Thirty-one institutions are evaluating a new integration for using
digital learning content from John Wiley & Sons, Inc. (NYSE: JWa, JWb)
with Blackboard Inc.’s learning management system (LMS). The field trial
gives students and faculty access to Wiley’s rich collection of learning
content and tools directly within their online course environment.
The field trial involves students, faculty and campus administrators
across 42 courses at two and four-year higher education institutions in
the U.S. and Canada. More than 50 instructors and 2,900 students have
been providing ongoing feedback on their experience with the integration
that significantly enhances the use of Wiley’s content within the
Blackboard Learn™ platform.
Instructors have expressed great satisfaction with the integration,
which lets them easily add digital content to their courses in
Blackboard Learn and synchronize grades and other data from Wiley’s
research-based, online teaching-and-learning-environment, WileyPLUS.
“I can set up my Blackboard class and integrate WileyPLUS assignment
links with Blackboard tools, like discussion boards,” said Julie
Porterfield, an Anatomy and Physiology instructor at Tulsa Community
College. “Students can easily tell in what order they need to complete
certain tasks and assignments. I have been using WileyPLUS for four
years and so far, this semester is even more successful in terms of
student use and tracking data.”
Students using the solution have indicated they can now spend their time
more effectively by having one place to do their studying and testing.
“Blackboard Learn is a hub for coursework, and if you’re taking a lot of
different classes, it’s nice to sign in to Blackboard Learn and be able
to access everything you need,” said John Andren, a student at George
Mason University.
“We’re excited to hear the positive reactions among users to this
combined and integrated solution we’ve worked with Wiley to build,” said
Ray Henderson, Chief Technology Officer and President of Academic
Platforms at Blackboard. “With this partnership we are delivering the
most elegant form of integration between the LMS and digital learning
content in the industry – making it easier for users to find, create and
share high quality content.”
“We’re very pleased with what we’ve heard from customers in the field
trial,” said Joe Heider, Wiley’s senior vice president, Global
Education. “Students report that they are more effective in doing their
coursework while instructors say that students are spending more time
with the materials. Our partnership with Blackboard would make WileyPLUS
even easier to access and use. The Blackboard Learn integration would
increase the value of WileyPLUS while offering even more students an
affordable alternative to print.”
Expected to be fully available globally in summer 2012, the solution
would rely on the open education standard IMS Basic Learning Tools
Interoperability (Basic LTI) and is built on the Blackboard Learn 9.1
platform, an open, extensive platform with an active development
community and open APIs.
Nearly 2,000 institutions have adopted Blackboard Learn, Release 9.1,
Blackboard’s flagship learning management platform to take advantage of
its improved stability, social learning tools to drive student
engagement and digital content integrations and greater workflow
efficiencies for instructors and administrators.
WileyPLUS is a research-based, online environment for effective teaching
and learning that is offered with over 300 Wiley titles and is used in
over 20 countries globally. It incorporates the entire digital textbook
with learning resources, practice, and assessment for a personalized
student learning experience that is proven to improve learning outcomes.
For more information about Blackboard Learn, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/learn.
For more information about WileyPLUS, please visit http://www.wileyplus.com.
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About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard Inc. is a global leader in enterprise technology and
innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students
and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions allow
thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and
government organizations to extend teaching and learning online,
facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more
effectively with their communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is
headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America,
Europe, Asia and Australia.
About Wiley
Founded in 1807, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. has been a valued source of
information and understanding for more than 200 years, helping people
around the world meet their needs and fulfill their aspirations; to help
teachers to teach and students to learn throughout the world. Wiley and
its acquired companies have published the works of more than 450 Nobel
laureates in all categories: Literature, Economics, Physiology or
Medicine, Physics, Chemistry, and Peace.
Wiley’s core businesses publish educational materials for undergraduate
and graduate students and lifelong learners; scientific, technical,
medical, and scholarly journals, encyclopedias, books, and online
products and services; and professional/trade books, subscription
products, training materials, and online applications and Web
sites.Wiley's global headquarters are located in Hoboken, New Jersey,
with operations in the U.S., Europe, Asia, Canada, and Australia. The
Company's Web site can be accessed at http://www.wiley.com.
The Company is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbols
JWa and JWb.
Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans
and prospects for Blackboard represent the Company’s views as of the
date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially as a
result of various important factors. 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 statements
at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any
obligation to do so.
