Questionmark Releases Blackboard Release 6 Connector

For Immediate Release

Questionmark Releases Blackboard Release 6 Connector
Perception Assessments Link with the Blackboard Learning System

LONDON, UK – July 31, 2003 – Questionmark, providers of testing and assessment software, and Blackboard Inc., the leading software company for e-Education, today announced the release of a software connector that links the Blackboard Learning System™ (Release 6) to the Questionmark™ Perception™ assessment platform.

Using the Blackboard Release 6 connector, students and instructors seamlessly link to Perception from within the Blackboard Learning System. This means institutions can maintain student and instructor profiles within one system while taking advantage of the powerful assessment features of Perception. Assessments can be scheduled from within Blackboard, with instructors viewing assessments that pertain to each particular course.

Blackboard Learning System (Release 6) features curriculum-driven content management and content sharing that gives instructors flexibility and control of their online classrooms, as well as collaborative applications such as discussion boards and virtual classrooms. It also incorporates tools that help institutions reduce administrative overhead and utilizes Blackboard Building Blocks architecture, which enables customisation, extension and integration of the platform.

Questionmark and Blackboard are committed to working with industry leaders to create interoperability and common functionality. Instructional designers and instructors who need comprehensive question types, such as drag-and-drop and hot-spot, with a pedagogical focus, can provide all styles of assessments within their course. Results are not only maintained within Perception for item analysis, but the high-level results are also stored within Blackboard's grade book for easy access by students and instructors.

"Our clients continue to benefit significantly from the ongoing collaboration between Questionmark and Blackboard," said Dan Cane, Senior Vice President at Blackboard. "Through our Building Blocks program applications like Questionmark Perception are easily integrated with the Blackboard Learning System offering our clients great flexibility to choose applications that meet their specific education requirements."

The University of Dundee has tested and evaluated the connector software using a development environment and is planning to include the connector within its Perception and Blackboard production environments.

"We regard the direct links to Perception assessments from within Blackboard, without further student or instructor authentication, and the storage and display of Perception marks within the Blackboard gradebook as very positive advances," said Dr. Richard Parsons of the university's Centre for Teaching and Learning. "Seamless access for lecturers to the Questionmark Enterprise Manager will allow them to monitor the results of their assessment and continually
improve quality. For the students, the connector offers a straightforward link between aspects of their learning materials that may be contained within the Blackboard VLE and the advanced assessments provided by their tutors using Questionmark Perception."

Documentation about Questionmark’s Blackboard Release 6 connector can be found at: http://www.questionmark.com/links/Blackboardv6.htm.

About Questionmark
Questionmark has been producing testing and assessment software since 1988, enabling educators and trainers to write, administer, and report on tests and surveys securely using individual PCs, local networks, the Internet, and intranets. Perception users can categorise their question banks into topics and sub-topics from which to assemble tests and surveys. They can shuffle questions and answers for each participant and preview assessments to see how they will appear post-deployment. They can present questions with videos, graphics and a wide variety of styles. Participants receive feedback as specified by the author. Answers are saved to an encrypted file for scoring and analysis in a variety of report formats.

Some 1,700 businesses, governments, schools, colleges, and universities in more than 50 countries use Questionmark Perception. Typical applications include exams, quizzes, study aids, diagnostic tests, pre-course skills assessments, and course evaluations. Questionmark has offices in the United States, England, and Belgium, with distributors worldwide. Complete information is available at: http://www.questionmark.com

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