2008 Woodie Awards
Revamp
Much-needed Blackboard changes finally made
Issue date: 10/12/07 Section: Voices
- Page 1 of 1
Blackboard got a makeover this week.
Starting Tuesday, officials began purging data from the Web site, erasing years' worth of info.
It's about time.
Blackboard is a great tool for students and professors. It's become an integral part of some classes, and recent upgrades have included some pretty cool features.
But having to wade through old grades and class schedules is neither fun nor convenient for anyone.
Yet, that's exactly what students have had to deal with for the past two years, as more and more data has accumulated on the Web site.
In fact, in a recent Central Michigan Life article, officials said the system hasn't been cleaned out since 2005.
Now that the site is getting a new slate, students no longer will have to deal with the frustrating process of trying to filter through records they no longer need.
Even better, officials said the purges will become part of routine maintenance each semester.
This makes sense. Officials themselves said more and more classes are using the program.
But cleaning out Blackboard may just be the first step to making the system easier.
Recently, logging in to Blackboard and e-mail has become more complicated.
To get to these two programs, students have to log in twice. While the extra step isn't hard, it can be annoying.
Officials have acknowledged the issue, caused by new additions called "building blocks," but have set no deadline to correct it.
Once the updates are done, this problem needs to be addressed.
When officials rolled out the new portal system a year ago, they touted the fact that the secure Web site would only require one log in for various functions.
The Blackboard clean-up has been long overdue.
Hopefully, it's only one of the steps administrators will take to make the system the most effective for the university community.
Starting Tuesday, officials began purging data from the Web site, erasing years' worth of info.
It's about time.
Blackboard is a great tool for students and professors. It's become an integral part of some classes, and recent upgrades have included some pretty cool features.
But having to wade through old grades and class schedules is neither fun nor convenient for anyone.
Yet, that's exactly what students have had to deal with for the past two years, as more and more data has accumulated on the Web site.
In fact, in a recent Central Michigan Life article, officials said the system hasn't been cleaned out since 2005.
Now that the site is getting a new slate, students no longer will have to deal with the frustrating process of trying to filter through records they no longer need.
Even better, officials said the purges will become part of routine maintenance each semester.
This makes sense. Officials themselves said more and more classes are using the program.
But cleaning out Blackboard may just be the first step to making the system easier.
Recently, logging in to Blackboard and e-mail has become more complicated.
To get to these two programs, students have to log in twice. While the extra step isn't hard, it can be annoying.
Officials have acknowledged the issue, caused by new additions called "building blocks," but have set no deadline to correct it.
Once the updates are done, this problem needs to be addressed.
When officials rolled out the new portal system a year ago, they touted the fact that the secure Web site would only require one log in for various functions.
The Blackboard clean-up has been long overdue.
Hopefully, it's only one of the steps administrators will take to make the system the most effective for the university community.
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