WASHINGTON, May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc.
(Nasdaq: BBBB) today announced the program for BbWorld®, its
annual user conference, with more than 150 sessions – 75 percent of
which will be led by clients. The event will gather over 2,000
instructors, administrators and technical experts to share best
practices, network with peers and gain new insight in teaching and
learning with technology.
Slated for July 12-14 in
Las Vegas, Nev., BbWorld will also
feature a range of sessions led by Blackboard experts and partners.
Overall, the program will emphasize practical, hands-on training
and development on topics including change management, scalability,
and ways to best leverage the latest Blackboard technology. The
program will also include a corporate keynote session from
Blackboard executives highlighting news and announcements on the
company's continued work to support clients and users with the best
in education technology.
For the first time, BbWorld will also include a dedicated
program track for faculty focusing on best practices in online and
blended instruction and ways to improve instructor efficiency and
student achievement. In addition, senior institutional leaders will
participate in a new CIO Networking & Symposium Event which
will immediately precede BbWorld, focusing on how leaders can best
manage the growth and evolution of technology programs and services
across their campuses.
"Despite being a Blackboard client for ten years, last year
marked the first time our team attended BbWorld," said Misty H. Cobb, Director of Distance
Education. "Because of conversations with our peers and
Blackboard leaders who took the time to listen and understand the
issues we were facing, we were able to make rapid improvements in
our work processes and extend the services we provide to faculty
and students. We can now confidently offer and support multiple
teaching and learning solutions and participate in Community
Programs that we learned about at BbWorld."
BbWorld will feature keynote presentations from Steven Johnson, prominent technologist, TED
speaker, and best-selling author of Where Good Ideas Come
From, and Sir Ken Robinson,
best-selling author of the recently re-released Out of our
Minds: Learning to Be Creative, and internationally recognized
leader in education and creativity.
"Each year this event demonstrates the value of knowledge and
experience shared by peers across the community of practice," said
Michael L. Chasen, president and CEO
of Blackboard, who will deliver a corporate keynote address at
BbWorld with Ray Henderson,
President of Blackboard Learn. "We've designed this event to
emphasize skill building and knowledge sharing around ideas our
clients can implement now to get more out of their investments in
technology. We look forward to an event that extends into new
directions this year and the opportunity to share our own plans and
ideas."
In addition to the general BbWorld program, Blackboard will host
several related events for specific communities including:
- The inaugural Blackboard Collaborate™ Connections
Summit, bringing together the combined Elluminate and Wimba
user communities to share strategies for effective collaboration to
meet a range of academic and institutional goals. Karen Cator, Director of the U.S. Department of
Education's Office of Educational Technology, will keynote the
event.
- The annual Blackboard Developer Conference (DevCon), connecting
institutional and third party developers working to extend learning
platforms and leverage the best in interoperable technology.
- Several Pre-Conference Workshops where hands-on instruction
will be available on a variety of topics such as developing online
training programs, using templates for course design, change
management and upgrade paths, and aligning state standards with
course content.
For more information about BbWorld, please visit
http://www.BbWorld.com/.
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 with the SEC. In addition, the
forward-looking statements included in this press release represent
the Company's views as of May 5,
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 May 5,
2011.
SOURCE Blackboard Inc.