Spring Batch just got released. Spring Batch is able to monitor multi-step batch applications and take care of resource management. Great for processing large amounts of data, which I am fortunate not to be doing anymore.

BTW:

• The Blackboard import/export feature would benefit greatly from Spring Batch.

Stats on LMS satisfaction in organisations of varying size from an elearning Guild survey. Moodle, the open source alternative, scored exceedingly well. Blackboard, as expected hits that average mark with ease. Does being open source and free lend itself to a better satisfaction rating? I don’t think so because there are still elements of cost of ownership and support.

… and this quote is quite accurate: “the people who have to work with the LMS day-to-day give a much lower satisfaction number than the managers and directors”

Blackboard have released a special language pack for ‘Talk Like a Pirate Day’. A nice way to showcase their language pack capabilities. ….. but will it break the scorm content? Thats the big question!

I guess the title of this post says it all…

AirPress essentially is an offline blog post editor (WordPress), but its true potential comes from its media capabilities. Pics, audio (mp3), Flash video (flv), webcam recording, webcam snapshot and Flash animation can all be added to posts. AirPress is created in Adobe AIR and Flex.

…Now would it not be great if something like this was able to integrate with Blackboard and Moodle. There is an alternative desktop app to add content to Blackboard called BB Toolbox so I am pretty sure that the Blackboard API would support this sought of thing. Possibilities, Possibilities……..

A new service from Yahoo will allow teachers to network and share resources - Yahoo! Teachers. Will this be the answer to sharable learning objects? Only time will tell, but it is a great idea and with the suport of Yahoo I hope it takes off in a big way and will eventually be available for Universities. The Gobbler feature, which allows text and resources on a web page to be dragged into a project portfolio and re-used in lesson plans. Blackboard Scholar could learn a lot from Yahoo! Teachers. Imagine lesson plans that could be imported into Blackboard that included collaborative activities.

It’s resolved and the two companies are now working together…. I’m happy that this issue got resolved, but the fine print in the Blackboard Developers Network contract makes me feel alarmed. How could iParadigms sign away intellectual property by joining the Blackboard Developers Network? Will this have a negative effect on companies making building blocks? What about Universities making building blocks?