Collaboration | News

Blackboard Collaborate Gets Agilix, Epsilen, itslearning Integration

• By Mike Hohenbrink
• 02/28/12

Blackboard has made available new integration options for its Blackboard Collaborate that allow for more interoperability and support across platforms for a variety of learning management systems, including the company's own Blackboard Learn 9.1. The new integrations were developed by Agilix, Epsilen, and itslearning.

Integration is also possible with Blackboard Learn Angel Edition, WebCT, Moodle, Sakai, Pearson LearningStudio, Fronter, and Desire2Learn learning management systems.

The new integrations will allow users, including both students and teachers, to take advantage of a single point of access from directly within their preferred LMS right to the Blackboard Collaborate platform, which in turn provides Web conferencing options and tools for users.

This allows for creation of virtual classroom settings as well as teacher and staff meetings and consultations from within the existing LMS.

All meetings and classes are recordable with a single click for later viewing. This allows students to make up missed work, and staff in-service needs can be met more easily and around the schedules of teachers who have conflicting demands upon their time.

Personnel can also consult from multiple sites within a school system using the platform.

Support for the new integrations is provided at no additional cost for existing Blackboard users by means of the platform's open APIs.

"For many institutions today, successful educational initiatives mean a blended approach using both asynchronous and synchronous technology," said Maurice Heiblum, president of Blackboard Collaborate. "Through partnerships with an ever growing set of education-focused software providers, Blackboard Collaborate delivers on our commitment to provide open, accessible collaboration solutions to support our customers' technology choices."

"By giving our users access to Blackboard Collaborate directly through itslearning, we're answering their need to communicate, share and collaborate at any place and anytime with the latest Web conferencing technology," said Arne Bergby, CEO, itslearning. "It really makes itslearning a great way to enrich the learning experience – both in and outside the classroom."

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