More on Bb Scholar

Now I don't want to get boring about this BbScholar business, but there really weren't many other sessions for a librarian to get her teeth into. And also it does seem like a very exciting development (ooops, I've said it ... I think I'm going ...). For a start its look and feel is very up to date with Ajax technology which makes it very Web 2.0 and user friendly (and we're told is an indication of the way Bb is going).

This session was run by the developer so it does need a good thrashing by users to unravel the reality, but so far I'm pretty convinced. Again, most people in the audience (surprisingly to me) hadn't embraced social bookmarking yet which I think is an advantage for Bb Scholar.

The idea of Scholar is that it is available anytime, anywhere and can be organised how you choose. Your bookmarks can be integrated with others in your course/subject area, and is a long term repository of knowledge that will stay with you even if you no longer are enrolled within Blackboard as a student.

This tool certainly does seem to have some added value for learners and course developers alike. I haven't had a great deal of time to really consider it, but I wonder if Scholar could actually become the resources environment for users of Bb? With the extra tag fields of discipline and course it has the potential of being very personal as well as allowing resources to be pushed to particular students (eg reading lists, book reviews, relevant websites.). "Students can become the centre of their resource network."

And if you're tempted give Scholar it a try...