Blackboard Bumps Learning Systems to 8.0

• By David Nagel
• 03/28/08

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Blackboard this week brought its Learning System CE and Learning System Vista in line with Learning System Enterprise edition, bringing the entire line to version 8.0. The company said the new releases represent a major advance toward its goal of unifying the codebase of its learning tools and infusing them with Web 2.0 technologies.

"Release 8.0 brings us one step closer to launching a next generation teaching and learning platform that combines the collective innovations of Blackboard and WebCT solutions in a single code base," said Michael Chasen, president and CEO of Blackboard, in a statement released yesterday. "I'm truly excited about this important milestone in our efforts to introduce new product capabilities that engage students, leverage the power of social learning communities and drive success in institutional assessment."

The new version incorporate several new features, including SafeAssign, a plagiarism detection and prevention system first introduced in August; Blackboard Scholar, a social networking and resource sharing feature; and Grade Center, a Web 2.0-based gradebook. Other new features include:

• Stability enhancements;
• Performance improvements; and
• Integration with the Blackboard Academic Suite, including the Blackboard Community System, the Blackboard Content System and the Blackboard Outcomes System.

Blackboard will be showing off the new versions in person at the BbWorld Europe user conference in May. Further information can be found here.

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About the author: David Nagel is the executive editor for 1105 Media's online education technology publications, including THE Journal and Campus Technology. He can be reached at [email protected].

Proposals for articles and tips for news stories, as well as questions and comments about this publication, should be submitted to David Nagel, executive editor, at [email protected].