New Features in Blackboard

New features have been made available in Blackboard in time for the beginning of the 2007/08 academic year. Using "building blocks" provided by Learning Objects Inc, iSolutions has added the following additional functionalities into the University of Southampton's Blackboard service.

students using iSolutions computers

Blogs

Web Logs, known as Blogs, provide a journal style format where course users may add date-based entries made up of text, which may also include pictures, or other files. Through their reflective nature, blogs are a useful technology for use within education.


an abstract way of illustrating search technology

Search

Blackboard allows users to search for material that has been added to their courses. As an instructor you may add a Search button to your course, making it easy for students to quickly search within your course.


photo of one of the Blackboard servers

New Features in Blackboard 7.1

Last year iSolutions upgraded Blackboard to version 7.1. This introduced a number of new features. If you're not aware of these, why not take a look? The Blackboard Team produced a series of podcasts about these new features which are still available to listen to online.


an abstract way of illustrating wiki technology

Wikis

Wikis allow for collaborative creation of content within your Blackboard course. A famous example of a wiki is the wikipedia. Through their collaborative nature, wikis are a useful technology for use within education.


an iSolutions UDE laptop with a usb microphone

Podcasts

While it has always been possible to add podcasts to your Blackboard course there is now an improved method available. You may also add a Podcasts index to your course and if you wish, allow students to subscribe to your podcasts using software such as I-Tunes. Documentation is also available detailing how to make your own podcasts.