Learning Management System
[Blackboard Vista]

Emerging Technologies

Media & Web Development

Classroom Technology

E-Portfolios

What is a Learning Management System?
A Learning Management System (LMS) is, according to ASTD, American Society for Training and Development, “a centralized software application ... that facilitates and streamlines the process of designing, testing, approving, and posting ... content.” It uses Internet technologies to manage the course content and the interaction of learners and instructors.

An LMS does not ultimately change the way we learn, but it certainly changes the learning environment and the process in which we teach.

Learning Management Systems offer the following features:

• course material management, posting of announcements, external links and content release control
• communication tools such as message boards, chat and whiteboards
• productivity tools such as student drop box, student notes and student progress reviews
• online gradebooks
• automated assessment (testing and surveys)
• statistic tools to track students performance and progress

Wentworth and the Colleges of the Fenway are currently using the Blackboard learning management system. Please contact any member of L&D to find out more.  

See the following resources for more information on Learning Management Systems:
Evaluating an LMS
Success in Online Education

Wentworth Institute of Technology's Blackboard Vista Policies
In an effort to provide better communication and improved services to faculty using Blackboard in their instruction, the following policies will be implemented at the start of the fall 2006 term.

Course/Section Availability
Faculty courses/sections will be available from within Blackboard for one calendar year after the term's completion. For example, if you taught a course, ECON101 in the Fall 2008 term, this course will be available in Blackboard until the end of the Fall 2009 term. This will allow faculty to have this course available for reviewing, creating course manuals, etc.

Copying/Reusing Blackboard Courses
Faculty courses/sections can be copied into additional courses/sections so that course materials can be used from one term to the next. For example, if in the Spring 06 term, you taught MATH200 and wish to reuse this course material in the Spring '07 term, this can be done by requesting a "course copy" using the form at http://www.wit.edu/lts/Blackboard/copy.htm. This can be a terrific time saver for faculty who have already created and taught a course within Blackboard. Of course, necessary changes to your course materials should be made to reflect the new term, additional information, and new ideas (where applicable) to ensure the course is up to date.

Course Cartridges and E-Packs
Due to an overwhelming number of requests and limited staffing, we ask that all faculty follow the procedures set forth by your publisher for downloading course cartridges and e-packs that may be available to you. After downloading the appropriate files to your computer, please contact the DTS Help Desk to coordinate the installation of this material into your Blackboard course/section. Please note that we are currently using the Vista version of Blackboard.
Student Support for Blackboard

All student-related Blackboard problems and inquiries should be made through the DTS Help Desk by visiting Beatty 320, emailing helpdesk@wit.edu, or calling extension x4500.

Blackboard Sample Courses
A large number of faculty members at Wentworth have integrated Blackboard, our course management system, into their traditional classroom settings since last fall semester. These faculty members use it not only to deliver class material to students, but also–and perhaps more importantly–to foster collaboration and communication between students as well as between instructor and student.

The power of a course management system comes into play when student work is made part of the course material itself; when students create content not only for a grade and the instructor, but also for their peers. Students and their work become part of the holistic learning experience. The online environment is a vehicle that captures, facilitates and expands on this student work. The face-to-face classroom setting intensifies the sense of community and learning.

Some teachers fear that online learning may replace face-to-face learning. Faculty at Wentworth who have used Blackboard in the past, however, found that they can utilize their classroom time in a much more efficient and effective way, working with students who are better prepared and ask more in-depth questions. These results are not achieved simply by using Blackboard, but by using it in a thoughtful manner. It requires a closer look at how instructions and exercises are implemented, and often it becomes necessary to restructure or reformulate contents.

To take a look at some of the Blackboard sample courses visit http://www.webct.com/exemplary. It will give you an idea of how other instructors from various universities are utilizing Blackboard.

Simply remember that nothing is black or white. There is a huge gray scale of possibilities on how to integrate learning technologies. LTS is happy to work with you on this endeavor.

Using Respondus to Import Assessment Questions into Blackboard Vista 8
Respondus is a powerful program for creating and managing exams that can then be published directly to Blackboard Vista 8. Respondus does not offer any additional features; it streamlines and accelerates process of making a Blackboard quiz or test. Respondus is especially helpful when numerous questions need to be created or edited.

In Blackboard, the instructor enters the question title, the question and the answer using a web browser. To use Respondus, the instructor follows a basic and intuitive format to construct a quiz in MS Word. Most faculty members have found that they are already using something close to the format that Respondus requires, so they can do this with little or no tweaking. That Word document is then saved out as an RTF (Rich Text Format) document. This step is easily accomplished on almost any computer.

To import this RTF document into Blackboard, you will have to have Respondus installed on your PC, or you may use a machine in the Davis Center. A few more clicks and your questions will be imported into the Blackboard database.

You can then do all the things in the Blackboard Assessments tool that will more effectively engage your students, while eliminating all that time spent correcting the answers. If you wish, you can make a pool of questions, and Blackboard will select a number of them at random for each student; every student can take a different assessment. Please contact LTS to learn how to use Respondus to import questions into Blackboard quickly and easily.

Cristina Cosma – WebCT Experience at Wentworth

Amanda Hattaway – Teaching with WebCT

Patricia Boge Kendall – Managing Large Lecture Classes with WebCT

Paul Lazarovich – Using Course Management Systems

Pat Hafford – Course Management Systems Enhance the Learning Experience and Save Time

Elizabeth Gibb – WebCT from New Faculty Perspective

Ali Moazed – Respondus and WebCT

Rich Vannozzi – Attention Wentworth Myth Busters!

Blackboard Pedagogical Tips

Learning Management System | Podcast series

Training & Development | Blackboard Modules - self-containing units promoting on-demand learning for faculty members