AMSTERDAM – April 13, 2010 – Blackboard Inc. (NASDAQ: BBBB) today announced a major update for its flagship software with the launch of Blackboard Learn™ Release 9.1, which integrates a range of social learning tools and drives student engagement. The release also introduces important new features for teachers and learners – including lesson planning and standards alignment – and former WebCT clients.

Building on the new interface and social learning tools like blogs and journals introduced in Release 9.0, the new release deepens the platform’s ability to integrate collaboration tools like wikis and multimedia content from Web sources including YouTube, Flickr and Slideshare to create a more engaging and visually impactful course experience.

“This release is an important milestone in the story of what Blackboard is becoming,” said Ray Henderson, President of Blackboard Learn, “It delivers a renewed commitment to the fundamentals of product and service quality and brings a host of innovations to energise the user community.”

“The possibilities to easily integrate video, audio and pictures will make courses much more interactive and dynamic and lead to greater student participation,” said Filip Seuntjens, Project Manager at the University of Antwerp in Belgium. “Along with mobile, this really proves that students don’t just connect with Blackboard, but that Blackboard also connects with students.”

To make the platform more instructionally, the release introduces integrated lesson planning and standards alignment and reporting, making it easy for teachers to align course content and instructions. And when standards evolve based on curricular changes, a new standards mapping tool can save local authorities countless hours by automating updates within the learning platform.

“Release 9.1 will engage K-12 teachers and learners and allow them to apply new practices required for 21st century education,” said Daniel Lake, Systems Consultant at Onondaga-Cortland-Madison BOCES. “Blackboard has paid close attention to our feedback and input to build features that will help K-12 clients better manage future learning environments.”

Available today as a free upgrade for Blackboard customers, Release 9.1 was developed with the active participation of over 250 client representatives who provided input through focus groups, usability testing, Beta programs and other quality initiatives.

“Coming from a WebCT environment, Release 9.1 not only has the tools and features we need to migrate our courses, but it also allows us improve our teaching and learning at the same time,” said Joel T. Johnson, Instructional Designer at the College of St. Scholastica, which participated in the Release 9.1 Beta program.

With Release 9.1, Blackboard tripled the number of staff focused on product improvement and stability. The Company is also introducing a new 99.9 service level offering for Blackboard Managed Hosting™ that combines the new release with a package of best practices that have been honed through years of supporting mission critical installations worldwide. To help clients manage upgrades, Blackboard also introduced online resource centers with free access to upgrade information, video tutorials and quick start guides, preview accounts, and Webinars, and announced consulting and hosting programs to help institutions manage upgrades and the changes they require.

For more information about Blackboard Learn, please visit http://blackboard.com/Teaching-Learning/Learn-Platform.aspx.