Blackboard Learn reviews

Industry Standard LMS

Opmerkingen: Blackboard integrated seamlessly with our current system, Microsoft Teams

Pluspunten:

With an established ecosystem and many tools available, Blackboard is my go to LMS for schools and other educational institutions

Minpunten:

Blackboard is a bit pricey, however you get a polished piece of software.

Reliable where it counts

Pluspunten:

Blackboard is a rather intuitive learning platform, packed with a huge amount of features. If you need it for your school, it can be done. There were also a number of training materials and good customer support. It's reliable, which means students and instructors will know when to expect outages and prepare accordingly.

Minpunten:

The UI, until recently, was a bit stale and outdated in appearance. Thankfully this has been updated and seems more modernistic now. It is also a bit more expensive than alternatives.

Blackboard Learn for Aiken Technical College's Embedded Librarian Program

Opmerkingen: I post announcements about our Library's online resources and also monitor a Discussion Board thread called "Ask a Librarian." I get plenty of questions in the Discussion Board and also in response to the announcements, especially closer to assignment due dates.

Pluspunten:

I can post a variety of media in the Announcements section and in the Content Areas. The more options I can give students to access the information they need, the better.

Minpunten:

There may be a way to do this and I haven't figured out how yet, but I would like to be able to transfer a whole content area from one course to another instead of starting from scratch each time.

a Long Term User's Honest Experience

Opmerkingen: Quick background, was in high tech sales and marketing for many years prior to teaching and heavily involved with custom Computer Graphics systems since Time Arts Lumena was around (predecessor to Photoshop). Check out my LinkedIn profile for more details. On to the product review -- I've been using Blackboard for *many* years, and have been teaching (and doing) Web Design and Development since 1993. I'm retiring shortly, so I can be absolutely frank and honest about my experience with this app without fear of upsetting IT folks or admins that I would have to work with in the future. Truthfully, the ONLY reason I use this app is because I have no alternative at the College where I teach and it gives the students easy access to information, but so would any LMS (Learning Management System). The UIX (User Interface Experience) is incredibly archaic and counter-intuitive. It's also painfully slow to use, as it does constant server requests (just paste the URL for a Blackboard connection into http://www.webpagetest.org/ for testing). Sometimes one single click every 15 seconds is all the system will react to when I'm using the grade book, etc. -- in the "real" world, without captive users, no one would ever return to a site with those response times. To be fair to Blackboard, part of that may (or may not) be our schools network or Blackboard interface setup. As far as usability, Blackboard needs to let the User Interface and UIX designers (if they even had any) direct the techs and coders. It's *very* obvious that it's been the reverse, . They should 'steal' some Apple UIX people and give them some *real* power to direct how the app works and what it looks like. I've just finished using Blackboard for 3 hours+ doing things that should have taken 1 hour or less had the interface been optimized and more thought out. For example, under the 'Assignments' and 'Course Documents' sections there is no easy way to reorder or batch select using something basic like check boxes or a multi-select hot keys. Also, any NEW assignment or document post goes to the BOTTOM (the absolute reverse of a Blog post) So I need to drag it back to the top (where it logically should go). However, even that is awkward, since when I drag to the top of the browser the window does not auto-scroll. I have to hold the left mouse button at the same time as I use my middle finger to roll the mouse wheel -- duh!!. There IS a small text window pop-up accessed via an archaic icon to reorder posts, however, that shows only 5 assignment titles at a time (no window resize function to show more than 5). I can reorder them there, but need to do a single mouse click each time it moves up one position, but again, with no way to see more than 5 and no way to multi-select. So, if I have 50 course documents and want to shift 5 new documents to the top (where they belong) that's almost 250 mouse clicks to re-position 5 documents to where they should be in the first place - duh!! In Gradebook it only shows 10 students listed by default. I can change the setting up to 50 but the next time I go back it's back or need to refresh something -- it's back to 10. It doesn't save defaults or give me a choice. This may seem to be nit-picking, but over the period of a 14 week semester that's a lot of wasted time time and clicks. I'm going to end my review here as I have more work to do, but when I saw a 4 star review for this LMS being the solo review I had to balance it out. Bottom line is, the concept is good -- many, many modules/tools in a LMS bundled package but the execution is absolutely awful. Just Google search 'Blackboard sucks' or 'I hate Blackboard' if you want real faculty and user opinions sans any marketing spin. Other telltale signs are when a company start to lose long-term clients. Ryerson University in Toronto just did a switch from Blackboard after "a multi-year consultation process". More on that process is here http://lms.blog.ryerson.ca/ Hopefully that last paragraph doesn't get censored, because that's the source of raw truth.

Pluspunten:

1. it's an LMS and something is better than nothing. 2. It's full of examples I can show my students on how not to do UI and UIX 3. Well established company is behind it 4. Modular front-end 5. Many bells and whistles

Minpunten:

1. Counter intuitive, clunky, awkard UI (User Interface) - improve it by hiring UI/UIX experts and giving them actual control over the app interface and functions. 2. Slow (even when on the same network node or high speed cable connection) - needs a code rewrite/optimization. 3. Ancient aesthetics (although some design elements are now "flat design-ish") - hire UI and UIX designers and actually allow them to direct the final interface. 4. Many glitches (I've a folder full of screen-shots, if you want proof) - again a code rewrite needed, or ideally a complete start-over with newer code philosophies and methods.

Among the best tools for online learning

Opmerkingen: Organized material and good tracking system in the student's progress.

Pluspunten:

It has many functionalities, but the most remarkable is that it can be integrated with digital libraries and videoconferencing applications. In addition, you can upload the material that students need in an organized way so they can have a better understanding of the courses.

Minpunten:

I have been informed in the educational centers where they have been implemented that the use of the platform covers a period of time, both for teachers and students. However, I believe that like any educational platform, it has a learning curve to which the community will have to adapt over time.

A decent LMS, but there are better ones out there that have less workability issues

Opmerkingen: I have used both Blackboard and Moodle in the past, and I found them very similar for what they offered. I would have been fine using Blackboard indefinitely had I not found out about Canvas, which is what we are using now and I am absolutely it's biggest fan!

Pluspunten:

I used Blackboard for almost 10 years, and it was a decent LMS for my needs. When Blackboard Collaborate came out, it was even better because it added a new layer of possibilities (I could have several webinar/conversations going, merge conversations, and/or present to different groups at one time). However, there were always bugs in the system, even though we updated constantly. The Blackboard app was also very limited.

Minpunten:

Too many bugs and freezes; many of my students had issues with accessing links when they used different internet browsers. Good for a small school or business, but not larger ones.

Blackboard Review

Opmerkingen: I found the software easy to use and it was beneficial to providing higher education to those in the workplace and those who attend NU.

Pluspunten:

I prefer Blackboard Learn over other software that I have used in the past and recent events. The simplicity of the system ensures that it is easy to use for all generations, teacher and student, and all of those in between.

Minpunten:

Right now, I do not think there is anything I would change.

Blacboard Learn from a Person who is not techie

Opmerkingen: Improving student engagement and outcomes Streamlining course management Enhancing collaboration and communicationImproving reporting and analyticsI could elaborate but theres not enough room hereBenefitsUser-friendly interface, Blackboard Learn has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for teachers and students to use.Customizable content The platform allows teachers to create and upload their own course content, including multimedia materials, assignments, and assessments , Real-time feedback,Blackboard Learn provides real-time feedback to students, which can help improve their learning outcomes. Analytics, Integration, Improved student engagement and outcomes

Pluspunten:

User-friendly interface: Blackboard Learn has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for teachers and students to use.Customizable content: The platform allows teachers to create and upload their own course content, including multimedia materials, assignments, and assessments.Real-time feedback: Blackboard Learn provides real-time feedback to students, which can help improve their learning outcomes.Analytics: The platform provides detailed analytics and reporting capabilities, allowing teachers to monitor student progress and make data-driven decisions to improve their teaching.Integration: Blackboard Learn integrates with other tools and platforms, such as Google Drive, Microsoft Office 365, and more, making it easy to share and access course materials.

Minpunten:

Cost: Blackboard Learn can be expensive for schools, especially when compared to other learning management systems.Technical issues: Some users have reported technical issues with Blackboard Learn, such as slow performance and system crashes.Limited customization options: While the platform allows for some customization, some users have reported that it is limited compared to other learning management systems.

Organized Learning Management System

Pluspunten:

It can be used by the teacher and the students in productive ways, such as when they post messages on the discussion board. It is simple to set up for student use and simple for students to use. The products that have been uploaded are quite simple to find, and everything is really well arranged.

Minpunten:

It has a problem with its Android version. Navigation can occasionally be problematic. The user interface can be challenging at times.

Daily Use!

Pluspunten:

I used CivicTrack all thru my education. It was simple to use and kept all of my course work and information in one place. Loved it!

Minpunten:

Some professors wouldn't use it properly/avidly (i.e. change of due date on an assignment). It would glitch rarely.

Wow..an excellent online Learning platform

Opmerkingen: Pandemic-related problems with submitting assignments and accessing information for my online and face-to-face classes. It has become increasingly apparent to me as I progress through graduate school that this site will be useful not only for my coursework, but also for group presentations and collaboration with other students.

Pluspunten:

My assignments and materials are organized in one place. As of the most recent update, it is now much easier to use than it used to be. Assigning assignments and adding details to classes has never been simpler. Now, it's much easier to use than it was before. The process of giving students feedback and organizing my responses is simple. It's also how I communicate with them. As a result, it's easy to refer back to them and remember what I said. I also like that Blackboard integrates well with other apps. When it comes to presentations, I rely heavily on VoiceThread and Panopto. GoReact and Top Hat are also on my to-do list.

Minpunten:

An update to the mobile app is still in order. There is a lot of work to be done on this project. On the web, the user experience was much better.

BLACKBOARD LEARN – you don’t know how good something is until it’s gone!

Opmerkingen: Blackboard Learn (BBL) was much better than we knew! You don’t always have control over what tools or LMS you have to use, but if you (or someone else) think that you’d prefer a different LMS - BE CAREFUL what you wish for! I loved the Grade Book’s versatility and ability to easily download it for offline management when needed. Also, when we still had BBL (yes, ‘they’ have switched us to a different LMS) I used it for online classes and as an e-Companion to onsite classes. Loading and transferring content and tests was pretty easy. I MISS BBL!

Pluspunten:

I found that Blackboard Learn is much easier to use than other online platforms used in higher education. Being able to easily add materials and instructional documents to an online course is critical especially when a department adopts a new edition of a textbook. The quiz/test builder within Blackboard Learn is also quite user friendly and being able to export exams from a previous course and import to a future course is a real time saver!

Minpunten:

The discussion board when entering grades can sometimes be a little confusing, trying to determine if the student is replying to a classmate’s post – especially if the student has not included the classmate’s name in their reply, but that’s really more due to a student not following instructions and not the program.

Avoid this program at all costs. Use literally anything else.

Opmerkingen: Awful. If I had the choice, I would never use this program again. I use a different program at another college where I work, and I can say without any reservation that Blackboard is garbage. I don't know how it's priced, but I'm sure it can't be worth whatever the administrators are saving. Truly horrid, and now that most of our work is going to be online for awhile, teachers just can't afford to be hamstrung by this abysmal program any longer.
Oh, and Safe Assign is a joke. I've caught ten times more plagiarism using common sense than that thing has ever spotted. It misses almost ALL of the plagiarism I have found from my students. Ridiculously bad.

Pluspunten:

There is nothing this software does that other software doesn't do better. I like that it allows for the creation of rubrics, as all programs of this sort do. Really can't seen anything about this that is better or even as good as other programs

Minpunten:

Whole passages of feedback will suddenly disappear if you move the mouse into the wrong area or scroll a bit while you are typing comments on the essay. This is a persistent problem that everyone in our school has verified. In order to use one editing tool (a highlighter), the program locks out the other editing tool (the comment field), unless you refresh the screen, which then erases any comments not held in place by a highlight. I could go on and on and on, but I'm afraid I'd have to type it all over again if this review field is made by the same people who made Blackboard's essay editor.

Great way to manage several classes with great flexibility to match personal style

Opmerkingen: Overall it’s an improvement over just 20 years ago when a syllabus and careful listening were the only way to connect with students. Also, I’ve had great success sharing ideas with colleagues. Of course, faculty can be just irritating as the abovementioned students. I’d say an “ignore” buttons would make this score go from a 7 to a 9.

Pluspunten:

I love the ability to reach all of my students or any subgroup in multiple ways. For example, personalized announcement, group emails, meeting and grading in realtime, scheduling office hours, and getting notifications are just a few of the native services, and each can be customized l.

Minpunten:

The law of unintended consequences applies directly to blackboard. The same convenient and varied options that make the product great also give students more access (and wildly unrealistic expectations) to their professors. This is great for the 5% of students who have helpful and legitimate questions, but obnoxious for those who expect instant responses, midnight submissions, and A grades for D papers because “they clearly are trying. Just look at their blackboard logs and see!”

Needs some work for organization

Opmerkingen: Not great. If I were to choose, I would go with canvas, which my university will be switching to in the next four years.

Pluspunten:

Probably my favorite thing about this software is how you can link videos, external links, and also professors can create quizzes, assignments, and tests on the platform and select various settings for their individual assignment/assessment. I LOVE taking tests on here because they are straight forward.

Minpunten:

They really need to add a "flag" feature to the tests that are made and administered through the program. There have been many times when I am taking a long multiple-choice test and am not sure of the answer but then remember it 20 questions later, but by that time I can't find the original question that I remembered the answer for. The organization of this information system is, however, trash. Navigating around the site between classes and tabs within each class is annoying and not very intuitive. The way the site is made reminds me of someone trying to make a sign with a lot of diverse information, but everything on the sign is 12pt time new roman font - there's little differentiation between different ideas and concepts.

Abomination is an Understatement

Opmerkingen: I had the opportunity to go to school online, or check assignments on a web-based platform. I liked that. But other than that, I cannot say a single good thing about it.

Pluspunten:

It is web-based. Some modules can be dragged and dropped. It has a lot of useless features I don't ever need or use, while missing ones that I do need.

Minpunten:

Let's be real. Blackboard never heard of "less is more." They could learn a lesson from likes of Uber. Here's what students need: 1. Educational content 2. Tasks with Due Dates and eventually grades 3. Chat (Group and Private) 4. Notifications If a millennial designed Blackboard, the entire application could fit into a 3 page app, simple enough for a retard. They went out of their way to make it complicated, so it would seem better on paper. They've put so many bells and whistles that it is an absolute nightmare for both students and professors alike. Confuses everyone and is a bottleneck in our educational system we should be doing without.

As both a teacher and a student - Blackboard works for me

Opmerkingen: Make sure you explore the user guides and options, blackboard can be a powerful tool but some of it's features are less than obvious!

Pluspunten:

As a instructor blackboard lets me integrate a lot of different types of media through Kaltura, structure time released content ,vary assessments, and deliver individualized learning opportunities. All of these elements are crucial to my instruction. As a student, I get mobile access and notifications about grades, announcements, and course changes that help me manage my learning.

Minpunten:

While the features are wonderful, they are somewhat convoluted to properly utilize, requiring more steps than I would like, and can sometimes be "hidden" in such ways that I have to refer back to user guides because it's not a very intuitive integration. Therefore, as a student, I find many of my professors do not fully take advantage of the learning management system because they have limited knowledge.

Makes my Online classes SO Much easier

Opmerkingen: Overall I love it. It helps me to focus on my school work and know when I have assignments due. It notifies me when new material is uploaded. ANYTHING that makes my life easier is a A++ in my book!

Pluspunten:

Blackboard has been AMAZING for organizing my online classes. I take 4 online classes a semester and I would be a mess if I didn't have blackboard reminding me of what needs done and making it super easy. Its very easy to upload my assignments and see whats due when it's due. Everything about it is SUPER easy and organized so I can focus all my energy on my school work.

Minpunten:

I still can't figure out how to export my due dates to my calendar. I'm not sure if you even can, but I can't find any support on it. I don't like how I can't change the names of my courses and Ive had 3 courses that I dont take anymore still showing up and can't get them to disappear.

Hammer To Swat a Fly

Opmerkingen: Blackboard is a classic case of good product upgrading too much until you lose what made it great. It has a lot of value added features, so much so that you can no longer find the simple things. They should also focus on getting the bugs out of what is really needed and not focus so much on adding more. Keep it simple, stupid KISS. over all a pretty decent LMS but there are better for less.

Pluspunten:

Feature Rich - lots of value added functionality Love that there are break out rooms for each session Clickable rubrics - awesome Cons 345/100 characters minimum

Minpunten:

Grading system is too granular. if you use this it makes it too easy for a few bad assignments to tank students grades and gives the instructor more work. What do you have against independent content. I create videos using Camtasia and Movavi, but its often a fight get them placed where I'd like or even to get them to run in the first place.

New Bb Rollout

Opmerkingen: My institution just rolled out the updated Blackboard platform. I CANNOT UNDERSTATE HOW DISAPPOINTING IT IS! It is harder to use and Bb has removed many of the options for customizing the look and feel of course environments. The MOST ANNOYING change is the locked "institution" bar on the left side of the screen. It is taking up precious screen space... it is not movable. AND the x "close course" box on the top left is too easy to click on... I have already had the problem of having a course close a number of times when I was working on it because I scrolled over that box. This IS REALLY BAD. Stupid design. A move backwards.

Pluspunten:

Ability to share lecture recordings and instructional material.

Minpunten:

The changes are in the wrong direction. Only 1 discussion folder. Moving from ability for instructors to customise the look and feel of a course to more standardization.

Gets better every year

Pluspunten:

I like that I can add content, links, video's that can be played right from Blackboard. Each year this system gets better and more versatile to use. It also does not require much training to lean how to use it which make it user friendly on both sides. I also like that I can pull it up on my my phone even if the fromat is not always right.

Minpunten:

It can be hard to find certain things and often tabs are hidden withing other tabs. This an also be frustrating to students when trying to locate content. The mobile app does also have some kinks, it does not format well. It is nice to check things like grades but not alot of work can be done from the mobile app.

The best LMS under new normal education

Opmerkingen: Using Blackboard use our official LMS is really convenient to both faculty and students. We can easily track our students' process and students can track all the modules and learning materials upload in it. Assessment can be access anytime, with proper setting and there's a lot of feature.

Pluspunten:

What I like most about blackboard is the item analyzer which help us educator to secure that test and assessment given to students are align with intended learning outcome an. I also like the respondus that secure honest and credible exams.

Minpunten:

There is also no enough storage. Every upload of documents or videos occupy a huge amount of BB storage, thus we need to procure additional storage.

Hard to use software that is also very expensive!

Opmerkingen: Okay.

Pluspunten:

Blackboard LMS is great for schools as well as faculty in organizing their class materials although it can be a bit confusing for your average user.

Minpunten:

Price and the fact it was hard to implement.

Effective tool for the right industry

Opmerkingen: I've used Blackboard for many, many years in higher ed setting. Even before they acquired WebCT. Over the years there have been so many versions. Some I loved. Some I found inferior to others (like Moodle). Newer versions weren't always better. However higher ed has unique requirements for compliance, integration and accreditation which makes BlackBoard an ideal tool for that sector. It's fairly easy to use and it's very reliable. If you're in an industry like higher ed, I highly recommend it.

Pluspunten:

It's reliable. Rarely needed tech support. It's pretty easy to use most of the time. It meets the complex compliance and integration requirements of higher education.

Minpunten:

Lack of customizability. Course templates were generic with little flexibility for how it appears. Also with so many versions and always changing things around, it can be frustrating because you're used to a different version. If you're not in an industry with a lot of compliance regulations (privacy, accreditation etc.) I'd stay away and use something lighter and more flexible.

Blackboard Learn is a proven success

Opmerkingen: We see widespread use of Blackboard Learn at our institution for a variety of purposes, not just for online classes. Even university administrators have found ways to make use of the LMS for content sharing and assessment far beyond course work.

Pluspunten:

Instructors and Trainers can do almost anything they want with content in Learn. Pretty much the only limits are those imposed by your institution (cost, security, resources, effort).

Minpunten:

We find the reporting (especially activity) less useful than it could be. I don't know if that's just a shortfall in design, or if it's a configuration problem in our implementation.