K-12 leaders face daily challenges and opportunities from all education stakeholders:

• Parents demand the highest level of academics for their child. 
• Staff expect clear objectives.
• The community at large, expects fiscal responsibility. 

Because of these growing demands, it is unrealistic for administrators, specifically superintendents, to be able to immediately solve every problem that lands on their desk. 

For the third year in a row, Blackboard is excited to have K-12 students join us at BbWorld for a student panel.  After all, the investments we make in education benefit students and contribute to their success in academics and in life. Come hear what they have to say about their school-life experiences and how they prefer to be engaged in learning. You'll gain insight into the role technology plays in their daily lives.  

Click here to watch last year’s student panel, “Voice of the Students: Technology’s Impact on Learning in Their Own Words,” which was moderated by Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow.  

Session Details: 

Title: Voice of the Students: The Impact of Online Learning in Their Own Words

Moderated by Julie Evans

Date: July 14, 3:15-4:00 p.m. 

Room: Sun D

What do students, teachers, the Baltimore Orioles and the Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1 environment have in common? These activities and people were all part of the latest Executive Symposium hosted by the K-12 team at Blackboard. 27 district administrators gathered in Baltimore’s Inner harbor on May 11th to engage with colleagues and the Blackboard K-12 team. Many conversations took place over this two day period, with topics ranging from online learning, mass communications, creating district efficiencies and doing more with less. Attendees enjoyed some peanuts and crackerjacks at the old ballgame and even though the Oriole's lost that night, our guests enjoyed networking and conversing in the park.  

As part of the Blackboard Learn Release 9.1 rollout, the K-12 team hosted a launch breakfast for school board members from across the U.S. and Canada at the National School Boards Association [NSBA] Annual Conference in Chicago, IL. Attendees heard from Dan Lake of OCM BOCES, a strategic member of the Blackboard beta program for Release 9.1 and Sheryl Abshire, CTO of Calcasieu Parish Public Schools who recently upgraded to Release 9.1. Both spent time discussing the new functionality and capabilities available in the latest product release that are primarily dedicated to the needs of K-12 schools and districts. Bret Dennis, Senior Manager of Blackboard’s Product Management team and Mike Lange, a Solutions Engineer from the K-12 division moderated the conversation and showed attendees the sleek and easy-to-use Blackboard platform. Audience members were attentive and spent much of the morning asking the clients questions about usage, funding sources, their challenges and opportunities. It was a fluid dialogue for all involved.   

The Blizzard of 2010 blanketed many parts of the country with stronger than usual winter weather patterns and incredible snow accumulations forcing hundreds of school districts to close. Teachers and students were forced to stay home, and this, without a doubt, created challenging situations for Superintendents and district leaders. Many districts were closed for more than a week, disrupting lesson plans and testing schedules, particularly if the school district did not have access to an online learning system or a plan for education continuity.