Products & Services

For those of you who weren’t able to get to New Orleans for the Connections Summit, I wanted to briefly share with you some of what we talked about earlier today in my keynote address, and that’s debunking the myths about online learning.

I’m sure that it’s a conversation that you’ve all had with colleagues who fear that online learning is not sufficiently engaging for students. The fear that online learners will be isolated, miss out on non-verbal communication with their instructors and their fellow students, and not have access to the help they need. That their motivation will be low, which translates into poor outcomes. And then there is the fear that the technology that makes online learning more engaging isn’t quite there yet.

Working backwards, I can assure you that the technology is there.  As you’ll see in Blackboard Collaborate 12, pretty much everything we do is aimed at making the online learning experience as fully engaging as that of the physical classroom, especially when coupled with your institution’s LMS.

And given how wired in today’s students are, we’re getting to the point where it can be argued that bringing real-time collaboration technology into both the physical and virtual classroom mix is becoming the only way to guarantee full engagement.  (I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s seen a couple of kids sitting in the same room texting each other.)

I’m going to make a bold statement here: if you’re using an LMS, you should be using Blackboard Collaborate. Asynchronous courses can be personalized with instructor comments via voice authoring. Students can get the help they need from their classmates and instructors with instant messaging.

Whether a course is delivered asynchronously, live online, or in a physical classroom, project collaboration using web conferencing is an excellent way to engage students and help them build their networks. And for today’s students, who are seldom if ever without their iPhones and iPads, being able to participate in class and meetings with a mobile device is rapidly becoming an expectation.

I’ll end by saying that we’re looking forward to showing off Blackboard Collaborate 12 , and debunking all those myths about online learning.

In my blog last week I introduced you to a few of the Blackboard Learn experts who will be onsite in New Orleans next week ready to talk to you about new features, workflows, integrations, and extensions to Learn. To ensure you get the most out of your time at BbWorld here is round two of “Meet the Blackboard Learn Experts”.  These individuals will be presenting sessions but also spending a lot of time in either the Blackboard booth (in the exhibit hall) or at the Digital Content & Upgrade Center which will be located on the Main Foyer Level 2 of the convention center.  Seek them out, ask questions and share your best practices with them.

These Bbers will be sharing their favorite features and workflows at the Blackboard Learn booth – here is the schedule, so stop by!

On 22 June 2012, the Society for Pedagogy and Information (GPI) – a scientific society for multimedia, educational technology and media didactics – awarded the Comenius EduMedia Awards to outstanding products in the field of ICT-supported educational media. Blackboard Mobile Learn was awarded the Comenius EduMedia Seal of Approval and the Comenius EduMedia Medal in the category ‘Educational Management Systems (LMS)’.

The Blackboard Mobile™ Learn application gives students and faculty access to their courses, content, and organizations on a variety of mobile devices including Android™, BlackBerry® and iPhone OS. Students and instructors can access documents in multiple formats, read announcements, create discussion threads, upload media, create content items within the course map, comment on blogs and more—all on the mobile devices they love. This German trailer demonstrates what Blackboard Mobile Learn looks like on the iPad.

Summer has arrived in the Northern Hemisphere, and that means academic technology leaders are busy preparing for the start of the 2012-2013 term. One of the first places that K12 technology leaders gather is ISTE, which I just came back from. It was a great conference to connect up with long-time customers and hear their experiences with our products.

As I talked to our customers, it was clear that the whole concept of the “Active Learner” – today’s students who don’t just want to be spoon fed information but want to actively engage in their quest for knowledge – is really the right path. These students have been at the forefront of our minds as we’ve been developing our newest products. As we gave a few customers sneak previews of our latest technology, I was overjoyed to see the positive response. I can hardly wait to see all our biggest customers at BbWorld and Connections Summit and share the innovations we’re about to roll out, including mobile capabilities.

See you in New Orleans!

Get to know the Blackboard Learn Experts in preparation for New Orleans.

BbWorld is so jam-packed full of great sessions, discussions, and fun times that it helps to plan ahead a little bit.  The Learn team and I thought it would be fun to give you a roster of ‘who’s who’ on the team so that you can locate the right people for your needs at BbWorld. Many of these product experts will be doing cool product demos and min-sessions of favorite workflows in Blackboard Learn (even some future functionality). They will be available at the Blackboard Learn booth for discussions about software or to discuss the Amazon, VW Vans, and how King Edward II lost his wife! Let’s not delay – meet the experts who can give you answers to the questions you have about Blackboard Learn.  (In order to not overwhelm you, there will be additional experts introduced in follow up posts – stay tuned)