BbWorld to Highlight Peer-to-Peer Education and Training

WASHINGTON, May 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) today announced the program for BbWorld®, its annual user conference, with more than 150 sessions – 75 percent of which will be led by clients. The event will gather over 2,000 instructors, administrators and technical experts to share best practices, network with peers and gain new insight in teaching and learning with technology.

Slated for July 12-14 in Las Vegas, Nev., BbWorld will also feature a range of sessions led by Blackboard experts and partners. Overall, the program will emphasize practical, hands-on training and development on topics including change management, scalability, and ways to best leverage the latest Blackboard technology. The program will also include a corporate keynote session from Blackboard executives highlighting news and announcements on the company's continued work to support clients and users with the best in education technology.

For the first time, BbWorld will also include a dedicated program track for faculty focusing on best practices in online and blended instruction and ways to improve instructor efficiency and student achievement. In addition, senior institutional leaders will participate in a new CIO Networking & Symposium Event which will immediately precede BbWorld, focusing on how leaders can best manage the growth and evolution of technology programs and services across their campuses.

"Despite being a Blackboard client for ten years, last year marked the first time our team attended BbWorld," said Misty H. Cobb, Director of Distance Education at Jacksonville State University.  "Because of conversations with our peers and Blackboard leaders who took the time to listen and understand the issues we were facing, we were able to make rapid improvements in our work processes and extend the services we provide to faculty and students. We can now confidently offer and support multiple teaching and learning solutions and participate in Community Programs that we learned about at BbWorld."

BbWorld will feature keynote presentations from Steven Johnson, prominent technologist, TED speaker, and best-selling author of Where Good Ideas Come From, and Sir Ken Robinson, best-selling author of the recently re-released Out of our Minds: Learning to Be Creative, and internationally recognized leader in education and creativity.

"Each year this event demonstrates the value of knowledge and experience shared by peers across the community of practice," said Michael L. Chasen, president and CEO of Blackboard, who will deliver a corporate keynote address at BbWorld with Ray Henderson, President of Blackboard Learn. "We've designed this event to emphasize skill building and knowledge sharing around ideas our clients can implement now to get more out of their investments in technology. We look forward to an event that extends into new directions this year and the opportunity to share our own plans and ideas." 

In addition to the general BbWorld program, Blackboard will host several related events for specific communities including:

• The inaugural Blackboard Collaborate™ Connections Summit, bringing together the combined Elluminate and Wimba user communities to share strategies for effective collaboration to meet a range of academic and institutional goals. Karen Cator, Director of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Educational Technology, will keynote the event.
• The annual Blackboard Developer Conference (DevCon), connecting institutional and third party developers working to extend learning platforms and leverage the best in interoperable technology.
• Several Pre-Conference Workshops where hands-on instruction will be available on a variety of topics such as developing online training programs, using templates for course design, change management and upgrade paths, and aligning state standards with course content.

For more information about BbWorld, please visit http://www.BbWorld.com/.

About Blackboard Inc.

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 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 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 18, 2011 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of May 5, 2011. 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, 2011.

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.