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Ask HN: How would you use the web to improve the college learning experience?

3 points by scooby ↗ HN
Hey guys,

If any of you are going to college now or have in the past 5 years, you'll be familiar with what technology schools provide to their students: Blackboard, Moodle, etc.

And you've probably experienced frustration with how behind these platforms were compared to what exists on the web today.

So my question is this: if you were to design a app/platform for enhancing learning for a course, with tools for students and professors, and helped build community within the school, what would that look like?

I'm doing my thesis on the topic, and would really appreciate your thoughts.

3 comments

[ 3.7 ms ] story [ 15.4 ms ] thread
norimaki
Why do you believe Blackboard and Moodle are "behind what exists on the web today"?
scooby
Well, I didn't say "behind what exists on the web today." Blackboard has the dominant share of the commercial e-learning industry, and Moodle is popular as an open-source alternative.

Both of them are expensive to operate and out of range for many smaller schools.

And both of changed little in the past 5 years to enhance collaboration and sharing among students.

vaksel
apparently blackboard holds the patents for what they are doing, and they are very quick to sue anyone encroaching on their patents. Unless you have a ton of cash for legal battles, its just not worth going after them