K-12

The Blackboard Collaborate Connections Summit has a lot going for it, including numerous opportunities to learn about our newest platform enhancements, including Blackboard Collaborate 12 with mobile capabilities, and to network with other Blackboard Collaborate users and experts, especially those who have already upgraded to Blackboard Collaborate. By attending Connections, you can optimize your technology investment and have a voice in shaping future Blackboard Collaborate products and services. At the same time, what you learn here will enable you to take actionable steps within your organization to add value. Are you as certain as we are that your participation will make a difference for you AND your organization? The next step is convincing your boss. So, here are some talking points that will help you do just that. What you will learn … Invest your time for immediate impact by:

• Building on the innovation of other Blackboard Collaborate clients to make your investment work even harder
• Participating in active demonstrations for first-hand advice and tips you can use right away
• Coming away with new ideas, refined purpose, and better product knowledge to make it all happen
• Getting a global perspective from a diverse group of speakers, cutting-edge topics, and interaction with community members

What you will do … Designed for you and by you with opportunities to:

• Choose from 50 presentations by Blackboard Collaborate customers, thought leaders, and subject matter experts
• Participate in moderated peer discussions on partnerships, openness, and goals for building a better student experience
• Attend detailed technical sessions devoted to change management, scalability, upgrade paths, and the latest Blackboard Collaborate technology
• Find out where education technology is leading us and understand the road map to your competitive advantage

What you will change … Share your ideas and impact future releases by:

• Brainstorming with your peers in the academic community
• Meeting with like-minded professionals and tackling challenges as a team
• Interacting with industry leaders and Blackboard Collaborate experts
• Taking part in molding “what’s next” from Blackboard Collaborate

We hope this helps you make your case for attending Connections Summit 2012. It could very well be one of the best decisions you and your boss make this year. We are looking forward to seeing you in July in New Orleans!

I’m excited about this year’s DevCon, not just because I’m a foodie and I love the food in New Orleans. I mean, c’mon, no one can pass up a beignet from Café du Monde. Besides the enticing food, I’m excited for the great speakers and sessions. On July 9^th and 10^th DevCon 2012 will descend onto New Orleans and give its attendees over 30 sessions devoted to topics like system administration and integration, security and performance, Blackboard Building Blocks development, and openness. This year we will also have sessions devoted to Blackboard mobile development, so those of you that are curious about how to develop using Blackboard Mobile’s SDK (software development kit) can satisfy that curiosity.

In case you missed it, Jarl Jonas, Director of CourseSites, blogged earlier this week and shared two very exciting announcements for all users. Originally posted to the new CourseSites Blog on April 16, 2012: As a free resource for individual educators, CourseSites has removed a common barrier of access to teaching and learning technology. While a significant milestone in itself, we understand further barriers exist for many individuals, particularly impeding access to education and information. CourseSites seeks to eliminate these barriers, and we are very excited to announce two ways we are doing so. First, all CourseSites instructors can now choose to make courses available for open enrollment. We believe this will open up a new realm of Open Education possibilities and opportunities. Second, we are proud to launch our Open Course Series: Empowering Learning through Community with our first open course on “Instructional Ideas and Technology Tools for Online Success” led by Dr. Curtis Bonk and the CourseSites team. We invite you to try this new feature and join us for our first open course. About Dr. Curtis Bonk:
Curt Bonk is Professor of Instructional Systems Technology at Indiana University and President of CourseShare,LLC. Drawing on his background as a corporate controller, CPA, educational psychologist, and instructional technologist, Bonk offers unique insights into the intersection of business, education, psychology, and technology. A well-known authority on emerging technologies for learning, Bonk reflects on his speaking experiences around the world in his popular blog, TravelinEdMan. He has coauthored several widely used technology books, including The World is Open, Empowering Online Learning, The Handbook of Blended Learning, and Electronic Collaborators.

The following is a guest post from Mark Radcliffe, Director of Learning Management Technologies at blendedschools.net Mark Radcliffe is the Director of Learning Management Technologies for the not-for-profit company blendedschools.net. Mark has worked in various K-20 education positions for the last 10 years including working directly with students and teachers on technology integration projects. At blendedschools.net Mark manages the instructional technology program, communicates directly with Blackboard on a daily basis and handles many aspects of the company’s professional development program. Mark is currently located in Norfolk, Virginia, USA but is originally from Manchester UK. He enjoys the city and loves music and the visual arts. Get an insider’s look…. This year at BbWorld I’ll be presenting “Wimba Classroom to Blackboard Collaborate – Make the Switch,” which is probably one of my simpler session titles in a while. I usually try and cram as many buzz words into my titles as possible. My hope is that it will attract people who look for buzz words and also attract people that get the irony of session titles with buzz words. In the end I went with a simple title this year because I wanted to illustrate that the process of switching from Wimba to Collaborate should not be complicated.

As I shared on Friday, the BbWorld 2012 conference will include presentations from well known leaders spanning the education landscape. To kick-off the conference and the theme of Social Learning, I am very excited to announce Eric Sheninger, Principal at New Milford High School in Bergen County, NJ and his presentation, “Harnessing the Power of Social Media.” Eric, affectionately known to many as @NMHS_Principal, is a K-12 administrator who has adopted social media and web 2.0 technologies to engage students, improve communications with stakeholders, and help educators grow professionally. He is passionate about establishing and fostering learning environments that are student-centered, collaborative, flexible, and prepare all learners to succeed in the 21^st Century. We are thrilled that Eric is able to join us this summer; check out this video message he shared about his upcoming presentation.