Some students like the new online interface. Meanwhile, others can’t quite figure it out.
“Rest in peace” is what Amarillo College faculty, students and staff are saying to AC Online as they welcome AC Connect.
AC changed from the AC Online interface to AC Connect this summer. The change first was experienced by students who took Summer 2 courses. The switch happened because AC Online, previously owned by the Angel company, was bought out by Blackboard.
AC Connect is Amarillo College’s new student and faculty online interface that students who are in online, hybrid or regular courses can use to access resources such as homework, grades, professor-student communication, discussion boards and course content.
Even though it is similar to the previous online interface, AC Online, AC Connect has a different graphical user interface.
“I like the feel and flow of AC Connect’s GUI interface better than AC Online,” said Ian Cox, a computer information systems major.
AC Connect brings new features to the table, including alerts and notifications on the student and faculty home page. Now when a student logs in, he or she will be able to see if something in a course has been updated instead having to click each individual course and having to search for updates within the course.
“There isn’t a huge difference between AC Online and AC Connect,” said Trevor Brown, a welding student.
“It is really going to be up to the professors and their activity in it.”
Another feature that AC Online offers is the Ellucian GO application available free at the Apple App Store, the Google Play Store and the Amazon Kindle Fire. The application features students’ course schedule, grades, notifications and campus maps from every AC location.
Any student or faculty member can use the application with their AC Connect log-in.
With new system changes come new challenges. Some students have had difficulties logging in, with courses showing up or being able to click on certain links.
“I had some problems with one of my classes and have not used Blackboard much,” said Victoria Carrasco, a psychology major. “Our assignments would not show up, and if they did show up, it wouldn’t let us submit.”
Others are experiencing navigation issues and compatibility issues. Students can find out if their browser is supported and what updates are needed in order to use AC Connect by searching the link called “Browser Support” on the website. For students who used AC Online, the requirements are similar.
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