New Blackboard Sync Application Leverages Facebook

  • 05/14/08
Blackboard Inc. today announced Blackboard Sync, an application that allows students to receive course updates and communicate with classmates while logged on to Facebook.

The new application is free and available to all Facebook users who attend institutions that use Blackboard. Students will be able to receive assignments, discussion board postings, course materials, and scores while connected to Facebook -- rather than necessarily logging in separately to Blackboard. They will also be able to find and communicate with classmates while on Facebook, giving rise to social learning.

Michael L. Chasen, president and CEO of Blackboard says, "By bridging their academic and social worlds, Blackboard Sync allows students to participate in a new kind of social learning community; one that we are only beginning to understand the true potential of and one that can have a profound impact on their lives."

Students will receive information only from courses in which they are registered. The information cannot be shared via Facebook, and institutions do have the option to block the application.

The anticipated impact of Blackboard Sync is enabling students to collaborate and study together in their own learning communities. Karen Gage, vice president of Product Strategy at Blackboard explains, "By combining our community with the millions of students using Facebook, Blackboard Sync is a major step toward creating a truly boundless global community of social learners."

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