IBL News

Author: IBL News

  • Udacity Develops an Introductory Course and Nanodegree on Machine Learning for Microsoft Azure

    Udacity Develops an Introductory Course and Nanodegree on Machine Learning for Microsoft Azure

    IBL News | New York

    Udacity announced this week a new Machine Learning Scholarship Program for Microsoft Azure.

    The scholarship begins with a two-month-long course, focused on completing prerequisites for the full Nanodegree program.

    A distinctive feature of this course, titled Introduction to machine learning on Azure with a Low-code Experience, is Azure Labs, in which students work with live Azure environments directly within the Udacity classroom.

    Learners aiming to earn one of up to 10,000 free spots are able to apply until June 30.

    The 300 top performers who successfully complete the introductory course will be selected for a scholarship to earn a four-month Nanodegree credential.

    The amount invested by Microsoft on this Udacity program to help train developers on its cloud infrastructure was not disclosed.

  • John Katzman Raises Another $16 Million to Expand Noodle Partners OPM Firm

    John Katzman Raises Another $16 Million to Expand Noodle Partners OPM Firm

    IBL News | New York

    Noodle Partners, Jonh Katzman’s created and managed OPM (Online Program Manager), announced this week it raised $16 million in Series B funding. The round was led by ValueAct Spring Fund and joined by the Lumina Foundation and existing investors.

    The New York City-based company –which has now raised more than $60 million–explained that it intends to use the funds to accelerate its growth.

    Noodle Partners claim that it has built 50 certificate or degree online programs for two dozen universities. The University of Tennessee, University of Virginia, The University of Michigan, Howard University, Tufts University, and Tulane University are among their customers.

    The controversial business area of OPM includes over 60 providers, although with different approaches. Noodle Partners’ offer is based on providing some of the services to universities, outsourcing others to third-party firms.

    John Katzman himself –in the picture above– created the OPM space when he founded the currently leading traded company 2U, back in 2008.

    As reporter Tony Wan explained in edSurge.com this Tuesday, Noodle charges colleges $22,000 per month in management fees alone for the first program and $12,000 per month for each additional program. It also charges a per-credit-hour fee for each student who enrolls in an online program. These costs do not include fees paid for services from other providers in Noodle’s network.

    “Even according to Katzman’s optimistic cost estimates, it can take two years and $3 million to launch a new program from scratch—and another two years for that program to generate positive revenue. Noodle also offers to borrow money on behalf of the institution from MassMutual, the life insurance and financial service company, to cover the upfront cost of launching new programs.”

     

  • edX Releases Juniper, Its Tenth Version of the Open edX Platform

    edX Releases Juniper, Its Tenth Version of the Open edX Platform

    IBL News | New York

    The edX organization quietly released yesterday its new Open edX version named Juniper.1. There have been no announcements nor release notes.

    This release was based on the code of the master software from May 27th, 2020.

    “Juniper” is the tenth Open edX version of the platform.

    Its name follows the adopted practice of picking botanical tree words and classifying them alphabetically.

    The next version will be named Koa. The past versions were:

    • Juniper
    • Ironwood
    • Hawthorn
    • Ginkgo
    • Ficus
    • Eucalyptus
    • Dogwood
    • Cypress
    • Birch
    • Aspen
  • DeVry University Releases a Complimentary Video Library to Build In-Demand Tech Skills

    DeVry University Releases a Complimentary Video Library to Build In-Demand Tech Skills

    IBL News | New York

    DeVry University announced the free release of nine skills-building video series on programming with Python, data analytics, and IoT fundamentals, machine learning, and Excel, among other in-demand subjects.

    DeVry University said that this self-paced video library is unique for three reasons: “Topics reflect LinkedIn’s list of most in-demand skills; are taught by all women professors, and provide an on-ramp to understand the technology of the future for everyone.”

    The initial set of videos in DeVry’s Skill-Building Video Library include:

    “There is an opportunity for millions of Americans to upskill and reskill to meet the gap in in-demand jobs while securing themselves durable careers,” said Natalie Waksmanski-Krynski, Ph.D., Professor and Faculty Chair in the College of Engineering and Information Sciences at DeVry University.

    “We are seeing a shift in the market, particularly as America emerges from the impact of COVID-19. Students and employers are seeking educational opportunities that provide a skills-based pathway to advancing their career trajectories,” said Shantanu Bose, Ph.D., Provost and Chief Academic Officer at DeVry University.

    “This complementary video series is just one of many initiatives on the horizon for DeVry University in affording America’s workforce access to the skills they need to keep pace with changes in the market and to help remain durable throughout their careers,” he added.

    DeVry said that new videos will be added in the coming weeks.

    It is estimated that 36 million jobs are at high risk from automation by 2030, with an additional 52 million jobs at medium risk.

  • The ‘Freshman Year for Free Program’ Will Pay Learners for Completing their Classes

    The ‘Freshman Year for Free Program’ Will Pay Learners for Completing their Classes

    IBL News | New York

    The New York-based philanthropy Modern States Education Alliance will pay learners an incentive of $150 per course for staying on track and furthering their education this summer.

    To be eligible, students must participate in the new NYC x Freshman Year for Free program. Modern States will pay $50 for completing a course and taking the corresponding CLEP exam.

    Learners will receive another $100 for passing the CLEP exam. Modern States will also pay your exam and proctoring fees.

    “The program will save learners up to 25% on the cost of college,” said David Vise, Executive Director at Modern States.

    The NYC x Freshman Year for Free program formally begins on July 1st and runs through December. It will include courses such as Spanish, English, Math, Science, History, Psychology, and Sociology.

    Teachers from every participating school will act as tutors and mentors. They will hold group and 1-on-1 tutoring sessions via Zoom and will be available to address questions and concerns.

    Registration will be opened at www.nyc.modernstates.org later in June.

    Modern States offers tuition-free online courses that lead to college credit. These freshman-level courses are taught by college professors.

  • Learning At Scale | June 2020: MOOCs, Rankings, Losses, Andreessen Horowitz, Databricks, Google…

    Learning At Scale | June 2020: MOOCs, Rankings, Losses, Andreessen Horowitz, Databricks, Google…

    [ Newsletter format  |  Click here to subscribe ]

    JUNE 2020  –  NEWSLETTER #34  |  Breaking news at IBL News  |  Noticias en Español

     

    Online Learning

    • MOOCs Were Dead, but Now They Are Booming, According to The New York Times

    • Eduventures Encourages to Re-Think Online Learning While Analyzing Scenarios

    • Students Find the Learning Experience Provided by Schools To Be Unengaging

     

    Universities

    • QS Releases Its U.S. University Ranking for 2020: Harvard, Stanford, and MIT Remain on Top

    • U.S. Colleges Will Lose Over $3 Billion After International Student Enrollment Decline This Upcoming Fall

    • The Big Ten Universities Will Accumulate Over $1.7 Billion in Losses Due to the Pandemic

     

    Initiatives

    • Andreessen Horowitz’s “Crypto Startup School” Releases Its First Series of Video Lectures

    • Databricks Launches a Program to Train College Students on Apache Spark and Other AI Tools

    • GSV Ventures Creates an Online MBA in Entrepreneurship with Belhaven University

    • Google’s Zoom-Like Web Conference, Meet, Makes Free Key Features of Its G-Suite Premium Version

     

    Events

    • Google, Cisco, Sony, and Other Companies Cancel Planned Launch Events in Light of the Civil Unrest

    • SXSW EDU Announces Its On-Demand Event with Speakers from the March Event

     

    Industry

    • Cengage and McGraw-Hill Terminate their Merger to Create a Textbook Giant

    • The College Board Responds to a Flood of Complaints About Malfunctioning of the Remote AP Tests

    • NY’s Governor Hires the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for Reforming the School System

     

    2020 Events 

    • Education Calendar  –   JUNE  |  JULY – DEC  |  Conferences in Latin America & Spain

    This newsletter is created in collaboration with IBL Education, a New York City-based company specialized in AI-driven learning platforms. Read the latest IBL Newsletter   |  Archive of Open edX Newsletters

  • edX & Platforms | June 2020: Coursera, Udacity, Rancher, NVIDIA, Moodle, MasterClass…

    edX & Platforms | June 2020: Coursera, Udacity, Rancher, NVIDIA, Moodle, MasterClass…

    [ Newsletter format  |  Click here to subscribe ]

     

    JUNE 2020 – NEWSLETTER #28  |  Breaking news at IBL News  |  Noticias en Español

     

    Open edX 

    • Rancher.com Creates a Free Online Certification Program for Developers

    • NVIDIA’s DLI, with +200K Learners, Expands Its Training by Adding Instructor-Led Virtual Workshops

     

    edX

    • UT Austin Launches an Online Master’s in Data Science for $10,000 on edX.org

    • edX Adds Three New Credit-Backed MicroBachelors Programs to its Portfolio

    • edX Reports 100 Million Unique Enrollments After a Growth of 20 Million

    • edX Offers a 30% Discount on Professional Certificates, MicroMasters, and MicroBachelors

     

    Coursera

    • College Students Will Have Free Access to the Coursera Course Catalog this Summer

    • Coursera Introduces ‘Guided Projects’, a Hands-On Feature

    • Co-Founder of Coursera Raised $142M for Her AI-Based Pharma Startup

    • Over 35,000 Enrolled in an Online Course to Become a Contact Tracer for the Pandemic

    • Coursera Will Provide Courses and Curated Programs to Tennis Professionals

    • UC Davis‘ Professional Ed Courses Soar to 4,000 Enrollments Per Day

     

    Udacity

    • Udacity Announces Its AWS Cloud Architect Nanodegree Program

     

    Learning Platforms

    • Moodle Says It Accounts for Over 200 Million Users and 151,000 Websites

    • Learn@Forbes Subscription Platform Launches an AI Tool that Creates Personalized Paths

    • MasterClass.com Reaches a Valuation of Over $800 Million After Raising $100 Million

     

    2020 Events 

    • Education Calendar  –    JUNE  |  JULY – DEC  |  Conferences in Latin America & Spain

     

    This newsletter is created in collaboration with IBL Education, a New York City-based company specialized in AI-driven learning platforms. Read the latest IBL Newsletter   |  Archive of Open edX Newsletters

  • UT Austin Launches an Online Master’s in Data Science for $10,000 on edX.org

    UT Austin Launches an Online Master’s in Data Science for $10,000 on edX.org

    IBL News | New York

    edX.org announced this week another online Master’s degree at $10,000 on a high-demand subject.

    The Master of Science in Data Science, from the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), is designed to prepare graduates to step into jobs within industries like bioinformatics, academia, government, and others.

    In this program, leaders from both the Department of Statistics and Data Sciences and the Department of Computer Science at UT Austin deliver a foundational curriculum in statistical theory that is built upon computer science.

    “We have made it a point from day one to ensure that the academic rigor of this program is held to the historic standards that everyone has come to expect from The University of Texas at Austin,” said Kate Calder, chair of UT Austin’s Department of Statistics and Data Sciences. “In many cases, these are the same faculty teaching comparable degree material to our on-campus courses, but tailored to the needs of this group of online students,” she added.

    The program will start on January 19, 2021, and the application deadline is September 15, 2020.

    Tuition is 30 credits at $333 each; $10,000 in total.

    This Master’s degree joins two additional online degree programs from UT Austin – a Master of Science in Computer Science and a Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences.

    UT Austin, one of the best U.S. public colleges, was a founding partner of edX in 2012.

     

  • College Students Will Have Free Access to the Coursera Course Catalog this Summer

    College Students Will Have Free Access to the Coursera Course Catalog this Summer

    IBL News | New York

    Coursera announced yesterday a collection of courses that help broaden an understanding of racism, bias, and social justice while pledging to provide financial support to create and host new classes about racial discrimination and social justice.

    On the other hand, in its latest response to the pandemic, also this week, the learning company announced, that college and university students will have temporary free access to the Coursera course catalog–including credentials– of 3,800 courses, 150 Guided Projects, 400 Specializations, and 11 Professional Certificates.

    All that’s required to enroll is that students–current undergraduate, graduate, or recently graduated–have a verified school email. They can sign up in programs for free until July 31. Once enrolled, they will have until Sept. 30, 2020, to complete the programs.

    After Sept. 30, 2020, students will continue to have free access to Guided Projects, a hands-on learning experience around job-relevant skills.

  • Google, Cisco, Sony and Other Companies Cancel Planned Launch Events in Light of the Civil Unrest

    Google, Cisco, Sony and Other Companies Cancel Planned Launch Events in Light of the Civil Unrest

    IBL News | New York

    Sony, Activision, Electronic Arts, Google, Cisco, and other high-profile companies announced today Tuesday their decision to postpone launch events until later in June, due to the civil unrest in the U.S. after the violent death of George Floyd–a 46-year-old black man who died in police custody a week ago when a white police officer knelt on his neck.

    Sony had set to unveil some of the games in development for its forthcoming PlayStation 5 on Thursday. In a statement, the company said, “we do not feel that right now is a time for celebration”, adding it wanted “more important voices to be heard”.

    Hours later, Activision delayed the release of the new Call of Duty content. The firm said “now is not the time” to launch new seasons for its online battle-royale first-person shooter Modern Warfare.

    Other technology firms have also canceled planned launch events.

    Game publisher Electronic Arts postponed its reveal event for its latest sports title, Madden NFL 21, issuing a statement saying “we stand with our African American / Black community… we’ll find another time to talk football with you”.

    Google had planned to show off new features of the Android operating system on Wednesday, as well as release a version for testers. On the Android Developer website, Google issued a similar statement saying: “Now is not the time to celebrate.”

    Airbnb pulled a planned video message from its chief executive about the future of travel.

    The telecom firm Cisco canceled a two-day virtual conference hours before it was due to begin, and urged its followers to “use this moment to reflect and make progress towards a better, more inclusive world.”  The Cisco Live conference was postponed until later in June.

    “We don’t believe the time is right to host an event in the middle of this tragic moment in our history,” said its CEO in a video statement.

     

    https://youtu.be/kcIUDwpI66Q