My grandmother likes to remind me that to her it seems like yesterday that she attended college - something virtually unheard for women of her generation to do. In fact, she and I went to same university, even studied in same buildings. But despite those college experiences we share, something makes me think that way college works now is remarkably different than way it did when she was there. It seems that old adage of "Reading, Writing, 'Rithmetic" should be reworked to say "Downloading, Typing, and eBay."

If you find yourself wondering about what changes might have come about since you yourself attended college, allow me to explain one tool that has been developed to take advantage of new technologies to help teachers teach better and help students learn better. It's what could be called "Blackboard Learning."

Blackboard technology is an online resource where teachers and students may exchange resources, interact, and find information regarding courses in which they are enrolled. When a student enrolls in a course making use of Blackboard learning, they are given access through their university or college's website to a customizable portal page that lists courses they are enrolled in. Each course includes several separate online resources that students need to succeed in course.

In past teachers either had to make copies of all their handouts to give to students or put whatever students needed to know up on blackboard and students were responsible for copying it down. The former option is a waste of paper and ink, while latter is a waste of time. Blackboard technology now allows teachers to upload digital copies of handouts which students can download and, if they choose, print. Class notes, PowerPoint presentations, video and audio clips, pictures, and other resources can be made available to entire class simply by uploading them to Blackboard. This virtually eliminates problem of students losing syllabus or other important class document because there is always a copy online that they have ready access to.