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Progress: Education, awareness key to city's growth

Two things stand out.  After pursuing the PPG expansion for years, we finally landed the project when Vitro took over.  It could have gone to any of their plants, but the company chose Wichita Falls. Last year Vitro opened their new $55 million expansion, which was the biggest private capital investment here in quite some time.  In addition, we wrapped up development of our new community-wide plan to grow Wichita Falls.  You’ll see lots of activity from that plan starting to take shape this year. Education and awareness are the key to progress, whether we’re talking about an election or not.  For any entity to get a bond passed in Wichita Falls, they’ll have to do a much better job of educating the public in advance and being available to answer questions.  Let’s hope WFISD is ready.In addition, we confirmed that younger people don’t vote in near the numbers that older voters do, even when it’s an issue they favor.  We’ve looked at the numbers, and we have plenty of younger people registered to vote.  They just don’t do it. During the campaign we saw lots of social media support for initiatives that younger people typically like, including downtown, parks and trails.  That obviously didn’t translate to votes.  As our population gets older and we develop a greater need to cater to a younger workforce, we have to figure this out.

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PR Newswire | September 21, 2023

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Meazure Learning Strengthens Position as Global Leader of Assessment Solutions With Acquisition of Examity

PR Newswire | September 12, 2023

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D2L Highlights New D2L Brightspace Product Features to Help Enhance Accessibility and Ease of Use

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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Corporate Learning Systems

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D2L, a global learning technology company, today announced the formal launch of D2L for Business – a corporate learning solution designed to maximize return on investment (ROI) in learning and help empower employers to attract, retain, onboard, and upskill their workforce. D2L for Business combines the benefits of an existing network of world-class education providers, skill development solutions, and expert consulting services along with D2L's world class Learning Experience Platform (LXP) and authoring tools, creating one integrated, easy-to-use corporate solution. The 2023 World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs Report predicts that 44% of workers' skills will be disrupted in the following five years – rising significantly from 35% in 2016. And, according to D2L's 2023 White Paper, 80% of U.S. adults expressed some interest in pursuing additional skills training over the next 12 months. "With recent rapid advancements in AI, the changing nature of jobs, and skills shortages, it's essential for employees to continue to upgrade their skillsets – and for businesses to offer the right learning to remain competitive in the talent market," said John Baker, CEO of D2L. "For over two decades, we've helped hundreds of organizations drive their business forward with the right learning for the skills they need. D2L for Business will help take our customers to the next level with a simple, seamless, and personalized mix of technology and services to help fuel a skilled workforce prepared to take on the future." D2L for Business helps employers maximize organization-wide learning ROI and their workforce's satisfaction, retention, and internal mobility through: Skills Mapping and Pathways: D2L for Business uses AI-driven algorithms and industry experts to help develop a comprehensive skills audit, map skills to careers, and identify custom learning pathways for desired careers and skill sets. This helps businesses create a skills pipeline aligned with business objectives, fill open roles, and close skills gaps. Network of World-Class Education Partners: D2L for Business can help businesses streamline their learning administration through a curated provider network of industry-leading universities, colleges, and training organizations. Employers can easily deploy a centralized catalog of career-aligned programs and courses to talent at every level of the organization. Customized Learning: D2L for Business can help businesses create and deliver their own customized digital learning experiences through D2L's LXP. This can enable organizations to rapidly scale and deploy learning that aligns with their strategic goals. Learning Analytics: D2L for Business offers built-in insights to help maximize businesses' ROI with a birds-eye-view into learner progress and outcomes. Employers can gather integrated, organization-wide data about course completion rates and employee skill development, and then make data-informed decisions to help ensure future-readiness. "When it comes to revamping your learning and development program, it's important to have a plan in place that's going to take your business to the next level, and into the future," said Melissa Stein, Officer of Learning & Development at Tompkins Financial. "Tompkins specifically chose D2L as its corporate learning platform for its flexibility, ability to provide content in all areas of learning, and its two decades of trends-focused, forward-looking innovation." D2L for Business can help empower companies to make their skilled teams a competitive advantage, future-proofing their organization to fuel growth. For more information on D2L for Business, please visit https://www.D2L.com/solutions/corporate/. 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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Education Technology

Meazure Learning Strengthens Position as Global Leader of Assessment Solutions With Acquisition of Examity

PR Newswire | September 12, 2023

Meazure Learning, a premier provider of full-service test development and delivery solutions for higher education and professional testing, announced today the acquisition of Examity, a leader in online proctoring for academic and credentialing programs. The acquisition allows Meazure Learning to expand its global footprint and strengthen its position as a leading provider of secure, user focused exam administration solutions. Meazure Learning and Examity share a common commitment to creating the most innovative testing solutions and providing an exceptional client experience. The combination of the companies' extensive expertise in the higher education and credentialing verticals paired with industry-leading secure proctoring technologies and global operational footprint gives Meazure Learning the opportunity to bring a new level of proctoring scale and flexibility to testing programs around the world. By combining these strengths, the company seeks to set a new standard in exam security and provide a better user experience for its clients and test takers. "I am thrilled at the opportunity Meazure Learning's acquisition of Examity will bring to our clients and the broader industry," said Jim Holm, CEO of Examity. "Examity clients will now have access to leading test development and psychometric services, exam delivery solutions, and a global network of test centers in addition to the powerful combination of our proctoring technologies." "The acquisition of Examity goes beyond combining the resources of two companies," said Tim McClinton, CEO of Meazure Learning. "Unifying our two companies can position us to set a new standard for security, scalability, and innovation in the testing industry. In addition to the business opportunities created through this transaction, Meazure Learning and Examity share an inherent culture of excellence that makes us a good fit to move forward together. Our teams have been, and will continue to be, maniacally focused on our clients, providing exceptional service and building long-term relationships founded on integrity and innovation." About Meazure Learning Meazure Learning provides secure, reliable, and convenient test development, administration, and delivery solutions for academic and professional credentialing programs. The tech-enabled services company combines human expertise with end-to-end software solutions to provide its suite of services and achieve the optimal testing experience. With remote, test center, hybrid, and event-based delivery capabilities, it adapts to the unique needs of each exam program and test-taker. Meazure Learning empowers its clients, test-takers, and industry leaders through its mission to move people forward in their educational, professional, and personal lives. To learn more, visit Meazure Learning at meazurelearning.com. About Examity Examity was founded to meet the needs of colleges, employers, and certification providers looking to ensure integrity. Since its founding ten years ago, Examity has partnered with hundreds of institutions and certification programs worldwide to provide a cost-effective and flexible online proctoring and learning validation solution. For more information, visit examity.com.

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Education Technology

D2L Highlights New D2L Brightspace Product Features to Help Enhance Accessibility and Ease of Use

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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