Blackboard Opens Field Trial for Learning Analytics Solution

WASHINGTON, Jan. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc. has partnered with several colleges and universities that will test-drive its new solution for learning analytics, the company announced today. The institutions will pilot the new solution – Blackboard Analytics^™ for Blackboard Learn^™, and provide feedback to the company.

Blackboard plans for the solution to provide a complete view of teaching and learning, monitoring usage patterns and data in the learning management system (LMS) along with information from the student information system. The real-time and longitudinal data generated by the system would be used to help better engage students, measure and improve learning outcomes, and assess the adoption and use of online learning tools.

A number of four-year colleges and universities and two-year community colleges are participating in the field trial, including the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Seton Hall University, Grand Rapids Community College and Montgomery County Community College. All of the institutions currently use Blackboard Learn 9.1 for learning management, and will provide feedback on the solution as well as how they use the information it generates to help shape final development of the product.

"For years, we've sought ways to understand student performance and course effectiveness in our online learning programs," said Kevin O'Halla, chief information officer at Grand Rapids Community College. "Blackboard Analytics for Blackboard Learn gives us greater insight, not just in a static semester-by-semester fashion, but over time, and in real time. While still in the trial, we're already seeing how Grand Rapids can make better decisions about our course delivery to help ensure student success through a tool that is easy for end user analysis."

The solution is built on the Blackboard Analytics^™ platform, which provides immediate, highly customizable access to data analytics from across the institution through dashboards, predefined reports, and guided data exploration. Blackboard Analytics was launched in 2011 and is now used to guide data-driven decision-making at over 150 higher education institutions.

Blackboard plans for Blackboard Analytics for Blackboard Learn to present both course-specific and institution-wide data over time. The information would also help individual instructors better identify and help at-risk students at the course level, while enabling administrators to better understand the impact of online learning and justify expenditures and investments at the institutional level.

"We have seen a growing interest from academic leaders in a pre-packaged application with out-of-the-box integrations that will help them make better decisions about programs, encourage problem-solving, and ultimately contribute to student success," said Jim Hermens, general manager of Blackboard Analytics. "Through this field trial, we are showing how Blackboard Analytics can provide an unprecedented view of learning activity that makes it easy for learning leaders to set and measure goals."

Blackboard plans for the analytics solution to offer integration with all the leading SIS platforms and can be customized to integrate with other SIS solutions. The new product is scheduled to be generally available early this year.

For more information about Blackboard, please visit: http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Analytics/Overview.aspx.

About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. 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.

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SOURCE Blackboard Inc.