E-learn Weblog of Willem van Valkenburg

Last monday Blackboard did four mayor announcements:

• Blackboard Announces Continued Support for ANGEL
• Blackboard Appoints Sakai Foundation Board Member Charles Severance to Lead Company’s Sakai Initiatives
• Blackboard Acquires Moodlerooms, NetSpot
• Blackboard Launches Open Source Services Group

These are the first big changes after they were bought by Providence Equity Partners.

Until now Blackboard had the strategy to get all their clients to one platform, Blackboard Learn. All competitors they bought were merged into this product, such as WebCT and Angel. With these announcements they are leaving this strategie. Not only are they continuing the support of Angel, but they also bought two companies that provide services for open-source alternatives to their own core product. They created a new group withing Blackboard to provide these services: Blackboard Open Source Services Group.

There are already a lot of blogs written about it. Here is a list of interesting reads:

• HackEducation: You Can Acquire Open Source Companies, But You Can't Buy Open Source Community
• Dr. Chuck: Connecting Blackboard, Sakai, and Open Source
• ElearnSpace: This kids, is why hallucinogenics and the internet don’t mix
• Ray Henderson: Evolution Unbound: Blackboard embraces open source.