Teaching Latin American studies with Blackboard CourseInfo Web software.

I. Introduction

This article describes how a Web-based course authoring software package (Blackboard CourseInfo) was used in the teaching of a survey course in Latin American studies.

The changing nature of the educational technology environment is first described in general terms, along with an assessment of whether this current "revolution" in educational technology is real, or simply the latest in a long line of highly-touted fundamental changes which turned out to have far less long-lasting impact than originally claimed.

The software and how it was used is then explained. The paper also describes an experiment in which a group of students was offered the option of taking the course entirely on-line. The surprising student reactions to the offer are described, as well as a research project (conducted by a School of Education MA candidate) to determine why the students reacted as they did.

Finally, some student reactions to the use of this Web-based teaching software are summarized, along with some reflections on how this trend toward greater use of computer technology in Latin American studies might play out.

II. The changing educational technology environment

There is little doubt that the computer has profoundly influenced our personal and professional lives over the past decade. Even at the minimal level of using e-mail and word processing our ability to communicate more effectively and prepare administrative and scholarly documents more efficiently has been deeply and irreversibly affected by the personal computer and the Internet.