have helped students balance continuing education with the rest of their lives.

"There’s lots of ways that it’s being used," said Zollinhofer, "but I really don’t have an understanding yet of how deep the penetration is, in terms of how many faculty are using it and what different tools and features they are using. I’ve heard . . . faculty members say that they like the ability to send e-mail selectively to their students, because they don’t have to look up each student’s name and address; they just go into Blackboard and click next to their name and they can send e-mail to those students."

Assistant Professor of Economics Debra Stevens had been using the free service Delphiforums.com to coordinate her classes at EMU and James Madison University (JMU) well before EMU began using Blackboard, but said she plans to switch to the new system because her new textbook is tailored for it, incorporating answers to study guide questions, current events links and online updates.

Although Professor of Physical Education Lester Zook has not yet used Blackboard in his classes, he has found an application for the system in the area of backpacking and rock climbing. Using Blackboard, Zook set up an online calendar of usage for a particular section of George Washington National Forest so that EMU, JMU, the University of Virginia and a collection of local camps and independent climbing guides can coordinate when they visit. Blackboard has, says Zook, "given us a way of communicating together so we’re not running into each other out there in the field."

Some professors just don’t feel the need to take classes on-line.

"I didn’t feel it was of particular use to me," said Professor of Physics John Horst, citing the small size of many of his classes and the time required to set up the system as reasons he hasn’t used Blackboard yet. "I just sort of figure students should come to class."

"There’s no need for everyone to feel like they need to use it," said Zollinhofer. "The idea is that if it is usable and makes sense, then hopefully it will be a welcome tool. If some people don’t find it useful, then we shouldn’t push them to use it. But we do think that there are some really nice things about it that can really allow the regular teaching practices to be more effective."

Student reactions to Blackboard are mixed. Some, like sophomore Jacob Mumbauer, haven’t needed to use it at all. Says Mumbauer, "I can’t remember my password."

Freshman Benjamin Myers pointed out that Blackboard is only convenient for students who have easy access to the Internet: "I don’t have the connection to Blackboard in my room. So I have to run up to the computer lab to check my assignments. It’s a pain in the butt."

Most students see the system as a mixed blessing. "All the information is there, you can just access it from your room without having to call your professor," said sophomore Marcus Harris. "The downside is there’s no excuse for not having your work sometimes."

"I don’t like that my teachers don’t respond to my articles," said junior Andrea Kuhns. "I do like that you can read what your classmates have to say."

Sophomore Eric Kroeker was most cynical. "The biggest problem with Blackboard is there’s no more relationship between the professors and students because it’s all on the computer," he said. "Blackboard is just a tool professors use so they don’t have to teach."