Christopher D. Sessums :: Blog :: Web CT & Blackboard to merge

October 12, 2005

Web CT & Blackboard to merge

Just received this letter in my inbox: We are writing you today to directly communicate some momentous news. Earlier today, WebCT and Blackboard signed a formal agreement expressing our intent to merge our companies. OMGWTF Could this signal the beginning of the end for corporate, one-sized-fits-all learning management systems? Has open-sourced solutions broken the giants' backs? Perhaps. Although these two mega-players control a majority of the market share, neither have been completely successful in convincing colleges and universities that their solution is the best one. Can't wait to see how this plays out. I wonder when Yahoo and Google plan to get into the VLE market? var site="s20wilco" Blogarama << edublog list >> _uacct="UA-xxxx-x"; urchinTracker(); http://elgg.net/csessums/weblog/GOOGLE38addab1f6183693.

Keywords: Blackboard, Google, LMS, VLE, WebCT, Yahoo

Posted by Christopher D. Sessums

Comments

Is there enough $$$ for Yahoo and Google to turn their attention to this marketplace?

Erik Black on Thursday, 13 October 2005, 16:03 CEST # |
Let me give you a small example from our own institution:
we spend over $300K annually just for the license to run WebCT. Multiply that times the number of large, land grant universities around the country (and globe). I believe there's gold in them thar hills. That's why I am a big fan of open source solutions.

Christopher D. Sessums on Thursday, 13 October 2005, 20:02 CEST # |
I got this in mailbox today as well. Gee, if the merger can double the grief and frustration I experienced trying to use WebCT in relatively simplistic ways in a hybrid course, I might was well throw in the towel now. I, too, am a huge fan of Open Source and on-site departmental support for LMS platforms of all kinds!!

KD on Thursday, 13 October 2005, 20:18 CEST # |