My university uses a system called WebCT for online learning, distribution of notes, assignments and information, as well as providing a place for discussion. They do provide all these things in paper form when you turn up to lectures and labs as well (not everyone prints out lecture notes for you, some do). We had an older WebCT system that was replaces by WebCT Vista (nothing to do with Windows) in the last couple of years. I don’t know why they changes because as bad as the other one was, Vista is much worse.
Vista itself isn’t my gripe today so much as the people who uses it. I’m taking a course about Proteins and they are completely useless at all that is admin. We had a midsession exam that we had to study for, the material wasn’t going to be examined again so this was our only shot. They didn’t put the lectures on WebCT until two days before the test, any productive revising I could have done before that was completely thwarted. They haven’t put up the information on the report that is due tomorrow, you have to hold onto that piece of paper they gave out in lab for dear life because we’re on holidays and you can’t get another one. Not only have they not posted the information but there is no where to submit the report and they claimed that we would be able to submit the report online so we didn’t have to come in during our holidays and then we’d give a hard copy in when we go back. I realise they have until tomorrow to put the submission section up, but they did say they’d have it ready early for the keen beans that want to get the assignment out of the way. Our last two lectures for this subject were cancelled as well, this may have been a problem with the lecturer, sudden emergency or something, I realise these things happen but couldn’t they have posted his first two nearly incomprehensible lectures on WebCT so we could use the time you have to comprehend them? I hope they have feedback sheets to fill out at the end of the semester because I want them to hear my gripes about how they’re inhibiting our learning. This wasn’t even a compulsory course for me, I wish I’d done something else.
