TALENT DEVELOPMENT
Globenewswire | May 15, 2023
Specialized Education Services, Inc. (SESI) today announced the acquisition of NewHope Academy (NHA), a special education school in Arlington Heights, Illinois, that serves those living with autism, emotional disabilities, specific learning disabilities, or other health impairments. The addition of NHA is part of SESI’s strategic growth plan, focusing on expanding its premier education services nationally to K-12 students who require extra academic and behavioral support.
A critical element of that growth strategy, beyond working with local schools and districts to ensure all students that need special education services get the right level of quality supports, is to also identify independent providers that align with SESI’s mission and bring them into the SESI system of schools.
NewHope Academy has a long-standing reputation for providing quality education and support to students with diverse learning needs, complementing SESI’s scope of work serving learners with special needs. The acquisition will allow SESI to leverage its extensive resources and expertise to enhance both the education and support services offered at NHA, while ensuring the continued success of its student body.
“NewHope’s reputation as a provider for children with exceptionalities is exemplary and we are thrilled to have the school as part of the SESI family,” said Dawn Thomas, president of SESI. “This acquisition aligns with our goal of reaching more students who require specialized academic, emotional, and behavioral support. We look forward to working with the dedicated NewHope Academy staff to continue its outstanding legacy in special education.”
For more than 20 years, NewHope Academy has provided students ages 11-21 with both a challenging academic and therapeutic environment. Under SESI leadership, school staff will continue educating young people living with autism and those living with emotional challenges to excel in life through communication, exploration, opportunity, acceptance, accountability, and ambition.
"This is an exciting opportunity for NewHope Academy, as well as for parents and students. With SESI’s backing, we will continue our tradition of excellence in supporting students," stated Brandy Larrance, NHA executive director. "The passion SESI has for empowering learners and supporting students is evident. NHA is proud to be part of the SESI team."
The NHA addition marks SESI’s 15th program in Illinois. It is one of nearly 100 SESI day schools nationwide.
About Specialized Education Services, Inc.
Specialized Education Services, Inc. (SESI), a division of FullBloom, is a premier provider of education services for K-12 students who require additional educational and behavioral supports to overcome challenges that impede success in a traditional school setting. SESI partners with school districts to run classrooms, on-site, within district boundaries and standalone schools that meet the academic, behavioral, and social-emotional needs of special education students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, Emotional Disabilities, Learning Disabilities, and other challenges. Partnering with over 600 school districts nationwide, SESI serves more than 7,000 students in day schools and in-district classrooms. SESI is accredited by Cognia.
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TALENT DEVELOPMENT
PRnewswire | April 11, 2023
Echo360, the most comprehensive, global, SaaS-based EdTech platform for creating, delivering, and measuring learning engagement outcomes in any learning environment, builds on its DNA of EdTech innovation today by launching EchoPoll™, a revolutionary new learning engagement platform for education and business, and continuing to deliver significant enhancements to its EchoVideo™ and ExamView™ platforms.
With EchoPollTM the company builds on over 20 years of pioneering audience response systems for education and business by delivering a SaaS-based polling solution with unparalleled flexibility, connectivity, and dependability. The company collaborated closely with educators around the world to ensure EchoPoll™ exceeds their needs to create greater engagement and outcomes from learners in any environment, including:
• The flexibility for educators to use EchoPoll™ in "live" sessions with rostered and guest users, or to assign interactive work to individuals and teams outside the classroom or office.
• The ability to transform existing Power Point presentations, files, or websites into interactive Echo360 Poll Decks™ or EchoPoll™ sessions with its Companion App • Seamless connectivity with all major LMS providers such as Canvas, D2L, Moodle, Anthology (Blackboard), and popular education and business applications like Zoom and GoTo Meeting.
• Instructor and administrator dashboards with metrics that assess engagement at the course, team, and individual learner level.
• Scalability and reliability, including 99.999% uptime and 24/7 customer support
"EchoPoll™ is polling, perfected -- the culmination and next-generation technology innovation representing everything we've developed and advanced in educational polling since 2002," said Murad Velani, Echo360 President and CEO. "Thousands of instructors around the world already trust Echo360 to support their inspired learning goals, and EchoPoll™ will introduce the power of SaaS-based educational polling to thousands more."
In addition to launching EchoPoll™, Echo360 also announced new enhancements and future redesigns for two of its most popular products, EchoVideo™ and ExamView™. EchoVideo™, the company's SaaS video management platform, is rolling out new features increasing interoperability, accessibility, and student engagement; ExamView™, the popular exam creation and assessment SaaS platform utilized by some of the world's largest education and trade publishers, will be redesigned and relaunched later this year as EchoExam™ with advanced compatibility, reporting, and mobile app features.
"These innovative and interoperable EdTech SaaS platforms help our customers consolidate disparate vendor offerings by using a comprehensive portfolio of solutions from Echo360 that address their challenges of dealing with increasing costs, support, and scalability," concluded Velani.
To celebrate the launch of EchoPoll™, Echo360 will be hosting a "Worldwide Week of Polling" virtual event April 10 – 14th. Each day the company will post a new EchoPoll™ link on its LinkedIn and Twitter feeds, inviting followers around the globe to answer an interactive question of the day, with results posted at the end of each day.
News of Echo360's continuing innovations to help instructors and learners around the world transform their learning experiences through technology comes on the heels of the company earning top position in The Silicon Review's "5 Best E-Learning Providers to Watch in 2023". In recognizing Echo360, the Review cited the company's "dynamic SaaS platform of innovative solutions that correspond to the relationship, environment, content, and assessment required." Earlier this year Echo360 received similar recognition from Enterprise Viewpoint in their listing of "2023's top E-Learning Providers".
About Echo360
Echo360 is the leading SaaS interactive video learning management, content, engagement, and assessment platform serving over 2 million learners and instructors at more than 1200 higher education institutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. Built for the cloud and grounded in principles of learning equity, evidence, and engagement, instructors and learners around the world can use the platform from wherever they are, on any device, to create, record and consume content, give and receive feedback, and gain real-time insights along their inspired learning journey.
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CORPORATE LEARNING SYSTEMS
PRnewswire | May 25, 2023
Tel Aviv University (TAU), Israel's largest and most comprehensive institution of higher learning, and edX, the global online learning platform from 2U, Inc., today announced that TAU is the newest member of the global edX partner network, joining hundreds of top institutions committed to expanding access to the world's best education. TAU also announced the launch of its first offering on the edX platform, a Professional Certificate program titled 'Viruses and How to Beat Them: From Cells to Pandemics.' The program is designed to break down the complex science behind viruses in terms that everyone can understand, without compromising scientific correctness.
The partnership builds on TAU's existing relationship with edX through the school's participation in IsraelX, a national consortium of higher education institutions in Israel offering content on edX.org. In addition to offering the new Professional Certificate program in Viruses, TAU will continue to offer the courses and programs it has already developed including a course on Arab-Islamic History and a Professional Certificate program on Information Security. This content adds to edX's catalog of more than 4,200 online learning experiences developed in partnership with the world's top universities and corporations, from free courses to full degrees.
"This partnership marks an important milestone for Tel Aviv University and reflects our commitment to driving innovation in online learning. By partnering with edX, we have found an organization that shares our mission to provide learners worldwide with flexible, affordable, and high-quality education," said Liat Kishon-Rabin, Dean of Innovation in Teaching and Learning, Tel Aviv University. "Together, Tel Aviv University and edX will drive increased access to highly relevant content in topics that learners today are most interested in, while creating pathways to opportunity for those seeking to advance their careers. This includes topics such as the science behind viruses that cause pandemics, which is critical for ensuring global health and preparedness."
Professional Certificate programs on edX are designed to build and enhance critical professional skills needed to succeed in today's most in-demand fields. They provide learners with a valuable, standalone credential that showcases knowledge and skills.
"With a global reputation for excellence in teaching and research, and a mission to address today's most pressing challenges through innovative, interdisciplinary solutions, Tel Aviv University is a valuable addition to our growing network of institutions committed to creating a world where every learner can transform their ambition into opportunity through high quality educational content," said Andrew Hermalyn, President of Partnerships at 2U, edX's parent company. "These offerings from Tel Aviv University expand our rapidly growing portfolio of cutting-edge educational content from the best institutions worldwide."
About edX
edX is the global online learning platform that exists to help learners everywhere unlock their potential. edX was founded by Harvard and MIT in 2012 to make the world's best education available to everyone. Today, as a 2U, Inc. company (Nasdaq: TWOU), edX connects 76 million people worldwide with the skills, knowledge and support to achieve their goals. Together with the world's leading universities and companies, edX offers thousands of free and open courses, professional certificates, boot camps, credit-bearing micro credentials, and undergraduate and graduate degrees.
About Tel Aviv University
Tel Aviv University (TAU) - Israel's largest and most comprehensive institution of higher learning - is home to over 30,000 students studying in nine faculties and over 125 schools and departments across the spectrum of sciences, humanities and the arts.Consistently ranked in the top 20 in the world in terms of scientific citations and among the top 100 universities internationally, Tel Aviv University is also Israel's first choice for students, and its graduates are the most sought after by Israeli companies. Global in outlook and impact, TAU advances teaching and research that break down the walls between disciplines, striving to address the twenty-first century's most pressing challenges through bold, interdisciplinary solutions.
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