Why Are You Launching an Application on Facebook?
A very large percentage of students are spending lots of time on Facebook but their academic life is not represented there, thus distancing students from their education. Faculty/administrators were looking for a way to help students bridge their social and academic lives, as well as to leverage those social interactions that are already occurring for social learning. But they were also concerned about aligning themselves with "fad" technology and the safety and security of doing so. They needed a solution that helps them integrate without compromising the integrity of their systems and data.
Therefore, we are developing Blackboard Sync, an application that delivers course information and updates through the student's social network in a non-threatening, convenient way to help them stay focused on academics as well as leverage Facebook's social network capabilities for collaboration and social learning.