Monthly Archives: February 2010

by Helen Keier

But is this going to make my life easier?

I’m on my way to a presentation given by an educational learning specialist from Apple, and I’m just struck wondering if we’re adding too many layers of complexity to content delivery.  Faculty, staff and students alike have to remember this and that password, that you can do X technique on a Mac, but it’s different on Windows… the list goes on and on, and shows no sign of stopping.  I’m a sys admin and have been for years.  But sometimes even I get befuddled at it all.

So I am asking myself rhetorically, are we adding more technology at the expense of ease of use?  Not a bad thought to have in mind when considering the presentation, I think.

by Helen Keier

Did the teacher put the notes on the board?

Hi All.

First post, I should introduce myself.  My name is Helen Keier, and I’m the Blackboard System Administrator for the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.  I’ve been employed at John Jay since early Nov. 2008, having formerly held the same position at the CUNY Graduate Center for several years.  I’ve worked at CUNY since Dec. 1995.  I was also a CUNY student (BA in Psychology, Lehman College, June 1994).

The title of this blog “On the board…” is a meant as a gentle poke at the fact we’ve moved so far beyond simply writing class notes on a blackboard, to using technologies like Blackboard.  In a sense, everything is on the board, as we’ve redefined and broadened what that board really is.

I’m not sure what direction or form this blog will take yet, but I’m not sure I want to lock things down quite yet.  It may be a better exercise to see where things take me.