Products & Services

Facebook and Twitter attract more users every day. According to the site, Facebook has more than 500 million users, while Quantcast reports that the number of Twitter users reached 190 million by the end of 2010. This growing audience is one reason social media is quickly becoming a mainstream platform for forward-looking educators that want to establish relationships and maintain open conversations with community members. Additionally, many schools are embracing social media sites as a way to reach out to students and parents within familiar forums in an effort to combat cyber bullying. Schools using social networks effectively and responsibly can serve to demonstrate acceptable ways for students to use such tools to communicate with other students. Being able to speak knowledgeably about social media and acknowledge real instances of bad behavior in education can help in teaching the hidden dangers of irresponsible online conduct.

As we move into the New Year, many regions of the country are experiencing extreme winter storms and harsh weather conditions. Clients of our mass notification services – Blackboard Connect and AlertNow – are relying on us to deliver millions of messages. From districts alerting parents of school closings, to colleges notifying students of modified class times to local officials warning residents of treacherous road conditions, Blackboard alerts have reached millions across the East Coast. 

K-12 leaders face daily challenges and opportunities from all education stakeholders:

• Parents demand the highest level of academics for their child. 
• Staff expect clear objectives.
• The community at large, expects fiscal responsibility. 

Because of these growing demands, it is unrealistic for administrators, specifically superintendents, to be able to immediately solve every problem that lands on their desk. 

As a leading publication for K-12 school and district administrators, District Administration is known for having a pulse on the challenges that schools and districts across the nation commonly face. In an effort to enlighten others about useful, effective tools and technologies, District Administration surveys readers each year to identify products that administrators use to generate measurable increases in parental involvement and student achievement.

This year, as nominated by readers, the Blackboard mass notification platforms, Blackboard Connect and AlertNow, were collectively named as one of the Top 100 Products. We are truly honored to be recognized by District Administration and more importantly, by our clients. At Blackboard, we remain committed to providing educators with reliable solutions for enhancing teaching and learning, and the recognition from District Administration is welcome confirmation.

Blackboard Connect recently teamed up with the California Department of Public Health and CDPH Director Dr. Mark Horton to help spread the word about vaccinations. In support of their continued efforts, we wanted to share news about another important public health and safety awareness campaign from CDPH.