This week I started taking a course as a participant – Advanced Online Teaching Skills and Techniques. I’ve been looking forward to taking this course as a participant and I’m glad I won’t be traveling much during the course. Although it is possible to post and participate while traveling, it really can be difficult – especially when you are trying to adjust your postings for time zones. One thing that I have found to be helpful when taking online courses is to set aside a specific time each day to participate. If you tell yourself “oh, I’ll get to it” and don’t schedule it, it’s quite possible you won’t get to it. For example, this course started for me on Wednesday. Today is Friday and I just posted in the discussion board for the first time this evening. Normally, I try to post much earlier but what can I say? Wednesday and Thursday were pretty hectic days for me and I didn’t get around to posting. I didn’t schedule myself a specific time to participate. I’ve done that now and feel much better knowing I have a schedule set up.

Evidently Blackboard Inc.and competitor Desire2Learnhave been in a legal battle for the last 18 months because Blackboard Inc. felt that Desire2Learn was “violating a patent on using a single login to access multiple online classes”.

The battle ended this past July 27 when a federal appeals court agreed with Desire2Learn that Blackboard’s patent was too broad. You can read the entire article here.

So what does this mean to educators and training? Some experts said “Blackboard’s initial patent might have prevented other companies from entering the market”. Blackboard has always been a powerhouse when it comes to Learning Management Systems.

Blackboard certainly has a presence in Delaware. I have used it as a student when I attended my undergrad and graduate colleges and currently use it as a teacher in the school district where I work. I am a huge fan of Blackboard. But there are certain things, the current Grade Book for example – the user interface (i.e. how you interact with the Grade Book) is just bleh (awful). 

I’d love to see more options, especially more affordable options, present themselves to schools because the most common comment I hear when speaking with colleagues is “that’s too expensive for our school district”.