IF I HAD A BILLION DOLLARS: Investment bankers Berkery Noyes reports that that the six largest edtech acquisitions during the first six months of 2011 were worth $1.009 billion. (Of course, the acquisition of Blackboard alone was $1.64 billion but that deal logged in on July 1.) Overall edtech transactions for the first half of 2011 were $2.2 billion, a 38% drop from $3.5 billion a year earlier. Pearson is the big buyer, snapping up SchoolNet and investing in TutorVista, among others. Private equity claimed 51% of the deals. Here's the report.