WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc.
(Nasdaq: BBBB) today announced an upgraded integration for
Blackboard Collaborate™ and Blackboard Learn™ 9.1
which significantly enhances the performance of the company's Web,
video and voice conferencing platform within the latest release of
its flagship learning management system. The integration enables
users to create and experience virtual classes directly in their
Blackboard Learn course.
With the integration, students, instructors and administrators
can access all aspects of online learning – including virtual
classes – within the same workflow, which can lead to greater
adoption and a more dynamic learning experience. Students have
access to live virtual sessions and recordings with a single click,
and greater opportunity to interact in real time in social learning
opportunities with peers and instructors. Teachers and
administrators can save time by eliminating the need for
multi-system training and streamlining administrative tasks.
"The new Blackboard Collaborate integrated with Blackboard Learn
represents a significant leap forward for our user community, as it
provides an improved interface and seamless access to all learning
from a single, combined platform," says Tova Duby, senior manager for eLearning Platform
Operations at Babson College. "The
streamlined administrative workflows save our educators time,
enabling them to focus on teaching and learning, while our students
benefit from live, dynamic interaction in our online learning
programs."
The integration gives greater control to instructors and
administrators who can leverage the new interface to create live
sessions in one click and configure settings to create a customized
experience. Advanced administrative settings enable instructors to
schedule multiple live sessions per course, set up sessions with
telephony and Webcam options, pre-load virtual class content and
designate moderators and outside guests.
The fully-supported, Blackboard Collaborate™ Web Conferencing
Building Block 3.0 for Blackboard Learn 9.1 joins a number of
existing integrations available for earlier versions of Blackboard
Learn.
"Blending the design principles of the Blackboard Learn platform
with the user experience of the Blackboard Collaborate platform
supports administrators by minimizing support and training costs,"
said Maurice Heiblum, president of
Blackboard Collaborate. "We are excited to provide a solution that
not only enhances the user experience, but also gives institutions
a greater return on their technology investments."
In addition to the enhanced integration with Blackboard Learn,
Blackboard Collaborate supports integrations with a wide range of
learning management systems including Blackboard Learn ANGEL
Edition®, WebCT®, Sakai, Moodle,
Desire2Learn™, Pearson LearningStudio™ and Fronter™. The Blackboard
Collaborate platform also includes an open Application Programming
Interface (API) to support custom integrations and
enhancements.
To learn more about Blackboard Collaborate, please visit
http://www.blackboard.com/collaborate.
About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise
technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of
millions of students and learners around the world every day.
Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12,
professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend
teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and
security, and communicate more effectively with their communities.
Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington,
D.C., with offices in North
America, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Any statements in this press release about future
expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard and other
statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans,"
"expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute
forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ
materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements
as a result of various important factors, including the factors
discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-K filed
on February 18, 2011 and Form 10-Q
filed on August 4, 2011 with the SEC.
In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press
release represent the Company's views as of September 6, 2011. The Company anticipates that
subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views
to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these
forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company
specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These
forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as
representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to
September 6, 2011.
SOURCE Blackboard Inc.