“Computer virus steals $325K from district
FBI is investigating the possible theft of hundreds of thousands of dollars from an Illinois school system using the ‘Trojan.Clampi’ virus”

Read about it here

Evidently Blackboard Inc.and competitor Desire2Learnhave been in a legal battle for the last 18 months because Blackboard Inc. felt that Desire2Learn was “violating a patent on using a single login to access multiple online classes”.

The battle ended this past July 27 when a federal appeals court agreed with Desire2Learn that Blackboard’s patent was too broad. You can read the entire article here.

So what does this mean to educators and training? Some experts said “Blackboard’s initial patent might have prevented other companies from entering the market”. Blackboard has always been a powerhouse when it comes to Learning Management Systems.

Blackboard certainly has a presence in Delaware. I have used it as a student when I attended my undergrad and graduate colleges and currently use it as a teacher in the school district where I work. I am a huge fan of Blackboard. But there are certain things, the current Grade Book for example – the user interface (i.e. how you interact with the Grade Book) is just bleh (awful). 

I’d love to see more options, especially more affordable options, present themselves to schools because the most common comment I hear when speaking with colleagues is “that’s too expensive for our school district”.