The Chronicle of Higher Education reports (paid registration required) that education researchers Robert Zemsky and William F. Massy have completed a 15 month study of distance education in which they find that
Despite the rapid growth of online education -- at a distance and in the classroom -- many faculty members at colleges do not incorporate innovative technology into their course work, and many administrators have not reaped much benefit from the technology they purchased, the report concludes.
Many of us here could have told them that. Online education cheaper when we know it typically requires more work per student from teachers, not to mention the cost of software, hardware, support? And who would be surprised that
Mr. Zemsky said he found that many faculty members thought they were using innovative technology when the only tool they used was PowerPoint.
Meanwhile, I doubt that it's going to help online education to become cheaper now that Blackboard has IPO'd. They have plenty of shareholders to earn a profit for now.
< Sarcasm > But I'm teaching
< Sarcasm > But I'm teaching online, isn't that innovative enough? They EVEN use email! < /Sarcasm > When Lisa started culinary school I was surprised at what her online professors did and didn't know about technology. Many of them were requiring antiquated versions of software because the college didn't provide them with updated versions. (BTW the courses were things like menu design and purchasing not the actual cooking classes ;->) So that seems to be something else to think about, not only are schools going cheap with things like Blackbored but they are also short changing the students and the teachers by not providing the teachers with adequate software and hardware.
sb
Blog
blackbored?
Bored, eh? So that's why we might soon have Drupalized Sam (LOL)
Blackboard the Shameless Pirate with Bad Style
I have said it once. I have said it twice. I have said it while dancing a jig standing on a plank over shark-infested waters: Blackboard is a shameless pirate with bad style.
As far as I'm concerned, any educator who advocates use of this product is either (a) hopelessly ignorant of alternatives, (b) in league with the cut-throats, or (c) fearful of trying anything that isn't commercially endorsed. When I hear the words, "We'll be using Blackboard in this course," I hear, "I consider it really innovative to support these pirates in their raids on the academy."
I really think we owe it to our students and the tax-paying public to make it clear what administrators are really buying into when they pay $300,000 for a university-wide blackboard license: An inferior, proprietary product that students detest and any technologically savvy instructor finds as acceptable as a public restroom with no toilet paper. This product STINKS! It's EXTREMELY over-priced! FREE * FREE * FREE, baby! * It's FREE * alternatives exist that are ten times better!
Sigh. I guess I should be happy that universities have their own servers and aren't relying on AOL to provide internet access. That WOULD be perfect, wouldn't it?
It's the support
I think most universities are reluctant to adopt free solutions because they're unsure where support will come from. If a slick operation like Blackboard started offering support packages for free software, they could make a lot of money.
--Dave
Support
Well, maybe in a few years (or decades? centuries?) we'll no longer accept 100K earning professors who can't figure out how to navigate a website without high-paid tech supporters to do it for them. "Could you please setup my blackboard site for me, thanks research assistant." There are people at my university that can't even figure out how to hook their laptops to the projection system.
As far as I'm concerned, we need to start scrutinizing these instructors. We have zero tolerance for illiteracy among the professoriate; why are we so lenient when it comes to eliteracy?
information wants to be free
Hey, could someone send me a copy of the article ?
sure
via the new gmail address, right?