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This announcement in particular stood out as meaningful to me, because it seems with the iTunes U app, Apple is taking on Blackboard. There are few products th

This announcement in particular stood out as meaningful to me, because it seems with the iTunes U app, Apple is taking on Blackboard. There are few products that, as a student, more directly inhibit education than Blackboard. Ripe for disruption? More like rotting on the ground.

davidblair 15y ago
The reason Blackboard doesn't have competition is due to the patents they hold. They have made a commitment not to sue free, open source projects, but as soon as you start charging money they are ready to protect their IP rights.
- whatthefish 15y ago
  If they can't sue you, then they just buy you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANGEL_Learning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANGEL_Learning
  - gamble 15y ago
    That's standard practice in education. It's very hard to sell new products in that market, and customers rarely switch products regardless of how badly they're treated. Acquisitions are the only way to grow quickly. Every large company serving the education market is a patchwork of milch cows acquired over the years and squeezed until dry.
  - baddox 15y ago
    That's something I suspect Apple doesn't have to worry about.
Groxx 15y ago
We can only hope. My university use(d|s) a competitor (sorry, name escapes me, though I supported it for a year or two) that was also crap. It's terrifying just how horrible these systems are.
- mdwrigh2 15y ago
  Was it Moodle by chance? That's the only competitor to Blackboard I've ever seen.
  - mminer 15y ago
    The university I attend recently switched to using Desire2Learn, a competitor which for many years was fighting a legal battle with Blackboard. I haven't used the software extensively yet, but my first impressions are that it's considerably better than the embarrassingly poor system employed before.
    - Groxx 15y ago
      D2L: That was the one, thanks :) It did a lot, but we also had to do an enormous amount by hand because it was simply impossible to automate <x>. And rather mind-numbing pain whenever someone got married, and their name and/or email address changed.
- callil 15y ago
  http://coursekit.com/ http://coursekit.com/ has been advertised a bunch at my school lately, I haven't used it, but their design and implementation seems interesting
russnewcomer 15y ago
I don't think they are really taking on Blackboard. They purchased PowerSchool in 2001, but then sold it in 2006. I think that shows they have no interest in this space, even though if they could sell a system that integrates the iTunes U app into the SIS.

davidblair 15y ago

The reason Blackboard doesn't have competition is due to the patents they hold. They have made a commitment not to sue free, open source projects, but as soon as you start charging money they are ready to protect their IP rights.

whatthefish 15y ago
If they can't sue you, then they just buy you. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANGEL_Learning http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ANGEL_Learning
- gamble 15y ago
  That's standard practice in education. It's very hard to sell new products in that market, and customers rarely switch products regardless of how badly they're treated. Acquisitions are the only way to grow quickly. Every large company serving the education market is a patchwork of milch cows acquired over the years and squeezed until dry.
- baddox 15y ago
  That's something I suspect Apple doesn't have to worry about.

Groxx 15y ago

We can only hope. My university use(d|s) a competitor (sorry, name escapes me, though I supported it for a year or two) that was also crap. It's terrifying just how horrible these systems are.

mdwrigh2 15y ago
Was it Moodle by chance? That's the only competitor to Blackboard I've ever seen.
- mminer 15y ago
  The university I attend recently switched to using Desire2Learn, a competitor which for many years was fighting a legal battle with Blackboard. I haven't used the software extensively yet, but my first impressions are that it's considerably better than the embarrassingly poor system employed before.
  - Groxx 15y ago
    D2L: That was the one, thanks :) It did a lot, but we also had to do an enormous amount by hand because it was simply impossible to automate <x>. And rather mind-numbing pain whenever someone got married, and their name and/or email address changed.
callil 15y ago
http://coursekit.com/ http://coursekit.com/ has been advertised a bunch at my school lately, I haven't used it, but their design and implementation seems interesting

russnewcomer 15y ago

I don't think they are really taking on Blackboard. They purchased PowerSchool in 2001, but then sold it in 2006. I think that shows they have no interest in this space, even though if they could sell a system that integrates the iTunes U app into the SIS.