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Over the past year, Blackboard has seen much promise in the emerging area of learning analytics to positively impact education. Last year, we took the bold step of providing our clients with documentation of the Blackboard Learn database which can be used to determine where to focus training efforts or gain insight into how and to what extent the system is used. Earlier this year, we also announced the acquisition of iStrategy, now Blackboard Analytics, whose solution allows institutional leadership to use data warehousing to inform and improve decision-making.  Both of these complement the existing reporting capabilities of the Blackboard Outcomes Assessment solution.

Does this sound familiar?

• Data is not accessible – only a small group of people know what’s there, how to get to it and what to do with it.
• Data is siloed, and how/where it’s stored (index card?) varies greatly across the institution
• Strategic decisions are sometimes 100% not strategic, like a 15% across-the-board budget cut
• Everybody (and nobody) wants to own the data

Hi. My name is Tiffany Tooley and I am the Blackboard Community Manager. In this role, I have the opportunity of working to support a unique series of programs, developed to help our clients have a more valuable and meaningful experience as they engage with the platform and seek input and experiences from their peers  across the  greater Blackboard Community. In doing so, I get to meet our terrific clients and listen as they share their stories and ideas about impacting education and their relationship with Blackboard. I also get the opportunity to retell them here. With over 1,200 Blackboard clients currently using our latest generation platform, my new blog series will highlight several of our clients that have successfully upgraded in the past year. My first spotlight will focus on Concordia University.

We’re very excited to share some news with you about BbWorld 2011: Steven Johnson, best-selling author of “Where Good Ideas Come From,” “Everything Bad is Good for You,” and “Emergence,” will deliver the opening keynote on Tuesday, July 12.  A social critic, technologist and a three-time TED speaker, Johnson is noted for his ability to see emerging trends and explain why they are relevant to both personal life and work. At BbWorld, Johnson will discuss the genesis of ideas, exploring the types of environments and systems – including institutions, communities and disciplines – that propagate creativity and innovation.

The Arkansas Blackboard Users Group (ARbug) recently held their annual user’s conference, and I was lucky enough to take part in the festivities. The conference took place in beautiful Hot Springs, Arkansas on the campus of National Park Community College. The theme of the conference was, “Educate. Communicate. Collaborate,” and the group of ~100 clients, Blackboarders and Blackboard Partners did everything they could to make that theme a reality. The conference began on Wednesday, March 9 — in the brand new Frederick Dierks Center for Nursing and Health Sciences, a beautiful building with a state-of-the-art Amphitheater – with two workshops designed to build collaboration amongst two groups of the educational community – Online Course Builders and System Administrators.