Blackboard brings the power of predictive analytics to teachers

Blackboard is working to enhance the teaching and learning experience with its latest Moodlerooms update, bringing new features and predictive analytics to the platform.

Moodlerooms 2.9 incorporates all the updates and enhancements made available with Moodle 2.9, such as streamlined navigation, useful improvements to activities such as Lesson and Quiz, and new administration settings which refine the course management process.

For customers with additional plugins, the upgrade also implements the new Mahara 15 eportfolio assignment features and the latest update of the Community plugin.

New features and better navigation have also been introduced to the Snap interface, to enable users to move resources, activities and sections within courses.

Learners can also view new forum posts that are important to them within the menu to improve their engagement within courses.

Moodlerooms 2.9 also supports the integration with X-Ray Analytics and Microsoft Office 365. X-Ray Analytics, which was acquired by Blackboard in July 2015, provides teachers with insight into learning behaviour.

It identifies important trends that affect learner success and provides the information to teachers in a timely manner so they can intervene and remediate.

The Office 365 integration complements Moodlerooms to provide a more productive experience for teachers and students, and includes authentication with Azure Active Directory, calendaring with Exchange Online, file-storage with One Drive for Business, and assignment submission and feedback with OneNote, Blackboard says.

"This new upgrade meets the needs of millions of users around the world and further improves their online teaching and learning experiences," says Mark Strassman, Blackboard senior vice president of product management.

"We have also worked hard to implement the X-Ray Analytics technology, fulfilling the commitment we made last year to bring predictive analytics to our Moodle customers.

"Teachers will now be able to better follow their learners, support them along their educational lives and promptly react when they see potential risks," he says.

In addition to these enhancements, Moodlerooms customers will also have access to the wider Blackboard knowledge base site, where they will find additional help resources filtered according to role, product or subject, according to Blackboard.

This new upgrade is the eighth SaaS release that has been successfully delivered since Blackboard acquired Moodlerooms in 2012.