Blackboard Blogs

A Method to Our Madness

From David Robinson, LMS Administrator - Georgia Gwinnett College

What were we thinking? Why would a brand new college in the throes of creating a college culture, constructing a campus, and preparing for accreditation decide to pilot a still-in-beta product with live courses in an untested integration? When I put it that way, maybe we are crazy, or maybe as was said of Hamlet, “Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.”

Blackboard Launches Instant Messaging in Blackboard Learn

Today, Blackboard announced an exciting new development: education-focused instant messaging within the Blackboard Learn platform and now available to the entire Blackboard client community. Through a new partnership with Wimba Inc., educators and learners at any of the education, government and professional organizations working with Blackboard worldwide can use instant messaging to enhance their teaching and learning experience safely and securely within Blackboard Learn.

Blackboard CEO Michael Chasen discusses the exciting development in this video:

To find out more about this new instant messaging capability within Blackboard Learn, see the Blackboard Learn Web site:

http://www.blackboard.com/Teaching-Learning/Learn-Capabilities/Course-Delivery/Blackboard-and-Wimba.aspx.  

Blackboard + iPhone = Learning on the Go

A post from Jessica Finnefrock, Senior Vice President of Product Development at Blackboard.

I am incredibly excited today because it marks the launch of our new Blackboard Learn for Apple® iPhone™ and iPod® touch application (it's available as a *free* download from the Apple® iTunes® App store). 

So why am I so excited?

Primarily because of what this means for students. One of the great things we've done as part of our Project NG work is reach out to hear more student feedback. And in these student focus groups we've heard consistently that their #1 priority for us is to help them manage their time in Blackboard more effectively. One great example is the story of a student I met in Georgia. She works full-time and takes classes part-time. She prefers to access her assignments at the office so she can use the work printer. But she works in a cubicle and is always anxious that her boss will walk behind her when she's in Blackboard looking to see if the assignment is posted. Her request? Give her tools to improve the risk/reward benefit. We listened.