Blackboard continues to make news as it announces a deal to integrate various learning applications into the LMS. According to the press release, "The development project, titled 'ChalkBox,' will go beyond simple importation of textbook-related electronic content to accommodate more sophisticated integration between the publishers' hosted instructional applications and Blackboard-powered course web sites at client institutions." Partners in the project include Houghton Mifflin, Pearson Education and Thomson Higher Education. Now I have called on Blackboard to import open educational content but the company's affiliation with commercial publishers seems to close the door on that possibility. While this deal will no doubt improve Blackboard's prospects in its recently announced IPO, one wonders whether signing up for Blackboard also commits one to using nothing but commercial content.
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