Friday, November 2, 2001

Frustrated Blackboard Customers Form Independent Users' Group By JEFFREY R. YOUNG Indianapolis Some frustrated Blackboard users who say the company is too slow in responding to technical problems with its course-management software have formed an independent users' group to help one another and to press the company to improve. The group held its first meeting Monday at the annual conference of Educause, the academic-technology consortium, which took place here this week. Blackboard's software is used to create Web pages for courses. "We had some start-up problems [with the software] that we found other Blackboard users were able to help us with," said Stephen G. Landry, the chief information officer at Seton Hall University, who was one of the organizers of the user group. "But there didn't seem to be a forum that was national in scope." Some 30 people from about a dozen institutions attended the meeting. Several of them complained that their institutions have had technical difficulties with Blackboard software and that the company was often slow to respond. Many of the same users also said that they were happy with the company's product over all, however, and that they found it easy to train faculty members to use the software when it was working properly. "When you talk about Blackboard support [with colleagues who maintain the software], you always get a bit of a chuckle," Kathryn Gomm said in an interview after the meeting. Ms. Gomm is manager for training and customer support for dot.edu, a group that supports educational-technology efforts for the University of Wisconsin System. She said she was joining the user group to help encourage the company to improve its support. "They've had this problem for more than a year now," she added. Ms. Gomm said that when the university system first installed a new version of the company's software this fall, it would often freeze or crash when several people tried to visit course Web pages at the same time. Anthony F. Turrin, online-learning technology coordinator for the University of North Florida, said his institution has had similar problems. "They need to offer faster fixes," he said. "It's not the fact that they have bugs, it's how they're managing these issues with customers." Blackboard, like many companies, has a Product Advisory Board that meets a few times a year to provide feedback about its software. But members of that group are handpicked by the company, and people attending the meeting said they wanted to create an independent voice as well. One issue debated at the meeting was whether or not Blackboard should be allowed to have representatives participate in the user group's online and in-person discussions. Two Blackboard employees sat in on the first meeting, and the group tentatively decided that the company would be allowed to have representatives attend meetings and answer questions. Phyllis C. Self, vice provost for academic technology at Virginia Commonwealth University, is a member of both the advisory board and the independent user group. "I'm going to push as hard as I can" for the company to improve support, she said. "I really am an advocate for Blackboard ... they just need to get their act together." "There's too many faculty members depending on this working, and it's not working," she added. Blackboard officials said that they are pleased that the group has emerged. "I think it absolutely makes sense," Todd Gibby, general manager for course and portal solutions at Blackboard, said in an interview. He added that it is a "validation" of the company's importance to colleges. "We'll be responsive to it." "Candidly, this is one of the primary focuses for Blackboard," Mr. Gibby said. "We are really focusing on user support. That's an area we're really looking to improve." He said that the company was planning to hire more staff members to assist customers, and that it looks forward to hearing suggestions from the user group. Other companies offering course-management tools have also seen independent user groups emerge -- mainly as a way to share information and tips on how to use the software. Users of WebCT, another package of course-management software, have formed several regional user groups, said Michelle N. Lamberson, WebCT's manager of user-community relations. The new Blackboard user group will continue its discussions using an e-mail discussion list that was started by Arizona State University a year ago. Those who would like to join the group can send a message to ibugunc@shu.edu The group also plans to hold meetings at conferences as well. Background article from The Chronicle: Blackboard Lays Off 40 Workers (8/3/2001) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

Budget shortfall threatens plan to increase maximum Pell Grant, White House warns With state legislatures facing budget cuts, outlook for public colleges is grim Senate drops measure that could have widened stem-cell research Most college students support military response to terrorism, survey finds Senators' plan would expand AmeriCorps, add new education incentives for military service American medical schools brace for fight against bioterrorism NCAA slightly eases restrictions on basketball recruiting New Zealand ends ban against research on genetically modified organisms Frustrated with snail mail, college admissions offices turn to the Internet . Blackboard customers form independent users' group .