EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
KPA | July 16, 2022
For the fifth consecutive year, KPA has been recognized as one of Training Industry’s annual Top 20 online learning library companies for its extensive and impactful library of Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) content. This compliance training award demonstrates KPA’s commitment to producing compelling, relevant, high-quality training content.
“It’s an honor to be recognized by Top 20 Online Learning for the fifth consecutive year. “It’s a strategic imperative for KPA to ensure we have the best and most comprehensive EHS training catalog in the industry. We create our own content to ensure a high standard of relevance and quality and design a curriculum that most effectively helps businesses train their employees on creating a safer work environment. Receiving the Training Industry award affirms our strategic intent and reinforces to the marketplace that KPA is the top creator of EHS training content.”
KPA President and Chief Executive Officer Chris Fanning
KPA’s award-winning online learning library includes an expansive collection of over 700 online and mobile compliance training topics that incorporate common real-world scenarios as well as video and interactive technology to engage employees and their learning styles. It provides clients with a core library of workforce and workplace compliance training and allows clients to incorporate courses from the library that are specific to their industry and their business.
Training Industry is a trusted, expert resource on the business of learning. Its annual list of top online learning library companies highlights the most innovative providers of training services and technologies. The criteria for recognition on Training Industry 2022 Top 20 list included an analysis of a company’s breadth and quality of courses, features, and capabilities, industry visibility, innovation and impact on the online learning library market, client and user representation, as well as business performance and overall growth.
KPA’s high-quality compliance training is an integral and differentiating component of the software and services that KPA provides its customers. In addition to being named a Top 20 Online Learning Library awardee for five consecutive years, Training Industry Inc. previously recognized KPA as a Top 20 Health and Safety Training Company. With a wide variety of EHS training, KPA also provides certifications on specialized topics like A/C 609 Training as well as continuing education credits for organizations like the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).
About KPA
KPA provides Environment, Health & Safety (EHS), and Workforce Compliance solutions for a wide range of businesses. Offering a unique combination of software, consulting services, and award-winning training, KPA helps organizations minimize risk so they can focus on what’s important—their core business. For over 30 years, KPA has helped 10,000 + clients comply with regulations, reduce costs, and increase productivity.
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Texthelp | August 18, 2022
Today, Texthelp, a global leader in literacy and digital learning tools for education, released new survey results on the current state of teaching and learning for students with dyslexia. The survey, concluding in March 2022, reflects insights from more than 3,000 school staff representing thousands of schools across the country. The goal was to identify common problems in student teaching and learning that could be addressed, and to help build better, more inclusive learning environments.
According to nearly half of the teachers surveyed, assistive technology is one of the top approaches that helps students with dyslexia, along with reading and phonemic awareness instruction. With one billion people globally living with a non-visible disability, such as dyslexia, it is critical that all students have the tools they need to understand and learn. How students digest information and communicate their knowledge looks different for everyone. More inclusive approaches to learning, such as Universal Design for Learning (UDL), are the future of education. "I have severe dyslexia and looking back, I could have benefited from having early access to assistive technology that was designed for people just like me," said Sierra Goodfellow, a current student. "Instead, I endured many barriers and obstacles while learning. It wasn't until much later that I finally found an assistive technology tool that understood me. I had thought something was wrong with me when really I needed a tool that was made for someone who thinks differently."
"It would be extremely valuable for students like Sierra and teachers of students with dyslexia if the right accommodations were always available from the start, Texthelp. "All students should have a choice in how they learn. For Sierra, that was being able to understand the text by listening to it being read aloud."
Martin McKay, Founder and CEO, Texthelp.
More than 52 percent of teachers surveyed find 'a lot of value' in providing students with dyslexia access to assistive technology tools. However, more than 54 percent of the respondents said their district will only provide accommodations to students who show a need. Providing tools to only those students who 'show' signs of their disability or disclose their learning challenges leaves out many students who are either undiagnosed, misdiagnosed, or are afraid to disclose their diagnosis to indicate the support that they need."It is critical that all school districts provide assistive technology tools to every student, whether or not they are neurodivergent, neurotypical, or physically disabled," said McKay. "Providing tools for all students can bolster inclusivity in the classroom and welcomes all types of learners. Students should be attuned to how they learn best. Thoughtful, inclusive practices in the classroom make learning easier and more enjoyable for everyone."
Additional findings from the survey include:
52% find assistive technology tools to be highly valuable for students with dyslexia
Assistive technology tools can benefit all students, especially those with hidden disabilities, such as dyslexia. Providing assistive technology tools with various capabilities that are designed using UDL principles is most effective in supporting student success.
Most districts provide free tools, such as built-in tools (71.73%) and free accessibility apps (54.87%), to students as a source of reading/writing accommodations
Free tools and built-in tools aren't accessible everywhere throughout a students' education journey. When using these tools, students are limited in where they can utilize their accommodations. Oftentimes, users cannot access these tools when taking tests or searching online, which can create more barriers than solutions.
Respondents felt that the best ways to make assistive technology more impactful for students with dyslexia are:
Having the ability to identify student needs and match those with appropriate digital learning tools (55.51%)
Having teachers embrace assistive technology in the classroom (52.10%)
More training for staff (50.55%)
About Texthelp
Founded in 1996, the Texthelp Group is a global technology company helping people all over the world to understand and to be understood. It has led the way in creating innovative technology for the education and workplace sectors for the last three decades.Texthelp believes in a world where difference, disability or language are no longer barriers. It is focused on helping all people learn, understand, and communicate through the use of digital education and accessibility tools.
With over 50 million users worldwide, the Texthelp suite of products includes Read&Write, Equatio®, WriQ®, OrbitNote®, ReachDeck® and FluencyTutor® which work alongside existing platforms such as Microsoft Office and G-suite, enabling them to be integrated quickly into any classroom or workplace with ease.In 2021, Texthelp acquired the Lingit Group, Wizkids and Don Johnston Inc. By combining capabilities and knowledge across the group, Texthelp can now provide a whole suite of literacy and numeracy support to a greater number of end-users across more geographies.
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ENTREPRENEURS AND LEADERS
Genius Group Limited | July 05, 2022
Genius Group Limited , a world-leading entrepreneur Edtech and education group, today announced that Zacks Small-Cap Research , a division of Zacks Investment Research and a leading equity research firm, has initiated coverage of GNS at a valuation of $18.40, above the recent $9-10 trading range. 2022 revenue is estimated at USD 34.3 million, a 268% increase over 2021, and looking ahead, expects GNS to generate positive earnings by the 3rd quarter of 2023.
Brad Sorensen, CFA, Senior Equity Research Analyst with Zacks/SCR, states that GNS is on a mission to change the way people experience online education by making it more about the student. Through technology, vision, and a unique approach, he feels that Genius is bringing AI-involved learning to the masses. He views GNS as having a great management team and a solid balance sheet, believes the aggressiveness GNS has shown in expanding its offering is encouraging and sees the integration of acquisitions as vital to the company’s success. In an effort to expand its offerings and broaden its portfolio, particularly in the U.S., GNS acquired four companies to give GNS a total of eight companies under its umbrella and a roster of offerings that can reach people at virtually any stage of life.
Sorensen recognizes that the size of the potential market is enormous, with one estimate of $10 trillion in 2030, as the interest in virtual learning has undoubtedly increased as a result of the remote lives many people have been forced to live over the last couple of years. He points out that GNS may be doing things in a different way that might be able to connect in a more effective way with students, both adults and children, who have had a lack of success with some of the other existing providers. From his point of view, GNS appears to be offering a different way of learning, one that engages students by learning what they love and teaching them in that way.
Normally, with a company such as GNS, Sorensen would often look to comparable companies for valuation metrics. But, acknowledging market conditions as of late and that he views Genius as a unique company, he elected to use the discounted cash flow method to come up with what he believes is a fair, and fairly conservative, valuation for GNS. The two biggest risks to his investment thesis are the successful integration of the four new companies and the timing of the U.S. rollout.
About Genius Group Limited
Genius Group is a Singapore-based Edtech and education company engaged in providing educational services in over 200 countries. It aims to develop an alternative lifelong learning curriculum and make its educational products accessible worldwide to all age groups.
About Zacks Small-Cap Research
Zacks/SCR prepares company-sponsored, independent research and related content for distribution through a multitude of investor and media channels, both traditional and social. Zacks/SCR delivers broad awareness among investors worldwide, creates deep understanding of the company and generates significant interest in investment. Zacks/SCR advantages are the quality of its analysts, the depth of its research and the breadth of its distribution.
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