Blackboard may not be the most efficient way for instructors to organize their classes.

Students enrolled in 2,150 course sections this semester have access to the online Blackboard system that NIU Information Technology Services (ITS) provides.

“In all we have about 1,110 enrolled instructors on Blackboard,” said Dan Ihm, of Information Services. “That includes professors, teaching assistants and graduate assistants.”

The online system provides students and teachers several ways to interact outside of the classroom. Professors can upload specific information about the course, important contact information, assignments, give tests or quizzes and post urgent announcements.

Blackboard also serves as a point of communication outside the classroom with discussion boards and messaging services, as well as external links for information not discussed in class.

Any faculty member or student with an NIU AccountID has access to Blackboard.

Psychology professor Phil Krasula has been using Blackboard for four years.

“I have four sections offered on Blackboard this semester,” Krasula said. “I find it is comprehensive and easy for both the student and the instructor to use.”

Anne Britt, also a psychology professor, is one of the professors that has chosen not to use Blackboard and instead uses a course Web site.

“It takes about 10 clicks to upload a grade for one assignment on Blackboard,” Britt said. “On a Web site, I can upload an entire Excel spreadsheet faster, so I find the course Web site much more convenient.”

Britt added that a Web site and Blackboard have the same functionality.

“I used Blackboard for one semester, and I found that I can do most of the same functions with a Web site,” Britt said. “Now that I can use MyNIU to e-mail students, there really isn’t anything Blackboard offers that I don’t have.”

Krasula agrees that Blackboard does put extra work on teachers.

“I take approximately 10 extra hours a week to upload information to Blackboard for my three classes this semester,” Krasula said. “But some students have different learning styles that Blackboard can address, so it is worth it.”