Education Queensland Blackboard communities

Education Queensland and Affiliate staff can request a community Blackboard* space to build an online network to share ideas and resources and plan projects. These are closed communities requiring password access.

You would choose this type of community if you wanted your work and discussions to be shared only between community members.

Functionality:

• Ability to create content via templates,
• Calendar, forum and chat room,
• Document storage via folders and can include other files,
• Digital drop box,
• Group pages and personal home pages and
• Password protection.

Education Queensland and Affiliate staff can apply for a blackboard community. You can request a closed community (not listed on the Learning Place website) or an open community.

It is advisable that all community members complete the Mentoring online courses however this is not mandatory.

Professional Standards for Teachers

Blackboard community
By Andrew Duncan

Two hundred and thirty teachers across the state are currently piloting the professional standards for teachers many of whom are currently taking advantage of our Blackboard community.

In particular one group, which consists of teachers, spread out from Taabinga to Glenmorgan to Brisbane meet weekly in the virtual classroom to contribute and build upon the professional dialogue. These teachers are sharing classroom practice and mentoring with the main aim of improving teaching practice to increase outcomes for children in their classrooms.

Teachers from across the state are also using the discussion board to discuss issues relating to each of the twelve professional standards for teachers and how they relate to their particular setting.

Blackboard has eliminated the distance barrier and made a huge contribution to the effective implementation of the pilot thus far.