Blackboard Named a 2011 Learning Leader by Bersin & Associates

WASHINGTON, Feb. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) today announced that Blackboard Learn,™ Release 9.1 was selected by the Bersin & Associates 2011 Learning Leaders® Program for vendor innovation in learning and talent management. The award recognizes Blackboard Learn as a transformative learning platform bringing engagement and assessment activities together in an easy-to-use continuous learning environment.

Launched in early 2010, Release 9.1 was designed to improve learning and training opportunities through its capabilities in course delivery, community engagement, content management and assessment. Social and informal learning opportunities through wikis, discussion boards and blogs are integrated directly into courses, driving learner engagement and the ability to capture and assess informal learning in a centralized and secure environment.

"Blackboard clearly understands the benefits of creating a borderless workplace that fosters innovation and expertise, and that encourages employees to collaborate in ways that enable every member of an organization to become better at what they do," said Josh Bersin, Chief Executive Officer and President of Bersin & Associates. "By driving significant business improvement with innovative and effective approaches to employee learning and talent management, Blackboard will serve as a great case study for all training and development professionals."

"Organizations are finding that when an LMS is paired with a true learning and development system, adoption rates are better and employees provide more impact on the business," said Tim Hill, President of Blackboard Professional Education. "Blackboard Learn is focused on the learner, not on the administration of learning activities; it is a learning content delivery and engagement system that provides the backbone for a highly effective continuous learning environment."

The Blackboard Learn platform is implemented by corporations, small and medium-sized businesses, associations, and government agencies looking for cost-effective ways to deliver training with real impact. Clients have found tremendous success by using the platform as a continuous learning environment essential to employee success in areas such as sales training, onboarding, customer service, leadership development and customer/partner training. The Blackboard Mobile™ Learn solution was also introduced in 2010, which extends the power of the platform to bring two-way teaching and learning to mobile devices.

Bersin & Associates' 2011 Learning Leaders include 28 organizations selected from hundreds of applications spanning technology, financial services, health care, transportation and management consulting. Winners also include providers of training and talent management solutions and services. In the face of an economic recovery, this year's winning submissions were focused on finding and growing the right mix of talent, rather than on managing existing talent and learning needs as were last year's submissions. As in past years, the awards program was conducted by Bersin & Associates in partnership with Elearning! magazine.

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-Q filed on November 5, 2010 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of February 14, 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 February 14, 2011.

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.