5 ways for school leaders to promote equity, student agency

Students continue to struggle against persistent educational inequities, and while they report worrisome levels of disengagement, a move toward student-directed learning could help students and educators alike find a better path toward impactful learning experiences.

The report, Empowering and Engaging Student Voice to Create Equity in Education, comes from Project Tomorrow, a national education nonprofit supporting the implementation of research-based learning experiences, and Blackboard Inc., a global edtech software and solutions company. It leverages key insights from a survey of 50,000 K-12 students, parents, and educators during the 2020-21 school year.

“The disruptive events of the past 18 months with the pandemic and shifts in learning modalities have opened our collective eyes to several new truths including about the interrelationship between equity and student empowerment as documented in this new report,” said Dr. Julie A. Evans, chief researcher and CEO of Project Tomorrow. “With the research in front of us, we cannot look away now but must take this opportunity in time to re-think the ways we are approaching learning and especially how technology can be better used to support student engagement in learning.” …Read More

The pandemic is boosting student-directed learning

While the COVID-19 pandemic has been, to say the least, a struggle for students and educators, it also has revealed a move toward increased student-directed learning, according to the final installment in a series of reports from Project Tomorrow and Blackboard investigating the impact and expectations for digital learning from the point of view of K-12 students, parents, and educators.

The final report, “Sponsoring Student Ownership of Learning,” examines how the pandemic is fueling a shift toward student-directed learning and how digital and mobile tools will likely remain a key part of the classroom even after students return to in-person instruction. It focuses on the student point of view of their learning experiences and the teachers’ and administrators’ perspectives around the value of technology to support students’ increased efficacy in the learning process.

Project Tomorrow’s Speak Up Research Project surveyed the perspectives of over 137,000 K-12 students, parents and educators, revealing how they see technology as a critical tool in increasing students’ ownership of their learning journey.…Read More

Blackboard Hackboard Hackathon

This contest challenges developers and college students in the United States to create a unique, user-friendly and impactful application that will integrate with the Blackboard Learn learning management system to improve the teaching and learning experience.

 

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Survey: Parents prefer texting and mobile communication from schools

Determining the right mix of traditional and digital tools to best engage with parents and district stakeholders remains a primary challenge for district communications, according to a new report.

A large part of a school district’s ability to implement successful initiatives or pass bonds lies in its communications and its ability to connect with community members.

Now, a new report from Blackboard and Project Tomorrow outlines the different roles district communications officials play in today’s schools. The results reflect the increasingly important yet challenging role of communications in today’s K-12 districts.…Read More

Blackboard launches New Learning Experience platform

Integrated platform enables personalized learning, streamlined communication with family and community engagement, and unified workflows

Blackboard has launched a new K-12 platform for districts and schools that brings together institutions, parents, teachers, and learners in an integrated approach that addresses fundamental requirements for student success including school safety and security, family and community engagement and personalized competency-based learning.

Blackboard’s offering combines multiple products, integrations, and professional services that can be deployed individually or as a comprehensive solution.

Technologies include: Blackboard Mass Notifications™ (formerly Blackboard Connect™), Blackboard Web Community Manager™ (formerly Blackboard Schoolwires™), Blackboard Mobile Communication App™ (formerly Blackboard Parentlink™), Blackboard Social Media Manager™ (formerly Sociability™), Blackboard Collaborate™, Blackboard Blackboard Open Content (formerly xpLor), and a choice of Blackboard’s leading learning management systems: Blackboard Learn™ or Moodlerooms™ and their mobile apps for students and teachers.…Read More

Discover the recipe for successful blended learning

Blackboard250aBlended learning is taking off, and K-12 districts around the country use it to drive student success. The question is, what’s the best way to do it? Download this eBook to learn about best practices and top ways to deliver a blended learning experience.

Communication Strategies to Reach Interactive Parents

K12_Ebook_Cover_Thumb_200x300Are you ready to go mobile? Do you know which devices your community prefers? This guide can help. Hear from 12 communication leaders who have made the leap, and learn how they successfully navigated the communication landscape.

Today’s Digital Learner

K12_WP_Cover_Thumb_200x300Digital resources. Multi-media projects. Collaborating online. Online research. Today’s students are connected. Learn how you can increase student engagement with this trends report from Project Tomorrow that offers students’ views on innovative classroom models.

Blackboard acquires MyEdu to retool the LMS

Ask students what they remember from their learning management system (LMS) in college, and they’ll likely recall a clunky interface used to register for classes, download course PDFs and request a transcript, edSurge reports. It was somewhere they went by necessity–not by choice. And when they graduated, they were more than happy to leave the LMS behind. Even Jay Bhatt, CEO of Blackboard–a household name in the LMS market–conceded in a conversation with EdSurge that its LMS needed an overhaul…

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Free service allows bully reporting by text

If the school official needs more information, he or she can text back to the student.

Students are getting a new weapon to fight back against bullies: their cell phones.

A leading ed-tech company on May 29 announced it would give schools a free and confidential way for students to tell school officials via text that they are being bullied or are witnessing bullying. Blackboard’s TipTxt program could change the school climate—or reveal just how pervasive student-on-student harassment has become.…Read More

Moodlerooms CEO: Blackboard acquisition will expand open-source movement

Blackboard's share of the college LMS market has dropped in recent years.

Lou Pugliese, CEO of Moodlerooms, said Blackboard’s purchase of his company and another firm that hosts and supports the popular open-source learning management system (LMS) Moodle should be welcome news to educators who support the open-source movement over proprietary options because, finally, an open platform has the financial backing of a large company.

Blackboard, by far the largest LMS provider to U.S. colleges and universities, announced March 26 that the company had purchased two providers of the open-source Moodle LMS platform, Moodlerooms and Australia-based NetSpot.…Read More