By now, I’m sure you’ve heard that Blackboard (BBBB) is acquiring Angel Learning.  ’Blackborg’ continue to try to gain market share through snapping up the competition, instead of innovating valuable products that the market is asking for.  This latest development will lead to less attention for individual institution’s needs and less competition in a market place that is screaming for better products that Blackboard just isn’t supplying.

Public outcry is not hard to find. “Shocked, dismayed, and betrayed” was how Travis Souza, a technology coordinator at one Angel client, Truckee Meadows Community College, in Reno, Nev., said he felt when he first heard about the deal, adding that he would rather quit his job than work with Blackboard’s software, which Jeffrey Young reported on for The Chronicle of Higher Education (Full article here).  He also went on to report "Colleges don’t want to just buy these online classrooms out of a catalog. They want to feel like partners in the design process."

Today’s schools need an eLearning solution provider that can pay attention to the particular, unique needs that students are looking for.  It’s time for schools to start looking for a modern solution and branch out from Blackboard’s evil empire.  

For example, the incorporation of social networking features that builds off the wild success of Facebook, LinkedIn, and others is something that can revitalize teacher/student and student/student interaction. Or, to easily maximize mobile technology so students can stay connected and get the materials they need while on the go.  These are just a few features schools are asking for that have gone unanswered.  Until now.

TOPYX (http://www.interactyx.com) is an affordable eLearning & mobile learning platform with integrated social networking features that is easy to implement and maintain.  Get the more out of your eLearning program for a fraction of the cost as most others on the market.  And, get away from Blackboard and Angel Learning to see innovation that is available to you today with TOPYX.

Schools have always been leaders in supporting high quality, modern learning tools that are affordable and easy-to-use.  Why be shackled to a lumbering giant that won’t care about individual needs or drive innovation?  Check out TOPYX (contact patrick.batty@interactyx.com ) and be pleasantly surprised about eLearning solutions now available for any institution of any size.