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At BbWorld this year, we have over 40 focus group sessions and usability labs on the schedule. The focus group topics are broad and include product capabilities such as SIS integration, WebDAV, and Aggregate and Longitudinal Reporting as well as support and upgrade related topics including the opportunity to discuss change management and how we’re doing in Client Support. Our three usability labs will test basic behaviors, innovative new features in development, improvements to grading workflows, and get insight into ANGEL users’ reactions to the NG interface.

You can get involved! A sign-up survey will be sent to all registered BbWorld attendees next week and will include an opportunity for you to express interest in one or more sessions. In the meantime, search the catalog to see which sessions pique your interest -> select “Focus Group” and/or “Usability Lab” from the “Select Special Topic” menu.

Having taught in the classroom for several years, I recall in-service days every two months or so where teachers and administrators in the school district had the opportunity to network and learn about current issues in the K-12 classroom. The most impactful were those where I could walk away with a new skill, different approach, more in-depth knowledge, or greater insight which I could then apply to my work with students and share with my colleagues. The most beneficial in-service days consisted of sessions where there was more than the dissemination of ideas; they were professional development experiences where I was part of the learning process.

The Pre-Conference Workshop Program at BbWorld is designed to engage you in the learning process. Just prior to the official opening of BbWorld ’10 and over the course of three days – Sunday, July 11; Monday, July 12; and Tuesday, July 13 – we are offering a number of workshops constructed to equip you with new skills and share the collective knowledge of our Blackboard learning community.

Over the past year, there has been a lot of invigorating conversation about what "openness" means to learning technology. Opinions on the matter are wide-ranging, and here at Blackboard we are focusing now more than ever on creating a learning platform that is easily extended and powerfully interoperable with a wide range of external systems. Whether you are interested in connecting to Web 2.0 sites or authentication and enrollment systems, this year's Blackboard Developers Conference again showcases the maturity and capability of the Blackboard Learn platform through examples from Blackboard's client community.

Topics featured in this year's sessions include open standards, developing mashups, virtualization, performance, CSS/themes, and advanced reporting. This program features 4 tracks, including a refined system administration & integration track, designed to meet the needs and expectations of a technical audience.

We’re so excited that over 700 of you have already registered for BbWorld 2010. Those of you with the BbWorld 2010 and DevCon 2010 websites bookmarked probably noticed that we’ve just announced the client-led program!  So many of you have raised your hand to participate in this year’s event – we have about 120 client led sessions on topics including planning for Release 9.1, engaging with Web 2.0 tools and meeting the mobile demand on campus.

As we get closer to announcing full program details for BbWorld 2010 in Orlando, we have some exciting news to share. Greg Mortenson – bestselling author, education activist and advocate – will serve as the event’s opening keynote speaker.

In Three Cups of Tea, Greg tells about how his failed attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2 in 1993 brought him to a village in a remote mountain region of Pakistan where he observed students writing their school lessons with sticks. From that experience, Greg has dedicated his life to promoting education and literacy programs, especially for girls, in remote mountain regions of Pakistan and Afghanistan.