Author: IBL News

Anthology Learning Platform Creates a Virtual Summit on Policy and Practice

IBL News | New York

Anthology, which includes Blackboard LMS, announced this week a free and open to the public series of monthly virtual roundtable events under the title of the Policy and Practice Summit. Leading education experts will discuss critical policy issues in this event.

Hosted by Anthology’s hub Center for Advancing Learning, this summit will address policy and potential legislation linked to the Center’s five areas of focus: accessibility and inclusivity; community colleges; Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCUs); the global advancement of digital education; and alternatives to the Online Program Management (OPM) model.

Each session will be an hour-long and archived on the website.

“The Center for Advancing Learning will take a principal position in facilitating these critical conversations with the ultimate goal of supporting student and institutional success,” said Dr. Darcy Hardy, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs at Anthology and the Center’s Director.

The first roundtable, set for February 15, will examine how digital accessibility drives inclusion and the steps institutions can take to create a more accessible digital campus. Panelists will also explore the evolution of federal regulatory policy and ways lawmakers and regulators can set the course toward more inclusive digital learning environments.

This inaugural event will include these featured speakers and discussants:

Bree Callahan — Americans with Disabilities Act Coordinator, University of Washington

Sam Johnston — Director of Postsecondary Education and Workforce Development, CAST (Center for Applied Special Technology)

Kyle Shachmut — Assistant Director of Digital Accessibility Services, Harvard University

Sean Keegan — Director, Stanford Online Accessibility Program, Stanford University

More upcoming events will be:

• March 30 – Community Colleges
• April 18 – Historically Black Colleges and Universities
• May – Global Advancement of Digital Education
• June 22 – Alternatives to Online Program Management

• Register to attend Website

February 19, 2022
Open edX & Learning Platforms Newsletter | February 2022: Maple Version, 2U edX, Coursera, Docebo, eLearning Brothers, 360Learning, Duolingo…

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FEBRUARY 2020 – NEWSLETTER #43 | Breaking news at IBL News |  Noticias en Español

Open edX

• The Open edX Conference Returns to In-Person Format: April 26 – 29, Lisbon, Portugal

• Open edX’s Maple Version of the Platform Includes Advanced Features

edX Platform

• edX, Now Part of 2U, Releases Its 2022 Impact Report

• “Introduction to Linux” Course, With One Million Learners, Launches a Version in Spanish

• Harvard Launches a New Version of the Course “CS50 Introduction to Computer Science”

• An edX Course on Volcanoes Wins the Prize for Innovative Pedagogy

Coursera

• Coursera Doubled Its Losses in 2021 While Valuation Decreased in Half

Courses

• Google Will Support “Responsible AI” Courses Developed by 15 Universities along with NHC

• MOOCs Providers Will Expand their Catalog Through Business Partners, Says Shah

Learning Platforms: Acquisitions

• Another Acquisition of eLearning Brothers: an India-Based Design Firm

• Docebo Expands in the Asia-Pacific with the Acquisition of a Consulting Agency

• eLearning Brothers Acquires Video Learning Start-Up Rehearsal

• 360Learning SaaS Platform Buys UK’s Looop for $20 Million

Learning Platforms: Results

• 2U Inc. Reports a Loss of $194.8 Million and Revenue of $945.7 Million in 2021

• Duolingo Implements a Successful TikTok Viral Strategy Using Its Mascot

2022 Events | All of the Key Conferences Listed!

• Education Calendar 2022 – FEB | MAR | APRIL | MAY | JUNE | JULY |  Conferences in Latin America & Spain

This newsletter was created in collaboration with IBL Education, a New York City-based company specializing in AI-driven learning platforms. We also film and produce courses for universities and business organizations. Read the latest IBL Newsletter |  Archive of Open edX Newsletters

February 18, 2022
Online Learning Newsletter | February 2022: MIT, U-M, LMS Market, Stanford, DoD, Ellucian, Cengage, Pearson…

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FEBRUARY 2022 – NEWSLETTER #49 | Breaking news at IBL News |  Noticias en Español

Universities

• Universities Face Existential Threats Unless They Transform Their Operating Models

• The President of MIT, Rafael Reif, Will Step Down at the End of 2022

• Touro College Will Move Its Campus to a Skyscraper in NYC, Betting on In-Person Learning

• The President of the University of Michigan Fired After an Affair with a Subordinate

Research

• A Growing Digital Skills Crisis: A Majority of the Workforce Feels Unprepared

• Video Becomes the Preferred Teaching Method, States a Research

• The LMS Market Will Experience Growth on a Large Scale by 2026

• A Research Suggests that Career-Connected Learning is the Key for the Job-Skills Crisis

• Resigners Enroll Short-Term Courses to Help Them Reskill and Get Back Into the Workforce

Pandemic

• The Pandemic Caused to Students $17 Trillion Loss in Lifetime Earnings

• Colleges See Online Classes as a Temporary Measure to Combat the Omicron Variant

• U.S. Colleges Continue Delaying the Resume the Start of In-Person Classes

Initiatives

• An AI-Created Politician Draws the Attention as Deep Learning Technology Expands

• Stanford University Launches Its First Full Class in Metaverse Virtual Reality

• College Board’s SAT Will Be Digital Starting in 2023

• A DoD-Funded VR Initiative Will Upskill Manufacturing Workers

Industry Acquisitions

• Pearson Purchases Certification Platform Credly for $200 Million

• Cengage Buys Cybersecurity Training Provider Infosec for $190.8 Million

• Ellucian Buys CampusLogic Financial Student SaaS Company

• Inside Higher Ed News Outlet Acquired by a Leading British Media Group

VC Fundraising

• Domestika Reaches Unicorn Status After Raising $110 Million

• GVS Investment Firm Releases an Update of Its Top 150 VC-Backed EdTech Start-Ups List

• The Film Studio Behind “The Chosen” Raised $47 Million from VCs

2022 Events | All of the Key Conferences Listed!

• Education Calendar 2022 – FEB | MAR | APRIL | MAY | JUNE | JULY |  Conferences in Latin America & Spain

This newsletter was created in collaboration with IBL Education, a New York City-based company specializing in AI-driven learning platforms. We also film and produce courses for universities and business organizations. Read the latest IBL Newsletter |  Archive of Open edX Newsletters

February 17, 2022

Google Will Support “Responsible AI” Courses Developed by 15 Universities along with NHC

IBL News | New York

Fifteen universities, along with the non-profit National Humanities Center (NHC) and financial support from Google, will launch courses in Responsible AI technologies.

The goal is to “help students comprehend the myriad ways AI technologies are integrated into modern life and to think through the ethical issues involved in developing and deploying them,” according to Research Triangle Park, North Carolina-based NHC.

Participating institutions will include leading public and private research universities, liberal arts colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and Hispanic Serving Institutions from across the United States. They are:

Arizona State University	George Mason University	Texas A&M University
Bowdoin College	Johnson C. Smith University	University of California, Santa Cruz
Case Western Reserve University	North Carolina State University	University of Florida
Davidson College	Rice University	University of Georgia
Duke University	Swarthmore College	University of Utah

Faculty from these institutions will develop courses focused on developing responsible AI that will be offered to undergraduates at their home institutions during the 2023–24 academic year.

“Artificial intelligence has infiltrated the ways we conduct business, govern, and communicate,” says Robert D. Newman, President and Director of the National Humanities Center. “The large-scale cultural and societal implications associated with these changes—as well as the ethical questions they raise—pose serious challenges as well as opportunities.”

The NHC’s In Our Image conference held in April 2021 examined issues surrounding the integration of artificial intelligence through a series of virtual events.

Google’s gift amount for the “Responsible AI” program was not disclosed by NHC.
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February 16, 2022

Duolingo Implements a Successful TikTok Viral Strategy Using Its Mascot

IBL News | New York

Duolingo language learning app figured out a way to take advantage of the phenomenon of TikTok, which has over a billion monthly active users.

Duolingo has drawn 2.9 million followers to its TikTok account by creating amusing videos featuring the company mascot — an owl obsessed with the music performer Dua Lipa. In other videos, Duolingo features company staffers to promote its brand.

Overall, the Pittsburgh-based company has reached over 55 million likes, demonstrating its ability to use short videos to promote its brand.

In September 2021, Duolingo had 50,000 followers. Its strategy of featuring wacky videos using the company’s green owl mascot has resulted in an effective social strategy.
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@duolingo

We don’t talk about Duo… #Duolingo #encanto #disneytok comedy #trend #DuaLipa #Dualingo #dulapeep

♬ –

@duolingo

We don’t talk about Duo… #Duolingo #encanto #disneytok comedy #trend #DuaLipa #Dualingo #dulapeep

♬ –

February 15, 2022
“Introduction to Linux” Course, With One Million Learners, Launches a Version in Spanish

IBL News | New York

The “Introduction to Linux” course on edX, which got over a million individuals enrolled, now has a version in Spanish.

The Linux Foundation announced its launch yesterday, “Introducción a Linux (LF-UPV-101x.” The Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), a leading technical university in Spain, translated the course.

The class, a 14 weeks program, is available for enrollment. To get a certificate of completion, learners will need to pay $49.

Introduction to Linux is designed for experienced computer users who have limited or no previous exposure to Linux. It teaches tools and techniques commonly used by Linux system administrators and end-users to conduct their day-to-day work in this environment.

“Linux is under the hood of most internet servers, multimedia gadgets, and internet-connected devices. We could say that Linux runs the world in which we live, so we at Universitat Politècnica de València are very excited about the opportunity to give access to Linux knowledge to the Spanish-speaking world,” said Jose Pedro García Sabater, Vice-Rector for Planning, Academic Offering and Digital Transformation of UPV.

“Education is a great tool to increase the quality of life and generate professional growth, and it is great to see edX partners collaborate to offer content in different languages,” said Anant Agarwal, edX Founder and Chief Open Education Officer at 2U, Inc.

February 14, 2022
Coursera Doubled Its Losses in 2021 While Valuation Decreased in Half

IBL News | New York

Coursera (COUR) increased its net loss to $145.2 million (or 35% of revenue) in 2021, compared to $68.8 million (or 22.8% of revenue) in 2020. Total revenue was $415.3 million in 2021, up 41% from $293.5 million in the prior year. Enterprise revenue (Coursera for Business) grew 70% year-over-year to $120 million.

In the fourth quarter of 2021, net loss was $47.7 million or 41.5% of revenue, compared to $26.7 million or 32.1% of revenue a year ago. In the same period, total revenue was $115.0 million, up 38% from $83.3 million a year ago.

Coursera’s financial results, announced yesterday, were negatively received by the stock market, which pushed the share price down 6.46%, until $19.70. The results did not meet Wall Street expectations, said The Associated Press.

Since it went public in April 2021, Coursera has lost over 56% of its value. Today, market capitalization is half of its IPO, $2.77 billion. In its best moment, it reached a whopping valuation of $5.8 billion.

Ken Hahn, Coursera’s CFO, said that “our outlook for 2022 anticipates revenue growth of 30% year-over-year, reflecting the long-term demand we continue to see for online learning.” The revenue outlook for the full year of 2022 is in the range of $536 to $544, with an EBITDA negative in the range of $45.5 to $51.5 million.

• Per segments, consumer revenue for the fourth quarter was $65.8 million, up 24% from a year ago on strong demand for our portfolio of entry-level Professional Certificates and continued adoption of Coursera Plus.

• Enterprise revenue for the fourth quarter was $35.9 million, up 72% from a year ago on robust growth across the business, campus, and government customers. The total number of Paid Enterprise Customers increased to 803, up 107% from a year ago.

• Degrees revenue for the fourth quarter was $13.3 million, up 43% from a year ago on the scaling of student cohorts.

• News about Coursera at IBL News

February 12, 2022
The President of MIT, Rafael Reif, Will Step Down at the End of 2022

IBL News | New York

L. Rafael Reif will step down as the President of MIT at the end of 2022, after ten years in the position. This week, he announced his decision in a letter to the Institute’s community, without specifying any reason. No media outlet offered any explanation behind the move.

After stepping down, Reif, 71, will take a sabbatical, then return as a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Reif said his plan to stay through December allows the MIT Corporation, the school’s governing body, to conduct a search and smooth the transition to the next president. Meanwhile, he named Professor Cynthia Barnhart as MIT’s incoming Provost, starting on Monday, March 7th.

Cynthia Barnhart will join Chancellor Melissa Nobles, Vice President for Research Maria Zuber, and Vice President for Open Learning Sanjay Sarma in guiding the academic mission of MIT.

A native of Venezuela, Reif first came to the United States to earn his doctorate in electrical engineering at Stanford University, where he learned English. His parents were Jewish refugees who fled Eastern Europe in advance of the Nazi regime.

Three of the family’s four sons would go on to earn PhDs in the United States — including one who earned a Ph.D. at MIT. Reif arrived at MIT in 1980, when he joined the faculty as an assistant professor of electrical engineering.

In 2012, he became MIT’s 17th president. Before that, he served as Provost for seven years. He was instrumental in the success of edX.org.

During his tenure, MIT’s endowment grew from $10.3 billion to $27.4 billion.

February 11, 2022
2U Inc. Reports a Loss of $194.8 Million and Revenue of $945.7 Million in 2021

IBL News | New York

2U Inc. (NASDAQ: TWOU) — the owner of edX.org — on Wednesday reported a loss of $67.3 million in its fourth quarter of 2021, after an increase of $29.6 million on the same period in 2020.

In the same time frame, revenue increased 13% to $243.6 million. Degree program segment revenue increased 17% to $152.4 million. And alternative credential segment revenue increased 8% to $91.2 million.

Wall Street received these results well, and 2U’s stock went up 3.69% yesterday, until $17.98 per share. Overall, the stock lost 70% of its value in the last year. Market capitalization is only 1.36 billion.

For the full year of 2021, the Lanham, Maryland – based company reported a loss of $194.8 million, or $2.61 per share, with an improvement of $21.7 million. Revenue was reported as $945.7 million, increasing of 22%.

In terms of the outlook for 2022, 2U expects full-year revenue in the range of $1.05 billion to $1.09 billion, representing a growth of 13% at the midpoint. Net loss will range from $235 million to $215 million.

Christopher “Chip” Paucek, 2U’s Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, provided this view: “Our strong 2021 results were led by healthy revenue growth in both our degree and alternative credential business, with demand for our undergraduate offerings particularly compelling.”

“With the closing of the edX transaction in November 2021, we are laser-focused on transforming 2U into the leading global education platform company, positioned to drive powerful societal impact and superior value for all our stakeholders, by delivering learners affordable, flexible, and career-relevant online education offerings, while helping universities and businesses strengthen their institutions for the digital age.”

Paul Lalljie, 2U’s Chief Financial Officer, added, “with the addition of edX and our transition to a platform company, we have established a strategic and financial framework for achieving our mid-term goals and creating shareholder value.”

February 10, 2022
A Growing Digital Skills Crisis: A Majority of the Workforce Feels Unprepared

IBL News | New York

A survey conducted by Salesforce last month based on 23,000+ workers across 19 countries reveals a growing digital skills crisis.

The pandemic has accelerated this gap, addressing the need for a digital transformation. In addition, it has given businesses a unique opportunity to rethink how they connect with their employees, customers, and communities.

In the research, a total of 76% of global workers say that they feel unequipped and unprepared to operate in a digital-first world. However, only 28% of them are actively seeking skills training, according to Salesforce’s 2022 Global Digital Skills Index survey.

The survey also highlights a generational skills gap. Two-thirds of respondents say they’re unprepared for social media skills that the workplace will require over the next five years.

Only 31% feel “very equipped” for a digital-first job right now.

A recent Salesforce-commissioned RAND Europe Report estimates that 14 G20 countries could miss out on $11.5 trillion cumulative GDP growth if the skills gap isn’t addressed.

This comes as emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI, and the cloud, are amplifying businesses’ demand for specific digital skills — up to 50% in Europe and the United States, according to McKinsey.

February 9, 2022