Media Release
Social and mobile integration for tertiary students
Blackboard Release 9.0 at Educause Perth 3 – 6 May
SYDNEY – May 5, 2009 – Increasingly, Australian students across the country will have the
opportunity to use the Facebook
®
platform and Apple
®
iPhone
™
and iPod touch
®
devices to
receive updates on everything from assignment due dates, new material, course changes and
exam timetables, thanks to new technologies that enable mobile access to information from their
university or TAFE institutions.
It’s an integration of popular culture and technical possibility reflecting the ways Australian
students increasingly prefer to learn and access higher education. The convergence has been
taken to a new level with the leading provider of educational technology across Australian higher
education, Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB), announcing the new release of its software in
Australia.
This development will be the focus for Blackboard at the Educause Conference in Perth this
week (3 – 6 May) – where the conference theme of ‘innovate, collaborate and sustain’ is ably
demonstrated by the latest release of Blackboard’s flagship academic software.
Release 9.0 of Blackboard Learn
™
(formerly the Blackboard Academic Suite
™
) was designed in
partnership with educators around the world who share the common challenge of engaging
increasingly diverse populations of learners in and out of the classroom. The release introduces a
range of powerful capabilities to meet this challenge, from social learning tools to Web 2.0
innovations, as well as integrated components that enable institutions achieve more meaningful
assessment of individuals, groups, programs and schools.
In addition, Blackboard has released a free application that gives users of Apple’s mobile devices
access to information and alerts from their institution’s Blackboard
®
platform.
The release also significantly increases the openness and flexibility of the Blackboard platform,
making it possible for institutions to use or complement existing systems and software.
“Educators are always looking for ways to meet the changing needs of students,” said Zach
Johnson, Regional Vice President, Asia Pacific, Blackboard. “This includes different learning
styles as well as access issues. The challenges are real but there are solutions – we’re working to
enable institutions to let students take learning on the go through anywhere, anytime access. This
is a long way from the ‘old style’ of students having to be in a specific location at a specific time,
where they furiously wrote notes interpreting what was presented to them as best they could.”
Continued…..
(page 1 of 2)
The release is highlighted by new Web 2.0 and social learning capabilities including blogs,
journals and enhanced group tools; notification dashboards highlighting time sensitive
information and alerts; and a completely redesigned, customisable Web 2.0 user interface.
The release is Blackboard’s most accessible ever, and includes new features for easy keyboard
navigation and standards based design for ease of use with assistive technologies such as screen
readers.
Educause is the premier event for professionals working in higher education who manage
technologies to advance scholarship, learning and teaching. This year’s conference explores the
challenges in areas such as how to innovate in the knowledge economy, collaboration with
Media inquiries:
Alicia Patterson 0403 172024
or
Madeline Neylon 0400 966540.
Background
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 organisations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus
commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities. Founded in
1997, Blackboard’s Australian head office is located in Sydney, with the international
headquarters in Washington, D.C. and global offices in North America, Europe and Asia.
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 26, 2009 with the SEC. In addition,
the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company’s views as of May 5, 2009. 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 May 5, 2009.
iPhone is a trademark and Apple, iPod touch and iTunes are registered trademarks of Apple Inc.
Facebook is a registered trademark of Facebook Inc.
(page 2 of 2)
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