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It’s time to start mapping out your trip to BbWorld. The full program is now live, online and fully searchable by time, date, product, format, type and role. This year, we have over 140 client led sessions for you to choose from on topics including:

• Student and engagement and success
• Learning Analytics
• Pedagogical best practices
• Mobile
• Professional development
• Openness and ways to extend Blackboard

I’m very excited to share with you more news about BbWorld. Prepare to be inspired by Sir Ken Robinson, best-selling author, internationally recognized leader in development, creativity, innovation and human potential, who will deliver the Day 3 keynote address at BbWorld 2011. Robinson has authored several books on his unconventional ideas about how education can support – not stifle – the creativity and passion in everyone.

Last year at BbWorld, we announced that Blackboard was forging a partnership with McGraw-Hill. In December, we kicked off a Limited Field Trial of a ground-breaking, integrated solution.  And now, Blackboard is excited to tell you that the launch is finally here! As of, April 14, Blackboard Learn^TM, Release 9.1 clients are now able to download a FREE Blackboard Building Block^TM to take advantage of the integrated McGraw-Hill Connect® and Create^TM solution.

Earlier this week, we were notified by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) that we were selected as finalists for the 2011 CODiE Awards. Blackboard has been selected as a finalist in a number of different categories, including six Education Technology categories and one Business Software category, with representation from many of our platforms including Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Mobile and Blackboard Collaborate. With the voting underway, we’re hopeful that we’ll bring home a few trophies when winners are announced in late May.

In Part II of my blog series highlighting our clients’ successful upgrade to Release 9.1, we take a look at the University of Richmond. Home to NCAA basketball’s Richmond Spiders and one of the highest ranked liberal arts schools in the U.S., University of Richmond supports a growing population of 4,045 students and 379 faculty members. Of the university’s 60+ majors and thousands of courses, zero (yes, that’s none, folks) are taught by teaching assistants. That means Richmond’s faculty is highly involved in the hands-on education of its student body. It’s Fred Hagemeister’s job to ensure they have the best tools to do so. Fred is the Academic Technology Services Coordinator at the university’s Center for Teaching + Learning +Technology and Richmond’s leading Blackboard expert.