When students returned from winter break and began searching for their new class assignments, many were surprise by the new look and feel of courses.duke.edu--a website that organizes class information.
In a move that cost $50,000, the University has replaced the older, small-scale CourseInfo software with Blackboard 5.5., a more extensive program that allows for automatic--rather than manual--changes to course information and rosters.
Many students said the first change they noticed to the site was aesthetic. Previously, users had to log into classes individually, but with the new software, they may now view their courses, calendar entries and recent announcements simultaneously on the main page.
"It's prettier," said freshman Nicole Vanderhurst. "I didn't really notice any changes, although I appreciate the Blackboard system. Having posted assignments and threaded discussions has made my first semester that much easier."
Lynne O'Brien, director of the Center for Instructional Technology, said that as of Jan. 15, 520 courses for the spring semester--mostly in Arts and Sciences--were listed on Blackboard. O'Brien said the Pratt School of Engineering, the School of Medicine, the Nicholas School of Environment and Earth Sciences, the Divinity School and the School of Nursing also use the system.
The main difference between the old and new software is that the new one allows system administrators to integrate many different services. Although in the future there will be multiple University resources, such as e-reserves, linked to Blackboard, most professors said they have not yet noticed any significant changes.
"It does all the stuff the same way I was using it [before]," said Lori Leachman, associate professor of the practice in the Department of Economics and also its associate director of undergraduate studies. "Ninety percent of my students use Blackboard in at least one other class, so they are fairly familiar with it."
Bradley Hammer, associate director of the University Writing Program, has been using the website for his Writing 20 classes and found the minor changes to be almost undetectable.
"The one thing I didn't like [about the old system], is that I teach many sections, and I had to log on multiple times when I bookmarked pages. [However], I like all the features: virtual chat, threaded discussion and drop boxes," Hammer said. "[Still] the changes were not a hugely found difference."
Although O'Brien said Blackboard's strength is the ability to have everything pulled together on one page, she conceded that it has weaknesses, such as not being able to distinguish between past and present courses. Currently, an advisory group is being formed to decide which new features to integrate first and to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the system.
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