Wimba - Blackboard Integrated e-Learning Solution Expands Educational Opportunities Across Pennsylvania

ORLANDO, FL, Jan 22 (MARKET WIRE) --
FETC 2008, Booth # 719 -- Tens of thousands of Pennsylvania students now
have access to new educational opportunities as a result of
blendedschools.net, a non-profit organization that provides complete K-12 online
core curricula to more than 130 schools across the state. This expanded
access to education is made possible by an intuitive e-Learning platform
provided
by Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) and integrated with a comprehensive suite
of interactive solutions from Wimba, the education technology company that helps
people teach people.

The blendedschools.net courses are developed in the Blackboard Academic
Suite(TM)
and with the Wimba Collaboration Suite(TM), enabling synchronous interaction
through
video, voice and chat sessions, as well as asynchronous collaboration via
discussion
boards, podcasts and archived classroom lessons.

This comprehensive solution makes it possible for students to continue
learning on
their own time and addresses diverse learning styles. For example, The
William Penn School District can now offer more course choices for students in
small rural communities, as well as better serve special needs students.

"Wimba allows me to reach those students that otherwise we'd lose," explains
Cynthia Hyland, MEd, Distance Educator at William Penn School District Cyber
Academy.

These benefits can now be realized by all K-12 Blackboard Learning
System(TM)
clients with the general availability of the Wimba Collaboration Suite Express.
This
exclusive offer for Blackboard's K-12 customers at no additional cost
provides turnkey collaboration between teachers and students to improve
student achievement.

"We're delighted that blendedschools.net is providing our proven solutions
to the
K-12 community in Pennsylvania, enabling teachers and students to benefit
from enhanced professional development opportunities and new methods for
meeting the needs of all learners," said Jessie Woolley-Wilson, President of
K-12 at
Blackboard. "We look forward to working with Wimba to help K-12 schools and
districts around the country create stronger learning communities and improve
student achievement."

"Blendedschools.net is a perfect example of how technology can directly
impact
learning across diverse communities to meet many different needs," said Tommaso
Trionfi, CEO of Wimba. "The combination of the Wimba and Blackboard solutions
provides new ways to reach and engage students to ensure their success."

Demonstrations of the Blackboard-Wimba offering will be given at Booth #
719 on the FETC exhibit hall floor. For more details on the Blackboard-Wimba
collaborative learning environment please visit
www.blackboard.com/K12/collaborativelearning.

About Blackboard

Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) is a leading provider of enterprise
softwareapplications and related services to the education industry. Founded in
1997, Blackboard enables educational innovations everywhere by connecting people
and
technology. Millions of people use Blackboard everyday at academic
institutions around the globe, including colleges, universities, K-12 schools
and other
education providers, as well as textbook publishers and student-focused
merchants
that serve education providers and their students. Blackboard is headquartered
in Washington, D.C., with offices in North America, Europe, Australia and
Asia.

Blackboard

Educate. Innovate. Everywhere.(TM) www.blackboard.com

About Wimba

Wimba is a company focused solely on education and dedicated to the
principle
that people learn more when they are drawn closer together. Our collaborative
software applications for the online education market enable institutions to
bridge technology and pedagogy by supplementing course management systems with
many of the proven disciplines of in-person learning environments. Wimba's
intuitive solutions enable educators and students to quickly and easily teach
and learn live online, engage in live chat and instant message exchanges,
benefit from oral content being added to text-based course content, and more.
Instructors can also use Wimba solutions to convert Microsoft Word documents
into accessible course content and to create and administer tests, quizzes, and
exams. Our focus on education and collaboration with educators fuels our product
development.

Wimba. People Teach People. www.wimba.com

Media Contact
Melissa Chotiner
DBC Public Relations
+1.202.298.7600 x211
Melissa@dbcpr.com

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