What Exactly Is Happening To Ontario’s Education System? What You Need To Know

chatelaine | April 10, 2019

More than 100,000 students participated in a province-wide walkout on April 4, and on April 6, around 10,000 teachers, students and parents showed up to protest at Queen’s Park. They were all rallying against Premier Doug Ford and Education Minister Lisa Thompson’s proposed cuts to education—especially an increase in class sizes and a decrease in the number of teachers. What exactly is happening? We break it down for you. In a plan called “Education that Works for You” that was unveiled on March 15, the Ontario government outlined three major goals—modernizing classrooms, modernizing learning and modernizing health and physical education.As per the plan, “modernizing classrooms” means improving broadband internet access, requiring high school students to take a minimum of four online courses (up to now, online courses were typically optional) and making “sustainable” cuts to Grants for Student Needs, which covers costs for things like classroom supplies and Indigenous language programs. (But, the government notes, “key programs will not be changed, specifically to special education and student transportation funding.”) It also means increasing class sizes—under the plan, average class size for grades four through eight will rise from  23.84 to 24.5, while average class size for grades nine through 12 will jump from 22 to 28.

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Career Ready  What qualities do employers look for in candidates? Of course, the first thing they look for is the ability to do the work required. They also look for "soft skills" or qualities. Being able to demonstrate that you have these skills could be the difference in getting the job or not.

Spotlight

Career Ready  What qualities do employers look for in candidates? Of course, the first thing they look for is the ability to do the work required. They also look for "soft skills" or qualities. Being able to demonstrate that you have these skills could be the difference in getting the job or not.

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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY, ONLINE EDUCATION

Ellucian Achieves Cloud Awards for Its Hybrid Cloud Solution

Ellucian | February 24, 2023

On February 23, 2023, Ellucian, an education technology solutions provider, announced being awarded The Cloud Awards in the Best Hybrid Cloud Solution category, recognizing it for innovation and transformation in the education sector through cloud computing solutions. Ellucian platform supports higher education institutes with innovation and support for resilience. Its integrated solutions assist faculty members and education staff in successful outcomes for students through data-driven insights. It offers in-house experts, a partner network, advanced cloud-based solutions, and capabilities. The Cloud Awards is an international program honoring innovators for organizational transformation through cloud computing. It considers small, large, start-up and established organizations worldwide for the awards. Its categories are Best SaaS, Most Promising Start-Up and "Best in Mobile" Cloud Solution. It is part of three programs: The Cloud Awards, The Cloud Security Awards and The Software-as-a-Service Awards. CTO of Ellucian, Mike Wulff, said, "Making the transition to the cloud can be daunting, requiring confidence in the technology, time, and resources." He added, "Our customers understand the advantages that come with making the change, and we are committed to working closely with higher education institutions -- offering a tailored approach that suits their specific needs. It is an honor to be awarded a 2023 Cloud Award, recognizing our efforts to provide efficient and customized hybrid cloud solutions." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) Head of Operations for The Cloud Awards, James Williams, said, "Ellucian is an admirable winner of The Cloud Awards as their solution takes the industry a step forward." He added, "There were many innovative solutions among the finalists, but Ellucian's solution stood out to the judging panel as the ultimate category winner for Best Hybrid Cloud Solution." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) About Ellucian Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, Ellucian, a higher education services provider, offers solutions for SaaS, digital transformation, workflow software, document management software, talent management system, cloud services, student retention, recruitment and enrollment management software, mobile campus, higher education ERP, student information system, higher education software and services. It has been empowering colleges and universities with its cloud-based solutions since 1968. In addition, it offers professional services like management consulting, education, training, and application software implementation. It helps customers with remarkable digital transformation for a successful institution and student development.

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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

Joy Cho to Team Up with Skillshare to Deliver Her First-Ever Online Course

Skillshare | January 11, 2023

Skillshare, one of the biggest online learning communities for creatives, recently announced that Joy Cho, graphic designer, blogger, author, and entrepreneur, is launching an online course for the first time known as “Pitch Please: Attract Brands & Boost Your Creative Business," on their platform. The course will cover how Joy built her dream career through a creative and go-getter mentality and provide a framework for creating remarkable pitches that will drive business and develop collaborations. Joy's course is now available only on Skillshare, which also offers many other courses spanning various creative disciplines. The Creative Director and Founder of Oh Joy!, a lifestyle brand, Joy Cho has authored seven books and consulted for hundreds of businesses worldwide. In addition, she has launched a line of licensed products that span home décor, travel, baby, pet, and furniture collections. Having the most followed Pinterest account with 15 million followers, Joy Cho was among Time's 30 Most Influential People on the Internet for two consecutive years. Joy Cho states, "When I first launched my career as a creative, I was filled with doubt. But I focused on crafting meaningful pitches and created a list of brands I dreamed of working with so that people would begin to know who I was. Over time it's been remarkable to see how this simple process helped open so many doors throughout my career." She added, "I'm so excited to tap into Skillshare's community of creatives to help them pursue their dreams. From starting a side hustle to launching products or landing your dream collaboration, this course will help creatives at every level learn how to effectively communicate their craft to potential partners." (Source: PR Newswire) Joy Cho's course aims to offer a hands-on course to creatives of all levels, helping them craft impactful pitches for brands and potential partners. In addition to this course, Skillshare offers over 40,000 courses on various topics, including design, illustration, photography, and more, taught by working professionals and industry leaders. About Skillshare Founded in 2010, Skillshare is an e-learning provider specializing in curating coursees for creative individuals, with topics ranging from video, illustration, design, photography, freelancing, and more. On their platform, millions of users across the globe can find inspiration and move ahead in their creative journey. The company also offers team-based plans for organizations and the option to join as a teacher.

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EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY

Imagine Learning Launches Its Special Education Initiative

Imagine Learning | February 14, 2023

Imagine Learning, a digital curriculum solutions provider, has recently launched its new unique education initiative, Imagine AscendTM, addressing the urgent learning needs of students with disabilities across the United States. As a part of the initiative, Imagine Learning has integrated Winsor Learning, a nationally recognized provider of intervention and supplemental literacy products for the science of reading in the teaching field. Since 1997, Winsor has offered products and services for literacy intervention for dyslexic and at-risk students. It uses the Orton-Gillingham approach and supplemental whole-class literacy curriculum for K-5 grades. In addition, it offers structured literacy materials for multi-sensory reading instruction for pre-K-12 students, and more than 4,000 school districts follow them. Imagine Ascend TM, an initiative of Imagine, is an educational solution for special students, connecting digital curriculum with virtual instructors, providing a sustainable solution for district-level staffing, and increasing special education programs' graduation rates. CEO and Chairman of Imagine Learning Jonathan Grayer said, "This is a seminal moment for Imagine Learning as we commit significant time and resources to serve the needs of our most vulnerable students." He added, "The acquisition of Winsor Learning, coupled with the launch of Imagine Ascend, establishes Imagine Learning at the forefront of innovative curriculum delivery for more than seven million students with disabilities. We've seen first-hand the impact of pandemic-driven learning loss and have heard directly from our education partners that they require specialized curriculum to address the needs of students with disabilities who have been disproportionately impacted. We take the responsibility to deliver interventions for these learners seriously and our commitment remains constant: to ignite learning breakthroughs, partner with schools and teachers, support families, and to deliver improved outcomes for every learner." (Source – Business Wire) About Imagine Learning Headquartered in Scottsdale, Arizona, Imagine Learning, an e-learning solutions provider, has been empowering educators for the learning requirements of every student since 2004. It provides solutions for early learners, assessments, STEM, TEKS, state standards correlation, digital math instruction, math fluency, quantile measures, Lexile measures, common core, response to intervention, multi-sensory instruction, differentiated instruction, WIDA correlated, early childhood education, students with disabilities, struggling readers, English language learners, language, and literacy instruction. In addition, it offers core instructions, supplemental and personalized intervention courses for grade level, and digital-first K- 12 programs.

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