The Blackboard Beyond Initiative

I can almost see the finger quotes :)

We have worked year after year with our clients to create powerful networked learning environments for instructors and learners at individual sites. Now, with the Blackboard Beyond Initiative, we are taking a critical next step by fostering a “network” of “networked learning environments”…

But this has to be my favourite:

“Facilitate Social Networking”: “e-Learning 2.0” is about “enabling a social experience” that recognizes the course is but one “social-organizational group” in a broader education environment. To help foster academically oriented relationships outside of the class environment, Blackboard announces plans to “connect” students and faculty across disciplines and across institutions through a new Scholar.com Web service. Scholar.com will provide users with the opportunity to “communicate and collaborate” with other experts in and outside of their discipline and fields of interest

Excuse me for a moment.

……………………………………………….bwahawhawbwah……………

That’s better.

Rough Translation: “We have decided to appropriate every frickin’ buzzword we can and just in case you don’t geddit we’re going to mention 2.0 no fewer than 8 (EIGHT) times. So there. We are innovative and interesting didn’t you know. And to prove it we’re going to give you, um, a “Global Learning Objects Catalogue” [cos that’s a new and proven idea], some bizarre website that connects “students and faculty across disciplines and across institutions” [cos that’s just the natural thing to do, innit, am sure everyone will be jumping at it], an “e-Portfolios-for-life” [please somebody help me, this is too good, I can’t even comment] and a “collaborative data warehouse service” [um, you’re going to do frickin what with my data, it’s going to help who???].”

Sorry Stephen, I couldn’t disagree with you more (well, apart from the Canada bit ;).

Pay attention to the end of the press report all ye who expect empty buzzwords to become anything more than they are:

…Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors…