New Blackboard and K12 Project to Tackle CC Remediation

Two major education software players--Blackboard and K12--have announced plans to jointly develop a learning platform specifically targeting students taking remedial courses. Under the agreement, the project will deliver K12's adaptive courses through Blackboard Learn. K12's curriculum, which currently caters to K-12 students, uses interactive demonstrations and animations, CDs and videos, printed books with lots of illustrations, hands-on materials for experiments, online discussions, and assessments to test mastery of a subject.

Remediation is more the norm than the exception in community colleges. According to research by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which is investing its philanthropic muscle in this area, up to 60 percent of students enrolling in community colleges must take at least one remedial course. Although schools are investing about $2 billion a year in remediation, only about one in four students who take these courses actually go on to earn a degree within eight years of enrolling.

Blackboard and K12 said they think that they can develop a more engaging solution than has been tried before in order to help retain and graduate more students over time. The companies said they expect to launch a new product in 2011.

"This partnership is about using technology to create a more engaging and effective experience for remediation courses that can be used at any institution that is facing a challenge in this area," said Ray Henderson, president of Blackboard Learn. "We think an innovative approach to this problem can make remediation a better experience for students and save money for institutions in the process."

"The K12 and Blackboard partnership will give educators a high quality and innovative solution to help them reach a larger number of students more effectively and efficiently. Students will benefit with greater flexibility and access to high quality course options to prepare them to earn a higher education degree, " said Ron Packard, founder and CEO of K12. "It will be an exciting and one of a kind offering."

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • SXSW EDU

    Explore the Future of AI in Higher Ed at SXSW EDU 2025

    This March 3-6 in Austin, TX, the SXSW EDU Conference & Festival celebrates its 15th year of exploring education's most critical issues and providing a forum for creativity, innovation, and expression.

  • man working on laptop outdoors

    Digital Leadership Must-Haves for 2025: A CDO's Picks

    Now that he's more than a year and a half into his chief digital officer role at NJIT, we've asked Ed Wozencroft to reflect on his areas of concentration: What work must digital leaders "own" in 2025?

  • From Fire TV to Signage Stick: University of Utah's Digital Signage Evolution

    Jake Sorensen, who oversees sponsorship and advertising and Student Media in Auxiliary Business Development at the University of Utah, has navigated the digital signage landscape for nearly 15 years. He was managing hundreds of devices on campus that were incompatible with digital signage requirements and needed a solution that was reliable and lowered labor costs. The Amazon Signage Stick, specifically engineered for digital signage applications, gave him the stability and design functionality the University of Utah needed, along with the assurance of long-term support.

  • digital artwork of glowing, interconnected neural-like shapes on a gradient background of deep blue and vibrant purple

    Google Announces Upgrade to Flagship Gemini AI Platform, Enhancing Multimodal Capabilities

    Google has launched Gemini 2.0, designed to empower enterprise users and developers with advanced multimodal capabilities and enhanced performance.