New York City Department of Education Selects Blackboard Collaborate for Use in District Schools

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE), the largest public school system in the U.S., has chosen Blackboard Collaborate™, in an effort to enhance student achievement and personalize instruction through the iLearnNYC program, Blackboard Inc. announced today.

District officials found Blackboard Collaborate – the only online collaboration platform built for education – to be the superior product to offer students and teachers a robust set of Web, voice and video conferencing capabilities. The selection followed an evaluation of technology solutions to support online and blended learning, and will help NYC DOE support three key initiatives: getting students college and career ready; meeting Common Core standards and curriculum adaption; and providing more personalized instruction.

With the platform, NYC schools will be able to offer more courses – including Advanced Placement, foreign language and credit recovery – and reach students in disparate locations with a more personalized learning experience based on student needs. In their virtual classrooms, teachers can create workflows that are specific for help and tutoring environments, allow learners to get immediate feedback through ad-hoc video chats and create break out rooms encouraging interaction based on skill sets, segmented outcomes or other criteria.

In addition, NYC schools may also use the Blackboard Collaborate platform to conduct parent-teacher conferences online, meet with instructors and administrators across the city virtually as well as offer teachers more professional development opportunities online.

"The iLearnNYC program is focused on expanding digital learning experiences by broadening the use of online content and resources and removing the barriers to using them," said Sandeep Chellani, executive director of product development for the New York City Department of Education. "By partnering with Blackboard, our students are not only able to take a wider array of courses, but also work with teachers to customize a unique learning experience. We anticipate greater engagement through this effort, which will eventually lead to improved student outcomes."

Currently offered in approximately 100 schools in the iLearnNYC program, the NYC DOE will supply its comprehensive set of online teaching and learning tools to 100 more schools in the 2012-2013 school year. Blackboard Collaborate is seamlessly integrated with NYC DOE's Desire2Learn learning management system and provides users with a single point of access to the interactive learning platform.

"The K-12 educational landscape is quickly changing and districts are hungry for technologies that help them design a technology program that meets their goals and focuses on student achievement," says Maurice Heiblum, president of Blackboard Collaborate. "We are excited to partner with the New York City Department of Education as they work toward a more personalized experience for their teachers and students that introduces an innovative approach to learning that engages and excites the entire community."

Blackboard Collaborate's Web conferencing, instant messaging, and voice authoring technologies are used by thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate and government organizations worldwide.

To learn more about Blackboard Collaborate integrations, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Collaborate/Products/Integrations.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.

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially as a result of various important factors. 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 statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.  

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.