Volume 9, Issue 2 August 2013, pp. 169–196 
Regular Articles
Effects of Blackboard on EFL academic writing and attitudes
Abdulaziz Fageeh1, Mohamed Amin A. Mekheimer2
1 King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia 
2 King Khalid University, Saudi Arabia
DOI: https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v9n2.154
Abstract
This study aimed to recognize the pedagogical effects of Blackboard as a computer-mediated communication (CMC) environment for teaching academic writing and improving students' attitudes toward academic writing. Learners’ interactions in the CMC environment of Blackboard were analyzed via a controlled descriptive design to examine how students negotiate academic literacy using two types of collaborative online strategies: synchronous chat and asynchronous discussion boards in relation to students' academic writing. This study followed a qualitative research design employing a variety of strategies, such as observations, students' online interactions, questionnaires, interviews, and written assignments to investigate the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in the development of EFL learners' academic writing. Quantitative data were analyzed using SPSS, and qualitative data were analyzed using En Vivo. The findings indicated that the students' experiences of using computers, the internet, and Blackboard varied. The longer the students' experience, the more positive their attitudes were toward the use of CMC to develop academic literacy. In addition, the quantitative findings showed that students who experienced Blackboard communication had a more positive attitude toward the factors of productivity, collaboration, and participation. The results also showed that CMC, mainly in the form of online discussion and online peer-review activity, facilitated students' interactions and scaffolded learning within their online community. The paper concludes with recommendations for future research.
Copyright
© Abdulaziz Fageeh, Mohamed Amin A. Mekheimer
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Suggested citation
Fageeh, A., & Mekheimer, M.A.A. (2013). Effects of Blackboard on EFL academic writing and attitudes. The JALT CALL Journal, 9(2), 169–196. https://doi.org/10.29140/jaltcall.v9n2.154
Related Articles:
TOEFL iBT Training in the CALL Classroom
Aaron P. Campbell, Richard Silver
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 August, 2011, Volume 7(2), 217–229. 
EFL student and faculty perceptions of and attitudes towards online testing in the medium of Blackboard: Promises and challenges
Abdulaziz I. Fageeh
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 30 April, 2015, Volume 11(1), 41–62.
EFL students’ readiness for e-learning: Factors influencing e-learners’ acceptance of the Blackboard in a Saudi university
Abdulaziz Ibraheem Fageeh
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 30 April, 2011, Volume 7(1), 19–42.
Automated identification of discourse markers using NLP approach: The case of okay
Abdulaziz Sanosi, Mohamed Abdalla
Australian Journal of Applied Linguistics Published: 24 December, 2021, Volume 4(3), 119–131.
Touch the page and mimic me: Evaluation of a talking-pen learning tool
Abigail Odakura
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 December, 2013, Volume 9(3), 287–295.
A survey of Japanese university students' computer literacy skills
Adam Murray, Andrew Blyth
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 31 December, 2011, Volume 7(3), 307–318.
Negotiating intercultural spaces and teacher identity in an internationalised school in Shanghai
Adam Poole
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 23 August, 2019, Volume 2(2), 59–70.
Designing a course in intercultural education
Adrian Holliday
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 11 August, 2018, Volume 1(1), 4–11.
Encouraging autonomy through the use of a social networking system
Adrian Leis
The JALT CALL Journal Published: 30 April, 2014, Volume 10(1), 69–80.
(Re)imagining a course in language and intercultural communication for the 21st century
Adriana Raquel Diaz, Paul J. Moore
Intercultural Communication Education Published: 29 December, 2018, Volume 1(3), 83–99.