WebCT Conferences

They started with the typical marketing hype. The key words are "Innovation", "Openness" and "Quality".

They see the direction moving more towards the Web 2.0. A richer user experience, fully interactive web-based applictions, user communities like MySpace, Faceit, collaboration like Wikipedia, etc.

They contrasted e-learning 1.0 with e-learning 2.0:

• 1.0 dealt with putting courses online. 2.0 moves more towards social networking. Sharing resources across courses, e-portfolios to cover the entire student experience.
• 1.0 was focused on the educational segments. 2.0 is looking at lifelong learning
• 1.0 was closed platforms, 2.0 focusses on making it eaier to extend the platform
• 1.0 was focused on improving instructor productivity. 2.0 is based on student centred learning
• 1.0 was based on inputs (displaying content) 2.0 is based on outcomes management

Some announcements:

• Release of a new WebCT Portfolio product
• Incremental upgrades using their Application Pak strategy, instead of one major upgrade to new systems. Lates application pak just released includes support for student peer review, blogs, and journals. .(We have this and are installing it on WebCT 6). Expect 2 or 3 of these each year for both WebCT and Blackboard, each bringing the two products closer together.
• They have announced a new Campus Edition license. Includes a 2 node cluster, enterprise edition, powersight kit, and powerlinks kit for 45% discount over the normal pricing. There's also an additional 20% off the first year pricing for existing users.
• They are enhancing support with their "beyond" initiative. Extends both company's support to include five new initiatives:
  • E-portfolios for life. A place for alumni to host their portfolios after graduating.
  • Learning object catalog, encouraging existing WebCT and Blackboard users to build learning objects and share them
  • Student research tool
  • Collaborative benchmark and analysis for outcomes management
  • Building of user communities
• Extending support. Dedicated account managers, support contact, etc. Opening the "Behind the Blackboard" web site for tracking problem tickets and other support. behind.black board.com.
• Support for developers to help develop open source plugins for WebCT. To foster this, they are making the Powerlinks kit FREE for all CE Institution license customers. That should apply to us.
• They are re-naming the product line:
  • WebCT Vista becomes Blackboard Learning System Vista Enterprise License.
  • WebCT Campus Edition Institution License becomes Blackboard Learning system CE Enterprise Limited License.
  • WebCT Campus Edition Focus License becomes Blackboard Learning System CE Basic License
  • they also have a new Blackboard Learning System CE Enterprise Lisense. Not quite sure how this differs from the Enterprise Limited license, but it may be this package with the 40% discount to include powersight and powerlinks
• New Blackboard Connections support site. http://connections.blackboard.com/
• WebCT CE support is being extended to give people more time to upgrade to 6.0. (Didn't say when it is extended to).

Generally good news. I'm especially excited about the powerlinks kit being free. May help in some TEL course development.