CINXE.COM

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?> <?xml-stylesheet type="text/xsl" media="screen" href="/~d/styles/rss2full.xsl"?><?xml-stylesheet type="text/css" media="screen" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~d/styles/itemcontent.css"?><rss xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" xmlns:feedburner="http://rssnamespace.org/feedburner/ext/1.0" version="2.0"> <channel> <title>Blackboard Blog</title> <link>https://blog.blackboard.com</link> <description>Keep up-to-date with recent postings from our blog.</description> <lastBuildDate>Tue, 18 Feb 2020 21:54:32 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=5.3.2</generator> <atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/blackboard/Seah" /><feedburner:info uri="blackboard/seah" /><atom10:link xmlns:atom10="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" rel="hub" href="http://pubsubhubbub.appspot.com/" /><feedburner:emailServiceId>blackboard/Seah</feedburner:emailServiceId><feedburner:feedburnerHostname>https://feedburner.google.com</feedburner:feedburnerHostname><item> <title>Award-winning educator Dr. Michael K. Moore to deliver a keynote at BbWorld 2020</title> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~3/nhw9VSCAU6c/</link> <comments>https://blog.blackboard.com/award-winning-educator-dr-michael-k-moore-to-deliver-a-keynote-at-bbworld-2020/#respond</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 18 Feb 2020 14:45:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Blackboard]]></dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[About Blackboard]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Asia Pacific]]></category> <category><![CDATA[BbWorld]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Europe & Middle East]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Events]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Latin America]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Learning Management System (LMS)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[North America]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership & Client Success]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.blackboard.com/?p=42157</guid> <description><![CDATA[We’re excited to announce Chief Academic and Operating Officer of the University of Arkansas System (UAS) eVersity, Dr. Michael K. Moore, as our first opening keynote speaker at BbWorld 2020, taking place July 28-30 in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Moore, whose driving passion is broadening access to high-quality, affordable, and workforce-relevant educational opportunities, is a well-known […] The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/award-winning-educator-dr-michael-k-moore-to-deliver-a-keynote-at-bbworld-2020/">Award-winning educator Dr. Michael K. Moore to deliver a keynote at BbWorld 2020</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ We’re excited to announce Chief Academic and Operating Officer of the University of Arkansas System (UAS) eVersity, <a href="https://bbworld.com/speakers/">Dr. Michael K. Moore</a>, as our first opening keynote speaker at <a href="https://www.bbworld.com?utm_source=Bb_Blog&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=Blog Announcement&utm_term=&utm_content=">BbWorld 2020</a>, taking place July 28-30 in Orlando, Florida. Dr. Moore, whose driving passion is broadening access to high-quality, affordable, and workforce-relevant educational opportunities, is a well-known innovator in online learning. He will share his perspective on the need for innovative solutions to better serve the student of the future. Dr. Moore designed and launched UAS’s eVersity, a 100 percent-online institution that works to remove barriers to success from application to graduation. Dr. Moore also serves as Vice President for Academic Affairs for UAS. He is an accomplished higher education leader who has been published in countless peer-reviewed journals spanning 30 years. BbWorld 2020 will be all about discovery, exploration and innovation, bringing together the greatest minds across education. This year’s theme is the Galaxy of Learning, which will showcase the new frontiers of education and technology. We have a jam-packed three-day agenda filled with over 150 sessions, presentations from Blackboard leadership, and plenty of time for idea sharing and networking throughout our galaxy of learning. Don’t miss the opportunity to join us this July in Orlando. Stay tuned for more program updates and visit <a href="https://www.bbworld.com?utm_source=Bb_Blog&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=Blog Announcement&utm_term=&utm_content=">www.bbworld.com</a> to learn more and register.   <a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Faward-winning-educator-dr-michael-k-moore-to-deliver-a-keynote-at-bbworld-2020%2F&linkname=Award-winning%20educator%20Dr.%20Michael%20K.%20Moore%20to%20deliver%20a%20keynote%20at%20BbWorld%202020" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Faward-winning-educator-dr-michael-k-moore-to-deliver-a-keynote-at-bbworld-2020%2F&linkname=Award-winning%20educator%20Dr.%20Michael%20K.%20Moore%20to%20deliver%20a%20keynote%20at%20BbWorld%202020" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Faward-winning-educator-dr-michael-k-moore-to-deliver-a-keynote-at-bbworld-2020%2F&linkname=Award-winning%20educator%20Dr.%20Michael%20K.%20Moore%20to%20deliver%20a%20keynote%20at%20BbWorld%202020" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Faward-winning-educator-dr-michael-k-moore-to-deliver-a-keynote-at-bbworld-2020%2F&title=Award-winning%20educator%20Dr.%20Michael%20K.%20Moore%20to%20deliver%20a%20keynote%20at%20BbWorld%202020" data-a2a-url="https://blog.blackboard.com/award-winning-educator-dr-michael-k-moore-to-deliver-a-keynote-at-bbworld-2020/" data-a2a-title="Award-winning educator Dr. Michael K. Moore to deliver a keynote at BbWorld 2020"></a>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/award-winning-educator-dr-michael-k-moore-to-deliver-a-keynote-at-bbworld-2020/">Award-winning educator Dr. Michael K. Moore to deliver a keynote at BbWorld 2020</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~4/nhw9VSCAU6c" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://blog.blackboard.com/award-winning-educator-dr-michael-k-moore-to-deliver-a-keynote-at-bbworld-2020/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <feedburner:origLink>https://blog.blackboard.com/award-winning-educator-dr-michael-k-moore-to-deliver-a-keynote-at-bbworld-2020/</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 9</title> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~3/9EYAShOYlzs/</link> <comments>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9/#respond</comments> <pubDate>Mon, 03 Feb 2020 13:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Blackboard]]></dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Europe & Middle East]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership & Client Success]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.blackboard.com/?p=42067</guid> <description><![CDATA[This blog is one in a series from higher education thought leaders. Andy Jaffrey, Head of the Office for Digital Learning at Ulster University in the U.K., offers insights on the future of education, and how technology plays a role in learner success. How will teaching and learning practices over the next 10 years have […] The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9/">Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 9</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ This blog is one in a series from higher education thought leaders. Andy Jaffrey, Head of the Office for Digital Learning at Ulster University in the U.K., offers insights on the future of education, and how technology plays a role in learner success. How will teaching and learning practices over the next 10 years have to evolve to serve the learners of the future? My greatest hope for teaching and learning practices is that we will see an investment in people, and in particular academic development. If I think of this question from the perspective of a student and the type of qualities that I would hope our students develop over the next 10 years, the qualities do not look much different then what they are now: critical thinking, analytical reasoning skills, team working skills, information literacy, ethical judgment, decision-making skills, communication skills, problem solving skills, and a wide knowledge of liberal arts and sciences. From my own perspective, I expect to see teaching happening in less formal environments. I expect to see more collaboration between subject disciplines. I expect to see more project-based learning, and I expect to see changes in assessment design and reduction in formal examinations. All of these things are already happening, and I expect them to continue to evolve. What role will technology like analytics and data play in improving outcomes for learners in the next decade? I think we will all continue to be involved in educational analytics projects, but I hope that we will approach these projects from a more informed ethical and privacy position. We should be careful about bias in our predictive models, and we should challenge black box models that we cannot interrogate. The educational experience is complex, and many of our analytics and data projects rely on arguably crude proxy measures that we accept as they are easy to interrogate. The scope and quality of the data we typically use in learning analytics projects is often limited, and we need to think critically about any short-term solutions that ignore this limitation. I see value in the use of data in curriculum and learning design processes, and I would like to see greater convergence between educational theories and learning analytics. The interdisciplinary nature of educational analytics means that those involved might come from areas such as business intelligence, artificial intelligence, machine learning, educational technology or statistics. It is my hope that more Educators are involved over the next decade and that we remember that learning is a social process and it is my hope, as educators, that we will resist attempts to reduce learning to algorithms. How will the University of 2030 be different than today? I am going to actively resist the temptation to have a game of buzzword bingo but I do expect us to be continuing to improve access to education for more people, I expect us to be offering more flexible programs to give students greater choice in how they study with us and I do imagine that the blend of curriculum delivery will continue to evolve to make more use of digital technology.  I expect greater interdisciplinary collaboration in teaching and research, and I expect to see more project-based learning and employer engagement. Indeed, all these things are already happening, and I do believe in evolution rather than revolution. At the start of this new decade, Ulster University will open a new city center campus in Belfast, an investment of over $250 million, and all our expectations are that we will be doing more active learning in the new space. I expect that we will need to bring cohorts of students together in more flexible ways both on and offline. Our work with project-based learning is reliant on bringing those without institutional identities into our buildings and systems in flexible ways and if we think about our expectations for the next decade, we will need systems that provide greater flexibility in managing teaching, learning, and assessment. This represents challenges for virtual learning environments, building management systems, timetabling and attendance monitoring to name a few, and I do expect to see more use of integrated technology to better manage learning in physical and virtual spaces. What role will technology partners play in helping shape the future of how education is delivered? I think that partnership is the correct terminology for the relationship between technology vendors and universities. We need to be partnering with those who are embedded in the higher education sector and who are actively identifying solutions to our problems as they arise. I think of Blackboard Ally, I have read articles that suggest that the solution may not have been on many of our radars if we had been surveyed and I think that’s true, yet it is something that solves a problem. I don’t believe that a technology solution solves the issue of accessibility in curriculum delivery, but Ally is a tool that contributes to a good solution. I also think that technology partners can help institutional projects get to a pilot stage quicker than we can do alone. Ulster recently partnered with Blackboard on a two-year predictive analytics pilot that helped accelerate internal work on governance and ethics around learning analytics. Whilst the pilot has ended, the legacy of this project is informing our next stage of development. <a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%209" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%209" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%209" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9%2F&title=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%209" data-a2a-url="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9/" data-a2a-title="Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 9"></a>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9/">Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 9</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~4/9EYAShOYlzs" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <feedburner:origLink>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9/</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Celebrating the Journey: Reflections from IncluCity</title> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~3/RBimkru-2XM/</link> <comments>https://blog.blackboard.com/celebrating-the-journey-reflections-from-inclucity/#respond</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jan 2020 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator><![CDATA[John Scott]]></dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Accessibility]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Asia Pacific]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Blackboard Ally]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Europe & Middle East]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Inclusive Access]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Latin America]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Learning Management System (LMS)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[North America]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.blackboard.com/?p=42115</guid> <description><![CDATA[After logging 86,259 miles on the odometer and visiting 51 institutions across 4 continents, 6 countries, and 20 US states, the Ally Van brought in the New Year parked in the IncluCity Repair Shop. But what an adventure we enjoyed over the past year! You might remember from our very first Tour post, we began […] The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/celebrating-the-journey-reflections-from-inclucity/">Celebrating the Journey: Reflections from IncluCity</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ After logging 86,259 miles on the odometer and visiting 51 institutions across 4 continents, 6 countries, and 20 US states, the Ally Van brought in the New Year parked in the IncluCity Repair Shop. But what an adventure we enjoyed over the past year! You might remember from<a href="https://blog.blackboard.com/the-ally-2019-tour-on-the-road-to-inclucity/"> our very first Tour post</a>, we began our journey to learn about how colleges, universities, and schools around the world are addressing accessibility issues with their course materials to help make their campuses more inclusive for everyone. We documented our campus visits in 13 <a href="https://usergroup.ally.ac/s/tour/">blog posts</a>, 28 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWXzwKChiyWOXMTN9qQFSnQ">video interviews</a> with students, instructors, and academic leadership, and 7 <a href="https://usergroup.ally.ac/s/tour/custom_pages/view?id=37">podcasts</a> with the learning technology teams leading their Ally implementation efforts. <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture12-1.png" alt="10 photos displayed in two rows including snowy landscapes, diverse architecture, beachers, mountains, and rivers. " class="wp-image-42119" srcset="https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture12-1.png 974w, https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture12-1-300x108.png 300w, https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture12-1-768x276.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 974px) 100vw, 974px" /><figcaption>A few snaps from the 2019 Blackboard Ally Tour, including Boston (US), Charleston (US), Singapore, Aberdeen (Scotland), Montana (US), Tasmania (Australia), Trondheim (Norway), London (England), Tampa (US), and Grand Rapids (US)</figcaption></figure> Our journey around the world came to symbolize the journey undertaken by the people at the campuses we visited to make learning more inclusive for everyone, as the barriers to access and inclusion cannot be removed overnight, or in a single semester, or even in a year. It is a journey defined not by its destination, but through a culture shift marked by an on-going commitment across the institution to support diverse students’ success, regardless of their need or ability. <h2>Three Discoveries from the Ally Tour</h2> Each Tour stop provided a unique lens into the culture, challenges, and approaches of the institution, but we’ve tried to crystalize our discoveries into three findings related to the three parts of Ally: Alternative Formats, Instructor Feedback, and Institutional Report. <h3>The Impact of Alternative Formats can be Immediate and Far Reaching </h3> During our data review sessions and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) workshops, our hosts often expressed surprise and excitement when they learned about the number of alternative format downloads in their courses, <a href="https://blog.blackboard.com/mapping-new-terrains-for-student-learning-the-blackboard-ally-tour-heads-down-under/">especially those who had yet to publicize the alternative formats</a> to students and instructors. The encouraging usage provided evidence of the utility of the formats for all students and not just those with disclosed disabilities. It also demonstrated the value of integrating the formats into existing course workflows, as students were able to discover and make use of the formats on their own. For instructors, seeing the download data provided some motivation to improve their original documents, knowing their commitment to accessibility ensured all their students would have access to high-quality alternative formats. In our conversations with people on campus, we learned about some of the unique ways alternative formats are used on campus: <ul><li>Juliana Torres (<a href="https://youtu.be/RZXYIDmJTzg?t=196">student at Atlantic Cape Community College</a>) prefers downloading her content in the HTML format because it’s more conducive for zooming in on the text to support her vision. Additionally, it allows her to easily access the content on multiple devices through her browser.</li><li>Andrew Phuong (<a href="https://youtu.be/UDdSUsZekR8?t=323">student at UC Berkeley</a>) benefits from bi-modal presentation–listening and reading at the same time–when engaging with his texts to support his learning disabilities. Having access to OCRed PDFs and MP3s without always having to depend on the alt media office makes him feel like a more autonomous, independent learner.</li><li>Professor Scott Brag (<a href="https://youtu.be/DSkcAGbPUfk?t=136">Medical University of South Carolina, College of Pharmacy</a>) downloads his lecture content in MP3 form to review for clarity so that his students can access his course materials in high-quality audio while driving or reviewing for an exam. </li><li>Sarah Bryan (<a href="https://youtu.be/kq1yVAdV8bI?t=209">Transitions Case Manager, College of DuPage</a>) encourages her students with diagnosed anxiety and attention deficit disorders to download the HTML format for a cleaner, less distracting, high-contrast document that they can easily annotate.</li></ul> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture3-2.png" alt="" class="wp-image-42120" srcset="https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture3-2.png 974w, https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture3-2-300x108.png 300w, https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture3-2-768x276.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 974px) 100vw, 974px" /><figcaption>2019 Global Ally Usage Data (5.4 million alternative formats downloaded, 579,000 course files altered through the instructor feedback, and 84% of files altered through feedback resulted in an improved accessibility score) </figcaption></figure> <h3>Tackling Tough Accessibility Challenges is a Team Sport</h3> While the campuses we visited anticipated a largely positive response from students about the alternative formats, they expressed some apprehension about how their faculty might respond to the presence of the Ally indicators in their courses. Especially for larger universities, these concerns ranged from not being able to support an increase in service calls to worries that instructors might claim the accessibility checks infringed on their academic freedoms. Yet for institutions like <a href="https://usergroup.ally.ac/content/perma?id=20552">UC Berkeley</a> and the <a href="https://usergroup.ally.ac/content/perma?id=19940">University of Toledo</a> who shared these concerns, they discovered that, upon activating the feedback in all their courses after one semester pilots, their teams were not flooded with support calls or complaints, and their usage data actually revealed many faculty were taking initial steps to improve the accessibility of files in their courses. The success of these rollout efforts and others we encountered on the Tour were not happy accidents; they were instead the result of strategic planning, messaging, and collaboration. Strategic planning often included leveraging the remixable <a href="https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Administrator/Communication_and_Adoption_Toolkit">Communications and Adoption Toolkit</a> to quickly assemble knowledge resources tailored to the institution’s needs, as well as configuring <a href="https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Administrator/Configure#configure-ally-user-help-settings_OTP-6">Ally’s Custom Help</a> to streamline and triage help requests from faculty. Successful messaging campaigns have pursued multiple communication channels, such announcements in the LMS, email campaigns, five-minute demos at department meetings, or endorsements from academic leadership, and focused on achieving three key objectives: <ul><li>Clearly states institutional expectations and goals for addressing accessibility issues</li><li>Guides faculty to content with issues that are easier to fix for immediate impact and to help build confidence, such as their syllabus</li><li>Helps faculty recognize more challenging accessibility issues can’t be fixed overnight and that may require expertise using specialized tools </li></ul> To support instructors with those more complex issues, we observed campuses taking advantage of the Ally feedback to mobilize multiple teams across campus in a collaborative effort. For issues like untagged and scanned PDFs of publisher content, institutions such as the <a href="https://usergroup.ally.ac/content/perma?id=21766">Medical University of South Carolina</a> are collaborating with library staff to find accessible alternatives, add <a href="https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Instructor/Improve_File_Accessibility/Add_a_Library_Reference">library references</a> through Ally, or advocate to publishers about the importance of providing accessible materials. Similarly, teams working on <a href="https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Administrator/Communication_and_Adoption_Toolkit/Community_Stories/Accessibility_Leaderboard">Open Educational Resource (OER) initiatives</a> describe collaborating with faculty to replace proprietary content with free and open content as part of campus affordability efforts. For disability resource offices and access teams, the Ally feedback has been used as a tool for proactively identifying barriers in courses and prioritizing remediation efforts. <a href="https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Administrator/Communication_and_Adoption_Toolkit/Community_Stories/Village">Even student worker teams are playing a role in making courses more accessible</a>, using the instructor feedback and help documentation to take on remediation tasks that may be too time-consuming or complex for faculty. <h3>Accessibility Data Drives Understanding and Action</h3> For campuses small and large, their journey to inclusion with Ally often begins with and is guided by their Institutional Report. Campus administrators talked about the critical importance of understanding where the barriers exist in their content across the LMS, the types and prevalence of those barriers, and how barriers are changing over time. Perhaps no example illustrates the value of this accessibility data better than <a href="https://usergroup.ally.ac/s/tour/blog/view?id=50">our first visit with Atlantic Cape Community College</a>, where, under pressure from a consent decree to reach specific accessibility goals, the institutional report offered the team real-time insights into their accessibility issues to target training and demonstrate progress.  We also saw institutions leveraging their Institutional Report insights to spark creative accessibility campaigns. During the Fall semester, Grand Valley State University kicked off their first <a href="https://www.gvsu.edu/elearn/blackboard-ally-student-scholarship-accessibility-competition-97.htm">department accessibility competition</a>, awarding a $1,000 scholarship to the department that improved their Ally score the most by using the <a href="https://help.blackboard.com/Web_Community_Manager/Administrator/Reports/Blackboard_Ally_Institution_Report/Export">CSV export in their Institutional Report</a> to track progress and share updates. Beyond just accessibility data, learning technologists like Claire Gardener (University of Derby) discussed using the report for insights into their LMS usage, gaining a clearer picture of the amount and types of content in courses as well as uptake of tools such as quizzes and discussions. With the introduction of the <a href="https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Instructor/Course_Accessibility_Report">Course Accessibility Report</a>, which provides instructors an overview of their course content and actionable insights into accessibility issues, along with the integration of <a href="https://help.blackboard.com/Ally/Ally_for_LMS/Administrator/Ally_Institution_Report/Usage">Ally usage data</a> in the Institutional Report, campuses have more data than ever to pave their road to inclusion.       <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img src="https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture4.png" alt="Screenshot of usage report for alternative formats with bar graphs showing total downloads, total engagements, and breakdown of types of formats downloaded" class="wp-image-42121" srcset="https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture4.png 974w, https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture4-300x144.png 300w, https://blog.blackboard.com/wp-content/uploads/Picture4-768x367.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 974px) 100vw, 974px" /><figcaption>Screenshot of Ally usage report displaying alternative format downloads data</figcaption></figure> <h2>And Speaking of Data… </h2> With the Inclusion Van in the shop, the Ally Community is organizing activities for 2020, focused on data and research. During data review sessions on our Tour stops, we shared how the institution’s accessibility numbers compared to our<a href="https://blog.blackboard.com/accessibility-of-digital-course-content-insights-and-trends-from-blackboard-ally/"> 2017 data study</a> and how their usage data compared to global Ally usage. From these high-level insights, campus administrators have become increasingly curious about how their data compares to other similar institutions as a means of benchmarking their progress and evaluating the success of their roll-out strategies. So, we’ve spent our winter break compiling Full-Time Enrollment (FTE) data, Carnegie Classifications, and other institutional information to begin looking more granularly at trends in accessibility scores and usage. Our goal for the Ally Community over the next year is to publish a series of whitepapers that can contribute to the emergent body of research related to digital accessibility and Universal Design for Learning. During our <a href="https://usergroup.ally.ac/s/north-american-ally-user-group-office-hou/">monthly office hours meetings</a>, the Ally Community will be working together to compile and share data as well to design and administer surveys on campus. We’ll draw from the rich qualitative data collected during the Tour to contextualize and interpret high-level quantitative findings. Through the sharing of stories and experiences, the 2019 Ally Tour aimed to support campuses as they embarked on their journey to inclusion, and we hope this new phase of research and collaboration in 2020 will propel them further as individual campuses, and advance our collective global mission to foster a more inclusive decade in education. <h3> </h3> <a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fcelebrating-the-journey-reflections-from-inclucity%2F&linkname=Celebrating%20the%20Journey%3A%20Reflections%20from%20IncluCity" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fcelebrating-the-journey-reflections-from-inclucity%2F&linkname=Celebrating%20the%20Journey%3A%20Reflections%20from%20IncluCity" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fcelebrating-the-journey-reflections-from-inclucity%2F&linkname=Celebrating%20the%20Journey%3A%20Reflections%20from%20IncluCity" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fcelebrating-the-journey-reflections-from-inclucity%2F&title=Celebrating%20the%20Journey%3A%20Reflections%20from%20IncluCity" data-a2a-url="https://blog.blackboard.com/celebrating-the-journey-reflections-from-inclucity/" data-a2a-title="Celebrating the Journey: Reflections from IncluCity"></a>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/celebrating-the-journey-reflections-from-inclucity/">Celebrating the Journey: Reflections from IncluCity</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~4/RBimkru-2XM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://blog.blackboard.com/celebrating-the-journey-reflections-from-inclucity/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <feedburner:origLink>https://blog.blackboard.com/celebrating-the-journey-reflections-from-inclucity/</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 8</title> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~3/8AXgxUgGYE0/</link> <comments>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-8/#respond</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 30 Jan 2020 13:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Blackboard]]></dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Europe & Middle East]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership & Client Success]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.blackboard.com/?p=42064</guid> <description><![CDATA[This blog is one in a series from higher education thought leaders. Hussein M. Elmehdi, Dean of Academic Support Services at the University of Sharjah, offers insights on the future of education, and how technology plays a role in learner success. How will teaching and learning practices over the next 10 years have to evolve to […] The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-8/">Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 8</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ This blog is one in a series from higher education thought leaders. Hussein M. Elmehdi, Dean of Academic Support Services at the University of Sharjah, offers insights on the future of education, and how technology plays a role in learner success. How will teaching and learning practices over the next 10 years have to evolve to serve the learners of the future?  Teaching and learning will be driven by the following main factors: <ol><li>Technological advances and their utilization in teaching and learning</li><li>Student expectations (globalization)</li><li>Ranking (education quality)</li><li>Cost of education, which will affect enrollment and affordable education.</li></ol> What role will technology like analytics and data play in improving outcomes for learners in the next decade? Technology has been identified as the main factor, which will impact the future of education. Analytics is one the most important features of technology (LMS) that will help institutions in many areas including: short-term and strategic decision making; accreditation files; Quality Assurance, etc.  How will the college/university of 2030 be different than today? It will be driven by the attributes of the Generation Z: tech-savvy, multi-tasking, very well-connected realists, visual, social media-dependent, etc. Colleges and universities have to meet the needs and demands of the current generation.  What role will technology partners play in helping shape the future of how education is delivered? Joint effort with technology providers and developers such as Blackboard to ensure that technological solutions meet the needs of teaching and learning in the upcoming years.    Hussein M. Elmehdi is the current Dean of Academic Support Services at the University of Sharjah. He is an Associate Professor of Biomedical Physics and the Department of Applied Physics and Astronomy. Dr. Elmehdi obtained his Ph.D. in 2001 from the University of Manitoba, Canada in Biomedical Physics. Dr. Elmehdi is leading several research projects and training programs in utilizing technological advances in LMS in all aspects of teaching and learning including instructional delivery, assessment, and evaluation. <a href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-9/">Click here to read part 9 of this blog series</a> <a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-8%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%208" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-8%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%208" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-8%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%208" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-8%2F&title=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%208" data-a2a-url="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-8/" data-a2a-title="Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 8"></a>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-8/">Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 8</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~4/8AXgxUgGYE0" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-8/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <feedburner:origLink>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-8/</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Perspectives of the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 4</title> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~3/aQ3n_t65tkE/</link> <comments>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4/#respond</comments> <pubDate>Wed, 22 Jan 2020 15:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Blackboard]]></dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Europe & Middle East]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Online Learning]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership & Client Success]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.blackboard.com/?p=42072</guid> <description><![CDATA[This blog is one in a series from higher education thought leaders. Dr. Adam Marks of Zayed University in the UAE offers insights on the future of education, and how technology plays a role in learner success. How will teaching and learning practices over the next 10 years have to evolve to serve the learners […] The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4/">Perspectives of the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 4</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ This blog is one in a series from higher education thought leaders. Dr. Adam Marks of Zayed University in the UAE offers insights on the future of education, and how technology plays a role in learner success. How will teaching and learning practices over the next 10 years have to evolve to serve the learners of the future? In my view, we will witness a move toward independent learning, more emphasis on skills and competencies, more infusion of IT skills across different disciplines, and more selection and choice of curriculum plans. Universities more and more will be run like an enterprise than a traditional higher education institution. What role will technology like analytics and data play in improving outcomes for learners in the next decade? Because of how higher education will be run, there will be a critical need for relevant and timely information to support decision making. The decision-making will not only be concerned with curriculum matters, but also utilization of faculty, cost, revenue, paths to graduation, and other critical matters that will affect the institution’s profit and loss. The new analytics will need not only to provide historical and present information, but also forecast in the future. How will the college/university of 2030 be different than today? I think we are going to see more pooling – pooling of resources, faculty, and courses. There will also be an open buffet selection for learning. Universities will co-share degree programs and courses, and students will be able to take different courses across different universities for credit. Assessment, program reviews, and accreditation reviews will become second nature and quality assurance will be embedded within major processes in institutions. What role will technology partners play in helping shape the future of how education is delivered? Technology partners will play an important role in shaping the tools that adapt to the new practices and needs of teaching and learning. İntegration of key systems, business intelligence, and instant information will continue to be key requirements. Ease of use, seamlessness, and intuition will give leverage to companies over others in the competitive market. Dr. Adam Marks is an accomplished academic leader with expertise in developing and implementing strategic plans for higher education institutions, with an emphasis on growth, academic integrity, and efficiency. Dr. Marks has a proven record of accomplishment in fostering sustainable growth, managing accreditation processes, and managing more than 10,000 students, faculty, and staff. Global-minded educator with experience in the U.S. Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Dr. Marks has research interests and expertise in higher education administration, the use of academic technology to support decision-making, enterprise systems, learning analytics, and risk assessment. He is a collaborative leader with expertise in implementing technological solutions and managing curriculum development for traditional, hybrid, and fully online educational models. <a href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-5/">Click here to read part 5 of this blog series</a> <a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20of%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%204" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20of%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%204" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20of%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%204" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4%2F&title=Perspectives%20of%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%204" data-a2a-url="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4/" data-a2a-title="Perspectives of the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 4"></a>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4/">Perspectives of the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 4</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~4/aQ3n_t65tkE" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <feedburner:origLink>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4/</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 3</title> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~3/KkYtxvywoKM/</link> <comments>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3/#respond</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 16 Jan 2020 16:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Blackboard]]></dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Europe & Middle East]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership & Client Success]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.blackboard.com/?p=42058</guid> <description><![CDATA[This blog is one in a series from higher education thought leaders. Margaret Korosec of the University of Derby in the UK offers insights on the future of education, and how technology plays a role in learner success. How will teaching and learning practices over the next 10 years have to evolve to serve the […] The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3/">Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 3</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ This blog is one in a series from higher education thought leaders. Margaret Korosec of the University of Derby in the UK offers insights on the future of education, and how technology plays a role in learner success. How will teaching and learning practices over the next 10 years have to evolve to serve the learners of the future? Adult learners of the future will continue to fit in education in between work and play. We need to continue to provide online alternatives that will serve all students. The traditional 18-year-old student is also changing, and all university systems tend to rotate around this profile. The system to support campus students does not tend to support teaching and learning practices for a broader audience. System design approaches will help with a holistic view and will identify current gaps. What role will technology like analytics and data play in improving outcomes for learners in the next decade? Service design approaches to learning design and improving outcomes will play a key role in the useful application of technology. Analytics is key; however, we need to get analytics right. We already look at the wider view of student engagement and basic data points. This is not enough! We need to plan for deeper analysis and measure between iterative changes. What happens when a learning activity changes? What do we need to do to support student success and foster critical thinking? We will continue to ask questions and reflect beyond existing systems to find solutions. How will the University of 2030 be different than today? There will be fewer institutions, and these institutions will be offering fewer programs. I see partnerships and online offers expanding and hopefully increased recognition of credit transfer. Institutions will not survive if they are only looking to their own campus. Online learning will be key in university portfolios. By 2030, the UK government will be more explicit in recognizing part-time and online learners, which will open new doors for growth. What role will technology partners play in helping shape the future of how education is delivered? We do not deliver education; we provide experiences and opportunities for learning. Technology partners do have a big role. The distinction is to keep the learning and teaching at the forefront and not compromise by ensuring the technology fits first. There is a powerful opportunity to engage with partners and draw on the research power of large entities.   Margaret Korosec is Head of Digital and Enterprise Learning Solutions at the University of Derby Online Learning. Korosec is passionate about online learning and is leading online learning design and development strategy. She is particularly interested in researching shifts in academic practice and sense-making activities when learning to teach online. She brings a unique cultural awareness through her personal and professional experience in the United States, Austria, and the UK. She is a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy in the UK and earned her Ph.D. at the University of Hull researching the perceptions, concerns, and practices of technology change facilitators in relation to technology-enhanced learning strategy in higher education. <a href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-of-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-4/">Click here to read part 4 of this blog series</a> <a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%203" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%203" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%203" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3%2F&title=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%203" data-a2a-url="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3/" data-a2a-title="Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 3"></a>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3/">Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 3</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~4/KkYtxvywoKM" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <feedburner:origLink>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3/</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 2</title> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~3/UtSNeEwOIv4/</link> <comments>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-2/#respond</comments> <pubDate>Mon, 13 Jan 2020 17:15:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Blackboard]]></dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Europe & Middle East]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Learning Management System (LMS)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership & Client Success]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.blackboard.com/?p=42042</guid> <description><![CDATA[This blog is one in a series on the future of education. Güner Gürsoy and Emel Koç of Okan University in Istanbul, Turkey, offer insights on the below questions around the future of education, and how technology plays a role in learner success. How will teaching and learning practices over the next 10 years have […] The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-2/">Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 2</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ This blog is one in a series on the future of education. Güner Gürsoy and Emel Koç of Okan University in Istanbul, Turkey, offer insights on the below questions around the future of education, and how technology plays a role in learner success. How will teaching and learning practices over the next 10 years have to evolve to serve the learners of the future? We expect to witness more frequent career changes for individuals, and this will lead to more need for learning. In this context, competency-based badge educations will enhance the learning environment. Since universities are not designed for individually customized curriculums, the gap will be covered by badge educations. Overall, educational technologies will be much more widely used in all parts of education and individually customized learning platforms. Teaching and learning practices will require new methods such as interactive video content, mobile microlearning, gamifications and simulations, and video cases. Some key trends to look for: <ol><li>More innovative education technologies will be in the market </li><li>Mobile will be the main platform especially with 5G</li><li>Out of network out of learning</li><li>Teachers will be teaching coaches </li><li>Data-driven education design will evolve education</li><li>Gamification in teaching and learning will be much more visible </li><li>Media is designed to be duplicated and shared</li><li>Teaching and learning platforms will allow us to develop and incorporate Apps. </li><li>Knowledge access tools will enhance. </li></ol> What role will technology like analytics and data play in improving outcomes for learners in the next decade? Assessment based and data-driven education design is the future. With new technologies and analytics, we will be able to assess the potentials of a student at an early age and track her/his lifetime career development. This will allow us to create a learning to learn eco-system for a generation starving for adaptation to change. Some key trends to look for: <ol><li>Enable much more individualization in teaching and learning</li><li>Improve communication opportunities, sharing capabilities</li><li>Present new opportunities and capabilities to improve the human experience</li><li>Helps to assess and predict learners’ performance</li><li>Provides learners’ with a personalized eLearning experience</li><li>Increased learners’ retention rates</li><li>Helps to improve future eLearning courses</li><li>Boost in cost efficiency</li></ol> How will the college/university of 2030 be different than today? The main changes will be the increased intensity in educational technology utilization and less dependence on big and expensive campuses. Higher education will evolve through competency-based individually customized curriculum teaching. Time and space will no longer be an issue in teaching and learning. Some key trends to look for: <ol><li>Impressive learning experiences will no longer be a perk, but a necessity</li><li>Blending traditional and non-traditional teaching methods will become the norm</li><li>Moving between borders and gaining and international Outlook</li><li>Student-focused learning will be essential</li><li>The future classroom must be student-centered</li><li>Digital education designed to teach future skills</li><li>Screen time vs. digitally-focused education</li><li>Using Emerging technologies (AI, VR, Blockchain)</li><li>Being singularity college/university</li><li>Learning in small bursts</li><li>Adding creativity back to the classroom</li><li>Changing teaching method</li><li>Personalization </li></ol> What role will technology partners play in helping shape the future of how education is delivered. Technology has and will continue to have a significant impact on higher education. Educational technologies will allow individually customized teaching and learning. Some key trends to look to as education continues to globalize: <ol><li>Online learning is gaining a firm foothold in universities around the world.</li><li>Corporate-academic partnerships will form an increasing part of the university experience.</li><li>University respondents view technology as having a largely positive impact on their campuses.</li><li>Higher education is responding to globalization.</li><li>Technology is enabling multi-modal teaching, changing curricula, and spawning rich forms of online research and collaboration.</li><li>Online-collaboration tools, software that supports individually paced learning, and learning-management systems are among the communications technologies most expected to improve academics.</li><li>Web 2.0 technologies such as wikis, instant messaging and social networking which have been influential in improving connectivity in many settings and are in use now at a large number of institutions</li><li>Teaching will become more outcome-based and student-centered with online gaming and simulation software.</li><li>Students will be able to craft individualized degree programs, either within their own university or by bundling coursework from different institutions.</li></ol> Güner Gürsoy is the Vice Rector for Okan University in Istanbul, Turkey.  Since receiving his Ph.D. in Business Finance from Bilkent University, Gürsoy gained professional and academic experience in strategic investment budgeting and technology and managerial transformations. Since 1995, Gürsoy has been actively involved in simulation-based experimental learning in education. For the last ten years, he has been in strategic management and leadership roles in distance education units. Currently, Blended Learning has been implemented together with the University Learning Center with the O’Learn concept at Istanbul Okan University. Emel Koç is the director of Learning Application and Research Center for Okan University. Koç continues her Ph.D. studies in the field of computer engineering. Koç conducts academic studies in the fields of machine learning and artificial neural networks. She is also working to advance digital education technologies and new educational methodologies. Since 2010, she has carried out technical, academic, administrative and operational studies in the implementation of Learning Management Systems. <a href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-3/">Click here to read part 3 of this blog series</a> <a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-2%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%202" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-2%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%202" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-2%2F&linkname=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%202" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fperspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-2%2F&title=Perspectives%20on%20the%20Future%20of%20Education%3A%20Ed%20Leaders%20Weigh-In%2C%20Part%202" data-a2a-url="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-2/" data-a2a-title="Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 2"></a>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-2/">Perspectives on the Future of Education: Ed Leaders Weigh-In, Part 2</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~4/UtSNeEwOIv4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-2/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <feedburner:origLink>https://blog.blackboard.com/perspectives-on-the-future-of-education-ed-leaders-weigh-in-part-2/</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Blackboard Holds First-Ever Event in Morocco</title> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~3/cTQSRp_mBG4/</link> <comments>https://blog.blackboard.com/blackboard-holds-first-ever-event-in-morocco/#respond</comments> <pubDate>Thu, 09 Jan 2020 15:00:00 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Robert Speed]]></dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Europe & Middle East]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Events]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.blackboard.com/?p=42028</guid> <description><![CDATA[The education technology movement is steadily gaining ground across the Middle East and Africa, and the latest frontier of expansion is Morocco. Interest in digital teaching and learning, its many benefits, and its potential to engineer a better future is on the rise across the nation. Several public and private institutions are now eager to […] The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/blackboard-holds-first-ever-event-in-morocco/">Blackboard Holds First-Ever Event in Morocco</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ The education technology movement is steadily gaining ground across the Middle East and Africa, and the latest frontier of expansion is Morocco. Interest in digital teaching and learning, its many benefits, and its potential to engineer a better future is on the rise across the nation. Several public and private institutions are now eager to invest in creating a digital infrastructure for learners. Blackboard has over 20 years of experience in education. During this time, we have accumulated a wealth of knowledge, experience, and insights. We have the know-how, the capability, and the solutions in place to support Morocco’s education sector in its transformation. With this objective in mind, and to better understand the sector’s specific challenges and needs, we held our very first event in Morocco earlier this month. Organized in collaboration with the US embassy and the US Commercial Service (CS) in Morocco, the event was held at the residence of the US Ambassador in Rabat in the presence of the Chargé d’Affaires David Greene. The CS Morocco invited representatives of the education sector from the Moroccan government, the private sector, and from US government entities based in the nation. Also in attendance were members of the Moroccan Ministry of Employment and Vocational Integration and the Ministry of Higher Education. During the event, we highlighted the importance of enhancing learner engagement, improving academic effectiveness, and deriving meaningful insights through digital teaching and learning. We discussed the importance of teacher training — that is, the importance of training faculty on how to use technology to develop relevant content. We emphasized the value of accessibility, and we outlined our dedication to creating an entire ecosystem to better support online learning. We also showcased our latest line of high-tech solutions that can help institutions achieve these goals, including Blackboard Learn. We shared our expertise on education transformation best practices, as well as experiences from our success in the wider region. We currently have over 110 customers in the Middle East and Africa. We’re particularly busy in Saudi Arabia — 27 universities are currently using Blackboard, which adds up to over 2.6 million students. This gives us great insight into learning trends and student success. That is the sort of experience we will bring to Morocco. We look forward to collaborating with the nation’s institutions to enhance digital teaching and learning. Watch the video from the event here: <figure class="wp-block-embed-youtube wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe title="Al Aoula, Blackboard Event" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SgeVqXe2YAU?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fblackboard-holds-first-ever-event-in-morocco%2F&linkname=Blackboard%20Holds%20First-Ever%20Event%20in%20Morocco" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fblackboard-holds-first-ever-event-in-morocco%2F&linkname=Blackboard%20Holds%20First-Ever%20Event%20in%20Morocco" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fblackboard-holds-first-ever-event-in-morocco%2F&linkname=Blackboard%20Holds%20First-Ever%20Event%20in%20Morocco" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fblackboard-holds-first-ever-event-in-morocco%2F&title=Blackboard%20Holds%20First-Ever%20Event%20in%20Morocco" data-a2a-url="https://blog.blackboard.com/blackboard-holds-first-ever-event-in-morocco/" data-a2a-title="Blackboard Holds First-Ever Event in Morocco"></a>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/blackboard-holds-first-ever-event-in-morocco/">Blackboard Holds First-Ever Event in Morocco</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~4/cTQSRp_mBG4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://blog.blackboard.com/blackboard-holds-first-ever-event-in-morocco/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <feedburner:origLink>https://blog.blackboard.com/blackboard-holds-first-ever-event-in-morocco/</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Seven Client Perspectives: Transitioning to SaaS Deployment and Blackboard Learn with the Ultra Experience</title> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~3/NCNc6uHG4Cw/</link> <comments>https://blog.blackboard.com/seven-client-perspectives-transitioning-to-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-with-the-ultra-experience/#respond</comments> <pubDate>Mon, 23 Dec 2019 18:31:34 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Blackboard]]></dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[Blackboard Learn]]></category> <category><![CDATA[eLearning]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Europe & Middle East]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Learning Management System (LMS)]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership & Client Success]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.blackboard.com/?p=42005</guid> <description><![CDATA[Educational institutions globally are making the switch from Managed Hosting and self-hosting to SaaS deployment, and from Blackboard Learn Original to Learn with the Ultra experience. SaaS deployment for Blackboard Learn provides a scalable and reliable foundation for world-class learning experiences. With SaaS, educational institutions globally will reap the benefits of cloud architecture including continuous […] The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/seven-client-perspectives-transitioning-to-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-with-the-ultra-experience/">Seven Client Perspectives: Transitioning to SaaS Deployment and Blackboard Learn with the Ultra Experience</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ Educational institutions globally are making the switch from Managed Hosting and self-hosting to SaaS deployment, and from Blackboard Learn Original to Learn with the Ultra experience. SaaS deployment for Blackboard Learn provides a scalable and reliable foundation for world-class learning experiences. With SaaS, educational institutions globally will reap the benefits of cloud architecture including continuous updates with zero downtime, enhanced quality, and rapid product innovation. We recently spoke with seven clients in the Middle East and Turkey who decided to transition to Learn SaaS. To read more about each clients’ perspective, visit <a href="https://www.blackboard.com/resource-node/7-client-perspectives-transitioning-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-ultra">https://www.blackboard.com/resource-node/7-client-perspectives-transitioning-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-ultra</a>. <a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fseven-client-perspectives-transitioning-to-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-with-the-ultra-experience%2F&linkname=Seven%20Client%20Perspectives%3A%20Transitioning%20to%20SaaS%20Deployment%20and%20Blackboard%20Learn%20with%20the%20Ultra%20Experience" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fseven-client-perspectives-transitioning-to-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-with-the-ultra-experience%2F&linkname=Seven%20Client%20Perspectives%3A%20Transitioning%20to%20SaaS%20Deployment%20and%20Blackboard%20Learn%20with%20the%20Ultra%20Experience" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fseven-client-perspectives-transitioning-to-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-with-the-ultra-experience%2F&linkname=Seven%20Client%20Perspectives%3A%20Transitioning%20to%20SaaS%20Deployment%20and%20Blackboard%20Learn%20with%20the%20Ultra%20Experience" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fseven-client-perspectives-transitioning-to-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-with-the-ultra-experience%2F&title=Seven%20Client%20Perspectives%3A%20Transitioning%20to%20SaaS%20Deployment%20and%20Blackboard%20Learn%20with%20the%20Ultra%20Experience" data-a2a-url="https://blog.blackboard.com/seven-client-perspectives-transitioning-to-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-with-the-ultra-experience/" data-a2a-title="Seven Client Perspectives: Transitioning to SaaS Deployment and Blackboard Learn with the Ultra Experience"></a>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/seven-client-perspectives-transitioning-to-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-with-the-ultra-experience/">Seven Client Perspectives: Transitioning to SaaS Deployment and Blackboard Learn with the Ultra Experience</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~4/NCNc6uHG4Cw" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://blog.blackboard.com/seven-client-perspectives-transitioning-to-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-with-the-ultra-experience/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <feedburner:origLink>https://blog.blackboard.com/seven-client-perspectives-transitioning-to-saas-deployment-and-blackboard-learn-with-the-ultra-experience/</feedburner:origLink></item> <item> <title>Bill Ballhaus: Celebrating 2019 and Shifting our Focus to the Future</title> <link>http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~3/G2j3kwvYbj4/</link> <comments>https://blog.blackboard.com/bill-ballhaus-celebrating-2019-and-shifting-our-focus-to-the-future/#respond</comments> <pubDate>Tue, 17 Dec 2019 15:00:52 +0000</pubDate> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Bill Ballhaus]]></dc:creator> <category><![CDATA[About Blackboard]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Asia Pacific]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Europe & Middle East]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Latin America]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[North America]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Thought Leadership & Client Success]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">https://blog.blackboard.com/?p=41962</guid> <description><![CDATA[As 2019 comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to thank our clients around the world for their continued partnership. Together, we’re making great strides in advancing education through the power of technology, and I’m really proud of the positive impact we’re having on students’ lives. The year-end is also a time […] The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/bill-ballhaus-celebrating-2019-and-shifting-our-focus-to-the-future/">Bill Ballhaus: Celebrating 2019 and Shifting our Focus to the Future</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ As 2019 comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to thank our clients around the world for their continued partnership. Together, we’re making great strides in advancing education through the power of technology, and I’m really proud of the positive impact we’re having on students’ lives. The year-end is also a time that I like to pause and reflect on the progress we’re making as a company. This past year was a real turning point for Blackboard, as we took steps to simplify our business and focus on our core – teaching and learning. That simplification put us on strong financial footing and gave us the capacity to focus on driving innovation. And while there are signs in the market of instability among some of our competitors, I’m happy to share that Blackboard’s business is strong. We’re deeply committed to education, as we have been for more than two decades, and we’re excited about what’s ahead. Today at Blackboard, our global team is celebrating our 2019 success. Check out their thoughts and reflections on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn with the hashtag #BbElevate. Here are just a few <a href="https://www.blackboard.com/bbelevate">milestones </a>that make me proud: <ul><li>We have 673 clients on Learn SaaS – more than any other version – and the momentum to move to the cloud continues, and 213 <a href="https://learnultra.blackboard.com/client-stories">clients</a> around the world are now using <a href="https://coursesites.com/?utm_source=BbCorpWebsite&utm_medium=Web&utm_campaign=Link_on_Learn_Page&utm_term=&utm_content=Bottom_Link">Learn Ultra</a>, our next-generation LMS</li><li><a href="https://www.blackboard.com/teaching-learning/data-and-analytics/blackboard-reporting-stack">Blackboard Data</a>, launched in July, is now being used by 146 clients</li><li>The <a href="https://www.blackboard.com/teaching-learning/learning-management/mobile-learning-solutions">Blackboard</a> app has been downloaded 15 million times</li><li><a href="https://www.blackboard.com/teaching-learning/accessibility-universal-design/blackboard-ally-lms">Blackboard Ally</a> has enabled content accessibility and universal design for about 6 million students around the world </li><li><a href="https://www.blackboard.com/services/student-success-services">Blackboard Chatbot</a>, powered by Ivy.AI, launched in October to optimize the student experience on campus</li><li>We issued over 1,000 certifications to academic staff and faculty through our Digital Teaching & Learning Series</li><li>More than 300 new clients joined the Blackboard global community this year</li></ul> With the start of the new decade, I believe a new chapter is unfolding for Blackboard. Learning is our passion, and we are deeply committed to working with you, side-by-side, to take on your challenges for the long run. Our sights are set on the future, and we’re laser-focused on driving innovation to benefit your institution, faculty, and students. We believe that together, we can create a smarter learning environment that reflects the best of what education can offer. Our “Galaxy of Learning” theme for BbWorld 2020 fits perfectly with our future focus, and I can’t wait to share our new innovations and developments with you at BbWorld and throughout the coming year. In the meantime, on behalf of the Blackboard team, I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season, and as always, I thank you for your continued partnership. <a class="a2a_button_facebook" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/facebook?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fbill-ballhaus-celebrating-2019-and-shifting-our-focus-to-the-future%2F&linkname=Bill%20Ballhaus%3A%20Celebrating%202019%20and%20Shifting%20our%20Focus%20to%20the%20Future" title="Facebook" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/twitter?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fbill-ballhaus-celebrating-2019-and-shifting-our-focus-to-the-future%2F&linkname=Bill%20Ballhaus%3A%20Celebrating%202019%20and%20Shifting%20our%20Focus%20to%20the%20Future" title="Twitter" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_button_email" href="https://www.addtoany.com/add_to/email?linkurl=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fbill-ballhaus-celebrating-2019-and-shifting-our-focus-to-the-future%2F&linkname=Bill%20Ballhaus%3A%20Celebrating%202019%20and%20Shifting%20our%20Focus%20to%20the%20Future" title="Email" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank"></a><a class="a2a_dd addtoany_share_save addtoany_share" href="https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Fblog.blackboard.com%2Fbill-ballhaus-celebrating-2019-and-shifting-our-focus-to-the-future%2F&title=Bill%20Ballhaus%3A%20Celebrating%202019%20and%20Shifting%20our%20Focus%20to%20the%20Future" data-a2a-url="https://blog.blackboard.com/bill-ballhaus-celebrating-2019-and-shifting-our-focus-to-the-future/" data-a2a-title="Bill Ballhaus: Celebrating 2019 and Shifting our Focus to the Future"></a>The post <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com/bill-ballhaus-celebrating-2019-and-shifting-our-focus-to-the-future/">Bill Ballhaus: Celebrating 2019 and Shifting our Focus to the Future</a> appeared first on <a rel="nofollow" href="https://blog.blackboard.com">Blackboard Blog</a>. <img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/blackboard/Seah/~4/G2j3kwvYbj4" height="1" width="1" alt=""/>]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://blog.blackboard.com/bill-ballhaus-celebrating-2019-and-shifting-our-focus-to-the-future/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>0</slash:comments> <feedburner:origLink>https://blog.blackboard.com/bill-ballhaus-celebrating-2019-and-shifting-our-focus-to-the-future/</feedburner:origLink></item> </channel> </rss>