<s>
WebCT	B-Protocol
(	O
Course	O
Tools	O
)	O
or	O
Blackboard	O
Learning	O
System	O
,	O
now	O
owned	O
by	O
Blackboard	O
,	O
is	O
an	O
online	O
proprietary	B-Application
virtual	B-Protocol
learning	I-Protocol
environment	I-Protocol
system	O
that	O
is	O
licensed	O
to	O
colleges	O
and	O
other	O
institutions	O
and	O
used	O
in	O
many	O
campuses	O
for	O
e-learning	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
To	O
their	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
courses	O
,	O
instructors	O
can	O
add	O
such	O
tools	O
as	O
discussion	O
boards	O
,	O
mail	O
systems	O
,	O
and	O
live	O
chat	O
,	O
along	O
with	O
content	O
including	O
documents	O
and	O
web	O
pages	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WebCT	B-Protocol
is	O
significant	O
in	O
that	O
it	O
was	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
first	O
widely	O
successful	O
course	B-Protocol
management	I-Protocol
system	I-Protocol
for	O
higher	O
education	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WebCT	B-Protocol
was	O
originally	O
developed	O
at	O
the	O
University	O
of	O
British	O
Columbia	O
by	O
a	O
faculty	O
member	O
in	O
computer	O
science	O
,	O
Murray	O
Goldberg	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
research	O
showed	O
that	O
student	O
satisfaction	O
and	O
academic	O
performance	O
could	O
be	O
improved	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
a	O
web-based	O
educational	O
resource	O
,	O
or	O
web-based	O
course	O
tools	O
(	O
from	O
which	O
the	O
name	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
is	O
derived	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
led	O
to	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
of	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
in	O
early	O
1996	O
,	O
first	O
presented	O
at	O
the	O
5th	O
international	O
World	O
Wide	O
Web	O
conference	O
in	O
Paris	O
during	O
the	O
spring	O
of	O
1996	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WebCT	B-Protocol
was	O
originally	O
written	O
in	O
Perl	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Later	O
it	O
was	O
changed	O
to	O
Java	B-Language
as	O
otherwise	O
the	O
code	O
could	O
be	O
read	O
and	O
not	O
monetized	O
as	O
easily	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
1997	O
,	O
Goldberg	O
created	O
a	O
company	O
,	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
Educational	O
Technologies	O
Corporation	O
,	O
a	O
spinoff	O
company	O
of	O
UBC	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
mid-1999	O
,	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
ULT	O
(	O
Universal	O
Learning	O
Technology	O
)	O
,	O
a	O
Boston-based	O
company	O
headed	O
by	O
Carol	O
Vallone	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Goldberg	O
resigned	O
from	O
his	O
position	O
of	O
Canadian	O
president	O
of	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
in	O
2002	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
February	O
2006	O
,	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
was	O
acquired	O
by	O
rival	O
Blackboard	O
Inc	O
.	O
As	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
acquisition	O
terms	O
with	O
Blackboard	O
,	O
the	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
name	O
was	O
phased	O
out	O
in	O
favor	O
of	O
the	O
Blackboard	O
brand	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
majority	O
of	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
users	O
moved	O
away	O
from	O
Blackboard	O
LMS	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
order	O
to	O
use	O
a	O
textbook	O
or	O
other	O
learning	O
tool	O
published	O
in	O
the	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
format	O
,	O
some	O
publishers	O
require	O
the	O
student	O
to	O
purchase	O
a	O
password	O
at	O
the	O
bookstore	O
or	O
to	O
obtain	O
it	O
online	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
WebCT	B-Protocol
's	O
user	O
interface	O
has	O
been	O
criticized	O
as	O
needlessly	O
complex	O
and	O
unintuitive	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
"	O
Vista	B-Protocol
"	O
version	O
of	O
the	O
product	O
represented	O
an	O
attempt	O
to	O
derive	O
balance	O
between	O
flexibility	O
and	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
,	O
however	O
it	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
the	O
target	O
of	O
ease-of-use	O
criticisms	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
WebCT	B-Protocol
criticisms	O
which	O
were	O
apparent	O
include	O
problems	O
using	O
it	O
in	O
multiple	O
tabs	O
or	O
browser	O
windows	O
,	O
heavy	O
reliance	O
on	O
Java	B-Language
for	O
its	O
user	O
experience	O
,	O
usage	O
of	O
too	O
many	O
browser	O
framesets	O
,	O
issues	O
with	O
some	O
features	O
requiring	O
pop-up	O
blockers	O
to	O
be	O
turned	O
off	O
,	O
and	O
problems	O
using	O
standard	O
browser	O
navigation	O
tools	O
(	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
WebCT	B-Protocol
,	O
like	O
most	O
of	O
its	O
competitors	O
,	O
does	O
not	O
meet	O
all	O
guidelines	O
for	O
accessibility	O
;	O
these	O
include	O
,	O
but	O
are	O
not	O
limited	O
to	O
,	O
the	O
following	O
studies	O
:	O
</s>
