Blackboard Inc.

For the supplier of fundraising software, see Blackbaud.
Blackboard
Privately held
Industry Educational technology
Founded January 1997 (1997-01)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Founders Michael Chasen, Matthew Pittinsky, Stephen Gilfus, Daniel Cane
Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States
Number of locations
 18
Area served
 Worldwide
Key people
 William L. Ballhaus, Chairman, President, and CEO
Products
Services Platform and enterprise consulting, managed hosting, student and training services, online program management[1]
Number of employees
 3,000[2]
Parent Providence Equity Partners
Website www.blackboard.com

Blackboard Inc. is an educational technology company with corporate headquarters in Washington, D.C.. It is known for its Blackboard Learn learning management system.[3]

The company's CEO is William L. Ballhaus, formerly President and CEO of SRA International, who was also named Chairman and President on January 4, 2016, following the resignation of Jay Bhatt, who had led Blackboard since October 2012.[4] The firm provides education, mobile, communication, and commerce software and related services to clients including education providers, corporations and government organizations. The software consists of seven platforms called Learn, Transact, Engage, Connect, Mobile, Collaborate and Analytics that are offered as bundled software. The firm was founded by Michael Chasen, Matthew Pittinsky, Stephen Gilfus and Daniel Cane in 1997, and became a public company in 2004. It operated publicly until it was purchased by Providence Equity Partners in 2011. As of January 2014, its software and services are used by approximately 17,000 schools and organizations in 100 countries.[5] Seventy-five percent of US colleges and universities and more than half of K–12 districts in the United States use its products and services.[6]

History

Early history

Blackboard LLC. was founded in 1997 by Michael Chasen and Matthew Pittinsky and began as a consulting firm contracting to the non-profit IMS Global Learning Consortium.[7] Chasen and Pittinsky started Blackboard after leaving KPMG Consulting where they both had worked as part of the company's higher education practice.[8] In 1998, the company merged with CourseInfo LLC, a small software provider founded by Daniel Cane and Stephen Gilfus that originated at Cornell University .[8][9][10] The combined company was renamed Blackboard Inc. and its first line of e-learning products was branded Blackboard CourseInfo,[11][12] until the CourseInfo brand was dropped in 2000.[13] The product was initially given to teachers for free to try out and then was licensed to schools.[14] The new company made a profit in its first year, and its sales in 1998 approached US$1 million.[8] Other early products included Blackboard Classroom and Blackboard Campus.[15]

By 2006, the firm's software was used in more than 40% of U.S. college campuses and the company had gained a significant worldwide market share.[16] This expansion was initially funded through venture capital from a number of investors, including Pearson PLC, Dell, AOL, The Carlyle Group and Novak Biddle Venture Partners.[17][18]

Overseas expansion began in the early 2000s, growing to include Asia, Australia and Europe.[19][20] Blackboard had its initial public offering (IPO) in June 2004 under the stock market ticker BBBB.[21] Sale of shares in the initial public offering raised an estimated $70 million for the company,[16] making it the second-most successful technology IPO of that year.[22]

Company expansion and buyout

In 2006, Blackboard completed the acquisition of its largest competitor, WebCT Inc, enlarging its share of the higher education market to between 65 and 75 percent.[14][23][24] Over the next five years, the company invested in a series of new products and acquisitions, including Blackboard Xythos,[25] Blackboard Connect, Blackboard Mobile, Blackboard Collaborate, and Blackboard Analytics.,[26][27] thus expanding beyond the learning management system market.[27]

By 2011, the firm's products were used by over half of colleges and universities in the US.[28] On July 1, 2011, Blackboard agreed to a $1.64 billion buyout by an investor group led by Providence Equity Partners, completed on October 4, 2011.[29][30][31] Following the sale, Providence Equity Partners merged Edline, its K-12 learning system, with Blackboard. Edline was later renamed Blackboard Engage.[32][33]

According to a TechCrunch article from 2012, despite its success, Blackboard had become "one of the most disliked — even detested — companies in education."[34] In December 2011, Fast Company reported that 93% of respondents to the Amplicate customer opinion survey "hate" the company.[35]

New leadership

Jay Bhatt succeeded Chasen as CEO of the company in October 2012.[36] Bhatt came to the company after serving as the CEO of Progress Software.[37] As CEO of Blackboard, Bhatt combined the company's product portfolio into offerings called solutions.[5][38] He also restructured the company by market (including North America and International) rather than by product, and consolidated product development and management under new executives.[39] It was reported in July 2014 that approximately 500 of Blackboard's 3,000 employees were hired between 2013 and 2014.[5]

The company's key focuses under Bhatt's leadership have been: student-driven learning solutions; investing in Blackboard Learn, the company's core product;[40] integrating the company’s portfolio of products; and building education service offerings, such as online program management.[26][41][42] In 2013, the company introduced a platform to host massive open online courses called MOOCs, and it introduced student profiles and databases in 2014.[26][37][40] Bhatt also changed the company's strategy for acquiring new businesses. Rather than purchasing competitors, Bhatt has stated he prefers to acquire companies based on their innovations.[40]

In July 2014, Bhatt announced multiple product changes, including a redesign of Blackboard's UX to an interface resembling iOS, expanding the deployment options of Blackboard Learn to include self-hosted, managed hosting and public cloud, and improvements to Blackboard's mobile app.[5][38]

As of July 2014, Blackboard serves approximately 17,000 schools and organizations.[5] It holds the highest share of the education market with 75 percent of colleges and universities and more than half of K-12 districts in the US using its products and services.[6]

As of September 2014, Blackboard had acquired MyEdu,[37] Perceptis,[5] and CardSmith,[43] and Requestec[44] under Bhatt's leadership. The acquisitions reflected Bhatt's new acquisition strategy of making investments that serve students and will lead to innovations in Blackboard's core teaching and learning products.[38][43]

Mergers and acquisitions

Blackboard has used the acquisition of other companies as a strategy to both limit competitors and enter new markets.[24][42][45] Between 2006 and 2012, the company spent more than $500 million on acquisitions.[45]

Competing learning management platforms that were acquired by Blackboard in order to absorb their users and reduce competition include:[26] George Washington University's course management software, Prometheus, in 2002;[46] and WebCT Inc., its largest rival in the education software industry, in 2005.[47] According to market research company Eduventures, the merger with WebCT increased the firm's share of the higher-education market to between 65 and 75 percent.[23] In 2009, the acquisition of ANGEL Learning, an education software developer, increased Blackboard's client base to nearly 6,000 educational institutions, companies and government agencies.[48]

The company has also made acquisitions in order to expand its product base with other education-related services and software.[26] Such acquisitions include: NTI Group in 2008, which became the basis for Blackboard Connect;[26][49] providers of online and mobile collaboration tools, Wimba, Inc. and Elluminate, Inc. in 2010, to form Blackboard Collaborate; iStrategy in December 2010, which led to the creation of Blackboard Analytics;[27] Presidium Inc. in 2011, which developed into Blackboard Student Services.[50] Following the company's merger with Edline in 2011,[51] Edline was later renamed Blackboard Engage.[32] In March 2012, Blackboard acquired Moodlerooms Inc. and NetSpot of Adelaide, Australia, which then became the basis of Blackboard's Open Source Services division.[52][53]

From January 2014 to April 2015, Blackboard acquired nine companies,[54][55] including: MyEdu, an Austin-based online education company;[39] Perceptis, a provider of help desk and administrative services;[56][57] CardSmith, a company that offered cards for student ID and on-campus payments;[43] Requestec, a provider of technology for VoIP, video conferencing and instant messaging;[44] and Schoolwires, a company that specialized in building school websites.[58]

In August 2015, Blackboard acquired Colombia-based Nivel7, possibly the largest Moodle services provider in Latin America.[59]

Operations

Blackboard Inc. headquarters at 650 Massachusetts Ave NW, in Washington, D.C.

Though previously a public company, following its 2011 buyout by Providence Equity Partners Blackboard now operates as a private company.[51][60] The company's headquarters are in Washington, D.C. and it has offices in Asia, Australia, Europe and in several locations in North America.[61]

Products and services

Blackboard Learn

The initial product to be offered by the company was its course management software, first available in 1998.[21][62] The latest version, Blackboard Learn 9.1, was released in April 2010.[63] This is a learning management system that provides a learning system for course delivery and management for institutions; a community and portal system for communication; a content management system for centralized control over course content; and a system to record and analyze student assessment results.[64][65][66]

Though the software is proprietary, developers are able to extend the functionality of the system, and create customized course management and delivery by developing software and applications known as Building Blocks[13] which allows third-party developers to create customizations and extensions for Blackboard Learn through open APIs and web services.[67] In 2011, the firm launched CourseSites, a free version of its Blackboard Learn and Collaborate software, for which it provides hosting and support.[68]

In 2012, TechCrunch writer Rip Empson commented that Blackboard's focus on acquisitions prevented the company from fully focusing on their software products, which has led to the continual introduction of additional features, known as feature creep.[69]

The company's products' user interfaces became "infamous as a part of academic life that was to be endured, not enjoyed" according to TechCrunch writer Rip Empson in 2014.[6] According to educational technology company EdSurge, as of 2015, the company was in the process of updating its learning management system and the user interface within it, noting that navigation of the latter had been a cause of "dismay" for long-time users.[55][70]

Other products

Blackboard Collaborate was created in July 2010[27] and is used by K-12 schools and higher education institutions for professional development and distance learning. It is written in Java. The platform is also used by businesses for distance learning and for conferencing.[71]

The company launched Blackboard Mobile in 2009.[27] The platform provides students with access to teaching and learning content and campus information through mobile applications for iOS, Android, BlackBerry and WebOS devices.[72][73] Blackboard Mobile allows students to both access course materials, check grades, and participate in discussions,[72][74][75] and to access information about campus life and services.[76]

The company began providing its Blackboard Connect service in 2008,[27] for use by school districts and higher education institutions to send out mass phone, text and e-mail notifications.[64] The service can be used for routine alerts and notifications, academic or instructor notifications, or by school districts and communities to share time-sensitive information, such as in the case of natural disasters and campus emergencies.[77][78]

Blackboard Transact, formerly Blackboard Commerce Suite,[64][65] is transaction processing system tied to university ID cards, which can be used for meal plans, vending machines and laundry services, and an e-commerce front end for the transaction system.[79] The Transact system is NFC-compatible and its ID cards use contactless technology.[80][81] Blackboard Transact also includes a program for off-campus vendors that allow students to pay for goods using their college's campus card.[79]

Blackboard Analytics was developed after the company acquired iStrategy, a data analysis firm, in December 2010.[27] The Blackboard Analytics platform is a system for data warehousing and analysis, with applications for educational institutions to analyze student numbers, class scheduling, and financial information. The platform was created as a business intelligence tool specifically for higher education institutions and uses data from colleges' student information, human resources and financial information systems.[82]

Services

Blackboard's services include: managed hosting, platform consulting, enterprise consulting, online program management, training and student services.[1] The firm's managed hosting organization provides web hosting to support clients' IT infrastructure and online learning.[83] The company also provides services through its strategic consulting group, which offers varying degrees of consulting and training. Its services include customized mobile services for clients, and training and consulting for its software implementation and use.[84]

IBlackboard Student Services provides management services for student admissions and enrollment, financial aid, and student accounts and retention. It also provides IT and helpdesk support to students and faculty for learning management systems.[85]

Legal matters

The United States Patent and Trademark Office granted the company U.S. Patent 6,988,138 for "Internet-based education support system and methods" in January 2006. The patent established Blackboard's claims to the concept of connecting together web-based tools to create an interconnected university-wide course management system.[86] The firm announced the patent on July 26, 2006, and on the same day it filed a patent infringement lawsuit against rival education software company Desire2Learn Inc.[86][87] According to news reports, the awarding of the patent and the lawsuit against Desire2Learn led to concerns about patentability in the electronic learning community.

A website, BoycottBlackboard.org, was set up anonymously, calling for a boycott of the company's products and offering an online petition to be signed by those who opposed the patent. In addition, some critics of the patent and lawsuit created a Wikipedia entry for the history of virtual learning environments to document existing examples of course management software.[86] The Software Freedom Law Center filed a request with the U.S. Patent Office to re-examine Blackboard's patent in November 2006, and in January 2007 the request was approved on the basis of prior art, cited by the Center, raising "substantial" questions.[88] To address the concerns raised within the education software and academic communities, in February 2007, the firm announced that it had made a pledge to not assert its patent rights against open-source and non-profit software developers.[89][90]

In February 2008, a federal jury in Texas ruled in favor of Blackboard Inc. in its patent infringement suit against Desire2Learn, finding the rival company liable for infringing on its patent.[91] One month later, in March 2008, the U.S. Patent Office issued a preliminary decision following its re-examination of Blackboard's patent application, which rejected the 44 claims made by the company. The Patent Office stated that it would give a final decision following a review of the patent.[92]

Following the ruling by the federal jury in February 2008, later that year Desire2Learn lodged an appeal with the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. A ruling was made by the Court of Appeals on July 27, 2009 that the 38 patent claims made by Blackboard in its suit against Desire2Learn were invalid.[93] The dispute was resolved, when Blackboard and Desire2Learn announced on December 15, 2009 that each company was settling all ongoing litigation between them and had made a cross-licensing agreement.[94][95] In April 2010, the firm abandoned patent 6,988,138, and in November that year the company's legal counsel announced the patent's "official termination" and stated that Blackboard had ended its appeals.[96]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Company Overview of Blackboard Inc.". BusinessWeek. 2013. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  2. ↑ Steven Pearlstein (November 17, 2012). "Blackboard’s departing founder, an opportunist who made his own luck". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  3. ↑ Nagel, David (July 13, 2011). "Blackboard Learn Expands Open Education Standards Support". THEJournal. Retrieved February 10, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Blackboard Inc. Names William L. Ballhaus Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer". Blackboard. 4 January 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Betsy Corcoran (July 23, 2014). "Blackboard's Jay Bhatt Strikes Up the Brass Band". EdSurge. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Rip Empson (January 16, 2014). "Education Giant Blackboard Buys MyEdu To Help Refresh Its Brand And Reanimate Its User Experience". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  7. ↑ "GEO Interactive Re OEM Agreement". London Stock Exchange Aggregated Regulatory News Service. October 21, 1998.
  8. 1 2 3 Leibovich, Mark (January 4, 1999). "Blackboard Chalks Up a Breakthrough; Its Educational Software Lets Colleges Put Classes on the Internet". The Washington Post. p. F05.
  9. ↑ Darlene Darcy (August 9, 2009). "Years at Blackboard an education that turns employees into entrepreneurs". Washington D.C. Business Journal. Retrieved June 3, 2013.
  10. ↑ Michelle Nagler (October 16, 1997). "Senior's company helps to produce Web pages for college courses". Cornell Chronicle. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  11. ↑ Flook, Bill (14 October 2013). "Gilfus Ventures takes on Blackboard, Instructure with Adrenna purchase". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  12. ↑ Hammer, Ben (18 June 2007). "Blackboard alums plan networking site". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
  13. 1 2 "Blackboard Aims For Standard With Building Blocks Initiative". Educational Marketer 31 (33). November 20, 2000.
  14. 1 2 Timothy Burn (May 2006). "Agent of Change: Blackboard CEO Michael Chasen erases the old way of learning" (PDF). SmartCEO. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  15. ↑ Anne Kelleher (July 1, 2011). "Blackboard Founders’ Roots at American University". American Today. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  16. 1 2 Burn, Timothy (May 2006). "Michael Chasen: CEO of the Year". Washington Smart CEO.
  17. ↑ Daniels, Alex (January 29, 2001). "Big company on campus: Blackboard hopes an IPO will help it dominate the Internet education market". Washington Techway. p. 26.
  18. ↑ Henry, Shannon (May 11, 2000). "Help for an Earning Curve". The Washington Post. p. E01.
  19. ↑ Hughlett, Roger (August 8, 2003). "Blackboard's success may erase bad feelings about dot-coms". Washington Business Journal 22 (14). p. 3.
  20. ↑ Knowlton, Brian (September 1, 2003). "U.S. firm makes grade in China". The International Herald Tribune. p. 11.
  21. 1 2 "Fastest Growing Companies 2004: Blackboard". Washington Business Journal 23 (22). October 1, 2004. p. 16.
  22. ↑ Richard Gibbons (June 24, 2004). "Blackboard's Screeching IPO". The Motley Fool. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  23. 1 2 Carnevale, Dan (February 17, 2006). "Justice Department Sees No Antitrust Concerns in Blackboard's Plan to Take Over WebCT". The Chronicle of Higher Education 52 (24). p. 37.
  24. 1 2 Rip Empson (October 18, 2012). "Blackboard: With Both Co-founders Now Gone, It’s The End Of An Era For The Education Software Giant". TechCrunch. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  25. ↑ Andrea Foster (January 5, 2008). "Blackboard Acquires Another Software Company". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  26. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Bill Flook (July 16, 2013). "Rebuilding Blackboard: How Jay Bhatt plans to resurrect one of D.C.’s original tech startups". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  27. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kolowich, Steve (February 22, 2011). "Blackboard's Next Phase". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  28. ↑ Bill Flook (October 19, 2012). "Michael Chasen ponders angel investing post-Blackboard". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved May 30, 2013.
  29. ↑ Melissa Korn (3 November 2014). "Providence’s Blackboard to Offer Chegg Tutoring Services Through Its Software". Private Equity Beat. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
  30. ↑ Fitzgerald, Drew (July 1, 2011). "Providence Equity Partners To Buy Blackboard For About $1.64B". The Wall Street Journal.
  31. ↑ Schaffhauser, Dian (17 September 2012). "Blackboard Connect 5 Adds New Mass Notification Features". THE Journal. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  32. 1 2 Krista Giovacco (September 9, 2011). "Providence Increases Blackboard Buyout Loan as Outflows Subside". Businessweek. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  33. ↑ "Our Company is getting a new name!". edline.com. Edline. June 11, 2012. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  34. ↑ Empson, Rip (18 October 2012). "Blackboard: With Both Co-founders Now Gone, It’s The End Of An Era For The Education Software Giant". Techcrunch. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  35. ↑ Kamenetz, Anya. "The Ingenious Business Model Behind Coursekit, A Tumblr For Higher Education". Fast Company. Retrieved 13 December 2014.
  36. ↑ Nagel, David (October 15, 2012). "Blackboard CEO Chasen To Step Down". THEJournal. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  37. 1 2 3 Gregory T. Huang (June 2, 2014). "Blackboard CEO Jay Bhatt on the Global Future of Edtech". Xconomy. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  38. 1 2 3 Michael Feldstein (July 18, 2014). "Blackboard’s Big News that Nobody Noticed". e-Literate. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  39. 1 2 Overly, Steven (January 16, 2014). "The Download: Blackboard makes first acquisition under CEO Jay Bhatt". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  40. 1 2 3 Jeffrey R. Young (July 11, 2014). "Blackboard May Double or Triple Spending on Software Development". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved September 2, 2014.
  41. ↑ Cale Guthrie Weissman (January 15, 2014). "Blackboard makes another acquisition, says it will make good on past acquisitions". PandoDaily. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  42. 1 2 Ki Mae Heussner (July 12, 2013). "A new Blackboard? 4 ways the ed tech giant’s new CEO hopes to win back market share". GigaOM. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  43. 1 2 3 Dian Schaffhauser (August 7, 2014). "Blackboard Expands Transact Business with CardSmith Acquisition". T.H.E. Journal. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  44. 1 2 Steven Overly (September 25, 2014). "Blackboard scoops up British technology firm Requestec for undisclosed sum". The Washington Post. Retrieved November 5, 2014.
  45. 1 2 Kenneth C. Green (April 2, 2012). "The Long (and Open?) View on Blackboard". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  46. ↑ Greg Licamele (March 5, 2002). "GW’s Prometheus Merges with Software Developer Blackboard Inc.". By George!. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  47. ↑ "Makers of Online Systems Merge; Blackboard buys up rival in course-handling market". Education Week 25 (9). October 26, 2005. p. 8.
  48. ↑ Kennedy, Kathleen (May 20, 2009). "Blackboard Inc.Purchases Education Software Developer". Education Week 28 (32). p. 4.
  49. ↑ Zachary R. Mider (January 14, 2008). "Blackboard to Buy NTI, Alert Maker, for $182 Million (Update1)". Bloomberg. Retrieved May 29, 2014.
  50. ↑ Young, Jeff (January 12, 2011). "In Bid to Expand Into Student Services, Blackboard Buys Presidium". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  51. 1 2 Jeff Clabaugh (October 5, 2011). "Blackboard private, merges with Edline". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  52. ↑ Jeff Clabaugh (March 26, 2012). "Blackboard makes Moodle acquisitions". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  53. ↑ Steve Kolowich (March 27, 2012). "Blackboard's Open-Source Pivot". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved May 28, 2014.
  54. ↑ "Blackboard Snags Remote-Learner UK in Its Ninth Acquisition in a Year". EdSurge. April 13, 2015. Retrieved May 1, 2015.
  55. 1 2 "Blackboard's Next Acquisition: Schoolwires". EdSurge. 4 February 2015. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  56. ↑ Lawrence Biemiller (July 8, 2014). "QuickWire: Blackboard Swallows a Small Competitor". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved September 4, 2014.
  57. ↑ Roger Riddell (July 8, 2014). "Blackboard expands student services with Perceptis acquisition". EducationDive. Retrieved September 5, 2014.
  58. ↑ Paul Sawers (February 4, 2015). "Ed-tech giant Blackboard acquires Schoolwires to help build school websites and apps for K-12 students". VentureBeat. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  59. ↑ "Blackboard acquires Nivel7". Blackboard. August 13, 2015.
  60. ↑ Bill Flook (May 3, 2013). "Big changes are underway at Blackboard. Here's Jay Bhatt's plan.". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved May 17, 2013.
  61. ↑ "Company Overview of Blackboard Inc.". Retrieved 24 April 2015.
  62. ↑ "Blackboard Announces Release Of Blackboard CourseInfo 2.0". Business Wire. November 2, 1998.
  63. ↑ Schaffhauser, Dian (March 2, 2011). "Skidmore College Moves to Blackboard 9.1". Campus Technology. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  64. 1 2 3 Harlin, Kevin (January 8, 2010). "Blackboard Inc. Washington, D.C. Educational Software Maker Binds Students And Faculty". Investor's Business Daily. p. A06.
  65. 1 2 "Blackboard Inc. (BBBB) Upgraded by Zacks Investment Research to "Neutral"". American Banking News. March 16, 2011.
  66. ↑ "Getting to know Blackboard Learn". Blackboard.com. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  67. ↑ Batson, Trent (January 5, 2011). "Not Your Grandfather's Blackboard? My Recent Chat with Bb Learn President Ray Henderson". Campus Technology. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  68. ↑ "Put Your Courses Online for Free with CourseSites by Blackboard". Soft Chalk. May 12, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2011.
  69. ↑ Rip Empson (October 18, 2012). "Blackboard: With Both Co-founders Now Gone, It’s The End Of An Era For The Education Software Giant". TechCrunch. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
  70. ↑ "Blackboard Inc.". EdSurge. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
  71. ↑ "Blackboard Predicts Strong Momentum for Web Conferencing". Webconferencing.org. January 4, 2011. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  72. 1 2 Sherif, Iman (February 27, 2011). "When learning goes mobile for varsity students". Gulf News. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
  73. ↑ Jim Barthold (April 26, 2012). "Blackboard Adds Augmented Reality to Campus iPhone Apps". Campus Technology. Retrieved June 14, 2013.
  74. ↑ Johnson, Henry M. Dialogue and the construction of knowledge in e-learning: Exploring students’ perceptions of their learning while using Blackboard’s asynchronous discussion board. European Journal of Open, Distance and E-Learning January 5, 2007 (2007) ISSN 1027-5207 http://www.eurodl.org/index.php?tag=120&article=151&article=251
  75. ↑ Darcy, Darlene (March 26, 2009). "Blackboard introduces iPhone application". Washington Business Journal.
  76. ↑ Keller, Josh (January 23, 2011). "As the Web Goes Mobile, Colleges Fail to Keep Up". The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  77. ↑ Moreno, Nicole (March 15, 2011). "Being Alert in Case of an Emergency". Palo Alto Patch. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  78. ↑ Short, Robby (March 14, 2011). "Blackboard Connect emergency notification system launches". News-Star (Shawnee, Oklahoma). Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  79. 1 2 "With off-campus programs, more can be better". CR80 News. June 29, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  80. ↑ Clark, Sarah (March 8, 2010). "Blackboard adds NFC and contactless support to campus card system". nfcworld.com. Near Field Communications World. Retrieved September 14, 2011.
  81. ↑ "Blackboard expands Support for NFC-STandards".
  82. ↑ Schaffhauser, Dian (February 8, 2011). "Blackboard Buys into Data Analytics". Campus Technology. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  83. ↑ Hutchinson, James (March 16, 2011). "Unis prepare for next Cloud wave". TechWorld. Retrieved September 6, 2011.
  84. ↑ "Strategic Solutions". Blackboard.com. Blackboard, Inc. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  85. ↑ "Student Services". Blackboard.com. Blackboard, Inc. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  86. 1 2 3 Pope, Justin (October 15, 2006). "E-Learning Firm Sparks Controversy With Software Patent". The Washington Post. Associated Press. p. A07.
  87. ↑ "Case 9:06-cv-00155-RHC (Court documents)" (PDF). IMMagic e-library. July 26, 2006. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  88. ↑ Ben Hammer (February 5, 2007). "Blackboard's patent may be in jeopardy after review". Washington Business Journal. Retrieved May 8, 2013.
  89. ↑ Hammer, Ben (February 19, 2007). "Blackboard: Patent won't be used against nonprofits". Washington Business Journal.
  90. ↑ "The Blackboard Patent Pledge". Blackboard.com. Blackboard Inc. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  91. ↑ Darcy, Darlene (February 22, 2008). "Blackboard wins patent lawsuit". Washington Business Journal.
  92. ↑ Mangan, Katherine (April 11, 2008). "Patent Office Hands Blackboard a Setback". The Chronicle of Higher Education 54 (31). p. 4.
  93. ↑ Darcy, Darlene (July 27, 2009). "Court rules against Blackboard in patent case". Washington Business Journal.
  94. ↑ Darcy, Darlene (December 17, 2009). "Blackboard settles legal brawl". Washington Business Journal.
  95. ↑ Kolowich, Steve (December 16, 2009). "Clean slate". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  96. ↑ Keller, Josh (November 30, 2010). "Blackboard Drops Appeals on Software Patent". Wired Campus. The Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved April 28, 2011.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, April 08, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.