Communication
and interaction are important in teaching and learning environments. In this
blog article, I continue to provide the findings from the narrative inquiry
research study which explored experiences of instructors using Blackboard Learn
in traditional face-to-face courses (Washington, 2017). The findings, based on the original
Blackboard Learn platform might assist instructors with course design,
development, and delivery for face-to-face, online, blended, and hybrid
courses.
Communication and Interaction emerged as a theme related to
communication, collaboration, and interaction outside the face-to-face
classroom environment. The Announcements
feature was considered a feature for instructors to communicate with students,
while Send Email was a communication
tool for instructors to connect with students and for students to connect with
the instructor and other students. The Discussion Board was considered a
collaboration, communication, and assessment tool. Although blogs, wikis, and
groups were also considered interaction and collaboration tools, few
participants used them.
Posting
announcements and sending email messages within Blackboard Learn were therefore
the most popular tools used by participants in the study (Washington, 2017).
Participants identified the Announcements and Send Email tools as being ideal
ways for instructors to communicate with students. Instructors reported posting
announcements for general reminders of due dates for assignments, projects,
tests, and exams; for changes to the syllabus and content; and for ongoing
communications outside the face-to-face classroom. Participant P2 posted announcements as mostly
communications for the entire class.
When needed, participant P2 used the Send Email tool outside
announcements to send supporting information, such as attachments. Participant P7 posted announcements to give
students information about supplemental instruction and other tutoring
opportunities and a grade calculator so students could figure out where they
stood in the class. Participant P10
changed from mainly communicating through only email using the Send Email tool to posting more
information through Announcements
after hearing from students about the best way to communicate. P10 stated, “If it’s a class thing, I put up
the announcement and mark send it [email] to everybody. So then, if they [students] don't get the email,
they can see the announcement.”
Most
participants required students to participate in discussion boards after
reading required chapters from the textbook and other sources. Participant P17
set up small group discussion boards to support and expand what students
learned in class each week. Participant P9 used discussion boards within groups
to engage the students in conversations (debates). Participant P3 used the
discussion board to post information for clarification from the reading
material before students took quizzes. Participant P2 believed “A true virtual
discussion is interactive.” Participant P2 used discussion boards for small
group discussions but opened it up to the entire class in cases where some
wanted to read all the posts from all the students. Participant P10 used
discussion boards to flip the classroom and check student learning. Students
watched videos on Fridays and then used the discussion forum to discuss some of
the major points from the videos. Although the discussion board feature was
mainly used for collaboration and interaction, some participants mentioned
using them to share information with students. Students posted questions and
the instructor responded through discussion board threads so all students would
see questions and answers about the course and course readings, assignments,
and tests.
In addition to
the Announcements, Send Email, and Discussion Board tools, blogs and wikis are also
incorporated into LMS’s such as Blackboard Learn. Blogs and wikis are set up by
instructors for students to create, share, and collaborate online, anytime, and
anywhere. However, only a small percentage of the participants in the present
study used blogs and wikis to extend interaction and collaboration outside the
classroom, despite the availability of these useful interactive features. For
one example, Participant P9 used groups for blogs. The number of students
varied per group and the group membership assignment was random. Within each
group, students collectively wrote a blog about some major disaster, something
recent or historical but something that did not really fit into the lectures.
Then, students posted comments to each group to evaluate their blog entries. Another participant used an ungraded wiki for
student interactions: “My students have wikis where they can get to know the
other students and post comments. I don’t use the wiki for any sort of content
or course material related work at all. So, this is really just a personal who’s who in the class opportunity.”
In summary, the
use of communication, interaction, and collaboration tools in Blackboard Learn can
provide a connecting thread to what happens in face-to-face classroom environments,
both in terms of reinforcing important material and in developing a sense of
community. In addition to the findings
in the current study, Walker, Lindner, Murphrey, and Dooley (2016), and Lento
(2016) also found that announcements, email, and discussion boards are still
the most frequently used communication and collaboration tools for student
interactions with the instructor, the content, and other students. While the use of wikis and blogs to enhance
the learning experience remains limited, Almarashdeh (2016) and Walker, et al. (2016)
found that they not only extended learning outside the face-to-face classroom
but also enriched the teaching and learning process through their ability to
stimulate student engagement.
References:
Almarashdeh, I.
(2016). Sharing instructors experience of learning management system: A
technology perspective of user satisfaction in distance learning course. Computers in Human Behavior, 63,
249-255. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2016.05.013
Lento, C.
(2016). Promoting active learning in introductory financial accounting through
the flipped classroom design. Journal of
Applied Research in Higher Education, 8(1), 72-87. doi:10.1108/JARHE-01-2015-0005
Walker, D. S.,
Lindner, J. R., Murphrey, T. P., & Dooley, K. (2016). Learning management
system usage: Perspectives from university instructors. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 17(2), 41-50. Retrieved
from http://www.infoagepub.com/quarterly-review-of-distance-education.html
Washington, G. Y. (2017). Learning management systems in traditional
face-to-face courses: A narrative inquiry study (10639584) (Doctoral
dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global.
(10639584)
Cite this blog:
Washington, G. (2020, June 30). Blackboard Learn: Communication
and Interaction [Blog post]. Retrieved
from https://pedagogybeforetechnology.blogspot.com/
