Blackboard and MERLOT Broaden Learning Network
01 Settembre 2004 - 2:00PM
PR Newswire (US)
Blackboard and MERLOT Broaden Learning Network Strategic
Relationship Increases Sharing of Learning Resources WASHINGTON,
Sept. 1 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ:BBBB)
today announced a strategic relationship with MERLOT (the
Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Training)
to improve the effectiveness of teaching and learning by increasing
the number of high quality resources available to online learning
communities. MERLOT is an international cooperative with a
constantly growing collection of more than 10,000 online teaching
and learning materials and a member directory of 20,000-plus
individual faculty, students and researchers. Members can freely
add to and access curricular and human resources information to aid
their use of technology in teaching and learning. Blackboard is a
leading provider of enterprise software applications and related
services for the education industry. More than 12 million learners
and educators worldwide use Blackboard(R) software. "Seamless
discovery of and access to re-usable learning materials within our
e-Education platform is a high priority for Blackboard," said
Matthew Pittinsky, Chairman of Blackboard. "We recognize that the
power of the networked learning environment is maximized when the
connections between teachers, students, researchers and learning
resources are increased and strengthened. MERLOT has a stellar
history of helping build that vision." Through the agreement,
MERLOT has joined the Blackboard Developer Network(TM) and will
work with Blackboard to use the Blackboard Building Blocks(TM)
technology to develop integration between the Blackboard Academic
Suite(TM) and the MERLOT services. Blackboard Building Blocks is
Blackboard's open architecture initiative that allows Blackboard
clients and independent software vendors to build new functionality
on top of the Blackboard platform or integrate external systems,
like MERLOT. Additionally, MERLOT will develop a Blackboard
taxonomy within the MERLOT learning directory, making it easier for
MERLOT users to identify Blackboard-specific training materials.
"We recognize that many of the individuals that use and contribute
to the MERLOT learning resources repository also teach and learn
through Blackboard products," said Gerry Hanley, Executive Director
of MERLOT. "Building bridges between MERLOT and Blackboard will
increase the efficiency of teaching and learning by improving
access to proven materials and services that can be easily
incorporated into online courses." Through this strategic
relationship, MERLOT and Blackboard will create Blackboard Building
Blocks that seamlessly incorporate MERLOT resources into the
Blackboard Academic Suite, further enhancing the value of both
organizations for their shared clients. The first Blackboard
Building Block to be released will be a portal module that uses RSS
content syndication to aggregate news about and links to the
learning resources most recently added to MERLOT. Additionally, a
Blackboard Building Block is planned that will enable instructors
using the Blackboard Learning System(TM) to search the MERLOT
repository directly from the Blackboard interface. From the search
results, they can select specific learning resources and embed
links to them within their Blackboard course Web site, further
streamlining the process of using MERLOT resources within the
Blackboard environment. The MERLOT-Blackboard relationship follows
Blackboard's announcement of a Learning Object Catalog feature
recently made available in the Blackboard Content System(TM)
(Release 2.0). The Learning Object Catalog is intended to
facilitate the sharing of learning resources among members of the
Blackboard community, making it a logical tie-in to the MERLOT
initiative. Future partnership initiatives include the possibility
of linking content between the two repositories, making it even
easier for institutions to submit learning objects to MERLOT
directly from their Blackboard system. The new Learning Object
Catalog feature will greatly increase the exchange of information
between members of both learning communities, ultimately improving
the effectiveness of online learning across various institutions
worldwide. "Seton Hall University is in its second year as a
contributing partner with MERLOT," said Calvin Williams, Director
of the Teaching, Learning and Technology Center at Seton Hall
University. "We are very excited about the resources being made
available for the distribution of learning objects through the
Blackboard Academic Suite. As Seton Hall begins to implement the
Blackboard Content System this academic year, the opportunity to
create more effective discovery and usage of reusable learning
objects is significant. Bringing the MERLOT resources and the
Blackboard platform more closely together will create a richer
learning environment for our faculty and students." About
Blackboard Inc. Blackboard is a leading provider of enterprise
software and services to the education industry. The Company's
product line consists of five software applications bundled in two
suites, the Blackboard Academic Suite(TM) and the Blackboard
Commerce Suite(TM). Blackboard's clients include colleges,
universities, schools and other education providers, as well as
textbook publishers and student-focused merchants that serve
education providers and their students. Blackboard is headquartered
in Washington, D.C., with offices and staff in North America,
Europe and Asia. 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 most recent 10-Q
filed with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements
included in this press release represent the Company's views as of
September 1, 2004. 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 1, 2004. DATASOURCE: Blackboard
Inc. CONTACT: Michael J. Stanton of Blackboard Inc.,
+1-202-463-4860 ext. 2305, or Darren Spinck of DBC Public Relations
Experts, +1-866-774-4720, for Blackboard Inc. Web site:
http://www.blackboard.com/
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