Southwestern offers on-line course training to JCS Schools

SYLVA - Southwestern Community College recently offered an on-line course training to Jackson County School employees.

Southwestern has been using Blackboard, a software that allows for on-line delivery of courses without the use of programming languages, for the past year under the direction of Dennis Keough, SCC's Director of Distance Learning.

Keough led the training class through exercises that explained the functions of Blackboard, how to use the tools within the program and how it can serve their classrooms.

"Blackboard is, essentially, an electronic classroom environment. Blackboard environments facilitate teaching by supplementing that which goes on in the physical classroom. Instructors are pleased to learn how easy it is to create a web presence for their courses and students appreciate the consistent 'look and feel' of the websites," said Keough.

Jackson County Schools Superintendent, Mack McCary, said, "I thought [Keough's] experience in helping SCC faculty develop web-based support for their courses would be a valuable experience for Jackson County teachers and administrators."

McCary went on to say that after the training, several teachers expressed an interest in using it to deliver web-assisted resources for their classes.

"Everyone I've spoken with is excited about the potential of this courseware to support student learning, and eager to learn more through their own use," said McCary.