Blackboard Collaborate -- Great for teaching or being taught!
May 03, 2016
Blackboard Collaborate -- Great for teaching or being taught!
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with Blackboard Collaborate
I have used it both as a continuing education student, and as a site-manager for classes that my colleagues teach. Blackboard Collaborate makes it easy to connect students with professors and teaching assistants. As a student, the features make it easy for our professor to screen share, draw, and do presentations for us. On top of that, it is easy to work and coordinate with other students who are also using Collaborate.
- Collaborate makes it easy to share screens, presentations, and images in a digital classroom, which is essential when teaching difficult concepts to people who are not in the same room as the presenter.
- Collaborate even allows for small-group work WITHIN a larger group. Our teacher was able to break us out into smaller "rooms" for small discussions and presentation prep.
- The basic controls and modules are easy to learn and teach with presenters.
- Some of the more advanced features are difficult to use.
- Troubleshooting at home can be difficult--if it doesn't open for some reason, etc.
- I have been kicked off repeatedly before (although this might be more my own computer functionality, rather than the program).
- Sometimes there is a lag, causing the presenter's voice to need to catch up/speed up.
- Makes it easy for students with unusual schedules, or in other locations to participate.
- Recording classes is very helpful should the student have to miss classes or if someone has to miss a meeting but wants to catch up.
- Helps keep people up to date and is well known so most people have used it in some capacity before.
Blackboard collaborate offers so many more features that help make a presentation successful. It offers the option for people to speak or chat at specific times, therefore keeping interruptions at a minimum during classes, but still lets people "raise their hand" should something arise. Skype is much more basic seeming--it allows for chatting, and screen sharing, but I don't know what other features are available. Blackboard Collaborate is well known in education, and for good reason. Skype also tends to be down during busy times, restricting access and potentially postponing meetings.