by Jan Day
Wow – what a conference!
On Thursday afternoon when Bb World ’06 was over I stood in the San Diego Convention Center and thought about how quickly time had passed. I thought about all the new things I’d learned, the wonderful people I’d met, and the fun times I’d enjoyed.
Looking back on the conference it is hard to say what I enjoyed most because there was so much to choose from but these are some of my highlights:
- The Blackboard Partner Reception – a cocktail party to thank Blackboard’s Partners for all of their support at Bb World, Regional User Group meetings, and to show them that we are happy to have them in the Blackboard family.
- The Product Development Client Appreciation Reception – an event to thank members of the Blackboard Idea Exchange, Product Development Partners, Focus Group members and Beta Partners for helping us make Blackboard software better.
- Malcolm Gladwell’s opening keynote – he was one of the best speakers I’ve heard in years. He challenged each and every one of us to become agents for change at our own institutions. I’ve taken that challenge to heart and I hope others do too.
- Poster Sessions – Our clients are doing so many clever and cool things with Blackboard technology and this was a great forum to exchange ideas and lessons learned.
- The lively discussion I had with clients in the Building Blocks booth about which Star Trek ship on which we would have served.
- Client presentations about everything from getting started with Blackboard Building Blocks ® to how to leverage the Advanced Reporting Database to Door Access for Blackboard Transaction System TM Universal Edition. There were so many great presentations it was hard to choose!
- Client Appreciation Party on the USS Midway – never having been on an aircraft carrier this was an amazing experience. The tours, the flight simulators, the food, and the dancing were all lots of fun.
The conference was fun and it was exhausting – so much so that when the airline lost my bag on the way home I wasn’t upset about it. It saved me from having to do laundry.
