We at Next Level Learning like to spotlight blogs of note in the professional education community as a resource for people in our industry. Today, we bring you Government in the Lab – a site dedicated to all things results-driven government and written by John F. Moore, who is a Gov 2.0 expert, as well as numerous contributing authors. Moore’s blog teaches us a lot about how governments can leverage new online tools and technologies to provide for a more powerful (and sometimes more user-friendly) experience for their constituents.

At the end of 2010, the U.S. Chief Information Officer, Vivek Kundra, laid out his plan to modernize federal information technology management. Kundra’s strategy incorporates shifting the federal IT approach from tangible systems built from scratch to more flexible “light technologies,” such as cloud services. In his plan, Kundra explains how he will transition the federal IT management to a “cloud first” policy.  He believes the transition will enable federal agencies to leverage IT to create a more efficient and effective government in the future.  The U.S. CIO also intends to require these agencies to move three services to the cloud within the next year and the remaining two within the next 18 months.  In addition to utilizing light technologies, the federal government would also reduce its surplus of federal data centers by 2015.

Narrowly escaping a complete federal government shutdown a few weeks ago has led many leaders in government to question their own preparedness for the situation.  A shutdown could have meant major delays for government-backed initiatives, which would have paralyzed day-to-day functions, programs administration, and training efforts. So how can governments maintain continuity during unexpected workplace stagnation? Today, there are a plethora of online technologies that enable governments to provide workers access to their files and email remotely. These types of tools keep operations running regardless of the status of the federal government. Blackboard wants to be part of the solution in times of uncertainty. That is why we have developed an online continuous learning system that provides relief to anyone with an Internet connection. Whether it is before, during, or after the learning event – the Blackboard Learn solution provides the means to enrich and extend the learning experience—beyond the classroom.

Our first Military Education & Training Blackboard User Group (METBUG) face-to-face meeting was a hit! We counted 90 DoD attendees at the event, which took place last week in Norfolk, VA. Attendees traveled from near and far — VA, DC, CO, AZ, and more.  The crowd first got a great client presentation from Joint Forces Staff College who shared their 16 week program to create a Continuous Learning Environment for the Warfighter.  We continued with an insider’s look at what’s new at Blackboard including Collaborate, Mobile, and the release of SCORM (Shareable Content Object Reference Model) player, coming later this year.

Whether you are currently a Blackboard user or just considering it, please join us for our First Annual User Conference for Military Education and Training. This is the largest gathering of federal and civilian Blackboard users, leaders, decision makers, and professionals.   Regardless of your Blackboard experience, the 2011 METBUG User Conference (METBUGUC) is an invaluable learning and networking opportunity.