Blackboard Learn by Anthology vs. WileyPLUS

A school with a well-established technology imprint with their students (for example, ours is a BYOB school where every student has their own laptop and must bring it to school every day and where over 99% of our families have reliable broadband at home) is a reasonable scenario for using The arrogance and intransigence of the sales force is quite disconcerting… They are no longer the only game in town and don't yet realize it. Less well-off schools/families may find it a challenge if students must be on campus or at a public library in order to use the technology. Obviously, during the pandemic, this became problematic for some districts.

Incentivized

It's a good platform that has some very good content. We use Canvas as our learning management platform. It is nice to be able to integrate some of the pre-build WileyPLUS course modules into our Canvas course. Other publishers are good too and they sync with Canvas, but I find Wiley's Canvas modules easy to use and customize.

• Provides HTML quality course content that is easily retrievable and viewable.
• Provides multiple methods of communication: email, threaded discussions, real-time "live" online discussions, as well as grade portal.
• Allows facilitators multiple methods of grading or providing feedback: threaded discussions, rubric scoring, personal comments, inline viewer, or download/upload attachments.

Incentivized

• Great instructor support and training.
• Seek instructor feedback and input and keep implementing new updates.
• Adaptive Practice definitely helps student success and brings consistency across multiple sections, often taught by new part-time instructors.
• Integration into LMS has made the experience seamless for students and added the ease of automatic input in to the LMS gradebook.

Incentivized

• Although the current graphic user interface is easy to use, it can be improved with larger fonts, dynamic menus, and attractive graphics.
• The system does not include a module to pay the school fee.
• The roster tab lacks detailed information about students.

Incentivized

• Integration could be a little challenging at times
• More quantitative examples-excel based questions. This is just for the book that I use so it should not be considered a missing functionality.
• More algorithmic questions. This is just for the book that I use so it should not be considered a missing functionality.

Incentivized

There are several aspects of Desire2Learn that outweigh the benefits of using Blackboard. I find that the Desire2Learn system is a bit more user friendly and looks more up-to-date. However, the decision to renew systems is not up to me because the entire University uses the same system. Regardless, I think I would choose Desire2Learn over Blackboard because of its improved user interface.

Reliable effective tool.

Incentivized

It is very usable for both faculty and students. The interface is pretty intuitive and most students can use it without a lot of additional training. Faculty do need some training to effectively use the interface, but they usually get it pretty quickly. We have had to create some additional programming to give faculty a way to delve deeper into the content.

Easy to use, directions are clear, [and] able to get help any time.

Itʻs a good platform for certain things such as tests. Blackboard may not be the most user friendly but there is always room for improvement in any website, business, etc. When used with other platforms such as Google Classroom, Blackboard can be more effective, but when used by itself I feel it is not as impactful from a student perspective.

24-7 support is available by phone, chat, or email. They also hold annual events which I have been blessed to attend twice. The staff is excellent. They are knowledgeable and genuinely care about you and your students. There are online forums for instructors to collaborate, learn, and have fun. Instructors receive gift cards for their participation too!

Incentivized

Blackboard's Managed Hosting was top-notch in getting us up and running quickly.

Incentivized

Blackboard is the all around better fit for our intuition. It provides the "bells and whistles" we require in having a diverse faculty and flexibility in course delivery. The "bells and whistles" aren't cheap, but we have found that budgeting for this large expense has been more than worth it for us.

Incentivized

I like the mechanistic approach and taught that way for several years. Klein makes a nice meeting point between the traditional, by-the-functional-group way of approaching the material and the mechanistic approach with common patterns pointed out and grouped along the way. It is one of the best, clearly written texts on Organic Chemistry on the market!! It isn't overly dry and intimidating, but more conversational - like a tutor guiding you through the foundational topic or thought process. The graphics are clear and understandable with good use of color. The canvas integration is wonderful! The adaptive practice is growing on me - I started a skeptic, but students really like the by-learning-objective feedback. From term to term, you can easily turn your homework assignments over for the next term if you like to assign specific questions.

• It has answered all my needs for distance learning and met most of the objectives
• The only negative I can think of is not having access to the past course material and not being able to download the lectures
• Another positive is the zoom integration feature

Incentivized

• Before Wiley Plus, my students didn't do homework, because it was not possible for me to grade all their work. Now they do it to earn points needed to pass the class.
• Before Adaptive Assignment, my students really struggled with the multiple-choice part of the exam. Now my students have the opportunity to practice a plethora of questions provided to them in Adaptive Assignment. Now the exam grades are much better!