Author: IBL News

Georgetown University Launches a New Master’s in Strategic Digital Transformation

IBL News | New York

Georgetown University announced a Master in Strategic Digital Transformation,
intended for working professionals, and scheduled to launch in Fall 2022. “It is one of the few master’s degrees in the U.S. that focuses on business innovation, organizational change, and digital transformation,” said Dean Kelly Otter.

This 33 credits degree, priced at $48,939, will be delivered by Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies (SCS). Students will be able to enroll on either a part-time or full-time basis and will have options online, on-campus, or hybrid.

“The program will instruct students on business strategy development, transformation, and decision-making,” according to the institution. “It will empower students with the knowledge and tools needed to be agents of change in their organizations, or to build exciting new ventures,” stated Kelly Otter.

The courses will employ executives from Afiniti, Amazon Web Services, Microsoft, Telos, and Google as adjunct professors.

Google will provide subject matter experts in cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI), and arrange training and education on using Google-developed AI tools and cloud services. Students will be able to enroll on either a part-time or full-time basis, with options to take classes online, on-campus, or hybrid..
https://youtu.be/DIquUfB7Juw

November 29, 2021
AI and Machine Learning, Cloud Computing, and 5G Will Dominate in 2022
IBL News | New York

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, cloud computing, and 5G will be the most important technologies in 2022, according to a survey to global technology leaders from the U.S., U.K., China, India, and Brasil, conducted by IEEE.

These 350 chief technology and information officers and IT directors agreed that the pandemic accelerated the adoption of those tools.

The survey, titled “The Impact of Technology in 2022 and Beyond: an IEEE Global Study”, stated that 95% of tech leaders said that AI will drive the majority of innovation across nearly every industry sector in the next 1 to 5 years.

These surveyed executives consider eight areas as most benefited from 5G:
telemedicine, including remote surgery and health record transmissions (24%)

remote learning and education (20%)

personal and professional day-to-day communications (15%)

entertainment, sports, and live event streaming (14%)

manufacturing and assembly (13%)

transportation and traffic control (7%)

carbon footprint reduction and energy efficiency (5%)

farming and agriculture (2%)

As for industry sectors impacted by technology in 2022, technology leaders cited manufacturing (25%), financial services (19%), healthcare (16%), and energy (13%).

In terms of workplace strategies and technologies, respondents say that their companies are working closely with Human Resources to implement tools for office check-in, space usage data and analytics, COVID and health protocols, employee productivity, engagement, and mental health.

Looking ahead, 81% of respondents agree that in the next five years, one-quarter of what they do will be enhanced by robots, and 77% agree that in the same time frame, robots will be deployed across their organization to enhance nearly every business function from sales and human resources to marketing and IT.

A majority of respondents agree (78%) that in the next ten years, half, or more, of what they do will be enhanced by robots. As for the deployments of robots that will most benefit humanity, according to the survey, those are manufacturing and assembly (33%), hospital and patient care (26%), and earth and space exploration (13%).

Regarding blockchain technology, the most important uses in the next year will be:

Secure machine to machine interaction in the Internet of Things (IoT)

Shipment tracking and contactless digital transactions

Keeping health and medical records secure in the cloud

Securing connecting parties within a specified ecosystem.
November 26, 2021
Google Upgrades Its Tool to Search and Add Citations on Documents
IBL News | New York

Google introduced this month an updated version of its citation feature for Google Docs.

The feature is intended to allow an easy search of cited materials on books and online sources and then add them, formatted, into Google Docs.

The tool will be available automatically for end-users. It is expected to roll out in late November to early December.

“By automating part of the source creation process, and ensuring correct formatting, we hope to save you time and reduce manual errors while managing citations,” said Google in a blog post.

This feature will be introduced in all languages, but the elements the tool generates in the user document only will appear in English at this time.
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Google: Add Citations and a Bibliography
November 25, 2021
Open edX & Learning Platforms | November – December 2021: 2U, Coursera, Udemy, Instructure Canvas LMS, ETS, Class Central…

[ Newsletter format |  Click here to subscribe ]

NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2021 – NEWSLETTER #41 | Breaking news at IBL News |  Noticias en Español

2U + edX

• 2U Eliminates the Annual Fees for Current edX Consortium Members

• edX Launched a First MicroBachelors Program with IBM in Cloud Application

Open edX

• The “Freshman Year for Free” Platform Surpasses 300,000 Learners

Coursera

• Coursera Creates an Assessment Tool to Recommend Content and Develop Skills Faster

• Coursera’s Stock Continues Below Its IPO Price Despite Improved Results in Q3

Udemy

• Udemy’s Stock Recovers Until Reaching Its IPO Price of $29 Per Share

• Udemy Targets $4 Billion Valuation In a Major EdTech IPO

• Udemy Filed for IPO Expecting a Valuation Over $3.2 Billion

Instructure – Canvas LMS

• Instructure Acquires Kimono to Integrate it with the Canvas LMS Platform

• Canvas LMS Will Replace Blackboard as Miami Dade College’s Learning Platform

• Canvas LMS Announces New Functionalities and Partnerships

Acquisitions

• Private Equity Owned Anthology Closes the Purchase of Blackboard

• ETS Strategic Capital Adds the Thirteenth Company to Its Portfolio of Acquisitions

• EAB Acquires and Incorporates Rapid Insight into Its Platform

• Labster Acquires UbiSim, a Swiss Leading Virtual Training Platform for Nursing

Valuations

• French Corporate SaaS Platform 360Learning Raises $200 Million

• Employee Well-Being and Support Firm BetterUp Valued at $4.7 Billion

• Outschool Reaches a Valuation of 3 Billion Four Months After Hitting Unicorn Status

Initiative

• Class Central Starts Developing a Social Learning Platform for Open Courses

2021 Events | All of the Key Conferences Listed!

• Education Calendar – NOVEMBER | DECEMBER |  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

November 24, 2021
Online Learning | November – December 2021: Google, IBM, Microsoft, Stanford, UPenn, Harvard, Unicef…

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NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2021 – NEWSLETTER #47 | Breaking news at IBL News |  Noticias en Español

Corporate Initiatives

• Google Will Grant Community Colleges Free Access to Its Career Certifications

• IBM Says It Will Train on Technical Skills 30 Million People by 2030

• Microsoft Reduces Its Pricing for Educational Customers

Leading Universities

• Stanford University Launches a Digital Office to Help Underserved High School Students

• UPenn Becomes the First Ivy League School to Accept Enrollment Payment in Crypto

• Harvard’s Endowment Increases $11.3B to a Whopping $53.2B, Despite the Pandemic

• Ivy League Colleges Still Offer a Few Online Degrees to “Protect their Reputation”

• Western Governors University Partners with the National Governors Association

Higher Ed

• House Democrats Passed a Massive Spending Bill that Included Billions for Higher Ed

• Thirteen Colleges Explore Three-Year Bachelor’s Degree Programs

• A Family-Owned, Private University in Spain Builds a Campus in a Modern Skyscraper

Research

• Adult Learners Prefer Universities for Their Career Preparedness

• Accenture Finds Six Segments of Students, Based on Learning Mindsets

• Retiring After a Career in Higher Ed? Sarasota, Naples, and Daytona Beach, Among the Best Places

• Robinhood Confirms that One-third of Customers’ Data Was Compromised After a Large Hack

Global Education

• Experts Say that the Spending in Global Education and EdTech Will Experience a Massive Increase

• International Students Enrollment Shows a 68% Increase After the Pandemic

• Over 200 Million Children Are Missing Out on Remote Learning

• International Leaders Call to Invest More in Teachers — Here’s How Much They Are Paid

Job Market

• More High Schoolers Dismiss Attending a Four-Year College

• Fastest-Growing Jobs that Don’t Require a Bachelor’s Degree

• Organizations Change their Learning Strategies in the Light of ‘The Great Resignation’ Phenomenon

2021 Events | All of the Key Conferences Listed!

• Education Calendar – NOVEMBER | DECEMBER |  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

November 23, 2021
House Democrats Passed a Massive Spending Bill that Included Billions for Higher Ed

IBL News | New York

The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed congressional Democrats’ sweeping $1.85 trillion climate and social spending bill by a vote of 220 to 213. No Republicans voted for the legislation, dubbed as the Build Back Better Act (BBB). Representative Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to vote against it.

The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it’s expected to undergo changes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said the chamber “will act as quickly as possible.”

In addition to a large investment in clean energy on tax credits, the BBB legislation includes substantial funding to universal pre-K, provides child care subsidies covering 20 million children, and extends an expanded child tax credit for one more year.

It also includes billions of dollars in new investments for higher ed:

• $550 increase to the maximum Pell Grant,
• $2.35 billion for Black, Tribal, and Hispanic universities,
• $500 million for college completion and retention grants,
• $20 billion for workforce development.

U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona [in the picture above] said in a statement that the passed act will be “transformative.”

He added:

— “Free universal pre-K and dramatically improved access to child care, so all our children can start their learning journeys from the same starting line.”

— “Increased resources for HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, Hispanic Serving Institutions and other institutions that unlock opportunities for students of color and unleash their potential in our communities.”

— “Expanded access to affordable college with increased Pell grants for anyone who dreams of getting a degree.”

— “A stronger workforce pipeline with workforce development resources, for better pathways to the middle class.”

November 22, 2021
Over 200 Million Children Are Missing Out on Remote Learning

IBL News | New York

Over 200 million children in 31 countries do not have the resources to learn via online education during school closures. A study by UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, revealed this data last month.

“We aren’t making enough progress to ensure the next time students are forced out of the classroom, they have better options,” said Henrietta Fore, the UNICEF Executive Director.

The report measures countries’ readiness to provide remote learning when in-person education is disrupted while examining the limitations of remote learning and inequalities in access.

Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, and Togo, are among the countries with the most significant need for educational improvement.

Meanwhile, Argentina, Barbados, Jamaica, and the Philippines have the highest level of readiness.

The key seems to be, according to United Nations officials, to leverage the tech power. And while there is no replacement for in-person learning, schools with “robust” remote learning systems can provide a degree of education.

Through the Reimagine Education initiative, UNICEF and partners have set the goal of reaching 3.5 billion children and young people by 2030, providing them equal access to quality digital learning.
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Every child must be able to continue learning during emergency school closures.

Yet, at least 200 million students live in countries unprepared to deliver remote learning, leaving many without any form of education. https://t.co/3q3RqdVefD

— UNICEF (@UNICEF) October 28, 2021

November 20, 2021
EAB Acquires and Incorporates Rapid Insight into Its Platform

IBL News | New York

EAB announced the acquisition of data analytics technology provider Rapid Insight for an undisclosed amount.

The purchaser will incorporate Rapid Insight, along with its 200 customer schools, into its Edify data platform, which was recently launched to bring together data from disparate campus systems into a unified source of information. Currently, 80 institutions use EAB’s Edify platform, according to the company.

“The acquisition of Rapid Insight will add a suite of direct-to-user data capabilities to support decentralized innovation,” said Danielle Yardy from EAB.

Rapid Insight says that its graphical data exploration, manipulation, and visualization tools empower users on campus to dig into that data directly.

“By embedding data processes and custom analytics into their workflows, campus leaders can address emerging and shifting needs in the immediate term as they rely on a central data source,” elaborated Danielle Yardy.
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November 19, 2021
2U Eliminates the Annual Fees for Current edX Consortium Members

IBL News | New York

2U, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWOU) announced yesterday it completed its acquisition of edX Inc, the MIT and Harvard-created non-profit educational platform, sold last June by $800 million in cash. Now, edX will operate as a public benefit company property of 2U.

Along with the closing of the business, 2U decided to eliminate all membership and annual fees for current and future edX Consortium members — 230 in total, including 19 top universities — as a measure to keep them on board.

• Anant Agarwal, CEO at edX and professor at MIT, decided to join 2U after being named for a new executive position: Chief Open Education Officer. He will report to 2U’s CEO, Chip Paucek, and “will continue to steward the edX mission as part of 2U’s executive team.” [Both in the picture, above]

Moreover, the announcement indicated: “Anant Agarwal will serve as one of 2U’s representatives on Open edX’s new Technical Oversight Committee, responsible for guiding the technical direction and vision of the open-source platform and community to support learning outcomes around the world.”

• edX Chief Technology Officer JP Beaudry was appointed Chief Technology Officer at 2U, succeeding former CTO James Kenigsberg.

• edX VP of Product Lauren Holliday was appointed Managing Director of Open Courses & Marketplace at 2U.

As part of the closing, 2U and edX also announced, without further detail, “a marketing campaign this week to expand the reach of edX partner organizations”, as well as “a million dollars in funding to support the production of 10 new free courses in Essential Human Skills for the Virtual Age to be developed by the edX partner community.”

In addition, “edX partner Boston University has committed to launching a new disruptively priced Master of Public Health degree.”

2U reported that “more than 25 2U partners are joining the edX Consortium and committing to contribute affordable, high-quality learning to edX.org, including Howard University, London School of Economics and Political Science, Morehouse College, Syracuse University, UC Davis, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Vanderbilt University and others.”

The Lanham, Maryland – based company reinforced its commitment to “contribute to the ongoing development of the open-source platform Open edX.”

As part of the PR campaign, Chip Paucek and Anant Agarwal wrote a shared blog post titled “Potential, Unlocked.”

November 18, 2021
International Students Enrollment Shows a 68% Increase After the Pandemic

IBL News | New York

The number of new international students enrolled for the first time at a U.S. institution in 2021 experienced a 68% increase, reflecting a rebound after the COVID-10 pandemic, compared to the 46% decline reported in Fall 2020.

These data come from the latest Open Doors 2021 Report on International Educational Exchange, sponsored by the U.S. Department of State, with over 860 institutions participating.

Overall, the total number of international students — enrolled and OPT — increased by 4% in Fall 2021.

In addition, 99% of responding U.S. institutions reported that they are holding classes in-person or implementing a hybrid education model.

During the year 2020, and in the midst of the pandemic, a total of 145,528 international students were able to begin their studies in person or online in the United States or from abroad.

As in previous years, most international students (54%) pursued a major in a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics STEM field. Engineering continued to be the most popular major, with one in five international students pursuing it.

“International students are central to the free flow of ideas, innovation, economic prosperity, and peaceful relations between nations,” said Matthew Lussenhop, Acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, U.S. Department of State. “The United States is strongly committed to international education as we continue to build back better.”

November 17, 2021