Oswego State switched from using Angel to Blackboard in September 2015. Students and faculty alike were both reluctant and relieved over the change. Professors had been using Angel since 2007 to post grades, assignments and inform students about class news. While Blackboard does essentially the same things and satisfyingly, in my opinion the switch has caused problems between students and professors.
A number of professors will not adhere to using Blackboard, and instead distribute grades and assignments by hand or by request with emails. This method, while successful in the past, has proven inconvenient for both students and professors, in the tech-savvy society we have adopted.
With Blackboard, students are able to plan ahead accordingly by viewing assignments for classes either individually in detail, or all at once on the calendar provided by the website. It also allows students to contact professors with personal messages, and to view past assignments and keep up with their grades. While students have gotten used to the new site, and have had next-to-no choice about whether they log on and use it each day or not, some professors have opted out of using Blackboard.
For a number of classes, students are required to upload homeworks, papers, and participate in online discussion groups making logging into Blackboard a daily task. Blackboard makes most tasks easy to-do; from remembering to upload an assignment on time, to realizing you have another one due next class. However, when you have professors who don’t participate in the use of Blackboard, you’re more apt to forget something, whether extremely important or only a reminder of something, especially during the average college-student’s day packed with classes, work, eating and socializing.
Many students do not carry a planner of any sort writing important notes and reminders down on sticky notes randomly placed in books and on other papers, partly relying on seeing the notice on Blackboard later on. When a professor does not use blackboard, it puts another responsibility and/or stress on the students: remembering important dates phone notifications, emails, and texts are what most college students rely on in this day and age where technology often trumps hand-written anything.
It may be thought of as “sad” or “a disappointment” that students don’t use pens and papers as much as students in the early 2000’s did and it may be said that we are “stuck in our phones/technology,” it may be true, but with (generally) good reason. I am one who loves writing things down I use a planner, a dry-erase calendar, a notebook for important things and as a person who loves written things I prefer books instead of e-books, newspapers instead of facebook articles- but I also use my smartphone quite often as well. Sometimes, it’s just more convenient. Instead of carrying another notebook, I can use my phone. For others, it’s just what works best; when a professor says “look this up” you can’t really rely on a newspaper or an atlas to be nearby anymore, you have to use your phone/laptop.
An overwhelming number of professors do not use Blackboard, and it’s really an inconvenience to students. Students, perhaps surprisingly, do care about their grades and we can look them up with just a couple clicks on Blackboard. That is, grades of classes whose professors use it. Along with that, students can find themselves utterly confused and in need of help and are able to shoot a quick message to a professor using Blackboard’s messenger. Professors who do not use Blackboard often disregard the email notification informing them they have a blackboard message, leaving the student stumped and in trouble. If students are required to learn the new software and use it daily, the professors should have to as well.
