What Blackboard Needs To Say (and do) At Blackboard World 2018

It has been a few years since I’ve penned a note to Blackboard before a Blackboard World. The last three years I haven’t shared my thoughts, but that ends now. Blackboard brings its clients and partners together at the Orlando World Center Marriott. Ally is a game changer. In October 2016, Blackboard purchased Fronteer, a UK based educational products and services company. It’s flagship product, Ally, was pushed to market by Blackboard. For those who don’t know, Ally reviews content in a learning management system, scores how well the content meets accessibility requirements, and helps develop alternative formats for students

A Review of the New Blackboard Community Site

During Blackboard World 2015, Blackboard made many announcements about their products, but none (in my opinion) with more impact than a new community site. I was lucky to provide a t-shirt design which Blackboard printed and gave away to anyone who signed up for the new site. During the conference, over 700 people signed up […]

Blackboard Developers Conference 2015 – Day One Thoughts

Greetings friends and admin neighbors. The first day of Blackboard World 2015 has closed. There have been many discussions, good and bad, and a ball of confusion. Some of the topics will be covered in upcoming keynotes, so I won’t steal anyone’s thunder. However I do want to go over some things that I heard […]

What Blackboard Needs to say at Blackboard World 2015

Well folks, its that time of year again. The time when users of the now myriad of Blackboard products come together for Blackboard World. This year’s pilgrimage takes us to the company’s hometown, Washington DC, and the banks of the Potomac River. While this year’s event at the Gaylord National Resort should be somewhat familiar […]

Hold the Winning Hand: Tools and Tips to Help Manage Blackboard Learn Environments

Blackboard at the University of Missouri has always been a mission critical environment; however, it lacked the tools necessary to analyze and troubleshoot. Learn how Mizzou introduced third party tools and scripts that helped administrators better understand how users interact with Blackboard and improved troubleshooting issues within the application. Attendees will take away information about Read more about Hold the Winning Hand: Tools and Tips to Help Manage Blackboard Learn Environments[…]

The Five Things Blackboard Should Discuss at Blackboard World 2014

Once again, its time to dust off those dice, bad Hawaiian shirts, and laptop bags. Pack up your carry on, cell phone charger, and head to Las Vegas where Blackboard hosts their annual users conference. While in Sin City, attendees expect to hear about different topics around how the company is working to meet the needs […]

Focusing on SIS Frameworks: A Migration from Snapshot Integration Tools

This presentation reviews the issues and processes the University of Missouri used in the integration of their student information system with Blackboard Learn. Attendees will learn how the project team succeeded in implementing the new SIS Framework after just completing a Snapshot Flat File integration. The University of Missouri wanted to improve data integration between Read more about Focusing on SIS Frameworks: A Migration from Snapshot Integration Tools[…]

Building Bridges to Better Online Education: Developing a statewide program to achieve and recognize excellence in online education

Many institutions across the country are facing the increasing push to offer more and more classes in online environments.  While this need grows, the same institutions face no funding to increase staff and to spur training for course developers and instructors.  In the state of Arkansas, the Blackboard Users Group, called ARBUG, created a statewide Read more about Building Bridges to Better Online Education: Developing a statewide program to achieve and recognize excellence in online education[…]