What is our primary use case?
In Saudi Arabia, it is the primary platform used by higher education institutions. All universities in the country utilize Blackboard as their main tool for delivering educational content and engaging with students. Our users, including students and faculty, rely on it for three main purposes: Course Delivery, Community Engagement, and Content Management. Students access the Blackboard system to obtain course materials and attend virtual classrooms through it. We have different colleges at our institution, such as the College of Computer Informatics and the College of Health Services. To cater to these distinct communities, my team and I have customized the Blackboard system to incorporate the concept of communities. It is also used for content management, allowing students to access and manage their course-related materials. To support these three main functions, we have integrated Blackboard with various external systems.
How has it helped my organization?
It is a comprehensive learning management system with fully integrated solutions. It encompasses various components, including course delivery modules, content management, community engagement features, digital classrooms, and mobile integration. Students can access their course content, and classes, and participate in Blackboard Collaborate using a mobile application, making it a versatile and complete support system. It serves as a crucial source of information. For example, tracking student attendance is vital due to legal and regulatory requirements. Having this attendance data is essential, and Blackboard facilitates this through Application Programming Interfaces.
What is most valuable?
Its success in serving educational institutions is attributed to its commitment to clear API documentation, frequent releases, strong customer engagement, roadmap communication, feedback mechanisms, database services, deployment mode flexibility, and comprehensive testing environments. These features collectively enhance the platform's value and reliability for both educational institutions and their users.
What needs improvement?
The system falls short in terms of managing assessments and exams effectively. Within Blackboard, exams are typically confined to the course level, and the existing features, while functional, are not as robust or flexible as those offered by specialized assessment solutions like ExamSoft. It is worth noting that AI integration is a significant trend in educational technology. As of the current release of Blackboard, AI has not been fully implemented within the platform. While Blackboard has partnered with Pyramid, there's room for improvement in terms of enhancing the integration and support they provide. It should invest more in marketing its data solutions and assisting customers in utilizing analytics effectively for decision-making, as data is a valuable asset for organizations today.
For how long have I used the solution?
I have been using it for ten years now.
What do I think about the stability of the solution?
Generally, it is a highly stable platform if there is proper planning and capacity scaling in line with the institution's growth. Stability may be compromised if the institution fails to consider future student numbers and does not upgrade the infrastructure to accommodate the increased demand.
What do I think about the scalability of the solution?
To achieve scalability, you need to expand it significantly.
How are customer service and support?
The customer support experience for various Blackboard products varies. In my experience with Blackboard Learn, I would rate its customer support experience as seven out of ten. The customer support experience for Blackboard Mobile is better, and I would rate it as eight out of ten. The customer support experience for Blackboard Collaborate is comparatively lower, and I would rate it as six out of ten. Blackboard Analytics for Learn has a lower rating, and I would rate it as two out of ten.
Which solution did I use previously and why did I switch?
I have experience with various learning management systems, including Moodle and Canvas, both of which have their unique characteristics. Moodle is an open-source platform available for anyone to use and customize as needed. On the other hand, Canvas is more limited in terms of customization for students, but I've worked with it from an administrative perspective.One notable distinction between Blackboard and other systems is that Blackboard is a closed-source platform. In contrast, open-source systems like Moodle allow for more flexibility and customization. If you wish to enhance a feature like the discussion board in Blackboard, you'd need to submit your idea to the product management team and wait for its implementation. In contrast, open-source systems permit users to make such enhancements themselves or have them developed, thereby offering more autonomy. Blackboard provides fully integrated solutions, encompassing several systems under the Blackboard umbrella.
What about the implementation team?
It offers three deployment modes: self-hosted, managed-hosted, and Software as a Service. For self-hosted, institutions host Blackboard on their own infrastructure. The institution's technical team is responsible for preparing the hardware and database. Blackboard experts may assist in the installation and configuration process. In the managed-hosted deployment, the institution owns the hardware infrastructure, typically located in a data center. Blackboard or a contracted provider is responsible for managing and maintaining the Blackboard service, including backups, performance monitoring, and security. This mode offers more hands-on support from the provider. With SaaS, Blackboard manages the entire service in the cloud. The institution doesn't need to worry about hardware or infrastructure. Blackboard handles upgrades and maintenance. SaaS operates under a service agreement that may differ from the managed-hosted model. The time it takes to install and configure depends on several factors. For self-hosted deployment, it relies on the institution's readiness and the skills of its technical team. The preparation process includes tasks like database creation, infrastructure setup, and network configuration. Typically, it may take around two weeks. In managed-hosted and SaaS deployments, the timeline may vary based on the specific agreement between Blackboard or the provider and the institution. While installation might be swift, the overall process could be subject to contractual terms.
What's my experience with pricing, setup cost, and licensing?
What other advice do I have?
When considering the adoption of Blackboard, it's essential to thoroughly evaluate the platform and align it with your institution's specific needs. The primary beneficiaries are students, instructors, and trainers. Careful planning, thorough evaluation, and collaboration with Blackboard representatives are key to making an informed decision about choosing Blackboard for your institution. It's important to align the platform with your institution's specific requirements and ensure that you have the necessary leadership and expertise to support the successful implementation of the system. I would rate it eight out of ten.
Disclosure: My company has a business relationship with this vendor other than being a customer. Integrator
