EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
FocalPoint Education | July 06, 2022
Today FocalPoint Education, (focalpoint.education) a successful edtech innovation firm announced their new strategic partnership with ClassLink, (classlink.com) a leader in single sign-on, class rostering, learning resource analytics, and account provisioning solutions. The new partnership provides greater access to FocalPoint’s LearningTree AI-empowered adaptive learning LMS through ClassLink’s App Library, extending FocalPoint’s wide SSO (single sign-on) capabilities to an even larger spectrum of solutions. ClassLink’s customers will see FocalPoint’s SSO tile to click for easier access, the same as FocalPoint’s existing clients do today.
“This is exciting stuff. “LearningTree uses xAPI data and AI to create true adaptive learning pathways based on each students’ proficiencies. Our ClassLink partnership furthers our strategy to provide education and strategic content partners the full spectrum of FocalPoint’s solutions seamlessly.”
Kiran Athota, CEO of FocalPoint Education
The LearningTree solution is used extensively by both education agencies and strategic partners. It represents a complete re-thinking of the underlying technology used in most e-learning LMS and assessment platforms. The LearningTree technology represents an extraordinary advance in learning experiences, replacing a traditional architecture that originated in the 1990s when the LMS was invented to manage the distribution of curriculum. "Newer LMS solutions show significant evolution and improvement, yet they are built on an old foundation," says Randall Dennis, FocalPoint's Chief Strategy Officer. “The old foundations are ‘long in the tooth’ and struggle to sustain the needs of education in a post pandemic reality. Kiran Athota and LearningTree helps partners build a fresher, stronger foundation.”
ABOUT FOCALPOINT EDUCATION
FocalPoint Education is a metro-Atlanta based firm with extensive experience in educational technology innovations. FocalPoint has successfully deployed bespoke enterprise statewide solutions for Georgia, Rhode Island, Maine and North Dakota, as well as school districts in 14 states. FocalPoint provides their innovative xAPI (Xperience API) platform as a service (PaaS) to education organizations to measure and manage teaching and learning. The platform includes LearningTree (an Adaptive Learning LMS leveraging next-gen AI technology), LENS (learning analytics with a recommendations engine and data warehousing), AssessCloud (a solution allowing educators to develop and manage assessments), and Backpack (a blockchain-enabled credentialing portfolio maintaining credentials for life). FocalPoint’s solutions deliver advanced learning analytics to drive student engagement, match digital resources with targeted student needs and support data-driven, personalized learning. All FocalPoint solutions seamlessly integrate with countless third-party edtech solutions.
ABOUT CLASSLINK
ClassLink is a global education provider of access and analytics products that create more time for learning and help schools better understand digital engagement. As leading advocates for open data standards, we offer instant access to apps and files with single sign-on, streamline class rostering, automate account provisioning, and provide actionable analytics. ClassLink empowers 17 million students and staff in over 2,200 school systems.
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ONLINE EDUCATION
ASU Prep Digital | July 19, 2022
ASU Prep Digital, an accredited online K-12 school offered through Arizona State University, has partnered with Google Public Sector, to make remote immersive learning technology more accessible to students across the United States and around the world. ASU Prep Learning Cloud is a streaming solution that empowers schools to deliver innovative and interactive 3D learning experiences to students using low-bandwidth devices. The technology was developed on and is powered by Google Cloud.This new platform invites students to solve challenges by immersing themselves in interactive settings made possible by technology. For example, students can watch geologic formations emerge through simulations rather than reading about it in a textbook. Students can also explore human organs in 3D or examine a plastic mannequin. This brings topics like erosion, hydrolysis, and human anatomy to life.
To successfully complete a lesson, students must think critically about the concept, explore it, and learn through discovery. Real-time, instructive feedback also helps contribute to a more individualized learning experience.
“We’re turning students into explorers by embedding learning into the digital formats that students love, We spark curiosity by asking students to navigate 3D worlds, hypothesize, and discover knowledge by manipulating game-like simulations to solve real-world problems.”
-David Sudarma, ASU Prep’s chief technology officer
Advancing Accessibility
The ASU Prep Learning Cloud represents an important step toward accessibility for students in rural areas, with limited broadband access, and districts where limited technology funding makes it difficult to deliver cutting-edge learning opportunities. This immersive cloud-based education technology can be experienced from mobile devices or Chromebooks, increasing accessibility for all learners, anytime, anywhere. Removing those barriers is especially important for a program like ASU Digital Prep, which can be instrumental in bridging gaps for districts where resources are slim.
ASU Prep Digital has allowed us to partner and advance educational opportunities for thousands of K-12 students who might not have otherwise had access to the courses, credits, mentors, and teachers we offer, said Arizona State University President Michael Crow, who is widely known as a pioneer of online education.
Crow’s vision has created a tech-enhanced learning environment across ASU, inclusive of pre-collegiate students via ASU Prep Digital. A key element of that vision is expanded opportunities in online education, which offers a path to higher education for students who are otherwise hindered from pursuing their education goals. In addition to its rapidly expanding K-12 enrollment, ASU Prep Digital’s School Partnerships continue to grow. The program supports entire school districts in states like Utah, Louisiana and Ohio, as well as schools in 22 states and 12 countries.
Powerhouse Partnerships
In addition to the full- and part-time students who enroll directly with ASU Prep Digital, the school also teams with private schools, public schools, and districts worldwide to offer a K-12 curriculum and one-on-one instruction in a virtual environment. The program’s latest suite of courses, which will be available this fall to partner schools via the ASU Prep Learning Cloud, powered by Google Cloud, can be used in compliance with Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
As pioneers in their respective industries, ASU Prep Digital and Google Public Sector worked to develop the platform, which is based on game engine technology. The ASU Prep Learning Cloud features responsive design optimized for the most commonly used devices (e.g., Chromebooks, mobile phones) using Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
“Our partnership with ASU Prep Digital has the ability to unlock new and innovative academic opportunities for learners across the country, We’re unleashing the power of Google Cloud to help make individualized, digital, and interactive learning the new standard in education.”
-Steven Butschi, director of Education, Google Public Sector
Courses integrate seamlessly into existing learning management systems, while supporting robust interactive features that personalize learning. The platform currently supports ASU Prep Digital partner schools, but in the future, could be rolled out to other educational institutions.
As immersive technologies become more widely adapted in education, 3D learning environments such as augmented reality and virtual reality offer great potential for engagement and retention, Our collaboration with Google Public Sector is a terrific first step in expanding access to immersive solutions across many devices, and we’re working together to explore ways immersive technologies can be made even more universally available to eager learners.
To preview a snapshot of ASU Prep Learning Cloud courses, visit: https://vimeo.com/623494408 or take a deeper look at the immersive platform here: https://vimeo.com/689344144/795e785a7c
About ASU Prep Digital
ASU Prep Digital is an accredited online K-12 school that offers a single online course or enrollment in a full-time, diploma-granting program. Because it is part of Arizona State University, ASU Prep Digital offers an accelerated path toward college admission and the chance to earn concurrent high school and university credit. For more information, visit asuprepdigital.org.
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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY
Cariloop | July 21, 2022
Cariloop, the Caregiver Support company that pairs caregivers and their families with dedicated Care Coaches as they plan for and manage the health and well-being of their loved ones, is launching an entirely new education support offering in response to the demands from employers and employees during the pandemic.
“In the early days of 2020, we began helping employees and their families with more pediatric care cases, and then COVID-19 brought this incredible need to assist with finding child care options as school closures as well as daycare and babysitter availability changed daily,” said Wendy Whittington, Chief Care Officer of Cariloop. “We realized that we had discovered an untapped need amongst employees in helping them navigate the complexities of the education system more effectively. Similar to the healthcare system, the education landscape presents its own challenges and requires a deep level of expertise in understanding it.”
To provide the highest quality of service for employees navigating the education system, Cariloop assembled a Center of Excellence with Education Coaches who all have highly relevant backgrounds, credentials and experiences, including masters and doctoral level educators, guidance counselors, school social workers, school nurses, school administrators, and subject matter expertise in ESL and special education.
In addition to coaching members and answering general education-related questions, the Cariloop Education Coaches will be more hands-on as they navigate the education landscape alongside the families. For example, they can attend IEP and 504 meetings as a companion to the parent; assist members with the application process and provide insight into approaching college application essays; finding available scholarship opportunities or financial options; and provide more customized support or care options for children with specific learning challenges or behavioral difficulties. This will allow working family members to stay more focused and productive at work, and relieve the burden of caregiving related to educational needs that contribute to mental stress and well-being issues.
“Over the last several years, millions of working parents have been forced to become education system experts with a vast majority of them worried about the long-term development plans for their children. “With these new capabilities online, we are now equipped and stand ready to help provide that peace of mind to all parents, students and caregivers who have been trying to solve these challenges totally and completely alone. ”
Michael Walsh, CEO of Cariloop
In addition to its new education support offering, Cariloop can also help working caregivers navigate the healthcare system with its team of Care Coaches specializing in pediatrics, adult and elder care support.
About Cariloop
Cariloop provides a human-powered Caregiver Support Platform to help working caregivers and families plan for and manage the care of their loved ones. The Platform pairs caregivers with a dedicated, experienced Care Coach who guides families through the many decisions they make over the length of their caregiving journey, all while collaborating on a digital care portal that helps families securely communicate across all their devices and store important health, financial and legal documents.
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