Products & Services

The German eLearning Journal put the Blackboard Learn platform to the test for their May edition. The magazine regularly tests various eLearning products in a number of categories, ranging from online solutions and video training to language training, online collaboration and learning management systems. Blackboard Learn 9.1 SP8 was thoroughly reviewed by a team of experts on 26 categories.  The experts awarded the platform great scores and the end verdict “Very Good”. In the report, the eLearning Journal states that: “One must attest that Blackboard Learn quite simply has, in all respects, what a modern LMS must have. The technical features such as scalability and adaptability achieved the same outstanding ratings as the administration did.” On flexibility and openness, the reviewers mention that “Blackboard doesn’t rely solely on its own standards; rather, it is so flexible, that, like a Lego brick, it can be integrated into a number of other systems and existing solutions.” Interested to learn more about this review? Click here to download the English version of the report and click here to download the German version of the report.

For most, summertime means sunny days and warmer weather. But for those living in areas near the Gulf Coast and the East Coast, the summer season can bring unpredictable tropical storms and hurricane formations. At Blackboard Connect, we have worked with numerous clients over the years to help local and community leaders effectively communicate with their residents before, during and after a storm. Putting our knowledge and experience to good use, we have produced the Hurricane Playbook, an informative resource to help local officials prepare for the hurricane season. Download it here. Hurricane season officially begins today, June 1^st,and with experts predicting an active season, it is critical to begin preparing response and recovery efforts. Join our upcoming webinar to learn more about planning hurricane communications from the City of La Porte’s Emergency Management Coordinator, Jeff Suggs.  As La Porte’s EMC, Jeff weathered Hurricane Katrina and a direct hit from Ike and recently shared his hurricane communications expertise at the National Hurricane Conference this past March.  This webinar will help you avoid common mistakes and teach us all about the importance of coordinating with other local communities before a hurricane strikes. In the meantime, here are a few steps local leaders can take to help ensure they are appropriately prepared:

These days it’s almost impossible to have a conversation about education without hearing the rallying call for the adoption of new technology in the classroom – and with good reason! Technology and social media have changed traditional consumption patterns for today’s students, and consequently the priorities of educators may need to change accordingly. Here are some statistics that may surprise you:

• Forty-six percent of drivers aged 18 to 24 said they would choose Internet access over owning a car, according to the research firm Gartner. Getting the keys to your first car used to be the ultimate rite of passage (I know it was for me a more than a decade ago), but today’s learners are more interested in having easy access to the information highway than the interstate. Recognizing this shift drives home the need to create dynamic learning spaces that seamlessly integrate online and offline components.

When the Federal Government created new educational regulations stating universities must better prepare students for gainful employment, Troy University saw it as a chance to fine-tune its own efforts. With unemployment at record high levels, Troy decided to make internship placement more readily available to all of its students in an effort to help them gain employment after graduation.

Troy already had career centers at each of its four campuses, but an increasing number of students were taking classes online from remote locations without access to the on-campus centers. With roughly half of the student body online, Troy University needed a new solution to help the students find internships prior to graduation. “There was definitely a need for internship placement for the online students,” said Ronnie Creel, director of Education Technology at Troy.

Online video sharing sites are an excellent resource for the kind of active teaching centerpieces that make a classroom great. But if participation and direct engagement are the keys to the effective use of technology in the classroom today, then maybe something a little more interactive is necessary to keep active learners motivated, stimulated and excited. One innovative way to spice up the audio-visual aspects of your learning environment is to move away from viewing video in the classroom and move towards creating it. These types of projects can combine a number of great take-away lessons for the students into one fun project – and better yet, it works across learning levels! These cooperative projects are excellent ways to:

• Encourage ownership & community collaboration. Group projects work best when every member feels like they hold a piece to the puzzle – and video projects have enough components (like planning, capturing content, editing) that everyone can be equally involved. These social learning exercises can be easily facilitated by tools and content management systems like Blackboard Learn.