Blackboard Blogs

Windows 7 on the Horizon

Hi, I’m Patrick Ryan. As the Technology Analyst in Blackboard Product Development I am responsible for maintaining our technology policy. Our technology stack includes everything from browsers to databases to internal components. Keeping Blackboard current with the changing technology landscape is my priority. I work to keep clients in the loop about our policies, levels of support, future intentions, and current supported technologies. I am part of a Product Development team that works hard year round to keep up with the latest versions of operating systems and browsers so that you, the user, can have a seamless experience from release to release.

Online Credit Recovery Programs Helping to Increase Graduation Rates

In conversations with our K-12 clients, we often learn about new ways that districts are using online learning to solve age-old issues. During the past year, we heard about several clients using online credit recovery programs to increase graduation rates.

Students on the verge of dropping out often need a flexible way to make up for classes they failed the first time around.On average, only 70 percent of students in K-12 schools and districts earn a high-school diploma. Often called the “silent epidemic” in high schools, high dropout rates put students’ futures at risk and pose challenges to our nation’s economic and social well being. Programs including online or hybrid courses are rapidly gaining acceptance as a credit recovery method, with innovative delivery options that enable students to work at their own pace and engage them in a new kind of learning. 

Welcome to the Blackboard Blog on Assessment!

Welcome to the inaugural entry for the Blackboard Blog on Assessment! My name is Charlyne Walker, and I will function as your “tour guide” on this assessment journey. I am currently the Director of Outcomes Marketing here at Blackboard. I joined the Blackboard team in May of this year after spending the last 20 years working in higher education. I hold a doctorate in Leadership and Education with a specialty in Educational Technology and have served as both a teaching faculty member as well as an administrator in higher education. In my last position, I served as Director of Educational Research and Assessment for the College of Arts and Sciences at a large public university in South Florida.