In a mix of business and the classroom, Blackboard Inc. has been awarded a patent for the software that delivers its e-learning products. But many in the growing online education community say the company didn’t create the techniques used to help students feel at home in a virtual classroom. Those who object to the patent are registering their disapproval in a very electronic way: by online petitions and contributing to a long Wikipedia entry tracing the rise of virtual learning all the way back to 1945. Posted on CNN. You can also check out the Wikipedia entry on the history of virtual learning environments.
A version of this news article first appeared in the Around the Web blog.
