US Army expands Blackboard partnership

Blackboard is expanding its partnership with the United States Army, leveraging the company’s teaching and learning edtech platform. Through the expanded partnership, the U.S. Army will utilize core components of Blackboard’s edtech platform, including Blackboard Learn, Blackboard Collaborate and mobile solutions, to support educating over 350,000 service members.

Blackboard is a long-standing partner of the U.S. Army, offering acollaborative learning experience for all soldiers, Department of the ArmyCivilians, National Guard and Reservists. Blackboard supports the readinessgoal of the U.S. Army and plays a central role in developing the nextgeneration of leaders. The expanded partnership benefits from the investmentsBlackboard has made in its edtech platform such as advanced collaboration,assessment and accreditation, and cloud security including FedRAMP.

The expansion directly supports the U.S. Army’s Lifelong Learning Program (LLP). The LLP was created to meet the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) Commander’s guidance for an adaptive, agile learning environment by providing learners access to blended (offline and online) learning capabilities, enabling their continued learning even when away from the schoolhouse setting. The program meets the U.S. Army School Commandants’ needs and the needs of the Operational Commander with an on-demand reach-back and push-forward capability, bridging the gap between the three learning domains: resident, operational, and self-development.

Blackboard will support over 45 different programs for the ArmyManagement Staff College at Fort Leavenworth and the Sergeants Major’s Academyat Fort Bliss. The technology will be deployed both on-premise and in thecloud, a feature only available through Blackboard’s multiple deploymentoptions. In addition, Blackboard will assist the U.S. Army with buildingaccreditation and assessment solutions, as well as leveraging real-time virtualclassroom collaboration through Blackboard Collaborate and on mobile.Blackboard Learn will be used to facilitate instruction by providing a systemto create, store, manage and deliver training content, as well as thecapability to quickly develop and deploy content and curriculum.