With numerous digital learning content options available to educators, figuring out how and when to get started with adopting and using digital content can seem daunting. Blackboard has invited experts from a variety of fields to participate in BbWorld 2012 to help you navigate this broad content landscape. Instructional designers, faculty and technology decision makers will find these sessions beneficial and enjoyable!

1. Alan November,  an international and renowned leader in education technology, will push the boundaries on how to improve online teaching and learning in higher education. His wit and humor make him a highly sought after presenter in education forums worldwide.

This year at BbWorld we will announce the New Digital Content & Upgrade Center. Learn how to guide your school or institution’s digital content strategy and work with consultants to build an upgrade, testing and implementation plan for Blackboard Learn 9.1. Professionals from the publishing industries (McGraw-Hill, Pearson, Wiley, Cengage Learning & Macmillan), faculty experts in course design and Blackboard technology specialists who can help you use Blackboard Learn tools to create your own instructional materials will be on hand to answer questions. Sessions at the Digital Content & Upgrade Center will address topics such as digital content trends in education, best practices in integrating different technologies into Blackboard platforms and client stories using the current McGraw-Hill integration. With several new publisher-Blackboard integrations expected to launch this summer, including Pearson, Wiley and Cengage Learning solutions, we want to make sure you have the chance to see these new solutions “hot off the presses.”

We know a lot about the students who don’t graduate:

• Among all first-year students, 40% need at least one remedial course; the number jumps to 60% when considering community colleges only[1].
• Across the US, postsecondary institutions spend an estimated $2 billion annually on developmental education[2].
• Even so, only 30% of students typically pass a developmental math course, and that is after taking the course an average of 2.5 times[3].

And we also know that the demands of the millennial student population are growing:

A recent effectiveness study from McGraw-Hill on its LearnSmart^TM adaptive learning tool explored this question with seven universities across the U.S.  In the study, pass and retention rates of students who used LearnSmart—as well as overall grades—were consistently higher than those of students not having used it.