Education Technology
PR Newswire | October 19, 2023
D2L, a global learning technology company, today highlighted enhanced Brightspace product features — developed over the past six months — that can help global learners and educators simplify the learning experience by bringing learning solutions together in one place.
I'm thrilled to share that D2L continues to invest in its existing solutions and broaden its portfolio of products, partner solutions and services to assist educators, organizations, and learners in their readiness for the future, said Rajesh Talpade, Senior Vice President of Product Management at D2L. D2L's new and enhanced product features can make it easier than ever to offer effective learning in online and blended environments to help see that learners have the opportunity to succeed.
New D2L Solution for Businesses
Announced in September 2023, D2L introduced a new, all-in-one solution for businesses: D2L for Business. This integrated, easy-to-use corporate solution combines the benefits of an existing network of world-class education providers, skill development solutions, and expert consulting services as an learning experience platform (LXP).
Empowering Learners, Educators and Administrators
Brightspace functionalities and offerings that can provide customers with tools and resources to help enhance outcomes and save time. Brightspace now offers:
Even more Creator+ tools for educators, including: new accessible layouts, expanded types of interactive elements, and a fully accessible hotspot practice question type. This can help enable educators to continue building beautiful and instructionally sound content using familiar Brightspace workflows.
An AI-driven, first line of contexual help and support embedded within Brightspace Brightspace Virtual Assistant.
More datasets and improved data dashboards to help make it easier for educators and businesses to gain insights and understand metrics in their organizations.
Simplifying Workflows
Recent Brightspace updates continue to make workflows more intuitive, efficient, effective and consistent. This includes:
An improved Quiz experience that can offer support for high-stakes exams with strict time limits, support for synchronous quizzing windows, and other improvements.
A familiar and upgraded Discussion experience with workflows to help bring new functionality to educators.
New content authoring functionality to help make it easier to manage both the required and optional course materials. In addition, enhancements to the Media Library are now more user-friendly, with new time-saving indicators to track progress and surface common actions. And, new changes to course merging options that can empower educators and save administrative time.
New self-enrollment enhancements for Brightspace customers that offer professional development opportunities and allow educators to see that learners are enrolling in the right courses.
Uniting a Stronger Ecosystem
D2L has also enhanced its robust learning ecosystem by simplifying access to Brightspace and encouraging new interactions among educators, administrators, and learners. These updates, features and tools include:
An easier, course registration process through Course Merchant, a modern e-commerce experience, whose front-end course catalog and payment and enrollment system is now offered as a D2L product after more than nine years as a key integration partner.
Visualized Brightspace Analytics within Ellucian Experience, help advisors to quickly identify at-risk learners by aggregating Brightspace data with external data to holistically determine appropriate intervention.
Early access to D2L Link, which can connect Brightspace with the systems of record clients use every day. The integrations enabled through D2L Link can help minimize manual tasks and see that data is synchronized between systems.
D2L's new IntegrationHub, built on LTI 1.3. and launched as a new catalog site that lists partner solutions that are available for integrations with Brightpsace. The IntegrationHub makes it easy for Brightspace users to browse D2L's extensive list of integrated technologies and solutions, such as accessibility tools, student information systems, secure proctoring assessment platforms, and many other partner solutions.
For more information on the latest features and updates, please visit What's New at D2L.
About D2L
D2L is transforming the way the world learns—helping learners of all ages achieve more than they dreamed possible. Working closely with clients all over the world, D2L is supporting millions of people learning online and in person. Our growing global workforce is dedicated to making the best learning products to leave the world better than they found it. Learn more about D2L for K-12, higher education and businesses at www.D2L.com.
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Online Education
PR Newswire | September 26, 2023
eDynamic Learning, North America's largest provider of digital curriculum for electives and Career and Technical Education (CTE) courses for schools, announces they have acquired the company behind Learning Blade® and Ready for Industry®. This is eDynamic Learning's fourth industry acquisition and further expands access for students and teachers to industry-leading career exploration curriculum and a growing suite of college and career readiness tools.
"Learning Blade and Ready for Industry offer an impactful expansion of the tools and resources from eDynamic Learning to further support our mission of guiding students' passion to purpose. By reaching learners at pivotal stages of their academic development, we can guide them to visualize and prepare for their futures and ultimately, enter the workforce ready for success with the necessary knowledge, skills, and certifications for a wide range of industries." Jerry Wooden, President and CEO of eDynamic Learning.
Learning Blade introduces students in grades five through nine to science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), CTE, and computer science careers through interactive and engaging online tools in "mission" based storylines. Students work together in teams as they accomplish goals and explore over 100 careers by completing more than 400 online lessons, project-based lessons, and presentations. Parent resources, 3D printing, and design thinking lesson plans are also provided. Learning Blade's newly released Introduction to Coding course is also widely used to introduce computer science to middle school students.
The innovative Ready for Industry (RFI) platform creates a career bridge for learners by providing essential industry knowledge for the five highest-demand industries across the country: healthcare, manufacturing, information technology, construction, and logistics. Specifically designed to address career preparedness and awareness, RFI provides 20-hour courses suited for high schools, community and technical colleges, and adult education programs. The program has also worked in collaboration with National Occupational Competency Testing Institute (NOCTI) to create an industry-recognized credential program in all five industries.
"By joining eDynamic Learning, more students and adults will have the ability to discover and better prepare for high-demand careers that align to their interests and meet the needs of the workforce. With this new relationship and our successful statewide strategy, we are excited to have more support allowing even more states and organizations to have access to these innovative tools." Sheila Boyington, Co-Founder of Learning Blade and Ready for Industry.
About eDynamic Learning
eDynamic Learning is the K-12 publishing industry's largest provider of college and career readiness solutions established with a mission of helping students find their passion and prepare them with the knowledge and skills to make life-shaping decisions. eDynamic Learning offers award-winning courseware for grades 5-12 with more than 250 career-focused elective and career technical education courses. eDynamic Learning is also the leading provider of simulation-based educational content with over one-third of all U.S. high schools using the Knowledge Matters- Virtual Business line of simulations.
About SAI Interactive, Inc. d/b/a Thinking Media
SAI Interactive, Inc. has made the past two years of Inc. 5000 and was named Small Business of the Year by the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce. The company was founded by Sheila and Dr. Dane Boyington who have developed some of the most respected and innovative tools in the education technology field. In addition to the current products Learning Blade® and Ready for Industry®, Thinking Media has been widely recognized by experts and innovators in the fields of education and workforce development.
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Corporate Learning Systems
PRWeb | October 25, 2023
Vector Solutions, the leading provider of training and software solutions dedicated to helping schools make their communities safer, smarter, and better, today announced it has acquired PATHWAYos, the leading platform for connecting K-12 schools and students to work-based learning opportunities. The acquisition expands Vector Solutions' footprint at the intersection of education and industry with a move into the Career and Technical Education (CTE) market. The transaction brings together two companies passionate about providing best-in-class technology to support building a stronger and more successful workforce.
As the lines between education and employment increasingly blur, Vector Solutions and PATHWAYos aim to support students on their chosen career paths and bridge the gap between education and workforce-ready skills. Today, Vector Solutions provides skills and safety training to over 2,000 industry customers, who use that training to ensure their workforce has the necessary skills to perform their jobs effectively. Together with PATHWAYos career-connected learning software, Vector Solutions will be able to offer CTE courses, industry-recognized credentials, and safety training content to K-12 students, districts, intermediaries, state agencies, and colleges. In the future, Vector Solutions plans to use the PATHWAYos platform to connect its industry customers with trained talent, supporting customers in addressing skills gaps and labor shortages by providing a direct 'skills-based' talent pipeline.
Our acquisition of PATHWAYos reaffirms our commitment to helping students excel on their chosen career paths, said Jonathan Cherins, Chief Executive Officer of Vector Solutions. The combined power of our offerings will serve to bridge the skills gap between students seeking more training and work-based learning opportunities and industry customers looking to build a skilled workforce.
PATHWAYos was established in 2017 with a mission to unlock work-based learning opportunities for all. Its mission is to change how students view their options, how educators see their workload, and how the industry considers its growing talent pool. Work-based learning (WBL) prepares students for the job market and helps build a pipeline of skilled workers, all while lowering recruitment and training costs for employers, and expanding economic development in local communities. The company's WBL programs have impacted over 800,000 students across 2,000 schools in 30 states, leading to more than three million work-based learning hours logged.
"Joining forces with Vector Solutions catapults us to an ambitious new era, where we can serve as an unrivaled catalyst for Career and Technical Education," said Cecilia Retelle Zywicki, CEO of PATHWAYos. "Our aim is nothing short of empowering students at scale by unlocking paths towards the future they want, and granting access to economic mobility that often is reserved for an exclusive subset of students. Together, we aspire to impact countless students, breaking barriers between education and the workforce, and reshaping the landscape."
Vector Solutions serves over 24,000 customers and thirty-one million end users across the Education, Commercial, and Public Sector markets. With an increased focus on CTE, Vector Solutions will accelerate its presence in this critical market. The company will support students no matter what path they choose to take into the workforce and enable industry customers to access a pipeline of skilled talent. Post acquisition, PATHWAYos will be a product under a new business unit within Vector focused on CTE. The combined expertise and resources will strengthen Vector Solutions' CTE offerings and solidify its position as a leader in the industry.
About Vector Solutions
Vector Solutions is the leading provider of impactful technology solutions dedicated to driving safer, smarter, better decision-making in the world's most critical industries. Embedded into daily workflows to drive improvements in compliance, safety, performance, and preparedness, our software includes training management, industry-focused online course libraries, EHS management, workforce scheduling, risk communication, operational readiness, and more. Vector's unique combination of information and technology - delivered when and where it is needed - is integral to our more than 34 thousand clients looking to achieve better outcomes and safeguard lives. Vector is committed to providing resources to support those who need them most and launched a collection of free courses on critical mental health and safety topics through Vector Cares. For more information, visit http://www.vectorsolutions.com. For access to free Vector Cares courses visit https://www.vectorsolutions.com/about-us/vector-cares/.
About Vector Solutions for K-12 Education
Vector Solutions for K-12 Education is a leading provider of training, software and professional development solutions committed to creating safer, smarter and better school environments. Trusted by more than 5,000 K-12 districts in the United States, Vector's award-winning suite of products save administrators time, improve compliance, and streamline administrative processes. Vector trainings on imperative topics like safety and compliance; inclusive instruction; mental health and well-being; diversity, equity and inclusion; and cybersecurity enable students and teachers alike to make schools safer, more inclusive, and more effective places to work and learn. For more information about Vector Solutions for K-12 Education, visit http://www.vectorsolutions.com/k12.
About PATHWAYos
PATHWAYos® is the innovative software at the center of all career-connected learning. School districts, states, and career centers can now collaborate with businesses to expand work-based learning programs. The software streamlines processes while allowing partners to provide numerous opportunities that enhance the development of skills required by the workforce of the future. The world-class platform is quickly becoming a household requirement for innovative school districts.
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