Blackboard Blogs

Virtual Schools: Expanding Learning Opportunities

Recently, I attended a luncheon honoring the success of Fairfax Public Schools (VA) in providing a first-class education to their students – including the incorporation of technology in education. One of the district’s many accomplishments is the creation of a district virtual school to serve a diverse student population. Fairfax is not alone in this effort. Many districts across the country have created virtual schools to enable students to access courses they can’t get at their school or that just won’t fit into their schedule. This summer, Blackboard K-12 captured a few district leaders on video as they discussed the benefits of district-based virtual schools, including the ability to deliver an engaging, personalized educational experience to students.

American Graduation Initiative: Grant Opportunities Tied to Outcomes Assessment

From Donna Jones, EdD, Senior Pedagogical Solutions Engineer-Assessment

It’s a great time to be a community college! 

America’s community college’s, now more than ever, are educating today’s workforce in basic skills and job preparation training, allowing our country to better compete in a global economy. This past summer President Obama announced his American Graduation Initiative, a 10-year, $12 billion plan to improve the community college system. The main objective of this program is to graduate 5 million students from community colleges by 2020 in an effort to improve the American economy by supplementing our own labor pool with a higher skilled workforce. 

New Report: Parents Want Schools to Do More to Prepare Students

Over the past three years, I have blogged about our partnership with Project Tomorrow to bring you the Education in the 21st Century reports. These reports examined the views of K-12 educators on issues such as online learning and a new breed of K-12 administrators.

This time, we narrowed our focus to parents. Learning in the 21st Century: Parents’ Perspectives, Parents’ Priorities, released at the NSBA T+L event in Denver, CO (amidst 10+ inches of snow!), examines the views of these important, but often overlooked stakeholders in education. The report reveals that parents do not believe our schools are doing enough to prepare students for the 21st century. To improve on this, they identify the application of technology to learning and teacher training as two major elements for success. Read more.