Blackboard news prompts blog notice

It's all the rage in the discussions today, so I thought I would let you know here. Blackboard has purchased Wimba and Elluminate, two competing synchronous learning environments. (Competing each other, not Blackboard.) Despite what Blackboard says, I would agree with those with whom I've talked that buying either Wimba or Elluminate would be a "strategic move"; to buy both is to play smackdown on smaller Blackboard competitors who have partnerships with the tools. Here's a few links to peruse

• Inside Higher Ed Piece
• Barry Dahl's blog
• Wimba Press Release