Category: In My Humble Opinion…

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

Posted on by Terry Patterson

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

How Qwickly was quickly our instructor’s favorite Blackboard tool @ UA-PTC

Posted on by Terry Patterson

One of the great opportunities I have in my position at UA-PTC is the ability to bring in awesome products that help our faculty. Qwickly falls into that category. We’ve been using the tool integrated into Blackboard for the past semester. During that time, instructors became very pleased with what the tool did to improve their use of Blackboard. This past summer, we were looking for a tool that would help us collect student attendance and participation in all our courses. This tool needed a simple interface which was easy for instructors to use. It also needed flexibility for a

A Review of Blackboard Instructor

Posted on by Terry Patterson

This week at Blackboard World, Blackboard introduced it’s new major mobile application, Blackboard Instructor. This comes as many LMS companies have either developed mobile friendly versions of their application or published their own mobile applications. In 2015, I reviewed the Blackboard Student app (now simply called Blackboard) which you can see here. Since that time Blackboard had worked to develop that app and enhance it. (Add opinion here). Iterations of the Blackboard Instructor app Let’s take a brief stroll down mobile strategy of Blackboard. Blackboard originally started with the Blackboard Mobile Learn app. A lackluster wade into the mobile world

A + B = AtoZ – How Alphabet might be the dark horse in buying Blackboard

Posted on by Terry Patterson

The EdTech world started buzzing when Providence Equity Partners, current owner of Blackboard, was looking to auction off the EdTech giant for three billion dollars which is twice what they paid for the company in October 2011. Since then many have pondered and pontificated about who would buy the company. Some believe Pearson, a major […]

A Review of the New Blackboard Community Site

Posted on by Terry Patterson

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 Mobile Apps – Lots of Polish, But Not Much Promise (Part 1 – Bb Student)

Posted on by Terry Patterson

Last year marked the fifth anniversary of Blackboard’s step into the mobile realm with it’s purchase of TerriblyClever in 2009. Over the past five years the company has grown in the marketplace with several products. The first was a the creation of a semi-customizable mobile app for organizations using the Blackboard Mobile Central platform later […]

What Blackboard Needs to say at Blackboard World 2015

Posted on by Terry Patterson

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 […]

The Five Things Blackboard Should Discuss at Blackboard World 2014

Posted on by Terry Patterson

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 […]