Dozens of Clients Deploy Blackboard ProSites(TM)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB), a leading provider of enterprise learning technology, today announced that roughly one year after its launch nearly 40 organizations have selected Blackboard ProSites(TM), the company's comprehensive online learning solution, for employee training and staff development.

Nearly 20 of those organizations licensed Blackboard ProSites during the first half of 2008, demonstrating significant momentum for the affordably priced system which enables small and mid-size organizations -- as well as departments or groups within larger ones -- to deploy a comprehensive, easy to use platform to create and deliver staff training.

More than half of all Blackboard ProSites clients are corporations, and most are from the United States, although the system has also been licensed by government and non-profit organizations as well as clients in Canada and Europe. Across the client community, the system is being used to coordinate and deliver training for as few as 10 employees and as many as 500.

"Our research clearly identified a need in the marketplace for a low cost, full featured yet easy to use solution for small to mid-sized training and professional development needs," said Tim Hill, President of Professional Education, Blackboard Learn. "We developed Blackboard ProSites specifically to meet those needs and built it upon Blackboard's proven technology used by millions of learners around the world every day. We are pleased that the solution has been widely accepted in the market and is delivering for our clients."

"Our success and growth depends on how successful teachers are in using our product in the classroom," said Paul Olean, director of marketing for mimio (http://www.mimio.com), a producer of interactive whiteboard solutions for schools. "But our training efforts require a lot of effort and were once limited to the teachers that we could visit in person. Blackboard ProSites allows us to nationalize our program and focus on the learning. We are training hundreds of teachers from across the country this fall, and are making significant progress toward our ultimate goal: to create advocates for our product by sharing the experiences of teachers who have used it successfully. Blackboard ProSites has made that possible."

"Blackboard ProSites fills a well-known gap," said Josh Bersin, Principal Analyst for Bersin & Associates, LLC. "The solution meets the needs of work groups, teams and departments that cannot access the corporate learning management system or simply need a system of their own for rapid deployment and ease of use."

Blackboard ProSites is delivered as a software as a service (SaaS) solution that enables organizations to quickly deliver learning and development programs with a branded portal environment and a personalized Web page address. The very low annual subscription fee of $9,500 includes:

-- Consulting services to configure, test and deliver the solution, which can typically be set up in less than 10 business days;

-- Managed hosting services that relieve the administrative burden on organizations to manage hardware and software environments; and

-- Client support to address functional and technical issues 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Instructors using Blackboard ProSites can upload existing content or easily develop their own, create discussion boards and take advantage of a testing engine to design, deliver and track assessments, tests and quizzes. The solution also supports group projects and peer collaboration to foster participation and communities of practice and improve the overall learning experience.

"We have used Blackboard ProSites to create a national training program for school psychologists, and it has really given our effort a high degree of professionalism," said Daniel C. Miller, Ph.D., President of Kids Inc. (http://www.kidsinc.com). "The solution helps us keep learning alive between meetings and has helped us reach many more clients than we normally could given hectic schedules, gas prices and travel costs. In doing so, it has become a vital part of our business plan and our potential for growth."

Dr. Miller has also used Blackbord ProSites to create a "lifelong learning" connection and professional community of practice for graduates of its training program to ensure that they have continued access to new material-an important service in a field, like many others, facing an ongoing information explosion.

For more information on Blackboard ProSites please visit http://www.blackboardprosites.com/. To view the Bersin research note, please visit http://www.blackboard.com/resources/proed/ProSites_Bersin_Note.pdf.

About Blackboard Inc.

Blackboard Inc. (Nasdaq: BBBB) is a global leader in enterprise technology and innovative solutions that improve the experience of millions of students and learners around the world every day. Blackboard's solutions allow thousands of higher education, K-12, professional, corporate, and government organizations to extend teaching and learning online, facilitate campus commerce and security, and communicate more effectively with their communities. Founded in 1997, Blackboard is headquartered in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Asia and Australia.

Blackboard

Educate. Innovate. Everywhere. (TM)

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard and other statements containing the words "believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "will," and similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section of our Form 10-Q filed on August 7, 2008 with the SEC. In addition, the forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of October 8, 2008. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to October 8, 2008.

SOURCE Blackboard Inc.