It’s not often in life you see tangible or direct results. So many times projects are diluted, the original intent or scope changes or things beyond your control take over. Well, today I got to see an amazing result of our work which gave me goose-bumps. I manage the Blackboard Catalyst Awards and I love this program because I get to see the outstanding achievements of Blackboard clients that results in acknowledgment by our company. But what I *really* get excited about is when a client I know who is very deserving, receives accolades from their institution or organization.

When I first joined Blackboard five years ago, I noticed everyone was talking about "BUGs". Being in software for many years, I thought that a bug was your run-of-the-mill software glitch. Then I heard about different types of BUGs – like miBUG, CSBUG or ARBug. I even heard that we were actually sending Blackboarders to these BUGs! So I realized pretty quickly that this was definitely not your typical "software bug" and I better get to the bottom of this. Lo and behold, I found out that Blackboard facilitates a plethora of BUGs – which stands for Blackboard User Groups.

Looking for an easy way to find your colleagues at other learning institutions?  Seeking a regional or special-interest user group?  Want to learn best practices for e-Learning and the use of educational technology?

You can do all of these at the new community website for Blackboard users, Blackboard Connections.

To access the new Blackboard Connections site, you can use the same easy login as you do for Behind the Blackboard and EduGarage.  If you don’t have one of these accounts, you can simply sign up for a Connections account on the new site.

(If you had an account on the previous Connections site, that account ID and login will not work on the new site.  Rather, your Behind the Blackboard ID will work.  If you need to visit the previous Connections site, please go to: http://communities.blackboard.com.)