- Blackboard announced that it had acquired Moodlerooms and NetSpot on March 26.
- Moodlerooms developed Joule, a custom version of Moodle, in addition to other services.
- Blackboard looks like it will have to commit to open source options in the long term now in order to serve its new customers.
Blackboard has developed a reputation for acquiring and snuffing out competition in the online classroom space. Its recent move to absorb Moodlerooms may signal a new outlook on the open source arena, however.
"The decision of Moodlerooms and NetSpot to work under Blackboard may sound very strange at first to anyone in this industry, " Martin Dougiamas, Moodle's founder, said in a statement that Blackboard released. "But it 's my understanding that these three companies have some good plans and synergies. I 'm happy to say that Moodlerooms and NetSpot will remain Moodle Partners, and have promised to continue providing Moodle services, participating in the community, and contributing financially to Moodle exactly as they always have. "
Dian Schaffhauser speculates and gets more perspectives over at Campus Technology.