WASHINGTON, July 12, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc.
(Nadsaq: BBBB) today announced extended support for two key open
education standards that make it easier for institutions to
integrate the Blackboard Learn™ platform with other
enterprise data systems and enable greater flexibility in the use
of educational content and resources.
The latest version of the leading online learning platform –
Service Pack 6 for Blackboard Learn 9.1 – adds full support for IMS
Learning Information Services (LIS) 2.0 to enable institutions to
more easily manage data between the Blackboard Learn platform and
their student information systems. The release also extends support
for Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), which makes
it possible for instructors to use SCORM-compliant content in
Blackboard Learn courses without having to recreate or reformat it.
The announcement reinforces Blackboard's ongoing leadership in
open standards and extends the company's work to establish a more
open, interoperable platform. Blackboard also recently became the
first learning management vendor to fully support the newest
version of another open standard, IMS Common Cartridge 1.1, for
import and export.
"Blackboard has followed through on some of the most aggressive
plans for supporting open standards we've seen in this space, and
their leadership is critical to broadening the impact these
standards can have in education," said Dr. Rob Abel, Chief Executive of IMS Global. "Their
leadership and extensive collaboration with IMS Global to define
and evolve the LIS standard is incredibly valuable and
appreciated."
As part of its work to advance open standards, Blackboard has
also worked with Oracle and SunGard Higher Education to define how
to best use and support the LIS standards, identify and evaluate
use cases, and test the SIS data integration framework. As a
result, Blackboard is now in a position to deliver more robust
LIS-based integration capabilities for Oracle PeopleSoft Enterprise
Campus Solutions and SunGard Higher Education's Banner Digital
Campus.
"This is part of a sustained effort to realize the benefits of
open standards within our community," said Ray Henderson, President of Blackboard Learn.
"Educators are placing more value on these investments in standards
as they evaluate the total costs of ownership for their options,
which includes both the cost of entry and exit from a system."
LIS support enables institutions to better manage the exchange
of information about people, memberships and courses between the
Blackboard Learn platform and the student information system (SIS),
by standardizing the data into one format. With the new SIS data
integration framework, system administrators can install, support
and manage the systems integration through an easy-to-use interface
in Blackboard Learn that allows information to be shared between
systems, simplifying deployment of new systems and improving system
performance.
The fully supported SCORM Engine Blackboard Building Block™ was
developed by Rustici Software, makers of the most highly rated
SCORM player, in partnership with Blackboard. Integrating the
player into Blackboard Learn offers a better user experience and
allows for improved grading and visibility into learner activity
and progress.
More than 1,400 institutions have adopted Blackboard Learn 9.1
since it launched last year and the latest version is available
today via Service Pack 6. Current Blackboard learning management
clients can upgrade to the new release at no extra charge.
For more information about Blackboard Learn, please visit
http://www.blackboard.com/Teaching-Learning/Learn-Platform.aspx.
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 May 9, 2011 with the SEC. In
addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press
release represent the Company's views as of July 12, 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
July 12, 2011.
SOURCE Blackboard Inc.