Online tool has growing pains

This past Monday, students whose classes use Blackboard -- an online teaching tool used for purposes ranging from online quizzes to threaded discussions -- found themselves in a traffic jam. A virtual one, that is. According to Helen Anderson, senior director of Computing and Educational Technology Services, the University's Blackboard server --with its 340 registered courses and 6,800 student users -- found itself having to limit access Monday when the server received 64,000 hits, a 30 percent increase over its previous peak load day. This meant that students who tried to access Blackboard for course information, discussions or quizzes, could not complete their homework. The number of users of the platform has ballooned in this first official semester, and the University is scrambling to stay up to speed. Penn operates its own server to power and maintain all University Blackboard usage. For now, to accommodate the large number of users, a temporary server from Sun Microsystems has been installed. A permanent server for Blackboard is expected to arrive later this month. Blackboard was tested last fall in a pilot program with a small number of classes and then expanded somewhat in the spring. But this semester is the first when so many classes have taken advantage of the system. And currently, some of its users have mixed feelings about the new technology. "I probably put more demand on it than it's really designed for," Mathematics Department Chairman Dennis DeTurck said. "We found online grading incredibly tedious and slow," he added, noting that his problems may have been due to the large size of his Math 170 class. Since having problems with Blackboard, DeTurck moved much of his class material -- such as homework assignments -- onto his own personal Web site. He noted that his class continues to use the software's file-sharing function for group projects, a function he finds useful. Some teaching assistants for Economics 001 -- one of Penn's largest classes -- said the software enhanced their student's learning, while others felt it did little but stall it. "I can spend more time organizing my recitation sections," School of Arts and Sciences graduate student Yasuo Terajima said. He pointed out that since the online quizzes for the class were not graded by TAs, he could spend more time interacting with students. But Brandon Weber, another TA for the course, said the technical problems with the software distracted him from teaching. "It increases your time in a non-productive way," the fourth-year SAS graduate student said. "I could be spending [that] time with students." Anderson explained that this is the first time the platform is being so widely used at Penn but that now the server problems are solved, students will be able to benefit from this cutting-edge technology. "What I'm concerned about is if it's making learning faster," Anderson said. College of Arts and Sciences Dean Richard Beeman -- who uses the platform for his History 20 course -- admits that while he and his students have had some technical difficulties with Blackboard, he is in full support of the program. "It's a wonderful opportunity to extend learning outside of the classroom," Beeman said. He added that he considers himself an intensive user of the software, as he currently makes all course materials -- ranging from syllabi to course readings -- available through the site. Beeman noted, however, that after a number of his students were having trouble with the platform, he has begun to offer the materials in hard copy format as well. Blackboard is currently being used by 3,300 schools, colleges associations and companies nationwide and around the world.

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