Ottawa University, a 7,000-student institution in
Ottawa, KS, is partnering with Blackboard on a new strategic initiative giving students
24/7 access to learning opportunities through tools offered by Blackboard,
regardless of the student’s location.
A goal of the initiative, dubbed Project Virtuoso, is
to provide instruction to both in-class and remote students through videoconferencing.
Students will also be able to work with faculty and staff through virtual
office hours and instant messaging.
“This partnership promises to be a real game-changer
for us and potentially all of higher education,” President Kevin C. Eichner
said in a university press release.
The program will begin with the Ottawa business school
program in the spring and will eventually link students and faculty on the
university’s campuses in Ottawa, Kansas City, Arizona, Indiana, and Wisconsin,
according to a report in Campus Technology.
Blackboard has agreed to establish the Blackboard
Center for Academic Innovation and house it in the Gangwish Gibson Library and
Student Center, which will begin construction in May. Blackboard will also help
fund the university’s Curriculum Design Studio, which is working on a media
unit to support the online collaboration.
