Blackboard is the University of Bristol's centrally supported online learning environment. It has a range of tools for communication, collaboration, assessment and content management, as well as providing an online space for activities to support student learning and. In 2011-12 spaces for social or non-teaching activities were introduced called organisations. Blackboard is an example of a virtual learning environment or VLE:
"...a 'Virtual Learning Environment' (VLE) [is] designed to act as a focus for students' learning activities and their management and facilitation, along with the provision of content and resources required to help make the activities successful." [1]
In 2009 we invested in two additional elements of Blackboard, the Content System and the Community System.
Each Summer Blackboard is upgraded in order to add new features, enhance existing functionality and fix bugs and issues.
Information on summer 2013 Blackboard upgrade.
"The benefits [of using Blackboard ] are independence of location, one point of access, peer and tutor communication, self-paced learning, and informed learning..." [2]
Many of the examples of best practice in technology-enhanced learning on this web site use the suite of tools available in the Blackboard OLE, eg:
References
[1] Styles, 2000, Effective Learning and the Virtual Learning Environment, http://www.staffs.ac.uk/cital/poznan.html, accessed 4/11/2010.
[2] Feedback from a University of Bristol Masters student, October 2010.