Blackboard's patent reportedly doesn't refer to any device or even specific software code. Rather, it describes the basic framework of an LMS. In short, Blackboard says what it invented isn't learning tools such as drop boxes, but the idea of putting such tools together in one big, scalable system across a university.
"Our developers sat down and said, 'College IT departments are having a lot of trouble managing all these disparate web sites from each class. How can we turn this into one computer program that manages all of the classes?'" Small said. "That was a leap." Critics say it was a tiny hop at most.
Blackboard's claims are "incredibly obvious," asserted Feldstein. The company's patent suggests "that they invented eLearning," said Alfred Essa, associate vice chancellor and CIO of the Minnesota state college and university system.
Blackboard critics in the academic IT community have taken their case to the blogosphere. Over recent weeks, a sprawling Wikipedia entry has emerged tracking a history of virtual classrooms as far back as 1945 in an effort to demonstrate the idea was not Blackboard's.
The Wikipedia entry for elearning is pretty extensive, although it carries the disclaimer: This article or section is not written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia article.
Comments