NASHVILLE, TN -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 10/17/07 -- National School Boards Association Annual T+L
conference -- Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) a leading provider of
enterprise solutions for the education industry and Project Tomorrow, a
national education nonprofit group, today announce the release of Learning
in the 21st Century: A National Report of Online Learning. The report
underscores the importance and value which online learning plays in
increasing student and teacher achievement.
Key findings from the report include:
-- 47 percent of surveyed students in grades 9-12 and 32 percent of
students in grades 6-8 would pursue online learning to secure courses not
offered at school;
-- One in five student respondents in grades 6-12 have taken an online or
distance learning course at school or on their own, and one in three
students selected online classes as a component of their ideal school;
-- 77 percent of teachers believe that technology makes a difference in
learning and 28 percent would like to see online courses offered as an
alternative in their district; and
-- 42 percent of parents believe that online classes are a good
investment to improve student achievement and to track their child's
progress.
"As schools are exploring new ways to engage today's students, online
learning options are crucial," said Julie Evans, CEO of Project Tomorrow.
"Increasingly, students, teachers and parents say that online learning is an
essential component of the ideal 21st century school environment."
The findings of Learning in the 21st Century are based upon data collected
as part of the Speak Up 2006 survey conducted from over 250,000 students,
teachers and parents representing almost 3,000 schools in the United
States.
In-Depth Research/Analysis Conducted in Six Varying School Districts
Learning in the 21st Century includes in-depth profiles of six school
districts effectively leveraging a variety of online learning methodologies
to address a range of 21st century education goals. These goals include the
use of 21st century tools to:
-- Help students manage the challenge of graduation requirements and
tight schedules;
-- Share more opportunities for advanced placement courses while
providing access to highly qualified teachers; and
-- Offer professional development and support peer-to-peer learning for
teachers.
In addition, the report provides insight into the numerous ways the
featured districts gained value from adding online learning to their own
spectrum of learning opportunities.
"Teachers collaborate with each other," said Michelle Gotico, a 7th grade
social studies teacher at Poe Middle School, in Fairfax, Virginia. "There
are so many resources on the site (the Blackboard platform); I would not be
able to teach without it."
"In today's classroom, students are asking for options to help them succeed
in school and in life," said Jessie Woolley-Wilson, Blackboard President of
K-12. "Students and teachers alike deserve all of the learning options
available to them -- whether they want to take an AP class or access a
special professional development course. Blackboard is excited to partner
with schools and districts to provide engaging learning technologies to
make sure that all students and teachers have access to an engaging and excellent education."
The Blackboard-commissioned report, conducted by Project Tomorrow, the
facilitator of the annual Speak Up surveys, was unveiled at the National
School Boards Association annual T+L conference being held in Nashville,
Tenn. October 17-19, 2007. The full report is available for download free
of charge at www.Blackboard.com/K12/OnlineLearningReport.
About Project Tomorrow and Speak Up
Speak Up is a national initiative of Project Tomorrow (formerly known as
NetDay), a national education nonprofit group. The vision of Project
Tomorrow (www.tomorrow.org) is to ensure that today's students are well
prepared to be tomorrow's innovators, leaders and engaged citizens of the
world. Project Tomorrow believes that by supporting the innovative uses of
science, math and technology resources in our
K-12 schools and communities, students will develop the critical thinking,
problem solving and creativity skills needed to compete and thrive in the
21st century.
Since 2003, Speak Up has collected and reported on the authentic,
unfiltered views from over 857,000 K-12 students, their teachers and
parents representing over 10,000 schools in all 50 states through an annual
online survey event held each fall. The Speak Up data represents the
largest collection of authentic, unfiltered stakeholder input on education,
technology, 21st century skills, schools of the future and science
instruction, and the data is used regularly by education, business and
policy leaders to inform federal, state and local education programs.
The 2007 Speak Up online surveys are open for input from K-12 students,
teachers, parents and for the first time ever, school leaders, from October
15 through December 15, 2007. All US and Canadian public and private
schools are invited to participate. More information about participating in
Speak Up 2007 is available at http://tomorrow.org/speakup/index.html.
About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) is a leading provider of enterprise software
applications and related services to the education industry. Founded in
1997, Blackboard enables educational innovations everywhere by connecting
people and technology. Millions of people use Blackboard everyday at
academic institutions around the globe, including colleges, universities,
K-12 schools and other education providers, as well as textbook publishers
and student-focused merchants that serve education providers and their
students. Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in
North America, Europe, Australia and Asia.
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and
prospects for Blackboard and other statements containing the words
"believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar
expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of
The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may
differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements
as a result of various important factors, including the factors discussed
in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-Q filed on August 7, 2007 with
the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press
release represent the Company's views as of October 17, 2007. The Company
anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the
Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update
these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company
specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking
statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as
of any date subsequent to October 17, 2007.
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