Blackboard Discussion Research Articles

A mixed methods evaluation of online discussion tools in higher education

We present a mixed methods comparative assessment of three online discussion tools widely used in higher education. We combine different data types (quantitative, qualitative) and sources (usage data, survey responses) to assess Piazza, Padlet, and Blackboard discussion boards. We highlight and discuss the differences between, and relative merits of, the tools and report the preferences of students on a large introductory Economics unit for them. We summarise lessons learnt from using the tools and make recommendations to engender greater student engagement with online discussion spaces.

Evaluating the blackboard technology's influence on English for specific purpose education: Using technology to teach English

This study examines the impact of Blackboard technology on the learning of English for Specific Purposes (ESP) among students and teachers in public universities in Saudi Arabia. Blackboard is a popular online platform for teaching ESP because it is easy to use and accessible and provides affordable e-learning with interactive activities and a variety of educational materials. The research uses both qualitative and quantitative methods to examine how students and teachers view Blackboard. A 5-point scale survey was administered to 114 students (60 males and 54 females) to determine how often they use Blackboard for ESP instruction. In addition, interviews were conducted with six male and five female teachers to evaluate Blackboard's effectiveness in academics and its influence on students' learning and memory. The study focused on four main areas: how often Blackboard is used by different age groups and genders, students' opinions about Blackboard, and teachers' opinions about using Blackboard for discussion. The results show that ESP students enjoy using Blackboard discussions and find them somewhat engaging and motivating. Blackboard helps with learning and communication both in and out of the classroom. The study also found that students prefer to learn in both English and their native language, while teachers believe that using the native language could slow down English learning. This research highlights the positive effects of Blackboard on ESP learning, overcoming age differences, and shows its value in education, suggesting it as a useful tool for educational institutions and policymakers to improve education and student-teacher interactions. It also points to the need for the right technological tools to meet students' needs.

Enhancing Cultural Consciousness

Student engagement and empowerment promote active, first-person conversations with national and international scholars and artists through virtual presentations. The process discussed below establishes a procedure for student-directed learning and empowerment. This process can be applied to any publications, internet resources, videos, YouTube conversations, and so much more to develop multinarrative and multicultural learning opportunities. Active learning is evident in student reflections that were collected throughout the Fall 2020 semester. By accepting this process of empowering students through active, authentic learning, changes to the syllabus, curricula, and pedagogy had to be made. There is excitement about the potentiality presented by future students as they engage in a similar process of the analysis of chapters, ongoing Blackboard discussions, and how they approach encounters with scholars and artists through a virtual medium.

Using Flipgrid Discussions to Increase School Counseling Students’ Cultural Competence in the Online Classroom

This pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental design study investigated the use of Flipgrid to increase school counseling students’ cultural competence, which was measured by the Global Perspectives Inventory (GPI). Student participants in the experimental group utilized Flipgrid to engage in cultural discussions while participants in the control group utilized Blackboard discussion boards. An independent samples and paired-samples t-test were used to analyze the participants’ scores in the experimental and control groups. The statistically significant findings of the paired samples t-test suggest the effectiveness of utilizing Flipgrid in order to increase students’ cultural competence in the online learning environment. The study’s implications for teaching and research are discussed.

A Theoretical Analysis of Factors Influencing the Decision of Faculty to Use Educational Technologies in the Context of Institutions of Higher Education

In this paper we study factors influencing faculty’s decision to use educational technologies to support their pedagogical strategies. We briefly describe educational technologies commonly used by faculty to support teaching such as emails, video conferences, chat rooms, video lectures, blackboard discussions and Power Point Presentations for example. We explain in detail faculty factors (i.e., gender, age and cultural background), student factors (i.e., academic performance and gender) and contextual factors (i.e., classroom size, institutional support, course subject, and time constraints) as influential factors in using educational technologies by the faculty to support teaching. The paper findings suggest that the factors under study do influence the faculty decision to use educational technologies to support teaching, however, there are certain strategies education institutions can rely upon in order to overcome the barriers that discourage the faculty to fully integrate technology into their pedagogical strategies.

A Theoretical Analysis of Factors Influencing Students Decision to Use Learning Technologies in the Context of Institutions of Higher Education

This paper studies factors influencing student’s decision to use technology to support their learning. The paper describes all those technological options available for students to support learning such as emails, chat rooms, video lectures, blackboard discussions and Power Point Presentations, for example. Then, the paper explains in detail student factors influencing the decision of students whether to use or not to use learning technologies for learning purposes. The paper findings suggest that the factors under study do influence students´ decisions to opt for technology support and means to learn at school. Overall, the pros are much stronger than cons of using technology for learning purposes and that there are certain strategic actions an educational institution can undertake to influence students´ decisions to use all the technological advances and options available for them at school.

Adding to the mix: Students use of Facebook groups and blackboard discussion forums in higher education

This paper reports on a case study of the use of Facebook in learning and teaching in higher education. Facebook was used as a venue for online discussion to support the existing Learning Management System (in this case Blackboard) in the unit Internet Collaboration and Organisation as part of the Internet Communications degree taught fully online through Open Universities Australia (OUA). Students’ posts to both Facebook and the Blackboard discussion forum were analysed for content, length, and when throughout the study period they were posted. This is significant as much of the previous work in this area has relied on students self-reporting, rather than direct observation of student behaviour. These results were then compared to earlier instances of the same unit that ran within the previous twelve months, one fully online with OUA only using the Blackboard discussion group, and a second taught at Curtin University with both blended learning for students at the University’s Bentley campus as well as fully online for external students, that utilised both Blackboard and Facebook. The results show that Facebook greatly increases the level of student activity in online discussions, both absolutely and in the level of sustained activity across the unit’s study period. Facebook groups also had a different pattern of content from Blackboard. In Blackboard discussion is more focused on the set unit learning content, in Facebook students were using the groups to discuss administration and assignments and also bring in additional material from outside the units set learning materials. Facebook posts, while more sustained over the semester, were shorter in length. This study found that the addition of a Facebook discussion forum does not noticeably impact on the use of Blackboard’s discussion forum, but rather adds a new dimension to the mix of online interaction. The paper concludes that there is value in using both of these forums for student interaction, but unit design needs to take into account the different affordances of each to maximise their utility.

Connecting intentional learning and cardiac specialty practice: The experiences of bachelor of science in nursing students

Internationally pre-registration education programs have ranged from entirely specialist to entirely generalist with varying degrees of specialty preparation in between. Students in generalist programs with specialty practice options may benefit from novel pedagogical approaches, such as intentional learning, to ease the transition from generalist to specialist practice. The purpose of this qualitative descriptive study was to understand undergraduate students’ experiences of intentional learning in a 4-week consolidated cardiac specialty practicum. Eight students (7 females, 1 male) participated in a combination of weekly Blackboard discussions and an end-of-practicum focus group and completed a competency self-rating. Students had marred expectations about the integration of intentional learning in their specialty practice experience. They reflected advantages and disadvantages of both intentional and total patient care learning models but worked with their instructor to find the right balance that maximized learning. Students identified features that maximized intentional learning including open-ended questions, using learning versus workspaces, receiving feedback, and integrating peer interaction. Despite advancing their confidence and competence in specialty practice students remained anxious about their ability to assume the role of the graduate nurse in a years’ time. Preparing a generalist nurse for the workforce needs to be balanced with meeting students’ needs and increasing professional demands for specialty experiences in undergraduate nurse education programs.

Time, Space, and Dialogue in a Distance-Learning Class Discussion Board

The present study investigates the temporal elements affecting asynchronous discussion board messages over a semester, ways in which time is contextualized in space and content, and students' spatio-temporal practices within fixed frames. The theoretical framework uses Lefebvre's rhythmanalysis, Bakhtin's chronotope, and Erickson's chronos and kairos. In total, 322 messages were collected from Blackboard's discussion board written by graduate students. The research applies basic descriptive statistics to analyze time and space. A modified version of Garrison et al's Practical Inquiry Model examines the content's higher-order thinking. Results show that time is non-linear and space is two-dimensionally linear. The mean life of threads lasts 8.2 days and peaks at 4.3 days. Students prefer unidirectional interaction (message–reply), the secondary message being lower-level thinking than the initial post. The optimal spatial spread is 400 words and kairic placement is just before the deadline. ‘Temporal zones' are clustered before, on, and after the deadline, following a low peak–valley–high peak format. Students manipulate fixed chronological time according to their kairic convenience (Gestalt proximity perception). Time lags and their frequency are inconsequential, as electronic time is perceived as continuous. Finally, pedagogical recommendations include detailed structural and spatio-temporal parameters for instructors or facilitators.

A Reflection on a Cross-Cultural Internship for International Students Studying Outside their Homeland

Abstract Using internship experiences to instruct international students in the acquisition of improved knowledge, skills, and attitudes relating to individuals with disabilities in developing nations is one approach to increase the possibility that individuals with disabilities are provided equitable education. An Associate's Degree Program provided by The Catholic University of America in Belgium for students from developing countries was designed to accomplish these goals. This investigation examines the components of the internship that contributed to students' transformations, which were monitored through collaborative Blackboard discussions, mentor comments, film clips, and collaborative class discussions. Findings reflect positive increases toward professional and personal dispositions.

Negotiating What's at Stake in Informal Writing in the Writing Center

► Because of expanded audience, students are anxious about digital composition. ► Students use writing centers to negotiate expectations for digital composition. ► Web 2.0 assignments require writing centers to evolve their pedagogy. How do students learn expectations for “informal” online composition? This article details the results of a qualitative study that examines how students and writing consultants negotiate and define writing conventions for “low-stakes,” digital composition: that is, writing assignments that are composed for Blackboard discussion forums and receive only completion grades. Study results are based on both a survey of student experiences with digital composition and a writing center consultation case study at a large, southeastern, RU/VH university. Student anxiety about digital composition and classroom instruction have contributed to writing centers’ status as space for students to work out their fears and questions about new media. This study reports on how digital composition in writing classes has impacted the ways in which writing centers must address issues of audience, consider new methods for invention, and contend with a renewed focus on grammatical correctness. The article presents suggested pedagogy for emerging digital composition and poses questions to those in computers and composition about how we might best approach classroom instruction as digital composition genres evolve.

Constructions of Race Among Religiously Conservative College Students

The “Whites as victims” motif in conversations about race has been well documented in recent decades. When discussing affirmative action hiring policies, a common belief expressed by Whites is that people of color have been permitted to progress unfairly at the expense of harder working Whites. Whites using this discourse see themselves as victims of a political process that ignores individual responsibility and caters to people of color who are not willing to work toward their own success. Using students’ Blackboard discussion forum postings, the author analyzes ideas about race expressed by students in education classes at a small denominational Christian college in the northeastern United States, and compares these students’ constructions of race to those analyzed in previous research using Whites as subjects in both religious and non-religious settings. The author argues that these students do not differ in their constructions of race and racism from other Whites in non-religious settings. Further, with more complete education and intentional conversation about the history of racism in the United States, these students are able to incorporate understandings of deeper structural causes of racial inequality.

Teachers as CALL Learners: Perceptual Shifts on Technology in a CALL Class

In response to the challenge of introducing computer technology into classroom settings, TESOL programs have offered CALL courses to prepare preservice or inservice teachers to use technology in their teaching. The purpose of the study is to examine how Korean English teachers come to have a better understanding of multiple roles of CALL in a graduate CALL course. The qualitative case study investigates English teachers’ changing perspectives on CALL in a CALL course which combines theory and practice. This study thus features teacher discourse from 6 teacher participants over a 16-week semester. Communication in the class consisted of in-class oral reports, web-based blackboard discussion, and online chat. All classroom interaction was gathered and analyzed for the purpose of examining teachers’ emerging understandings of CALL and the role it can play in their teaching and learning. Changes in teachers’ perceptions of CALL are presented as a set of three conceptual continua - that is, a shift from machine to users, a shift from control to empowerment, and a shift from product to process. The participants’ evolving attitudes about CALL illuminate the salient aspects of their CALL preparation, followed by implications with a particular focus on the design of CALL teacher preparation.

Peer Feedback in a Large Undergraduate Blended Course: Perceptions of Value and Learning

This study examined students' perceptions of peer feedback and learning in a large, undergraduate course that incorporated supplementary online discussions. Peer feedback (PF) was facilitated via an automated rating system, within Blackboard discussion forums, for half of the students enrolled in the course. Following the peer feedback process, students in the PF group perceived higher levels of confidence and comfort for posting and responding in online discussions than students who did not receive peer feedback. A significant difference was noted on perceptions of confidence for contributing relevant ideas to the discussions, with the PF students expressing higher levels of confidence, yet not all students perceived benefits to their learning. Implications for the implementation of peer feedback in online and blended courses are provided.

Critical Thinking Among RN-to-BSN Distance Students Participating in Human Patient Simulation

Simulation is a strategy increasingly being used to promote critical thinking skills among baccalaureate nursing (BSN) students. It has been used to a limited extent with RN-to-BSN students, many of whom take their educational program through distance delivery. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand the critical thinking of distance RN-to-BSN students who participated in a simulation designed with interactive questions. Students taking the program, either by live televised broadcast (educational television [ETV]) or by online instruction, participated in the simulation. The ETV student simulation was facilitated from a broadcast studio by faculty, whereas Internet students completed the simulation by DVD. Postsimulation students participated in debriefing sessions, which were audiotaped by ETV students and completed by Internet students using a Blackboard discussion board. Data were analyzed using Scheffer and Rubenfeld's conceptualization of critical thinking. Findings revealed that simulation used by distance delivery cultivated critical thinking in RN-to-BSN students.

Building International Partnerships Through an On-Line Humor Exchange

The Maine/Komi Online Collaborative (MKOC) provides an online learning tool for high school students in Franklin County, Maine, and Komi, Russia. The tool, or "Humor Exchange," teaches students to use positive humor to manage stress and provide social support. Rural, disadvantaged students also become more competitive to enter college due to the language and multicultural experiences. Students utilize Blackboard's Discussion Forum and videoconferencing. Art and theater are integral components of this tool. The majority of students report that the tool is "fun" and that they have learned humorous ways to deal with stress, provide social support, and experience another culture. The videoconferencing has proven to be a unique and exciting way to communicate. This tool promotes social well-being among two countries that have been adversaries. It has mobilized social change by including the community, namely, rural high school students, where it is difficult to obtain multicultural experiences.

The nature, reception, and use of online peer feedback in higher education

This article focuses on the use of online interactive peer feedback in higher education and identifies the successful uptake of feedback as an important aspect. We investigate the link between the nature of students’ feedback, the way it is evaluated by the receiver, and its consecutive use for the revision of students’ products. Two separate studies were conducted to investigate the link between these three variables across different educational contexts and tools. Both studies showed a significant relationship between feedback containing concrete suggestions and a successful uptake of the feedback. Regarding the different tools that were used, these concrete suggestions were more often produced in the Annotation system than in the Blackboard discussion forum, the latter showing more evaluative forms of feedback. We also found significant relationships between elements of both the nature and the reception of feedback on the one hand, and the use of this feedback by the receiver on the other hand.

Evolutionary Medicine: A Graduate‐Level Seminar Course

Evolutionary medicine serves as an exciting intersection for the two disciplines of evolution and medicine. It provides for more than just a new perspective on the diseases of man and other animals. From an educational perspective, it makes the subject of evolution both interesting and relevant. With this in mind, a one‐credit graduate‐level seminar course was created at the Georgetown University School of Medicine. The course consisted of weekly sessions that were designed around hypothetical clinical cases prepared by the course director. The clinical cases covered a range of human health problems and while most were written with a current‐day context, a couple cases had an historic context and the final case had a futuristic one. Each student was randomly assigned a case and seminar date during which s/he served as the “Darwinian Doctor of the Day” (DDD). Each session began with the DDD reading the clinical case followed by a roundtable discussion of its evolutionary insights. The DDD then led a detailed presentation on the proximate cause of the disease as well as the evolutionary milestones that helped explain why the disease occurs in humans at all. Each session finished with the DDD handing out an Insight Article (IA) chosen from the scientific or clinical literature that was relevant to the case. The course director then posted a question based on the IA on the course's Blackboard Discussion site and to which each student was required to respond by the next session. The students were graded based upon attendance, participation, their DDD presentation, their timely IA responses, and a mandatory term paper. Student feedback at the end of the course was overwhelmingly supportive indicating that it provided a fascinating perspective on human health and disease.

A Report on On-Line Discussions in an Upper-Level Spanish Literature Class

The use of on-line Blackboard discussions in an upper-level Spanish literature class resulted in greater student participation and greater independent thinking among groups. Student and instructor satisfaction with the activity was high and in spite of some minor drawbacks, the discussions were generally successful.

Using online collaborative learning to enhance information literacy delivery in a Level 1 module:

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to encourage Sport & Exercise Level 1 students to use the discussion board facility in the Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) in order to engage them in online collaborative learning of This was achieved by using notions of scaffolding, reflection and situated learning in delivering the information literacy (IL) elements of the programme. Delivery of the programme was carried out in a blended fashion (a mix of face-to-face and online interventions). The study is part of a PhD pilot study and a Learning & Teaching Fellowship project undertaken by the main author. Methodology: This was a quasi-experimental design using both qualitative and quantitative strategies. Qualitative data was gathered via: capturing student postings and examining their content; a questionnaire administered at the end of the module and from Focus Group responses. Quantitative data was gathered via pre and post delivery tests and by calculating numbers of postings and time taken by students to make initial postings. Findings: This paper indicates that it is possible to engage students in even the most detailed aspects of IL (for example, breaking down a URL as a criterion for evaluating a web site or where to place commas in a reference) if the appropriate tasks (involving active hands on, collaborative working), settings (within a subject based module during a timetabled session) and assessments (task based with some form of evaluation and reflection) are used. Discussion board output captured via VLE provides a rich insight into what students learn as they tackle IL online activities. From the tutors’ perspective the process of iteration used in the evaluation activities was successful and was an unanticipated outcome of the delivery. It can be seen that by seeding online discussions with student comments ‘moments of iteration’ were provided which enabled IL learning to be articulated in increasing detail. Practical implications: We feel that the study shows that IL programmes underpinned with a productive collaborative relationship between support services and faculty is central to successful delivery. Scaffolded learning has two benefits: as a successful pedagogical technique within online collaborative learning (OCL) and as a mechanism for realising the iterative process within IL itself. A new process map showing how to structure this within the Blackboard discussion board facility is put forward for the purposes of improving future delivery and providing the basis for further research. However, the research also revealed that more work is required both in terms of courseware development and in articulating more robust techniques for analysing discussion content. Originality: Providing learning opportunities via means of online collaborative learning to level 1 Sport & Exercise students is a novel approach to the delivery of IL in the university sector.