Washington, D.C. — Sept. 6
Blackboard Inc. announced an upgraded integration for Blackboard Collaborate and Blackboard Learn 9.1, which enhances the performance of the company’s Web, video and voice-conferencing platform within the latest release of its flagship learning management system. The integration enables users to create and experience virtual classes directly in their Blackboard Learn course.
With the integration, students, instructors and administrators can access all aspects of online learning — including virtual classes — within the same workflow. Students have access to live virtual sessions and recordings with a single click, and greater opportunity to interact in real time in social learning opportunities with peers and instructors. Teachers and administrators can save time by eliminating the need for multi-system training and streamlining administrative tasks.
The integration gives greater control to instructors and administrators who can leverage the new interface to create live sessions in one click and configure settings to create a customized experience. Advanced administrative settings enable instructors to schedule multiple live sessions per course, set up sessions with telephony and webcam options, pre-load virtual class content and designate moderators and outside guests.
“Blending the design principles of the Blackboard Learn platform with the user experience of the Blackboard Collaborate platform supports administrators by minimizing support and training costs,” said Maurice Heiblum, president of Blackboard Collaborate.
In addition to the integration with Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Collaborate supports integrations with a range of learning management systems including Blackboard Learn Angel Edition, WebCT, Sakai, Moodle, Desire2Learn, Pearson LearningStudio and Frontier. The Blackboard Collaborate platform also includes an open Application Programming Interface (API) to support custom integrations and enhancements.
Source: Blackboard Inc.
