Matthew Pittinsky, Chairman
Blackboard Inc.

Words of Wisdom - "Nothing convinces more than a pre-disposition confirmed"

Four Propositions

• elearning can be a radically traditional force
• The potential of eLearning is boundless
• The CMS will fast become the least interesting technology of eLearning
  
• It's time for eLearning 2.0
• Networked networked environments (muli. universities collaborating)

The Red Herring

• The Internet is all about disproportionate gain of leaders. Eventually its going to turn the higher education market on its head. The 100 or so leading universities will do great; the 3,400 others are going to have to figure out how to make themselves relevant in the new economy

Jefferson - 'In fact, a university should not be a house but a village"

Garfield - "The ideal college is Mark Hopkins on one end of a log and a student on the other."

A Story of Threes

Challenges

1. Access
2. Quality
3. Efficiency

Technologies

1. Network
2. Multimedia
3. Database

Gartner Group Prediction

• 50% of higher education eLearning infrastructure spending will be directed toward best-of-breed pedagogical and content management tools

Circa 1997 - Examples of tools available 10 years ago

• Functions Plotter
• Electoral College
• Jogger
• Periodic Table
• Haiku Generator

Web 2.0

• Rich User Experiences - more robust
  
• Architecture of Participation
• Software as Service (remote software)

Blackboard "Beyond Initiative"

• Connecting institutions, faculty, and students across campuses and disciplines
• Shaped and run by universities and schools
• Supported by Blackboard
• Multi-year effort

eLearning 2.0

• Extending the platform - Learning Objects Catalogue
  
• Social Networking - scholar.com
  
• Lifelong Learning - ePortfolios for life
  
• Outcomes

Just the Beginning

• Dedicated best practices site
• Catalog of distance learning courses
• Single sign-on

Mann - "Education, then beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of all people"