The BbWorld 2012 Conference will focus on five key themes that matter to you: Social Learning, Digital Content, Technology Adoption, Mobility and now Analytics in Action. I am pleased to say that Ellen Wagner, Partner and Sr. Analyst, Sage Road Solutions LLC, and Executive Director, WCET will be speaking on the topic of Analytics in Action.

Your institution collects data from learners to some degree. But, how do you turn that data into actionable grounds to improve learning? Join Ellen Wagner Ph.D. at her Feature Session “Making Learning Analytics Matter in the Educational Enterprise” and discover how analytics can be used to promote personalization, convenience and consistency in all facets of the online lives of your students. This session will take a deep dive into applying statistics analyses to help you make better, more informed decisions on teaching and learning.  You will also look at the student road-map and see how analytics techniques can be used in the classroom to improve engagement and motivation.

The following post is written by guest blogger Kenneth Rogers. Kenneth has served as the Blackboard Administrator at University of the Incarnate Word (UIW) for the past three years.  With over 7 years in the E-Learning Industry, Kenneth has a passion for emerging technologies and seeing how technology can enhance education.

Almost three years ago, I was at Blackboard World in DC with a co-worker when Blackboard Mobile was first unveiled.  As soon as we returned to San Antonio, we continued the dialogue with the Mobile team and proceeded with the first phase of UIW Mobile.  A short three months after we signed our agreement, UIW v.1.0 was live in the Apple App Store.

Download our app to check it out here:

Android: https://market.android.com/details?id=com.blackboard.android.central.incarnate&hl=en

Blackberry: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/6768

iOS: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/uiw/id347428414?mt=8#

Others: http://m.uiwtx.edu/

Over the past several weeks, we announced some very exciting themes for BbWorld 2012: Social Learning, Technology Adoption and Digital Content. We have two themes to announce yet – one of them I am happy to share with you today!

We are thrilled to announce Marco Torres, a Media Coach and Education Technology Director at San Fernando High School, as our Feature Session Presenter on “Mobility” at BbWorld. He will show us how being connected everywhere and anywhere impacts learning and increases student success. We all know that an on-the-go classroom is a national (and global) priority. So Marco Torres will share examples of what basic learning looks like and how you can use it in a more media rich environment. Marco’s Feature Session on” Learning Vs. Schooling: The Epic Match” will get your wheels spinning on how to use all of the technology that is available to educators today.

The use of technology is being accelerated across nearly every industry -  healthcare, finance, automotive – and especially in education. But how can you be ahead of the curve? Join Dr. Curtis Bonk at BbWorld 2012 where he will speak on the topic “Technology Adoption”. Dr. Curtis Bonk’s presentation “Stretching the Edges of Technology-Enhanced Teaching: From Tinkering to Tottering to Totally Extreme Learning” will take a deep dive into what is considered the new “norm” in the classroom: Mobile, virtual, and telepresence technologies and how you can expand into other technologies.

If you are thinking about how BbWorld will help you learn about the how to incorporate technology into your everyday life just wonder: have you ever wished that someone could read your mind? Well, Dr. Curtis Bonk probably can! A former Educational Psychologist, Dr. Bonk is a Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University and President of CourseShare. He has coauthored several widely used books, including The World is Open: How Web Technology is Revolutionizing Education (2009).

Whether you are moving toward a blended learning strategy by embedding shared online videos, simulations, timelines, collaborative groups, and open access articles into your courses or building your course from the ground up around the limitless edTech options available, Dr. Curtis Bonk will touch on each part of the spectrum and provide examples on how to incorporate social and digital components into courses.

We are also thrilled to announce that Dr. Curtis Bonk will be co-lecturing an Online Open Course through CourseSites on “Instructional Ideas and Technology Tools for Online Success.” Learn more information and sign up here.

Find out more about Dr. Bonk, check out his blog, TravelinEdMan which includes reflections on his speaking experiences around the world.

March Madness 2012 is upon us!

With 99% of the tournament teams using Blackboard, we decided to host our own Final Four Pool. No money involved just good, clean fun. The client with the closest entries for the final winner will win a non-transferable free pass to BbWorld 2012 in New Orleans, LA.

Whether you’re pulling for a Trojan or a Jayhawk, you must enter your final four bracket picks by 12PM EDT on March 22, 2012 – and hopefully we’ll see your team in the Final Four.

Click here to enter your picks and be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for more March Madness trivia!

Please see the contest terms and conditions,  for more information.