Starting from 2015 spring semester, the former e-Learning Korea University (EKU), also known as Korea University Portal to Information Depository (KUPID) can no longer serve as the portal where students can approach the class materials and lecture information. Instead, students should use the Blackboard system, which Korea University (KU) has been building from March 2014. Students can also use the former EKU as their pleasure, but the website can only provide lecture materials until the 2014 fall semester.

KU claims that the Blackboard can contribute significantly to KU students and professors. “Blackboard is a sustainable learning management system (LMS) that can contribute significantly to educational renovation in KU.” says KU’s center for teaching and learning (CTL).

Yet when looking at the Blackboard system, one cannot stop thinking that the system has a way to go before it can serve as the major portal site for KU students. For starters, the website, although KU claims that it is optimized to major internet browsers, is not yet fully optimized. Unlike KUPID, the Blackboard is hard to know how to use it unless one reads the instructions. Moreover, when logging on to the website, one can notice the course that he/she took in the spring semester still exists in the system. Moreover, some materials that are uploaded to KUPID often do not show up on Blackboard, and vice versa.  For this reason, students should double-check whether the class materials are uploaded.

While KU’s attempts for providing better learning environments deserve compliments, hasty actions that lack consideration for students should be avoided.