US firm enters e-learning space

Blackboard, a globally popular brand in the sphere of education helps millions of students around the world to find new ways to learn, connect and advance. The Blackboard platform is widely used by more than 19,000 educational institutions across 90 countries benefitting 110 million students, said a press release.

On the company’s move towards contributing to the vision of the Indian government in digitalising Indian education system, Lee Blakemore, President–International, Blackboard Inc., USA, said, “It is clearly visible that a strong motivation is required to educate people to adopt to the digital platform for education.

Blackboard will play this vital role to make the paradigm shift and create a vibrant impact towards ushering the teaching-learning practice in Indian education ecosystem to next level. Blackboard is investing in India and we are making changes in our price, according to the Indian market conditions.”

Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s statement at the SAARC summit in Nepal that Information Technology has removed all barriers to quality education, Blakemore said Blackboard understands this theory well.

Blackboard targets at achieving a strategic outreach to 150,000 students in the state through tie-ups with approximately 50 educational organisations by the end of the year 2018, said Yves Dehouck, VPSales, APAC, Blackboard Inc.USA. “By 2020, the company is planning to expand its business across all states of the country,” he added.

The plan is to address the university constituency. “Our first target is to make the colleges and universities in India to go digital. Then we plan to reach out to the primary, secondary and higher secondary schools,” said M Balasubramaniam, Board member and whole time director, Blackboard India.

Blackboard’s strategy is to educate the teachers first, using Blackboard’s eTeacher. The product helps build digital teaching skills and competencies for the faculty and covers more than 80 per cent of the competencies on training for online and blended learning in the framework, claimed the firm. The threeweek capsule starts with the fundamentals of digital teaching and learning, then catapults the trainees to become a practitioner and finally a specialist. Course reference workbooks, a one-year access to online training tools and a platform to interact with the community of certified teachers will also be extended to the students. “The web-based virtual learning environment and course management system with customisable open architecture and scalable design allows integration with Student Information System (SIS). Professors can conduct assessments, publish assignments, post articles, videos and grades too. The present generation of students who are well versed with latest digital technology, should be reaping the best benefits out of this digital learning platform,” said an official.