Blackboard to Improve the Education Experience for all Learners Through Innovative Voice and Video Capabilities

WASHINGTON, Dec. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Blackboard Inc. announced a new partnership with software-as-a-service (SaaS) provider VoiceThread that will enable learners and instructors to actively engage in discussions within their learning environment using video, voice or text commenting. The partnership will better position Blackboard to enhance the learning experience by facilitating dynamic conversations and fostering better peer-peer and student-teacher communication.

This is the latest in a series of strategic steps Blackboard has taken to provide its customers with the tools and services they expect to be able to use within their learning experience, including video and voice communication and real-time, active conversations.

"VoiceThread integration with Blackboard has provided a seamless experience for our faculty," said Olena Zhadko, PhD, Manager of Course Development at the New York Institute of Technology's Center for Teaching and Learning. "Our faculty were able to create VoiceThread assignments from within a Blackboard course in just seconds. Many faculty who might be reluctant to go to yet another website were relieved to know that VoiceThread was available in Blackboard. Students' accounts and course groups are set up automatically, and setting up a VoiceThread assignment was very easy for all faculty with varying technological skills."

"With current consumer technologies, learners and instructors have gotten used to quickly, efficiently and effectively communicating through voice and video – so it's our job to bring that into their educational experience," said Jay Bhatt, CEO of Blackboard. "With VoiceThread, we'll be able to do just that. Engaging and meaningful dialogues between peers, as well as between student and teacher, are the building blocks to an effective overall communication channel – which is critical for fostering learner success."

Blackboard currently provides voice and text commenting through its Voice Authoring tool, and the addition of VoiceThread technology will increase the breadth of commenting options for teachers and learners, enhance Blackboard's teaching and learning solutions, and expand its partner ecosystem. VoiceThread is making the asynchronous environment feel synchronous.

For more information about VoiceThread, please visit www.voicethread.com or follow @VoiceThread on Twitter.

For more information about Blackboard, please visit www.blackboard.com or follow @Blackboard on Twitter.

About Blackboard Inc.

Blackboard is the world's leading education technology company. We challenge conventional thinking and advance new models of learning in order to reimagine education and make it more accessible, engaging and relevant to the modern-day learner and the institutions that serve them. In partnership with our customers in higher education and K-12 as well as corporations and government agencies around the world, our mission is to help every learner achieve their full potential by inspiring a passion for lifelong learning. For more information about Blackboard, follow us on Twitter @Blackboard.

About VoiceThread

VoiceThread is a cloud-based application that brings your media into collaborative spaces where others can engage using voice, video, or text commenting.  The results are highly interactive and engaging conversations that combine stronger human presence with the flexibility of an asynchronous learning environment.  VoiceThread integrates directly with Blackboard courses and the grade center via LTI to make the experience for instructors and students seamless.  For more information about VoiceThread, please follow @VoiceThread on Twitter.

CONTACT
Peter Milligan, Blackboard Inc.
(434) 996-7985 or [email protected]

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.

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