Babson Selects Blackboard for Integrated Set of Teaching and Learning Technologies

WASHINGTON, May 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Babson College, a global leader in business and entrepreneurship education, has chosen Blackboard to support an integrated set of teaching and learning tools to help expand Babson's online learning capabilities and to create a more dynamic and interactive learning experience for students and faculty, the company announced.

The collaborative and innovative nature of Babson's programs – like the Fast Track MBA program – require Babson to give more flexibility and options to support faculty and students with different teaching and learning styles. Working with Blackboard, Babson is creating a core technology platform that supports their mission and delivers on student expectations for interactive courses, digital content, mobile learning and online collaboration.

Babson's decision to upgrade their learning management system (LMS) to Blackboard Learn™ Release 9.1 gave them a chance to look at a broader set of technologies with Release 9.1 as the hub. College officials added Blackboard's mobile apps to create greater access to courses, content and campus services, as well as the company's Web conferencing solution which allows students and faculty to meet and interact virtually for a variety of formal and informal purposes. Each new technology brings powerful, new capabilities in its own right while also making the LMS platform far richer and more engaging.

"Having a partner like Blackboard is a smart business decision – modernizing our education technology platform has given us further depth and capability to meet student and faculty demand," said Tova Duby, senior manager for eLearning Platform Operations at Babson College. "Having Blackboard technologies support our teaching and learning programs has taken Babson to the next level."

The decision to work with Blackboard was driven in part by a desire to work with a vendor to support a comprehensive set of learning technologies that can be easily managed and work together as one system to give users a more unified experience.

Faculty have noted Release 9.1's clean user interface, streamlined tools and easy navigation. The improved platform has given them more time to support social learning opportunities by leveraging Blackboard Collaborate™ seamlessly within the LMS. Course access extends to smartphones and other mobile devices through Blackboard Mobile Learn™, which is integrated directly in Babson's primary campus app, BabsonMobile. Built on the Blackboard Mobile™ Central platform, BabsonMobile brings mobile access to essential campus services and information including maps, events, news and more.

While the Blackboard Collaborate platform has been used to power live video sessions and lectures, instant messaging, virtual office hours and exam proctoring within the LMS, Babson is also seeing great use of the platform as a standalone tool. In its first three months of use, more than 600 live sessions were delivered with Blackboard Collaborate, many focused on enabling students to share and learn from each other and helping faculty and students in participating in online programs to connect before they meet in the classroom.

"Blackboard provides small company support in all areas of campus technology," said Duby. "We have been working with Blackboard since 2001 as both a client and as part of its product advisory council, and we have experienced continuous, targeted support throughout our adoption and deployment of Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Collaborate and Blackboard Mobile Central."

For more information about Blackboard's solutions for higher education, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/Markets/Higher-Education-(1)/Overview.aspx.

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.  

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.