Blackboard Announces Certified Education Center Program
Blackboard Inc. announced the launch of the Blackboard Certified Education Center(TM) (CEC) program.
The CEC program is designed to meet the growing training needs of Blackboard clients across the United States and throughout the world. The CEC program provides convenient and affordable training options to teachers, professors and instructors seeking to take full advantage of their Blackboard systems.
With the launch of CEC, Blackboard and its partners are now able to offer regionally-based training sites in California, Florida, Indiana and Pennsylvania.
The goals of the CEC program are to create strong communities for effective online teaching and learning with Blackboard products and to assist Blackboard’s efforts to serve the increasing demand for regional training of individual faculty and staff.
Through participation in Blackboard’s CEC program, partner institutions will enhance their reputation as leaders in web-based instruction, while simultaneously generating a revenue stream to subsidize their technology investments.
Inaugural Members of the Blackboard Certified Education Center Program
Blackboard’s initial CEC partners are leading academic institutions with highly qualified staff prepared to train the needs of individuals from the K-12, higher education and corporate markets:
— California State University at Hayward is one of twenty-three
campuses in the CSU system which provides higher education
opportunities to the citizens of California and the rest of
the world. Located between San Francisco and San Jose on the
east side of the San Francisco Bay, CSU Hayward is well
situated to serve the training needs of the Bay Area. CSU
Hayward currently has four certified trainers.
— Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is the world’s leading
institution in aviation/aerospace education. A pioneer in
distance-learning, ERAU has a 20-year history of using
technology to enhance both academic and administrative
practices. All CEC events will take place at ERAU’s flagship
campus in Daytona Beach, Florida beginning in January 2003
with two certified trainers.
— Lancaster-Lebanon Intermediate Unit 13 is a regional education
agency whose mission is to assist local school districts to
enhance educational opportunities by providing high quality,
cost-effective services. IU 13 has developed PAVE, Partners to
Access Virtual Education, a resource network that consists of
a collaborative group of school districts, educational service
agencies, and online content providers. IU 13 currently has
two certified trainers.
— University of Indianapolis is a private, coeducational
institution with more than 4,000 students from around the
world. The central mission of the university is the
preparation of individuals for effective, responsible, and
articulate membership in the complex society in which they
live, as well as their chosen professions or occupations. The
University of Indianapolis currently has four certified
trainers prepared to meet the needs of Blackboard users in the
mid-west region.
“Our participation in the CEC program will promote strong relationships with other institutions of learning – both higher education and K-12 and enable all of us to create better learning environments for students of all ages,” said Beth Kiggins, Director of the Center for Instructional Technologies at the University of Indianapolis.
“The CEC program allows high quality instruction around the Blackboard e-Education Suite to be delivered in a convenient and affordable way by experts in Blackboard – our partner-client institutions. All instructors who use Blackboard will now have an increasing number of options when seeking suitable training locations,” said Todd Gibby, General Manager of Blackboard Learning and Community Portal Systems. “We believe that our clients will benefit greatly from training by peer institutions, which will help deliver even greater value from their investment in Blackboard technologies. We look forward to providing this service and to growing the CEC program on an ongoing basis.”
Institutions interested in becoming a Blackboard Certified Education Center should contact Blackboard Learning Solutions at cec@blackboard.com or visit www.blackboard.com/cec to learn more about the program and upcoming events.
Blackboard Certified Education Centers
Certified Education Centers provide an opportunity for training to the individual user interested in learning more about creating and managing Blackboard courses and organizations.
Individuals seeking training on the Blackboard Learning System(TM) include faculty and staff at Blackboard client institutions, Blackboard.com users, or other professionals interested in learning more about online education. CEC training events offer a convenient and cost-effective training solution for both beginning and advanced Blackboard users.
All CEC events are facilitated by Blackboard-certified trainers. Every CEC trainer has extensive experience in web-enhanced or distance learning, and all have received intensive instruction on the Blackboard platform at the company headquarters in Washington, D.C.
