As we have been writing about here for some time, there has been an open question about the future of Blackboard’s partnership with Moodle. Through its acquisitions, Blackboard has become the world’s largest Moodle support company. This means that they also contribute a hefty percentage of the annual operating budget for Moodle Pty. Both sides […]
LMS & Learning Platforms
Everything you want to know about Learning Management Systems and whatever comes after them.
Wheaton College Selects Schoology As New LMS In Surprise Decision
Schoology, a social cloud-based LMS known mostly used in the K-12 market, has set its sights on expanding into the higher education market using their recent $32 million funding round. Last January, Colorado State University’s Global Campus selected Schoology to replace Blackboard Learn, yet the market impact of this decision was limited, partially due to […]
Barnes & Noble Education Buys LMS Provider LoudCloud Systems For $17.9 Million
Yesterday morning Barnes & Noble Education, the owner of 743 college bookstores and related services, announced the acquisition of LMS provider LoudCloud Systems for $17.9 million in cash. LoudCloud provides a traditional LMS for general higher education and K-12 needs, and they are best known for their customer Grand Canyon University, a for-profit provider and partial […]
Dammit, the LMS: The Play at Home Game
A while back, I wrote a rant about why LMSs fail to evolve. It got some…notoriety. Since Phil and I are now writing a bi-weekly column for the Chronicle‘s new Re:Learning section, I thought I’d try trimming down the piece and rewriting it for a general audience. It was an interesting exercise. On e-Literate, we […]
Data On Average Age Of Current LMS Implementation
This week Jim Julius asked on Twitter if anyone had data on average length of time US higher ed institutions have had their current LMS. @PhilOnEdTech Do you know of any stats on avg length of time US colleges/unis have been using their current primary LMS? — Jim Julius (@jjulius) February 23, 2016 That’s an […]
Blackboard Ultra Update: Some Clarity
Blackboard’s VP of Teaching and Learning, Valerie Schreiner, was kind enough to give Phil and me a fairly thorough update on the Ultra strategy on Wednesday. Their strategy is clearer to me now. That strategy, which I am about to share with you, is fairly coherent, reasonably interesting, and practically plausible in principle. There are still […]
Dear Blackboard, I am Confused
The good news is that Blackboard, after going quiet for a while, is out giving updates again. The bad news is that the more they talk, the less I understand. A year and a half ago, I thought that I understood their Ultra strategy and had a pretty good guess about their odds of executing it. […]