EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Snapology | November 08, 2022
Snapology, the No. 1 children's STEM/STEAM franchise and part of the world's first Youth Enrichment franchise platform company Unleashed Brands, is celebrating National STEM Day (Nov. 8) after making tremendous strides in STEAM educational enrichment opportunities, franchise offerings, and helping millions of kids across the country develop foundational STEAM skills. The company is consistently seeing significant growth through franchise signings that will continue into 2023 as demand increases for STEAM-based learning programs nationwide. Since its acquisition and joining Unleashed Brands in July of 2021, the brand has been able to elevate its franchise offerings by launching a reimagined Discovery Center, developing a new business model with "Snapology-in-Urban Air," as well as continuing to offer mobile Snapology programs that allow franchisees to reach more families in the community. For franchisees, these redesigned business models offer a variety of revenue opportunities and the freedom to operate year-round. Year to date, the brand has opened 11 classrooms inside Urban Air Adventure Parks, seven community-based locations and two Discovery Center with one of the revamped Discovery Centers being the first-of-its-kind joint location with sister brand The Little Gym International. Snapology has also invested in perfecting the customer experience by offering new membership programs and gamifying education through their "Passport" program, which aims to encourage children to take classes to earn stamps and degrees to win swag and other prizes. This program entices children to continue their Snapology classes by creating incentives for children to learn fundamental STEAM skills, develop critical social skills and create recurring revenue for franchisees. Since the Unleashed Brands acquisition, Snapology has doubled franchise signings over the past year. In 2023, there are plans to open 15 new Discovery Center locations throughout the country, including debuts in New Braunfels and Cedar Park, TX, Lexington, SC, North Tampa, FL, Rogers, AR, Harrisonburg, VA, Troy, MI, San Diego, CA, and Lehi, UT.
"We're incredibly grateful for our company's growth and success which reflects on the progress being made to revolutionize the way kids learn about STEAM, This year, National STEM Day is extra special to our team as we reflect on our success but more importantly, the impact Snapology has made to inspire the next generation of STEAM leaders."
Laura Coe, Brand President & CEO for Snapology.
The key to success has been the brand's understanding and commitment to play an active role in inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers and mathematicians through excitement in STEAM concepts at an early age. Snapology encourages social skills and teamwork by teaching science, technology, engineering, art, math, and literacy concepts in a fun way. The brand uses a research-based curriculum, designed to be inclusive to all learning abilities with a hands-on teaching approach that uses LEGO® Bricks and other building toys, along with coding, video game design and robotics that encourage the perfect mix of play, academic enrichment, and social development.
About Snapology
Founded in 2010, Snapology is the #1 children's enrichment franchise in the country, giving children the opportunity to learn through play with more than 80 enriching, interactive STEAM and STEM programs. With over 180 locations in the U.S. and Internationally, Snapology is quickly growing and impacting children throughout the world with its balance of educational enrichment, social development, and fun. For more information about Snapology including franchise opportunities, visit www.Snapology.com.
About Unleashed Brands
Unleashed Brands, currently includes portfolio brands Urban Air, Snapology, The Little Gym, XP League, Class 101 and Premier Martial Arts and was founded to curate and grow a portfolio of the most innovative and profitable brands that help kids learn, play, and grow. Over the last 10 years, the team at Unleashed Brands has built a proven platform and know-how for scaling businesses focused on serving families. Its mission is to impact the lives of every kid by providing fun, engaging, and inspiring experiences that help them become who they are destined to be.
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Penda Learning | November 16, 2022
Penda Learning, a Learning 2020 company, announced today that it has finalized an agreement with Scantron for the use of more than 14,500 assessment items in 11 assessment banks that span all science disciplines. These items will be used to expand the assessments currently available with Penda Science — a game-based science curriculum for grades 3–8, physical science, environmental science, and biology. — to include all NGSS performance expectations and state-specific science standards. Unlike traditional assessments, Penda Science interactive assessments challenge students to achieve high scores that earn them points to unlock virtual worlds, customize their avatars, and more. Teachers and administrators can use the line item analysis data to pinpoint learning gaps and personalize instruction within the Penda Science platform for small groups and individuals to help students achieve science mastery.
"This agreement will dramatically accelerate the development of comprehensive assessments within Penda Science. High-quality, validated assessments are critical for teachers to make informed decisions about instruction and intervention in order to support science learning success for all students. We are excited to be able to offer students a more interactive and engaging assessment experience and educators the reliable data they need."
Brad Baird, President/CEO of Learning 2020
The new assessment development is slated to be completed by April 2023. Assessments will be available for diagnostic, formative, and summative purposes. Also new to the Penda assessment suite will be a "quick check" assessment for teachers to use before, during, or after a unit to gauge student learning in order to plan or modify instruction to align with student knowledge.
About Learning 2020
Learning 2020, parent company to Penda Learning, is dedicated to identifying pressing, unfilled needs within the K-12 education market and developing technology solutions that solve these challenges in innovative and cost-effective ways that will positively impact teaching and learning. Formed in early 2019 by Brad Baird and Bill Tudor, experienced education technology entrepreneurs, Learning 2020's current focus is on ensuring all students have access to high-quality STEM instruction whether learning at home or in school.
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Anthology Inc | January 24, 2023
Anthology, the largest EdTech ecosystem for education on a global scale, announced on January 23, 2023, that it would support more solutions with certifications for data security and privacy.
The company, which provides educational solutions supporting the entire learning cycle, has now expanded its ISO 27001 security certification feature. After integrating Anthology and Blackboard in October 2021, one certification would combine Blackboard Learn, Anthology Ally, Anthology Student, and Anthology Reach.
Furthermore, Anthology Encompass, Anthology Engage, Blackboard SafeAssign, and Blackboard Data attained ISO 2001 certification. Complete solutions approved by ISO 27001 are also approved for cloud service security controls and data privacy protection practices.
An independent third-party auditor has confirmed that ISO 27001 certification is recognized globally for its best international security management practices and overall security controls. Thus, this certification guarantees that Anthology's security program satisfies high security and privacy standards.
Richie Rodriguez, Chief Information Security Officer at Anthology, said, "Data security and data privacy are foundational elements of the learning journey. This expansion of certification by independent experts signals to learners, instructors and administrators that Anthology is committed to delivering the highest level of safety and security. Our team puts security and data privacy at the center of our product development and management lifecycle process, an approach that ensures our solutions will continue to provide seamless, industry-leading protection so learners can focus on achieving their goals."
(Source – Cision PR Newswire)
The mentioned products got certified for ISO 27017 and ISO 27018 as well. ISO 27017 establishes security protocols for cloud services, while ISO 27018 contains specifications for protecting personally identifiable information (PII) in public clouds.
About Anthology
The company supports over 150 million learners in 80 countries as well as educational institutes worldwide. It provides approximately 60 SaaS products and services dedicated to promoting learning. In addition, it serves the global education community with dynamic, data-informed events that will assist learners and instructors in achieving their objectives.
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