The role of technology in education for primary and secondary schools is under constant scrutiny and Blackboard is helping them to tackle their top learning challenges, which include:
- Widening and deepening access to learning to parents and home;
- Training future teachers;
- Delivering whole school improvements;
- Initiatives and objectives from the individual practitioner
through to national policy.
Blackboard’s e-learning solutions include tools for assessment and tracking. They provide additional channels of communication, enable outreach and extra help for parents and pupils. Secondary schools can use Blackboard technology in a variety of ways including supplementing traditional classroom instruction with online discussion boards and chat sessions, creating online gateways for parents to access pupils’ assignments and grades, and by offering online summer school courses and online advanced placement courses.
According to Tim Collin, Vice President for Blackboard in EMEA, “Online learning has come a long way since 2002, when we first implemented the Blackboard Academic Suite(tm) in UK secondary schools. With the increased focus on e-strategy by the Department for Education and Skills, transition is on its way in secondary education. Already schools are realising the benefits of e-learning technology and many are shopping for an online solution. As schools are continually challenged to do more with less, Blackboard’s software and services enable schools to meet multiple objectives with one solution.”
According to a national survey conducted by JISC and published in July 2005 on VLE usage in UK Higher and Further Education, 80% of HE and 50% of FE institutions already use Blackboard’s e-learning capabilities to empower students, teachers and administrators. It is therefore becoming a natural choice for schools to turn to Blackboard technology for help to deploy e-learning solutions.
Kaynak : 