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Emerging Technologies Staff Development Tuesday 11th October – BlackBoard 9.1 goes Mobile
BlackBoard Mobile Learn and smart technology and devices
This interactive session will look at devices and the introduction of BlackBoard Mobile Learn. The past 12 months have seen a real step change in the market for mobile devices. It is estimated that one iPad is currently sold every 2 seconds and Amazon has reached a milestone where digital sales outstrip those of hardbacks. We are now seeing a growing uptake of iPads (and similar), eReaders and smart-phones in higher education on the basis that they are easy and intuitive to use, and that it is what students expect.
This 1 hour lunchtime session aims to look at the use of devices and BlackBoard Mobile Learn. As well as providing an opportunity for participants to exchange experiences about smart technology and discuss developments in using them with students, there will be a chance to see Mobile Learn on a mobile device.
Book on to this session by emailing Staff Development
Thanks
Rachel, Meg and Carol
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Learning Edge goes mobile!
We are pleased to announce some exciting news … Learning Edge (Blackboard 9.1) has an app!
The Blackboard Mobile Learn app can be accessed by anyone with a smartphone or tablet device (iPhone, iPod, iPad, Blackberry, Android) for easy and convenient access to courses and collaboration and communication tools whilst on the go. The app gives you mobile ‘friendly’ access to your course dashboard, announcements, assignments, grades, discussions and handouts. You’ll also be able to contribute to and comment on discussion and blog posts, and staff will be able to update announcements and journals and create new discussion threads.
This is a timely development for EHU as our 3rd annual Students eLearning Survey (January 2011) revealed that many of our students currently use their mobile phones to access and share information about their courses. They told us that they wanted to access Blackboard in this way too. We anticipate student use of Blackboard Mobile via the app will really take off. There are a couple of reasons for this – firstly, national data from Ofcom suggests that smartphone ownership in the UK is growing at a rate of 70% a year, with about 45% of 16-24 year olds now having internet-enabled phones. Secondly, thanks to Google Analytics, we know that people are already accessing Blackboard 9.1 from their mobile devices.
August is traditionally our quietest month and yet we we had 598 visits to the Blackboard 9.1 site from mobile devices. This is amazing as 9.1 is not optimised for mobile use. The graph below shows the breakdown of the devices used:
As you can see, the operating systems most used were iPod/iPhone/iPad, Android and Blackberry. Our Mobile Learn app is available for all of these devices.
You can download the app and start using it now by following these four simple steps:
1. Search for “Blackboard Mobile Learn” in your app store.
2. Once the app is installed, search for Edge Hill University using the search bar that automatically appears when you open the app.
3. Select Edge Hill University.
4. Log in using the same username and password you normally use to access Learning Edge.You can find installation guides and helpful FAQs about Mobile Learn here –
Apple users click here
Android users click here
Blackberry users click here
Setting your Mobile Learn course notificationsThe Learning Technology Development team will be offering some awareness-raising sessions throughout the coming semester for staff wanting to know more about developing mobile ‘friendly’ courses in Learning Edge, but if you would like to start sooner, contact us to find out more by emailing [email protected]
Katherine Richardson
LTD Operations Co-ordinator
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Where can I find help, support and training for Learning Edge?
As many staff will be aware, we’re in the process of moving over to ‘Learning Edge’ (Blackboard 9.1). Many of our academic teams have already received training on the new system as part of the ‘systems migration’ and we are arranging additional sessions in consultation with each faculty. Please contact your faculty champions for more details of these sessions.
For those colleagues within support services, keep an eye on the staff development wiki for opportunities to attend training sessions on the new system. In the meantime, if you have any specific queries or need immediate support please contact the Learning Technology Development team at [email protected] – we’re always on hand to help.
There are many resources available to support you on the Learning Services wiki which can be accessed here: https://go.edgehill.ac.uk/wiki/display/ls/ under ‘How do I…? Use Technology Enhanced Learning
Training guides for Blackboard 9.1 can be found here, as well as a wealth of other information around technology enhanced learning. If you would like support with a technology and can’t find a resource there, please contact us on the above email and let us know what you would like to see!
Peter Beaumont
