Frozen Drink Machines

Provided by the National Museum of American History

According to the National Museum of American History the world's first frozen margarita machine was created by Mariano Martinez from Dallas on May 11, 1971. The museum's directory Brent Glass stated that “the invention of the frozen margarita machine is a classic example of
the American entrepreneurial spirit”.  The Washington Bureau (2011)

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Bb'ers New Orleans & Louisiana Tidbits

New Orleans Tidbits:

Opera was first performed in the New Orleans, back in 1796.
The first Mardi Gras parade took place on Shrove Tuesday in New Orleans in 1838.
New
Orleans is the second largest
in the U.S. and the third largest in the world in volume of cargo
handled.
The Superdome is the largest enclosed stadium/arena in the world.
Height: 273 feet (82.3 meters), Diameter of Dome:

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Blackboard Related Jobs

More companies are only posting their jobs at free online job sites or using word of mouth to find new employees. So I thought I would post a few leads on Blackboard (Bb) and Learning Management System (LMS) related jobs that I have been told about in the last couple weeks.

John Brown University in Siloam Springs, AR has an opening for an E-Learning Specialist. Follow this link for more

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BbWorld Present and Past Notes

Brainshark release a presentation explaining some of the things you could expect at BbWorld 2012 in New Orleans. Check it out at here. You can learn more about Brainshark on their website at: http://www.brainshark.com/


Below is a video of memories from BbWorld 2010 and BbWorld 2011.










Has you can see I was not prepared when I went to my first BbWorld in 2010 so only a few photos. I

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Notes about Bb Orphaned Content

Lets make sure you know what Blackboard says orphaned content is and how it happens. You can see that in the Release Notes for Bb 9.1 SP 8. Look on page 10 of the Bb document.  The online administrators manual also provides some insight.

The Orphaned Content tool used to be only available to clients who licensed the Content Management System from Bb. Since service pack 7 (SP7) it has been

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Blackboard, Please Give Back The HomePage Tool

Shenandoah University has been on version 9.1 for two years and happy with the advancement of the application and the modernization of the product. However, several of our faculty are still trying to get some old Bb 8 features included in 9.1. I am assuming this is the same feeling that WebCT and Angel clients feel when they move to Bb Learn 9.1. I wonder if it is that Bb developers don't spend

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BbWorld Trivia

How Much Do You Know About BbWorld?



Click on the crossword puzzle link below to test your knowledge. 





If you like this type of activity then visit 





in booth 101 at BbWorld and/or look at their website www.softchalk.com. 

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BbWorld Image Mapping

   Visual Mind Mapping about
















Don't miss the fun! Register today at https://www.bbworld.com/2012/BbWorld/secure/RegInfo.asp

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Don't Bring The Rooster To NOLA!

 Ray, please don't bring the Rooster with you to NOLA this year.  If you do, someone might think you are participating in cockfighting and registration fees would increase next year to pay your bail.



Cockfighting has long been a part of Louisiana history. Don't believe me? Checkout this New York Times story or Mark Twain's mention. Regardless of belief "Cock Fighting is actually

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Bb Technical Support Friend or Foe?

According to the Business Dictionary technical support is a a place to get user-friendly assistance when having technical problems and a technical support team includes people who are knowledgeable with the ins and outs of a product. This definition further states that tech support staff use there knowledge to troubleshoot most problems that a user has. Finally, Business Dictionary that

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Is Bb Your Partner or Your Vendor?

 

How does your school view Blackboard? Are they seen as just another vendor or are they seen as a partner? Before I tell you how Shenandoah feels, lets look at the question that has been discussed for several years: what the difference is between a vendor and a partner?

Tiffany Brown's blog talks about the differences in several different ways. Ben Gomes-Casseres' talks about the

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Does Bb Have Avatars? Absolutely!

Merriam-Webster dictionary's 4th definition for avatar (/ˈavəˌtär/) is "an electronic image that represents and is manipulated by a computer use". WiseGEEK says "A computer avatar is a personalized graphic file or rendering that
represents a computer user. There are basically two types of avatars:
those used at websites, such as on Web exchange boards, and those used
in gaming and virtual

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SP8 Upgrade

 



Shenandoah University is live with Bb Learn 9.1 SP 8! 



This was one of the easiest upgrades we have done. There were no unexpected issues. 



Thanks Bb for making my job easy tonight! 



So now I am off to merge the 25 merge request that we are excited to do using the new course merge tool. Want to learn more about this tool click here.







Well, I did not get this blog in by 11:59

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Bb And The Running of the Bulls, Will New Orleans Survive?

First a little tidbit of information about me. I was an exchange student in Spain during high school and I enjoy fun activities that challenge you. If you get a chance to talk to my husband during Bb World, he will tell you that I have a check list of activities that need to be done at least once before I die. And until my son is old enough to do them with me, my husband joins me, with a little

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The Blackboard Pirate Lives

See Dr. Bonk, I was listening. Thanks for the great idea and learning opportunity. Play the Voki to here what the Bb Pirate has to say.




























These are only a few of the great photos George has of BbWorld 2011 and Las Vegas. Learn more about George by looking at his blog "Chalk Dust".





Don't miss this years fun learning experience! Register TODAY for BbWorld 2012!

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Just In Time Teaching

Yesterday afternoon I was sitting in Dr. Bonk's open CourseSites class and he was talking about things you could do to engage students better. One thing mentioned was Just In Time Teaching. To me that sounded weird, because I know personally I put a lot of work into preparing for my classes before they start and before each lecture. I thought "Wouldn't this approach make me be unprepared and

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I
am not MIA, but just plain running out of time and unable to make post
until after today. I have been enjoying meetings at Shenandoah
University like crazy trying to get our summer activity list confirmed
and approved. More importantly I have been finalizing my dissertation
oral defense presentation and reviewing my dissertation findings,
summary, conclusions, and feedback from my

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What do Blackboard, Moodlerooms, NetSpot, and Sakai have in common?

What do Blackboard, Moodlerooms, NetSpot, and Sakai have in common? Answer: Openness

Blackboard administrators and database admins know of Bb's open database that came to life around the 2010 BbWorld. If you missed it, check out Santo's blog here or Paul Erickson's blog here. Then at the 2011 BbWorld Bucky Dodd's keynote summary further shows Bb's understanding that users need openness in the

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Shenandoah Upgrades to Bb Learn 9.1 SP 8 Next Week

With all the excitement of being selected as one of the VIP Bloggers, I am running late on getting my daily post. Blackboard, I told you I was new at this but promise to get faster at it.  Next week I will try to do two creative post each day.

Now to the main blog topic, upgrading to service pack (SP) 8. Shenandoah University (SU) will join the ranks of those live on SP 8 on Friday, May 18th.

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I am a VIP Blogger for BbWorld!

It is official as of today at 3p! Josh Murdock, Lacie Crone, and myself were select as the VIPs for the 2012 BbWorld conference in New Orleans!

Check out Andrea Meier's post on Bb's blog to find links to other cool blogger entries. There was some tough competition! 

The good news is that everyone who entered is still an official blogger and will get some great rewards at BbWorld.  I know by

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How To Submit Bb Suggestions and Complaints?

Blackboard is very open to receiving product enhancement request. Anyone can go here and submit a request for the Learn, Connect, and Transact products. Don't believe me Blackboard states "We ask for your product suggestions
in order to improve our products and services.  By making a product
suggestion to us, you give us permission to use that suggestion in our
products and services. Thank

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Who will be nameed #BbW12 VIP Bloggers?

The entire group of official BbWorld 2012 bloggers are waiting to hear who graduated to VIP Blogger status. Several have been tweeting about the anticipation. With so many schools having graduation and the suspense that students have until they know for sure it really is happening. I find it timely that Blackboard (Bb) is providing the same suspense in announcing who the VIP Bloggers are.

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Blackboard Offers Training

Blackboard (Bb) Inc, has a offers a variety of courses through their Training Registration site for Bb Learn and related products. If you don't find what you want there, I suggest you talk with your account representative, in most cases Blackboard will  be able to provide a course to meet your needs or point you in the right direction.

There are classes specifically for Bb Learn users,

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How Does Blackboard Support Users?

I have heard many people in different roles complain that Blackboard does not provide enough support. If you are one of these people, I suggest you take the time to investigate the many ways Bb is providing free support to it's clients. Below is just a small list I created to help you get started. 

1) On-Demand Learning Center is where student and faculty users of Learn and Community Systems.

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Don't miss out on the discounts!

While the @Blackboard team was unable to join the Shenandoah University gang this past weekend at the Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester, so they missed out on networking with Mario Lopez, Rusty Wallace, the Tony Dorcett, Ret. Capt. Leslie Smith, Doug Flutie, Miss Virginia, Andre Viette, James Willieford, Ken Mease, and many other celebrities.

Learn from Blackbaord and plan now to attend

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BbWorld 2012 Jeopardy Game

Do you enjoy the game Jeopardy?



Find someone in your office to play against and enjoy!

 <p><p><p><p>&

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What To Do After You Boss Says Yes to BbWord

Getting your boss to agree that you should attend BbWorld is only the beginning of your work (Blackboard will even help you out with that, look here).  You have to: (1) register early to get a discounted price, (2) get the account payable to pay Bb before the cutoff date, (3) make a hotel reservation, (4) book a flight, rent a car, or find gas money, (5) plan you session attendance, (6) pack, (7

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Look Who Gets A Special Lunch At BbWorld

Did you know the winners of the exemplary courses and  catalyst awards get to have a private lunch at #BbW12 where they are honored with a special ceremony by Blackboard? During this lunch there talents will be rewarded with recognized and a wonderful glass award.This year these winners had to face a greater challenge then just succeeding with the extensive Bb evaluation. They had to

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Bloggers Race To VIP Blogger Status (#BbW12)

Last year Blackboard simply suggested people blog & tweet while at the conference. To help promote this they had screens showing the tweets sitting around. This year they upped the challenge to the bloggers by having a contest where the select VIP bloggers would get a get some great benefits at the conference. If you want put your name into the mix, it is not to late to register. Hurry though

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Why and Who should attend Bb Developers Conference?

Blackboard (Bb) states that the developers conference (A.K.A. DevCon) "is the best place for technical
individuals to gain insight into how Blackboard’s platform can be
customized to meet specific institutional needs or integrate with
existing campus systems.  Get technical and tactical at DevCon while
listening to lessons learned from other technical experts, including
Blackboard’s own,

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