Back when the Blackboard patent and lawsuit first surfaced in July of 2006, social software was still a pretty new thing. There was a fair bit of surprise in the community when the Wikipedia page on the History of the Virtual Learning Environment, created in large part to gather prior art for the suit, generated […]
Wikipedia
The Pirate Hoax
A friend asked me what I think about the story in the Chronicle about the professor who encouraged his students to create a hoax story about a pirate in order to teach them about students about vetting the quality of their sources as part of a history class. They created a blog about the fake history […]
Blackboard and D2L Markman Filings Are Up
Thanks to Seb for the reference. D2L has posted the latest filings from both sides, detailing their competing interpretations of Blackboard’s patent. (Before you can decide if somebody has infringed on a patent, you first have to decide what that patent means.) The judge will evaluate these competing claims in what’s known as a Markman […]
IMS Report on Learning Technology Satisfaction and Trends
The IMS has issued a new report with the somewhat imposing title, “IMS GLC Learning Technology Satisfaction and Trends, North American Higher Education, 05 February 2007 Update.” You can get it here, but first you’ll have to register with the site (if you haven’t done so already). It’s important to read Section 2 of the […]
Still Looking for Prior Art Info on Prometheus
If you have any info on the early days of Prometheus, including when it was built and what its features set was on or before June 1998, please post it to the Wikipedia page. This could be quite important.
Is Prometheus a Big Problem for Blackboard?
I’ve been thinking lately about the fact that almost none of the prior art listed in the Wikipedia entry was in Blackboard’s patent filing. It’s remarkable, really, since they are legally obligated to list any potential prior art of which they are aware at the time of filing. Failing to do so would constitute fraud. […]
NoEduPatents.org Wiki
Since we’ve already reached the limits of the prior art documentation we can feasibly do within the bounds of Wikipedia’s mission, there is now room to add at the NoEduPatents.org wiki. Please note the drill-down to the Blackboard-specific area. Go to town, folks.