London (UK), April 2015 - Blackboard has announced the acquisition of Remote-Learner UK, a leading provider of open-source solutions to the education industry, primarily in the United Kingdom and Ireland. The acquisition will allow Blackboard to offer more services and solutions to institutions and businesses that leverage Moodle, one of the most widely used learning-management systems (LMS) in the world.
The announcement marks the latest investment and commitment made by Blackboard in open source since the acquisition of Moodlerooms and NetSpot in 2012. Since officially joining the open-source community, Blackboard has contributed code, bug fixes, quality assurance, and platform integrations to Moodle and provided substantive engagement at important community gatherings.
Remote-Learner UK, a subsidiary of the U.S.-based Remote-Learner.Net, Inc., provides hosting, support, and consulting services in the United Kingdom, Ireland, and other regions around the world. Its Enterprise Learning Intelligence System (ELIS) offers greater management of learning programmes and includes features, such as enrollment management tools, notifications, reports and analytics, and learning outcomes.
"Openness and interoperability are fundamental to Blackboard as online ecosystems expand and evolve to meet the changing demands of learners and faculty," said Mark Strassman, senior vice president of product management at Blackboard. "The addition of Remote-Learner UK to the Blackboard family expands how we are able to support any organisation, regardless of its LMS, with the right blend of technology, resources, and services that meet their unique needs. We couldn’t be more excited to work together to improve the educational experience for students all over the world."
"As a long-standing member of the Moodle community in the United Kingdom and worldwide, we are excited to join forces with Blackboard in helping millions of students and hundreds of institutions and businesses be successful in their unique teaching and learning needs and goals," said Sean Keogh, founder and managing director of Remote-Learner UK and a leading voice in the expansion of the Moodle community in the United Kingdom. "Blackboard has demonstrated their commitment to open source over the past several years, and I am confident the UK Moodle community will benefit from this acquisition. Together, we will be able to better serve our customers and offer new solutions and services that will improve their educational experience."
Moodlerooms and Remote-Learner UK will co-host a Moodlerooms Teaching and Learning Forum in Liverpool on 14-15 April to bring their communities together for the first time and share best practices around teaching online, assessment, adoption, and outcomes.
