P. Blackburn et al. (Eds.): TICTTL 2011, LNAI 6680, pp. 249–255, 2011. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2011 Designing an Introductory Course to Elementary Symbolic Logic within the Blackboard E-learning Environment Frank Zenker 1 , Christian Gottschall 2 , Albert Newen 3 , Raphael van Riel 3 , and Gottfried Vosgerau 4 1 Lund University, Sweden frank.zenker@fil.lu.se 2 University of Vienna, Austria 3 Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany 4 University of Düsseldorf, Germany Abstract. We report on the design of a blended-learning course in elementary symbolic logic. Challenges and solutions pertaining to the Blackboard e-learning environment (Blackboard Academic Suite Release 8.0) and a customized Gentzen-style proof checker are described. The purpose is to provide orientation for those in the planning stage of similar projects. Keywords: Blended-learning, Blackboard, proof checker, calculus of natural deduction, online assignment, automatic grading. 1 Introduction Social, political and economic factors have forced an increase in flexibility and efficiency of higher education. Students regularly pursue part-time employment. Additional con- straints arise from early family situations. Others experience limited mobility because of handicaps or long-lasting illness. Under these constraints, a self-paced and internet-based learning model is often perceived as a quasi-natural solution. For an overview of com- puter-assisted learning solutions, see [6] and, particularly with respect to logic, [4]. When it comes to teaching logic online, best praxis examples are rare. Off-the- shelve solutions are either unavailable or not readily compatible with the e-learning system favored by one’s university. To avoid “reinventing the wheel,” we briefly report experiences gained when designing an introductory course to elementary sym- bolic logic at Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany. The course was adapted to the Blackboard e-learning environment as well as a customized natural deduction proof checker. It currently “runs” in the third year, and may be considered stable. 2 Design Issues 2.1 Symbolism The most important factor in the successful deployment of course-material is the display of logical symbols, especially for online tests. Students will access material