Impact 2006

If you attended IMPACT 2006 – the 8th Annual WebCT User Conference in Chicago this year, we hope that you brought innovative approaches to e-Learning, fresh ideas, and best practices back to campus with you.

IMPACT 2006 brought together nearly 1,400 customers, partners, and staff for an exciting week of hands-on workshops, compelling keynote presentations, inspiring user-led sessions, rich networking opportunities, birds-of-a-feather lunches, and a spectacular conference party on Chicago’s famous Navy Pier.

Be sure to check out our online photo album to see what IMPACT 2006 was all about.

The presentations from this year’s conference are also now available at http://connections.blackboard.com. Simply login and click on the Impact Presentations link. If you do not have an account, click the "Create" button in the Login Here module on the Blackboard Connections homepage in order to do so.

On the Main Stage

Michael Chasen, CEO of Blackboard, and Matthew Pittinsky, Chairman of Blackboard, kicked off the conference with the opening keynote presentation titled “Welcome to the New Blackboard – Blackboard 2.0.” Attendees learned about innovations in the product line and exciting new developments on the horizon.

Dr. David Weinberger, co-author of the best-selling book The Cluetrain Manifesto: The End of Business as Usual, delivered a keynote presentation titled “Re-thinking Knowledge: Everything is Miscellaneous.” Dr. Weinberger’s keynote was very well received and was frequently referenced in other user-led sessions on emerging technologies.

Dr. Helen Barrett, a respected authority on the topic of ePortfolios, closed the conference with a keynote on “ePortfolios: Digital Stories of Deep Learning.” Dr. Barrett she shared her thoughts on educational uses of e-portfolios, along with several effective examples of student-developed digital portfolios.

So Many Sessions, So Little Time

Each year it is the user participation that makes the IMPACT conference so worthwhile. This year’s conference program included more than 160 user-led sessions on a broad range of themes – CE6 planning, PowerLinks development, Vista implementations, useful online teaching tips, best practices for administrators, incorporating blogs and wikis into the learning experience, and much more. One of the comments we frequently receive is that there are so many good sessions in any given time slot that it’s difficult to narrow it down to just one.

As a new addition to this year’s IMPACT program, there were two featured Plenary Sessions. Sharon Pitt of North Carolina State University presented on “Next-Level e-Learning: From Increasing Adoption to Increasing Effectiveness” and John Campbell of Purdue University led a panel discussion on “Academic Analytics: Using the CMS as an Early Warning System”.

Three Cheers for Our ECP Winners

The winners of the 2006 Exemplary Course Project were announced and recognized during IMPACT 2006. The 2006 WebCT Exemplary Course Project winners have truly raised the bar in the delivery of online and Web-enhanced education, and they are:

• Women, Culture, and Economic Development
  Irma Alonso, Florida International University
• Introduction to Online Learning
  Bonnie Correia and Jan Engle, Governors State University
• Project Management for IT Professionals
  Liz Frame and Stacey Clawson, Capella University
• Digital Literacy and Research Skills
  Veanne Jones, Georgia Perimeter College
• Introduction to Research in Education
  Colla MacDonald and Emma Stodel, University of Ottawa
• Learning About Learning Online: A Faculty Initiative
  Gail Matthews-DeNatale and Lynn Foord-May, Simmons College

Stay tuned for an expanded Exemplary Course Project in 2007. as it combines with the Blackboard Greenhouse Awards. Look for details at http://connections.blackboard.com.

Thanks to Our Sponsors

We would like to extend a special thanks to the following sponsors of IMPACT 2006 for their generosity and support: Microsoft (Platinum Sponsor); Respondus and Tegrity (Silver Sponsors); Adobe Systems, Anystream, Horizon Wimba, and Oracle USA (Bronze Sponsors). In addition to exhibiting, many of our corporate participants delivered presentations, conducted hands-on workshops, and sponsored special events.

We look forward to seeing you next year at BbWorld’07 in Boston, Massachusetts on July 9-12, 2007. Watch for more details on this exciting event – coming soon!