Blackboard Releases ANGEL 8.0

WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) today announced the launch of Blackboard Learn™ – ANGEL Edition 8.0, which brings a range of key product enhancements driven by input from ANGEL clients and follows through on another commitment from Blackboard to support ANGEL institutions with continued development and support.

The new release includes simplified course functionality for instructors, with the addition of rubrics to discussion forums that let instructors provide feedback and grade student discussions more quickly and consistently. Functionality for Blackboard Mobile™ Learn for ANGEL is also upgraded, which lets users upload multimedia content to courses directly from mobile devices. The release also adds certification for Safari and Chrome to give users greater flexibility and an improved experience in their choice of Web browsers.

The release is part of Blackboard's ongoing effort to maintain a high quality experience for ANGEL clients and users since the company merged with Blackboard in 2009. Since then, Blackboard has maintained high service and support levels for ANGEL clients, some of which have actually increased in the last two years.

"We're excited to see the enhancements in ANGEL 8.0," said Julie Rorabaugh at Cowley College. "These improvements give us confidence that we will continue to have a stable and supported platform for the next couple of years, enabling us the time to take a measured approach to explore next steps while still operating in a familiar, but upgraded system."

Consistent with previous releases, ANGEL 8.0 was designed through continued partnership with clients. The release provides improved functionality in a highly stable product that requires very little change management and allows ANGEL clients to be fully supported through October 2014.

"Delivering on product quality has been a core execution focus for us, and we've invested much to maintain an excellent experience for ANGEL institutions," said Ray Henderson, President of Blackboard Learn. "We're pleased to continue that investment with this release and to further demonstrate our ability to bring new value to ANGEL clients even as they plan for the future."

ANGEL 8.0 also includes new features that help users share course content, including a batch export tool that lets users transfer course content without associated student data and can make the transition smoother for institutions that choose to move to Blackboard Learn 9.1.

For more information about Blackboard Learn ANGEL Edition 8.0, please visit: www.blackboard.com/angel.

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 August 4, 2011 with the SEC.  In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of September 14, 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 September 14, 2011.

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.