Students, professors making switch from WebCT to Blackboard Vista
New students at USU may not notice a difference for online class work, but those who have used WebCT in the past notice the change to Blackboard Vista.
WebCT was bought out by Blackboard, said Neal Legler of the instructional design department. This is a rebranded and revamped version, he said. While there are many similarities, there are differences which help to make the program more user-friendly and time-saving. This is a statewide program, and colleges all over the state are also switching over.
More features are available with Blackboard such as chat and discussions which include a blog and journal tool. Faculty are allowed to preview and test what they put on the program. Legler also said it is easier for faculty to update their sites between semesters.
“Like any software, things don’t work as expected,” Legler said, but users are able to report it to the Utah Education Network and get it fixed.
The HELP Center manager, Steve Funk, reported that more than 500 students have been helped in the past month with Blackboard problems. He said there have been three main issues students have needed help with: incompatible version of Java script, a need to reset banner pins and instructors telling them to change their pin and password.
Students may have encountered difficulty uploading because their Java versions are newer and not compatible with Blackboard. A new version of Java has just been released, according to Funk, and this version will actually close down the browser the students are working in. While tutorials are available to help students fix this, Legler said there is going to be a hot fix done on Sunday to allow all versions to work with the program.
Instructors have told some students to go in and change their password or pin through Blackboard, and Funk said this causes more trouble than it’s worth. If students are interested in doing this, they should access their password or pin change through Banner. Problems have also been experienced where the only solution is to change the student’s Banner account. While the problem that causes this isn’t known, Funk said they are working on figuring it out, and for the time they will keep changing Banner pins to correct the issue.
“I did try to download something once and it didn’t work,” said Kyle Robertson, a sophomore in international business. “But I don’t really notice a visual difference between the two. I think the teachers need to learn it more.”
Students aren’t the only ones learning this new system, as the faculty is also figuring out the program. Faculty training has been available to those interested in learning more about the program, and Legler said most faculty have taken advantage of this. He said those who have been actively involved in WebCT are having a harder time wrapping their minds around the new program and its changes. The questions usually answered for faculty are refreshers on things learned in the training, Legler said.
“This is one, if not the most successful rollovers in the state and country,” Legler said.
He attributes this to USU attending numerous workshops prior to the switch and talking with many other schools who have already done it.
-alison.baugh@aggiemail.usu.edu