Isn’t Mallard a type of duck? Isn’t a Compass something you use to tell directions? Not on this campus.

The University prides itself on being a leader in the field of technology and CITES has found ways to incorporate technology into the learning environment.

CITES created and services course management and communications systems called Mallard, Compass and WebBoard. These services allow students and teachers to communicate via the Internet, making learning an interactive process.

Mallard allows professors to post quizzes, tests and other forms of progress assessment for their courses.

“Some of the benefits to using Mallard include: a multitude of quiz and survey question types to choose from, an easy-to-configure grading policy, and the ability to embed hints and provide conditional feedback,” according to the CITES Web site.

Like Mallard, Illinois Compass provides professors a medium to post assessments. However, it also gives instructors and students an online space for managing and delivering course assignments, tracking grades, and publishing course materials.

Instructors often use Compass as an all-in-one Web site for their classes. Syllabi, handouts, Internet links, slide shows and videos can be posted for all students of a class to access.

“A key reason Illinois Compass was chosen as our primary learning system was its ability to support the rapidly growing number of instructors and students using online learning environments, both on and off campus,” CITES creators said on their Web site.

Illinois Compass allows instructors to better manage large classes by eliminating wasted time in passing out handouts and returning graded exams. The online test-taking system also allows students to receive quicker feedback on exams than when such assessments are taken in paper-form.

WebBoard also provides faculty and students with an interactive learning environment. WebBoard is a conferencing system used in education for online communication.

“Unlike email, WebBoard messages are posted in Web sites that structure online conversations in ways that encourage collaborative dialogue,” according to the CITES Web site.

Instructors using WebBoard can interact with students, often answering questions much more efficiently than through email. The program allows instructors to post information, viewable by all students in the course, rather than answering common questions individually.

WebBoard also encourages group discussion that may not always be possible in large lectures. In addition, conferences can be set up to allow for student review, or group meetings.

Instructors can decide which method is best for managing their class, but the product is generally the same – a better informed student body with more outlets for student-teacher communication.