What is Online Learning?

Online learning allows you to access interactive coursework without the need to be physically present in a classroom at a specific time. Through your computer and an Internet service provider (ISP) you can work on your coursework anywhere, anytime that is convenient to you.

Online learning is fully interactive. You'll be learning at your own pace and will be able to review the materials online as often as you need. In addition, you can interact with your instructor and classmates by sharing questions, thoughts and ideas through email, chat rooms and threaded discussions.
 
Online courses are similar to classroom courses. There will be a syllabus that leads you through the knowledge content needed to complete the course. In many online courses, you'll be asked to do exercises and solve problems either alone or in small groups. You'll have weekly assignments, and will generally be asked to complete projects, write papers, and/or take tests as a way for the instructors to assess your understanding of the material. And you'll be interacting with your classmates and instructors, just not face-to-face.

Blackboard Vista is a tool that facilitates the creation of sophisticated World Wide Web-based educational environments. It can be used to create entire on-line courses, or to simply publish materials that supplement existing courses.

Blackboard not only produces courses for the Web, but also uses Web browsers as the interface for the course-building environment. Aside from facilitating the organization of course material on the web, Blackboard also provides a wide variety of tools and features that can be added to a course. Examples of tools include a conferencing system, on-line chat, student progress tracking, group project organization, student self-evaluation, grade maintenance and distribution, access control, navigation tools, timed quizzes, electronic mail, automatic index generation, course content searches and much more.

Blackboard Vista is an easy-to-use environment for creating sophisticated Web-based courses that are otherwise beyond the ability of the non computer programmer.

Blackboard Vista, being a Web-based instructional resource, is platform independent. Students can access their Blackboard Vista course materials using a Web Browser such as Internet Explorer or Netscape from any computer connected to the Internet anywhere in the world.

ELearning (WebCT), was first used at Savannah State University in October 1997.