Awesome. Amazing. Inspiring.
Those are the words that come to mind when I look back on the opening of the Blackboard World 2012 Conference in New Orleans this afternoon. I got to catch a presentation and discussion with Steve Moffett, Marc Nadeau, Stephen Feldman, and Leela Roy Borenstein which asked the question is Blackboard Quality Improving? According to Moffet’s data that comes from surveys given to product users like K12 and Higher Education. Moffett also discussed how he felt the Blackboard leadership like Ray Henderson expect the company’s products to increase in quality. He also explained that the quality was a continuous cycle to make the next product better and better.
After this presentation he opened the discussion portion of the presentation. The first question asked was what was Moffett’s definition of quality? He offered Apple as an example. “It’s not only about the purchase, but the product, and the support the user gets. It’s about the entire experience for the user.” said Moffett. This reminded me that we have heard similar statements from Ray Henderson during the past few Blackboard keynotes and presentations. This is great to see that Ray’s ideals are really echoed in the people bring brought on at Blackboard.
Another attendee stood up and stated that he had concerns about the patching and lack of communication after an issue is released. He stated that many times he would create a support ticket with Blackboard to report an issue in their product to find out that there has been a patch there all along. He continued to state that it seemed that the quality in the initial release has greatly improved from previous versions (Blackboard 5 anyone?) however, the patching and communication about patchsets needs to be improved. Moffett thanked him for the feedback stating that this type of information is helpful to his team.
Moffett told attendees he would be happy to hear from them about the quality of the product and during Blackboard World is the best time to do that. If you have questions or would like to visit with Steven Moffett and his team, I’d recommend asking a Blackboard employee about it.
Blackboard World 2012 – Where I Found Education! (Amen!)
I’m not one to shy away from my southern roots (I was born in the Arkansas Delta), but the opening keynote to Blackboard World 2012 felt more like going to church then a keynote. First this year’s conference is in an actual theater. It felt like we were getting ready to see a concert more than a keynote. The music was exciting and it pumped up attendees for an amazing speaker that would make any southern preacher proud.
Dr. Freeman Hrabowski is the President of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County and if any administrator or educational leader needs someone to fire up and excite a group this is the man to call. He spoke about how important technology and the ability to use that technology to lead in innovating the educational experience for students. Many times during Dr. Hrabowski’s speech I almost wanted to say amen. I felt he excited the crowd of 3,500 (the largest in Bb World history). If you want to hear about what Dr. Harbowski’s doing he was spotlighted on CBS’ 60 Minutes (see below). He was also named one of Time’s Most Influential People in the World (Time Article Link).
After the opening keynote, the opening reception began in the Exhibit Hall. I got the chance to visit with Kaltura, Oracle, AppDynamics, Coyote Systems, and SmarterMeasure. The biggest hit had to be the Blackboard Flash mob in the middle of the hall.
All in all a great time and great start to what I hope to be a memorable Blackboard World 2012. I’m off to enjoy a bit of rest. Wednesday morning we learn more about Blackboard’s plans for the future! I can’t wait to share it with you. 🙂
