Blackboard begins Facebook integration

For Northwestern students, signing on to Blackboard to check class information is a daily routine. Facebook has made this chore easier by teaming up with Blackboard to launch Blackboard Sync, a new application that will, among other useful functions, allow students to receive up-to-date notifications of new course material posted on Blackboard through Facebook.

Northwestern students rely on Blackboard, also known as Course Management System, to communicate with classmates and professors, retrieve homework assignments, and view their grades. The Facebook application facilitates the use of most of these features, with the ability to "sync" up information posted by students, teaching assistants, and professors between the two sites. Students using Sync will receive notifications of new announcements, grades, assignments, and other material that is added to Blackboard. As a privacy measure, however, grades will still have to be accessed through a Net ID protected link.

Sync's application page on Facebook touts its main objective: keeping students connected with their classmates, through the cross-referencing of course rosters.

Greg Ritter, product director of Blackboard Inc.'s Blackboard Beyond Initiative, says that Sync's mission is to integrate two important aspects of student life. "Students should have the option to get information about what's changing in their course wherever they are. With that in mind we designed Blackboard Sync from the ground up to be able to push notifications to multiple places," said Ritter.

Northwestern University Information Technology will work closely with Blackboard this August in a process that will allow Sync to fit the specific needs of Northwestern students. "We still need to get some more information about how (Sync) connects. We're definitely planning on having discussions internally and with Blackboard," said James E. Altman, manager of research & academic technologies at NUIT.

Sync's goal of making information more readily available for students could solve complaints about Blackboard's difficult user interface. "Blackboard doesn't do a good job of letting students know when there is new content posted on the site. Hopefully this application could change that," said Altman.

Based on student concerns about privacy, Sync has taken the precautionary measures to ensure the security of private material. Using Sync, students will be able to view announcements, rosters, and course maps. Notifications, however, are used to alert users of new content, course material, or discussion forum posts are added to Blackboard. Sync respects all privacy settings of each profile on Facebook.

While a few Northwestern students have already elected to use Sync, they have uneasy feelings about it. "I think it could be really useful, but I don't usually connect Facebook with academics. Especially if there's the possibility that TAs can view our profiles, I doubt anyone will choose to have the application," said Clarissa Deng, a Weinberg senior.

Obvious differences between the academic and social lives of students may create obstacles for the application that aims at integrating the two. "Facebook is so much more about friends and socializing, that I wouldn't want it cluttered with school work," said Ilana Woods, a Weinberg junior.

marthachang2007@u.northwestern.edu