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You keep your phone in your purse or pocket. You keep your favorite t-shirt you’ve had for years in the middle drawer (or sometimes on the floor). And when it comes to the information that matters most, you don’t want your stuff all over the place.

Wait, staying organized—that’s a lot of work. But don’t worry. Now you don’t have to do it alone. A new feature in Blackboard Learn, My Blackboard, makes it so much easier.

Think of it as your own intelligent, organized educational assistant.

Grades, notifications, course conversations, classmate profiles, and more, are all bundled into one convenient, organized interface that is accessible from anywhere within Blackboard. No jumping in and out of courses, multiple tabs, or convoluted drop-downs.

You’ll have to get your clicks elsewhere.

Blackboard Learn. Simply. Better. See why.

In 2010, Professor Sharon Feaster began offering Connect Anatomy & Physiology to her students as an extra study tool. Professor Feaster was hesitant to require McGraw-Hill Connect and have her students go to two course websites – Blackboard Learn and Connect – so she made it optional for students.

As soon as the Blackboard integration became available, she immediately jumped on board and started requiring her students to use McGraw-Hill Connect.  As a result, she experienced significant improvements in course and exam pass rates, demonstrating the effectiveness of Connect and LearnSmart on student learning.  In addition, she saw a 29% reduction in course withdrawals, which she assumes is a result of fewer students feeling compelled to withdraw because they were succeeding in the course.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read this case study to find out why Professor Feaster credits Connect with having made a real difference for her students.

Now that our Connections Summit 2012 user conference is less than a month away, it’s time to highlight some of the show-stopping presentations on the agenda. After Blackboard Collaborate President Maurice Heiblum kicks off the conference with his opening keynote on Tuesday July 10, 2012 at 2:05pm in room 394, we all know that the biggest highlight will be the unveiling of Blackboard Collaborate v12 featuring mobility and more!  This presentation, by Valerie Schreiner and Marlen Rattiner, will be Wednesday July 11, 2012 at 1:50pm, also in room 394.  We strongly encourage attendees of both BbWorld and the Connections Summit to attend so they can all be dazzled by everything coming down the pike. Immediately following the new product presentation, attendees can learn from five of their peers about the process of upgrading to Blackboard Collaborate from a former Elluminate or Wimba legacy web conferencing product.  This upgrade panel will be Wednesday July 11, 2012 at 2:55pm in room 385.  At that same time, attendees can attend a Blackboard Collaborate 12 Roundtable for an opportunity to ask the Collaborate Product Management team about v12. At 4:10pm on Wednesday July 11, 2012 in room 387, join Collaborate Product Advisory Council members Jim Wolfgang (Georgia Digital Innovations Group), Phil O’Hara (Dalhousie University), and Marcel Bechtoldt (UMSL) as they talk about their roles in the advisory group and how customers help drive product development.  And on Thursday July 12, 2012 at 10:15am, Rattiner and David Hastie will go in-depth about Collaborate mobile in “Here, There, and Everywhere: Mobilizing Blackboard Collaborate.” Highlighted Sessions: Blackboard Collaborate Connections Summit 2012 Opening Keynote by Maurice Heiblum Tues July 10 at 2:05pm in room 394 Join Maurice Heiblum, President of Blackboard Collaborate, as he talks about the platform’s most recent year under the Blackboard umbrella. He’ll discuss the launch of Blackboard Collaborate 11, share customer success stories, and give insight into what’s coming down the road. Introducing Blackboard Collaborate 12 with Mobility and More! by Valerie Schreiner & Marlen Rattiner Wed July 11 at 1:50pm in room 394 Join Valerie Schreiner and Marlen Rattiner from the Blackboard Collaborate Product Management team as they unveil the brand new Blackboard Collaborate 12 with mobility and more! Blackboard Collaborate Upgrade Panel Wed July 11 at 2:55pm in room 385 Unsure about how to upgrade from Wimba or Elluminate Live to Blackboard Collaborate 11 or 12? Listen to our panel of experts as they share their experiences about their upgrade processes. Blackboard Collaborate Connections Summit Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony and Client Appreciation Event Wed July 11 at 6pm at Generations Hall Join us for food, fun, drinks, and awards at our Hall of Fame Induction Dinner and Customer Appreciation Event at Generations Hall during which we will induct the second class of our Blackboard Hall of Fame for Excellence in Collaboration. Here, There, and Everywhere: Mobilizing Blackboard Collaborate by David Hastie & Marlen Rattiner Thurs July 12 at 10:15am in room 387 This session will provide a detailed look at our first mobile web conferencing application, as well as how instructors can quickly and conveniently make recorded sessions available to students in MP3 and MP4 formats for viewing from virtually any device.

BbWorld is an extraordinary event where one can learn and become familiar with the trends in education technology for communications and information. As leader in  my institution, sharing successful experiences with other universities from around the world and meeting experts of education has been of great importance to develop projects at the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia. As the challenge of quality in higher education is focused on the use of teaching and learning tools, I look forward that in 2012, I will find experiences that demonstrate innovation in education and the formation of competencies. See you soon!

Maritza Rondon Rangel Vicerrectora Académica Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia

A few weeks ago, the U.S. Army announced that it selected Android for its future smartphone operating system. CNN.com Tech reports that the Army selected the “device agnostic” OS to power a specially designed mobile device that has yet to be released. The Joint Battle Command-Platform, or JBC-P Handheld, would be the first device developed under the Army’s effort to create a framework and suite of mobile apps. If implemented, such a device would enable warfighters to access key information and data on the ground – which could prove life-saving if in the midst of battle.

This is a great step forward in making smartphones a more ubiquitous tool for both military training and operations.  As Andrew Martin and Thomas Lin point out in a recent New York Times story titled “Keyboards First. Then Grenades.”, it’s important to reach soldiers in the mediums in which they are most comfortable.