Arizona Department of Education Selects Blackboard to Support Online Learning and Collaboration for Educators
Online Professional Learning Tools Used to Support more than 60,000 Educators Statewide
WASHINGTON, May 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) has selected Blackboard to deliver a statewide solution for professional learning and collaboration that will further its mission of providing service and support to more than 60,000 educators in over 2,000 public schools in districts across the state, the company announced today.
Through this collaborative effort, the ADE will leverage Blackboard's Innovative Classroom solution to provide a single, unified professional learning and collaboration platform for their agency. The initiative is part of the ADE's larger goal to help teachers successfully implement Arizona's College and Career Ready Standards and to streamline the technical assistance, service and support that the agency provides to educators.
Blackboard's comprehensive set of learning solutions, selected following a rigorous evaluation process, provides support for online and mobile learning, real-time video interaction and collaboration, and integration with other state systems. The integration will allow teachers to register for classes, pay course fees, and track their path to certification and endorsements, all within their online learning environment.
"The K-12 educational landscape is quickly changing and teachers need professional learning opportunities that support their individual goals, but also help them set their students up for success through new, innovative approaches to teaching," said John Huppenthal, Arizona's Superintendent of Public Instruction. "Blackboard's comprehensive, mobile-friendly teaching and learning environment will allow Arizona to keep up with the rapid pace of innovation and meet the needs of our education community."
Moving forward, the state's Regional Centers, County Education Service Agencies, districts and schools can choose to leverage the solution through the ADE, which also includes implementation services and platform training, to support their own unique professional learning and K-12 student online learning needs.
"Standardizing online platforms and tools across a state is a great business decision and we are seeing more and more state departments move in this direction," said Mark Belles, senior vice president for K-12 at Blackboard. "We are also seeing the positive influence state-level professional development programs have on teacher performance. Based on this, we are thrilled to partner with Arizona's Department of Education and support them as they think more holistically about how they can improve operational efficiencies while also providing an innovative approach to how education is delivered."
Blackboard already works with nearly 70 school districts in Arizona across multiple products, solutions and services.
For more information about Blackboard, please visit www.blackboard.com or follow @Blackboard on Twitter.
About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. 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 represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially as a result of various important factors. 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 statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.
CONTACT
Lauren Dyke, Blackboard Inc.
(202) 463-4860 ext. 2860 or [email protected]
SOURCE Blackboard Inc.
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