Author: IBL News

IBL News | New York

Google released new tools to search on science and math problems in English, “with plans to expand to more languages.”

The search giant now has the ability to look up over 2,000 STEM concepts — including useful examples and helpful videos — and a million practice problems.

“You’ll be one click away from learning resources from educational providers like BBC Bitesize, Byjus, Careers360, Chegg, CK12, Education Quizzes, GradeUp, Great Minds, Kahoot!, OpenStax, Toppr, Vedantu, and more,” says the company. Providers such as Symbolab, Mathway (a Chegg Service), and Tiger Algebra are expected as well.

Some search results can be 3D augmented reality lessons on chemistry, biology, and anatomy concepts.

Google’s new tools — including the Google App Lens — are particularly useful for math equations homework, although they can be used for cheating on problems and exams (many are doing so).

IBL News | New York

The National Cybersecurity Center (NCC) and Google launched on Monday a nationwide training program to educate state lawmakers and their statehouse staff and prepare them on best practices on cyber attacks, as the nation faces the 2022 midterm elections.

The Cybersecurity for State Leaders initiative, extended to all 50 states, will include live virtual forums and interactive, on-demand workshops.

In those forums will participate national figures in security such as investor on ABC’s Shark Tank and Founder and CEO of Herjavec Group Robert Herjavec, former State Department Spokesperson and Undersecretary of State for Public Affairs Heather Nauert, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chief Information Security Officer for the Information Security Division of the U.S. Small Business Administration James Saunders, and representatives from Google, IBM, Microsoft’s Defending Democracy Program.

Launched with bipartisan signing, the project will prepare lawmakers and their staff “to be vigilant against cyber threats by offering a deep dive into the ecosystem of cybersecurity, common types of cyberattacks, how and why cyber attacks work, and best practices on how to protect individuals against cyber threats,” according to the official release.

Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R-OH) and Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D-CO) announced their commitment to promote a stronger culture of cybersecurity awareness in their offices and throughout their state.

“Americans must have confidence in their elections; that can’t happen if we aren’t vigilant in our defense of the digital systems that make up our election infrastructure,” said LaRose.

NCC has launched #Cybersecurity for State Leaders, supported by @Google – a 50-state campaign to educate state leaders on the importance of cybersecurity at the state & local level!

Learn more at https://t.co/jfo0thvOpq#Cyber #CyberEducation

— National Cybersecurity Center (@NATLCyberCenter) March 29, 2021

IBL News | New York

Anant Agarwal, Founder and CEO at edX Inc., will consolidate his leadership at the educational non-profit as a unique Chief Executive Officer.

The co-CEO and President, Adam Medros announced his departure through his Twitter account last March 15th. In parallel, Medros reported about his appointment as Chief Operating Officer (CCO) at Embark Veterinary, “a leader in dog genetics.”

The reason for the departure has not been explained and edX hasn’t made an official announcement, although the leadership page at edX.org reflects the change now.

Prior to edX, Medros spent 13 years at TripAdvisor as Senior Vice President (SVP) of global product. With no previous experience in higher education, he joined edX in October 2017, and two years later, he was promoted to co-CEO, joining Anant Agarwal in this position.

edX’s move was intended to adopt a more business and less academic-focused structure with two running CEOs, as it was reported.

“Adam Medros will partner with Agarwal to drive the company’s continued growth and innovation, in service of its non-profit mission to increase access to high-quality education for everyone, everywhere,” edX said then.

Anant Agarwal stated in October 2019: “Adam’s dedication to the edX mission and his partnership have been invaluable to me in my role as Founder and CEO of edX and I look forward to further deepening our collaboration.”

edX’s moment is indeed now and I’m confident that the leadership team and the entire company are in a great position to continue to have a huge impact on the world.

— Adam Medros (@adammedros) March 15, 2021

IBL News | New York

Rutgers University in New Jersey will be the first university requiring all students the COVID-19 vaccine before arriving physically on campus in the fall for the 2021 semester.

Proof of vaccination will be demanded to all students planning to attend this fall. However, students may request an exemption for medical or religious reasons.

“Broad immunization is critical to help stop the pandemic and to protect our community,” said the public institution in New Jersey in a statement.

In addition, Rutgers University “encouraged faculty and staff to get immunized against COVID-19 at the earliest opportunity.”

Officials said that the institution has been approved to offer clinics for on-campus administration of vaccines to faculty, staff, and students when vaccine supplies become available. Currently, Rutgers does not have vaccines.

Other colleges and universities are also considering vaccination policies for students, although they might not make it mandatory.

For example, Dickinson State University in North Dakota will issue a pin or a bracelet to students who have been fully vaccinated. This mark will exempt them from the campuswide mask mandate.

Most of the universities said they don’t yet have clear plans for vaccination requirements.

IBL News | New York

Students who successfully complete any of edX.org’s 63 MicroMasters programs and meet RIT admissions criteria will be eligible for up to 9 credits toward a Master of Science degree — fully online or on-campus — in Professional Studies at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT). This new universal credit pathway comes after an agreement between edX and RIT.

“This innovative model increases access to education by creating more choice and flexibility for learners when it comes to earning a master’s degree online, unlocking experiences they didn’t know were possible,” said edX in a statement.

“With RIT, we are once again making it more accessible for learners to get a master’s degree that positions them for success in the job market,” explained Anant Agarwal, CEO at edX.

“We are thrilled to provide this pathway to a high-value graduate degree more readily available for all who seek and need it,” said James C. Hall, Dean of University Studies Division, Executive Director, and Professor of the School of Individualized Study at RIT.

“We work closely with edX to ensure learners have a smooth transition to RIT, and empower them with the opportunity to use their MITx MicroMasters program certificates toward a master’s degree in Professional Studies at RIT,” stated Professor Krishna Rajagopal, MIT’s Dean for Digital Learning.

When MicroMasters programs launched in 2016, we broke the Master’s degree into modular pieces for the first time. Now, with @RITOnline, we are once again making it more accessible for learners to get a master’s degree that positions them for success. https://t.co/4Jl8zcIuG3

— anant agarwal (@agarwaledu) March 16, 2021

IBL News | New York

IBM launched this week its fourth annual program inviting developers to combat climate change with open-source software.

The 2021 Call for Code Global Challenge has grown to 400,000 developers across 179 nations and has generated 15,000 practical applications. IBM’s developments, such as Red Hat OpenShift, IBM Cloud, IBM Watson, IBM Blockchain, and atmospheric data from IBM’s Weather Company, play a key role. Resources and APIs from Intuit and New Relic are part of the program, as well.

IBM’s initiative is conducted in partnership with the Linux Foundation, the United Nations Human Rights, and Call for Code Creator David Clark.

Last year’s winning solution was Agrolly, an app designed to support small farmers by providing climate and crop predictions and recommendations. Another solution, among many developments, was Liquid Prep, which helps farmers optimize water usage during droughts.

This ecosystem is gaining widespread attention. IBM announced that it now includes UN World Food Programme Innovation Accelerator experts, Arrow Electronics, Black Girls Code, Caribbean Girls Hack, Clinton Foundation, Clinton Global Initiative University, Ingram Micro, Intuit, Kode With Klossy, NearForm, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction, United Way, and World Institute on Disability.

IBL News | New York

Coursera.org set yesterday its initial IPO (Initial Public Offering) price range between $30 and $33 a share, aiming for a valuation of over $4 billion.

In a new regulatory S-1/A filing on Monday, the Mountain View, California-based learning company said it expects to sell 14.66 million shares of its common stock. Around 1.1 million shares are offered to shareholders.

At the low end of $30 per share, Coursera would be worth $3.98 billion. At the upper end of $33, the valuation would be $4.38 billion while the fundraising is around $519 million.

Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and UBS Investment Bank are the lead underwriters for the offering.

The company expected its shares to be listed on the NYSE under the symbol “COUR.”

The company reported a $66.8 million loss on revenue of $293.5 million in 2020, compared with a $46.7 million loss on revenue of $184.4 million in 2019.

• News about Coursera at IBL News

IBL News | New York

Bank of America plans to bring VR headsets to 50,000 client-facing employees in an effort to take advantage of virtual reality training technology.

The initiative is in a pilot stage for now. The financial institution is working with Bay Area-based VR startup Strivr experimenting early-on with 400 employees, according to a Techcrunch report.

The bank has developed VR lessons for everything from notary services to fraud detection. In addition, it’s working on tasks like helping employees practice empathy with customers dealing with sensitive matters.

Similarly, other corporate America giants Walmart are finding utility in this technology. For example, Walmart uses 17,000 Oculus Go headsets to train employees in VR.

Strivr has raised over $51 million as one of the leading companies in the area.