COLLEGE MOM TRADING POST
Ashford University Used Textbooks

Has anyone started the new online classroom that was just changed from the old one?  I just looked at it on the practice online classroom.  Do you like it?  Is there anything you don't like about it.  One thing I see is that it looks like you will not see when there are new comments in the Cafe unless you go to it to see.  I don't like that at all.  The old way, everyone could see if a new comment was added.  Has this been an issue? Also, I don't see a way to email all of the students at once like we used to be able to do.  That was how I told the other students about our website. Oh well.     I am just curious. 

I would love for you to tell about your experiences so far using it. 

Thanks.

College Mom

Collegemom,

I haven't have the opportunity to use it yet. I will beginning Dec. 7th. It is going to take some getting used to. I wonder why was the big change? I did like chatting in the Cafe once in awhile. I will let you know how I do with the new class.

Hattie

faithful29679@yahoo.com at 11:02PM on Nov 30, 2009

Collegemom,

I haven't have the opportunity to use it yet. I will beginning Dec. 7th. It is going to take some getting used to. I wonder why was the big change? I did like chatting in the Cafe once in awhile. I will let you know how I do with the new class.

Hattie

Thanks for the comment.  I don't start it until Dec. 15.  I don't know why they change things. If it is not broken then why fix it.  LOL.   Oh well. I am sure we will get used to it like we do every time facebook changes.  LOL.  

Let us know how it goes since you start before me.  Thanks again.

I started the new classroom and I have already found a couple of things I don't like. For example, when you took the quizes before it would show you where the answer was found in the book. The new classroom does not.

Another thing, when everyone post something in the discussions th list shows everyone's name that post. For example if I post the original discussion then college mom  responds to it, it shows my name then hers. Basically the list gets long fast as you will see.

You can still e-mail everyone. At the top of the purple bar you will see Email. Click on that and you will see.

I have found a few things that I do not care for in the new classroom setting.

1. The quiz has to be done in one setting. No more saving and returning to finish if you get interupted.

2. The discussion forum has a "preview" so you can see your post prior to submitting, but it does not have a "save" feature to finish at a later time.

3. When you post a thread, a e-mail icon is set next to your name (same with those who reply to you). This is nice if you want to send a private message to that person, however I have received messages of the response to my post due to this. My classmate(s) are selecting that "response" not the one under the posting.

4. The AU course guideline that was on the homeroom tab is not available to preview future class syllabus. This is where I always checked ahead for textbooks instead of going to the bookstore. And it allowed me to get a jump start on next class assignments

5. The threads get really long really fast as mom2rish said.

life@fifty at 10:34AM on Dec 02, 2009

I have found a few things that I do not care for in the new classroom setting.

1. The quiz has to be done in one setting. No more saving and returning to finish if you get interupted.

2. The discussion forum has a "preview" so you can see your post prior to submitting, but it does not have a "save" feature to finish at a later time.

3. When you post a thread, a e-mail icon is set next to your name (same with those who reply to you). This is nice if you want to send a private message to that person, however I have received messages of the response to my post due to this. My classmate(s) are selecting that "response" not the one under the posting.

4. The AU course guideline that was on the homeroom tab is not available to preview future class syllabus. This is where I always checked ahead for textbooks instead of going to the bookstore. And it allowed me to get a jump start on next class assignments

5. The threads get really long really fast as mom2rish said.

You can still go to the Student Course Guide. I had that link saved to my computer. That link is also on this website in the suggested links. I never used it on the Classroom blackboard anyway. .  Thanks for your inputs.

When I asked my advisor about it he said once blackboard was gone we would not have access. Thanks for this info.

Hi everyone.  I just started using the new classroom this week.  I agree that the discussion threads get long quickly and for me, are a little cluttered andconfusing. I'm hoping I soon get the hang of it.  I agree about the cafe, I didn't use much but enjoyed being able to quickly see it.

I have not taken a quiz yet, but that does not sound good about having to take it all in one sitting. 

Thanks for the tips, the old communication tab used to show who was in your class, does anyone know if this is still available?

Thanks

Nanci

witek2@comcast.net at 09:01AM on Dec 09, 2009

Hi everyone.  I just started using the new classroom this week.  I agree that the discussion threads get long quickly and for me, are a little cluttered andconfusing. I'm hoping I soon get the hang of it.  I agree about the cafe, I didn't use much but enjoyed being able to quickly see it.

I have not taken a quiz yet, but that does not sound good about having to take it all in one sitting. 

Thanks for the tips, the old communication tab used to show who was in your class, does anyone know if this is still available?

Thanks

Nanci

According to Mom2rish above you can still e-mail everyone. At the top of the purple bar you will see Email. Click on that and you will see.   Thanks witek2 for your input. 

I start using the new classroom on the 15th and I am a little concerned about not being able to save things like the tests.  I am going to have to rework my schedule so that I will be able to sit down and work on it continuously.  I guess that my MS word will get a workout if we can't save our posts to submit them later.

Is there still a 4 hour limit before you are automatically logged out? 

The new class room just take some time getting use to..We are all creatures of habit and most of us do not care for change...The new class room is okay and it does let you know what page you can find the answer on when you make a mistake on the quizz. The only thing I do not like about the new class room is that you can not start and stop the quizz..

Hi everyone,

The new classroom for me will take time getting used to. I do not like taking the test all at one time. I do not like how the post is created. To me it takes more time. Maybe because it is new. I am sure that I will get adjusted and then things will go fine.

 I hope that everyone has a beautiful Christmas and a blessed New Year. See you next year.

I just started tonight and honestly it is very similar. A few things, like grades and such, are easier to find. The dicussion threads are HUGE... they're rather overwhelming at first glance. It will be fine. This is the 4th online program I have used.. They all seems confusing at first, but in a week or so we will all have it down pat. Cheers!

mom2rish at 12:05AM on Dec 02, 2009

I started the new classroom and I have already found a couple of things I don't like. For example, when you took the quizes before it would show you where the answer was found in the book. The new classroom does not.

 

Another thing, when everyone post something in the discussions th list shows everyone's name that post. For example if I post the original discussion then college mom  responds to it, it shows my name then hers. Basically the list gets long fast as you will see.

 

You can still e-mail everyone. At the top of the purple bar you will see Email. Click on that and you will see.

 

 

If you go to gradebook and click on the quiz grade, you will see the correct answers in a small scroll-down window at the bottom. I hope this helps.

I do not like the new classroom. It is not user friendly at all. Plus, I think it is wrong to change it after learning to use blackboard, now for my graduate program I am having to learn the new classroom. It makes it 100 times harded to adjust and do well when you have to get use to a new system.

lisamegan4444@yahoo.com at 10:16AM on Jan 11, 2010

I do not like the new classroom. It is not user friendly at all. Plus, I think it is wrong to change it after learning to use blackboard, now for my graduate program I am having to learn the new classroom. It makes it 100 times harded to adjust and do well when you have to get use to a new system.

 

I don't like it either and I completely agree with you.  The Discussion board is very busy and hard to read. It is hard to find the person's original post since it is showing all the replies as well. I don't find it as user-friendly as blackboard.  Thanks for your reply.

I do not like this new classroom setting. I realize that I like to do things the same way, in the same order and all of that boring stuff - However, it doesn't change the fact that it is a little harder to understand. I liked being able to start and restart my quizes and when I submit a paper, I think it is more confusing now. On the other hand, I realize like someone already said, I'll get the hang of this and it'll be nothing. I just hope they don't change it again.... And again like some else said..."If it isn't broke....!"

This is my first time using the new blackboard and I do not like it at all. What can we do to have it changed back the old way. It takes me a lot longer to do anything on the blackboard like responding. Also when I do research for an assignment I have to keep loging back in.

Hi there.

I read all the replies and I am surprised that noone has mentioned that the new system does not give students their placement value in the classroom. In the BlackBoard grades, it would show a classroom average and you could see where you stood. I don't know about most of the students, but I am driven by competition. I have voiced this disatifaction to my academic advisor, and he was to forward my comments to the techs.

Classroom times out in minutes, instead of 4 hours.

You don't know if anyone has read your posts. No ticker for being opened.

You cannot search a specific person's posts. I used the search a lot in BB, because there were certain classmates posts that I enjoyed more. It simplified the discussion board.

In the "Course Home," the new system does show new posts, to which discussions if you scroll down a little.  Thanks all.

Because Ashford is now owned by a conglomerate from California, this is why blackboard was shut down and the new one opened. It simplified the discussion boards across many different colleges. Now all of the colleges owned by Bridgepoint Education are using  the Pearson eCollege Online Learning Platform  “From an academic perspective, we believe the Pearson eCollege platform and services will best serve our student population in 2010 and beyond.” Dr. Jane McAuliffe, president and chief executive officer of Ashford University. (2010)

McAuliffe J. copied from http://ashford.edu/news/showitem.php?id=2432 January 25, 2010