Evaluation of Blackboard as a platform for distance education delivery

The Hampton University School of Nursing has implemented a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Distance Education Program that utilizes the Blackboard Learning System, which was designed to transform the Internet into a powerful environment for the educational experience. The Interne, however, may be a new learning environment for many nurses seeking a graduate degree. The Blackboard platform allows for synchronous, real-time activities such as chat rooms, and asynchronous, delayed, activities such as discussion boards and digital drop boxes that can be used for student-to-instructor and instructor-to-student document transfer. This article focuses on the skills and challenges of navigating a course on the Internet using Blackboard. Recommendations for improving the teaching-learning process using a Web-based environment are included.