Morehead State University
Using Blackboard Collaborate to Teach Students across the State of Kentucky
Institution
Morehead State University
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Sarah Hawkins-Lear
Abstract
Holly Wells, under the advisement of Dr. Sarah Hawkins-Lear from the department of Special Education at Morehead State University, conducted a research study to examine the effects of using Blackboard Collaborate to teach special education college courses to both undergraduate and graduate students across the state of Kentucky. Blackboard Collaborate is a seemingly new way to teach students using technology. Many colleges and universities use distant education where there is not any face to face interaction with students. With Blackboard Collaborate, the students participate in the class session during a synchronous meeting time, while on-line. With this type of instruction, students have the opportunity to participate in the course within their home or familiar setting. This poster presentation has implications for rural special education due to the delivery of content the professor is using to teach students in rural eastern Kentucky. Now, instead of students driving over 2 hours each way to take a course, they can participate in the course from the convenience of their homes. This also will be a positive factor when there are hazardous winter weather conditions and many students can’t make it to class. A survey was administered at midterm and will again be administered at the end of the semester to three undergraduate/graduate courses. The results from the midterm survey were positive. The majority of students like this type of instruction and ask for more courses to be offered in this format. This research study also will provide results from an end of the semester survey and data will be compiled across the semester. Not only can Blackboard Collaborate be used to deliver special education content material, but other disciplines can use the same delivery method to teach their specific content area.
Using Blackboard Collaborate to Teach Students across the State of Kentucky
Holly Wells, under the advisement of Dr. Sarah Hawkins-Lear from the department of Special Education at Morehead State University, conducted a research study to examine the effects of using Blackboard Collaborate to teach special education college courses to both undergraduate and graduate students across the state of Kentucky. Blackboard Collaborate is a seemingly new way to teach students using technology. Many colleges and universities use distant education where there is not any face to face interaction with students. With Blackboard Collaborate, the students participate in the class session during a synchronous meeting time, while on-line. With this type of instruction, students have the opportunity to participate in the course within their home or familiar setting. This poster presentation has implications for rural special education due to the delivery of content the professor is using to teach students in rural eastern Kentucky. Now, instead of students driving over 2 hours each way to take a course, they can participate in the course from the convenience of their homes. This also will be a positive factor when there are hazardous winter weather conditions and many students can’t make it to class. A survey was administered at midterm and will again be administered at the end of the semester to three undergraduate/graduate courses. The results from the midterm survey were positive. The majority of students like this type of instruction and ask for more courses to be offered in this format. This research study also will provide results from an end of the semester survey and data will be compiled across the semester. Not only can Blackboard Collaborate be used to deliver special education content material, but other disciplines can use the same delivery method to teach their specific content area.