BbWorld® ’07 will occur in Boston from July 7–12, and is the first global event to unite the best of the WebCT !mpact and BbWorld users conferences. Keynote addresses will be delivered by the renowned economist Steven D. Levitt, co-author of the New York Times bestselling book Freakonomics, and Forbes.com columnist and venture capitalist Guy Kawasaki, author of The Art of the Start.
The conference theme, “Find Your Common Thread,” reflects the interactivity of the program and the connections participants will make with the thousands of colleagues in attendance. Featuring over 150 client-led sessions, with speakers from over 160 institutions and organizations spanning 10 countries, the conference program will be of equal interest to users of legacy Blackboard® and former WebCT solutions.
An expanded track of sessions this year will be directed toward users of Blackboard Professional Education solutions, focusing on best practices for professional development, training and support in the associations, corporate, government and for-profit education sectors. Session titles include:
- Supporting Blackboard in a Non-traditional Academic Environment
- Implementing Blackboard Domains across Army Training Schools
- Treina – Pioneering e-Learning for Brazil’s Financial Professionals
- You Only Live Twice: Making the Most of Second Life in Education
- Enabling Engineering Technical Development at Intel
For further information about the schedule of programs and events at this year’s conference, click here.
Keynote Speakers
Each day at BbWorld ’07 will begin with a keynote address by highly knowledgeable people who will enlighten, entertain and challenge attendees while providing a diverse set of thoughtful views on learning and technology.
The Wall Street Journal describes the conference’s featured keynote speaker this way: “If Indiana Jones were an economist, he’d be Steven Levitt.” Levitt’s work on various economics topics, including crime, politics and sports, has been featured in 60 academic publications, but his work in education and ability to challenge the status quo made him the obvious choice to address BbWorld ’07.
“An expert whose argument reeks of restraint or nuance often doesn’t get much attention,” says Levitt. “An expert must be bold if he hopes to alchemize his homespun theory into conventional wisdom.”
In Freakonomics, Levitt examines numerous topics, including interesting ideas about the impact of parenting on education. In an article published elsewhere, Levitt devised a set of algorithms that identified teachers in the Chicago public school system who were cheating. Rather than dispute Levitt’s findings, the system invited him into the schools for retesting. As a result, the cheaters were fired.
Levitt is just one of the dynamic speakers who will address BbWorld ’07. Former Macintosh evangelist, and now venture capitalist, author of eight books and Forbes.com columnist Guy Kawasaki will share his in-depth knowledge of the high-tech industry and insightful advice from his lessons learned during years of management experience.
To read more about the conference speakers, click here.
Military Education Summit and Dinner
During the Blackboard Military Summit and ensuing appreciation dinner to occur on Monday, July 9 (the day prior to BbWorld ’07), conference attendees will have the opportunity to connect with members of the Blackboard ProEd Group and colleagues in military education.
This invitation-only seminar dedicated to e-Learning within military educational institutions will include presentations on a wide range of topics, including customer briefings, a Blackboard SCORM update and demonstration, and partner presentations.
Please RSVP for the summit and dinner by June 15. Contact Greg Winborne, ProEd account manager, at gwinborne@blackboard.com or (202) 463-4860 ext. 2570.
If you would like to register for to attend BbWorld ’07, click here.