IBL News

Category: Top News

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

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

    IBL News | New York

    eLearning Brothers, yesterday, announced their second acquisition of 2022 after the purchasing Rehearsal video coaching platform.

    The purchased firm was a Chennai, India-based learning design and technology called Origin Learning. The amount of the transaction was not disclosed.

    It’s eLearning Brothers‘ fifth acquisition over the past two years.

    American Fork, Utah–based eLearning Brothers explained that “its headcount was increased over three-fold.”

    The company now has nearly 500 employees, according to its own data.

    “Now, with nearly 500 employees, we are uniquely positioned to help organizations of all sizes tackle their learning and development challenges, as well as continue to add features and innovations to their learning technology offerings,” explained Andrew Scivally, co-founder and CEO of eLearning Brothers.

    “Our philosophy aligns perfectly with the eLearning Brothers mission of helping create better learning experiences,” said Vasanthi, co-founder and CEO of Origin Learning Inc. 

    Founded in 2008, Origin Learning follows a delivery model mix of onsite/offshore/hybrid customized for client needs.

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

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

    IBL News | New York

    Toronto-based learning platform Docebo Inc (NASDAQ: DCBO; TSX: DCBO) announced this week its acquisition of Skillslive, an Australian educational consulting agency, for an undisclosed amount.

    With this purchase, Docebo further expands its presence in the Asia-Pacific (“APAC”) region by adding expertise and commercial and professional services capabilities.

    “It builds from Docebo’s strong and growing presence in North America and Europe,” said the company.

    Skillslive was already a reseller with Docebo. The agency offers consultancy services around the idea of aligning pathways with professional development, competencies, compliance, certification, and accreditation.

    The name of Skillslive will be changed to “Docebo ANZ.”

    In 2021, as part of its expansion in the EMEA region, Docebo opened a new office in Munich, Germany.

     

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

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

    IBL News | New York

    A survey from Cengage Group regarding The Great Resignation — the phenomenon that depicts why millions of workers are quitting their jobs — reveals that employees aren’t just resigning. They are reskilling with the hope they can change their career paths, move to new industries, and improve their lives.

    In 2021, the number of resigners reached 38 million. Meanwhile, as of January 2022, the number of available jobs in the U.S. hovered around 10.6 million. As they struggle to fill open positions, employers are hiring workers based on skills and potential instead of degrees on a resume.

    “The pandemic has forced everyone to consider what gives employees purpose, and for many people, work isn’t the be-all-end-all of their lives anymore,” concluded Cengage’s survey. “Workers have more power and leverage than ever, and they’re wielding that power by leaving their jobs in unprecedented numbers to look for better opportunities.”

    Online training is a stepping stone for resigners’ next opportunities and their sights are set on three industries.

    Nearly 4 out of 5 resigners (78%) have taken online training courses or certificate programs. Their motivations are clear: most (64%) say that having an online training program on their resume is essential to landing a new job.

    The majority of those training programs (72%) had a time-to-completion of six months or less. This time frame suggests that resigners prefer short-term courses to help them reskill and get back into the workforce quickly.

    The report offers three recommendations for organizations to better support people looking to reskill:

    1) Academic institutions should offer more short-term, flexible, scalable, and affordable credentialing programs.

    2) Employers need to provide more access to reskilling and upskilling opportunities for career growth.

    3) U.S. education and workforce systems must modernize by investing in apprenticeships, hybrid learning models, and industry partnerships.

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

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

    IBL News | New York

    The LMS Market size will grow from $15.8 billion in 2021 to $37.9 billion by 2026, at a growth rate (CAGR) of 19.1% during that period, according to a report from MarketsandMarkets.com.

    A major factor driving this growth will be, according to this research firm, the need for more efficient and accessible tools and cloud solutions, both in the higher education and training workforce field. The modalities demanded will include distance learning, instructor-led training, blended learning, either on cloud or on-premises, in academic environments and corporate — mainly in software & technology, healthcare, retail, banking, financial services, and insurance (BFSI), manufacturing, government & defense, and telecom.

    The COVID-19 pandemic has forced businesses to revive their learning and training strategies while tracking their learners’ progress and the effectiveness of their programs.

    LMS vendors are constantly improving their offerings “by helping educators adapt to reducing attention spans, with more visuals and less text, more engaging themes and expressions, emphasis on virtual immersive learning, and, eventually, gamification to captivate learners.”

    “Artificial Intelligence (AI) can be implemented to create an AI-based mentor who can help understand concepts, suggest courses, and provide feedback to improve student performance.”

    “Other technologies, such as data analysis, analyze students’ thought processes and learning styles from their daily interactions, helps them to provide tailored courses and personalized learning experiences.”

    LMS technologies will advance with the rise of 5G technology.

    The report covers the following vendors: Cornerstone OnDemand (US), Blackboard (US), PowerSchool (US), Instructure (US), D2L (Canada), IBM (US), Infor (US), Adobe (US), LTG (UK), Oracle (US), SAP (Germany), Docebo (Canada), SumTotal (US), Tovuti (US), 360Learning (France), Epignosis (US), LearnUpon (Ireland), SkyPrep (Canada), Absorb (Canada), CrossKnowledge (France), Lessonly (US), Axonify (Canada), BizLibrary (US), Thinkific (Canada), iSpring (US), Blue Sky eLearn (US), Trakstar Learn (Canada), DigitalChalk (US), KMI Learning (US), and Moodle (Australia).

     

  • eLearning Brothers Acquires Video Learning Start-Up Rehearsal

    eLearning Brothers Acquires Video Learning Start-Up Rehearsal

    IBL News | New York

    American Fork, Utah–based eLearning Brothers acquired Rehearsal, a video-based practice and coaching platform, for an undisclosed amount.

    On the Rehearsal platform, users practice skills with their webcam, submit videos for review, and receive manager feedback or automated scoring powered by AI.

    Launched in 2015, Rehearsal has customers such as Paychex, 3M, Stryker, Abbvie, and Takeda, among others., with over 500,000 users.

    “Adding Rehearsal to the eLearning Brothers suite of learning technology fills an important need in our L&D offering while also allowing us to expand our footprint in sales enablement,” said Andrew Scivally, CEO for eLearning Brothers.

     

     

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

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

    IBL News | New York

    The Center for Reimagining Learning, Inc. organization — the new non-profit entity of MIT and Harvard that stewards the Open edX software — posted the technical notes and description of features of Maple, the 13th version of the platform released on December 20th. The next version, scheduled for mid-year, will be called Nutmeg.

    Maple replaces Lilac, released on July 2021. It includes new features, such as the following:

    • The Learning Micro Frontend (MFE) is now the default course experience for learners, including section effort estimates, learner progress celebrations, and jump navigation.
      The user can see the estimated time to read and watch videos, plus the number of activities, on the course outline.
    • Ability to give users course and library creation rights on a per-organization basis.
    • The jump navigation feature gives learners the ability to jump into any part of the courseware at the click of a button instead of having to navigate manually through units.
    • Mobile app enhancements:
      • Course dates can now sync with a user’s default calendar app.
      • Ability to detect iframe content within the HTML block, giving the user the option to view the iframe content in the mobile browser.
      • The LTI Consumer XBlock is now supported natively in the iOS and Android apps.
    • CourseGraph graphical representation of course data in neo4j popular graph database.
    • Reusable Rubrics: Course staff can now reuse a rubric from an existing ORA.
    • Improvements on course authoring’s common problem editor.
    • The studio is changing to become an OAuth client of LMS, using the same SSO configuration.

    For production, along with the native Open edX installation, a dockerized distribution based on Tutor was released.

     

     

     

     

     

     

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

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

    IBL News | New York

    New York City-based collaborative learning SaaS platform 360Learning announced this month the acquisition of Looop, a leading UK LMS, with customers such as Financial Times, Klarna, Monzo, and ASOS.

    360Learning said it purchased Looop for $20 million, “in a mixture of cash and shares.”

    This is 360Learning‘s first acquisition after it attracted $200M funding to invest in M&A. Its stated goal is to increase penetration in the UK and help reach new audiences across Asia, North & South America, and Europe.

    Founded in 2014, Looop claims to be cash flow positive, with an annual growth rate of 100% and a projected ARR of $6.5 million by the end of 2022.

    It also achieves high satisfaction ratings on eLearning platforms, including Capterra (4.9/5), G2 (4.9/5), and eLearning Industry (97%).

    The company says that its approach is based on harnessing the power of technology to embed learning into people’s workflows instead of taking them out of their day jobs.

    With companies looking to increase their corporate education spending in a bid to stem the Great Resignation, the LMS industry is expected to grow from $15.8 billion in 2021 to $37.9 billion by 2026.

    With customers such as LVMH, Aircall, Toyota, and Appen, the 360Learning platform “empowers learners to build their own skills, create courses in as few as 17 minutes and share knowledge throughout the business.”

     

  • Cornerstone Named a New CEO Two Months After Being Acquired

    Cornerstone Named a New CEO Two Months After Being Acquired

    IBL News | New York

    Cornerstone OnDemand named software industry veteran Himanshu Palsule as CEO and member of the Board of Directors this month.

    Former CEO Phil Saunders, joined Cornerstone Founder Adam Miller as senior advisor to the company.

    The appointment of Himanshu Palsule — in the picture above — took place two months after Clearlake Capital Group’s $5.2 billion acquisition.

    “With his deep industry knowledge, expertise in product and innovation strategy, focus on shaping new markets, and vast experience in inorganic growth acceleration, Mr. Palsule is well qualified to lead the continued growth of Cornerstone,” said the company.

    Santa Monica, California-based, 20-years old Cornerstone provides HR tech solutions to 6,000 customers and 75 million users.

    In a PR initiative, the company announced several recognitions it received from analyst firms.

    Those accolades included its recent skill development platform, Cornerstone Xplor, a competitor to Degreed.

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

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

    IBL News | New York

    The University of Michigan’s (U-M) Board of Regents fired its President, Dr. Mark S. Schlissel — pictured above — this Saturday after he was involved “in an inappropriate relationship with a University employee.” 

    “After an investigation, we learned that Dr. Schlissel, over a period of years, used his University email account to communicate with that subordinate in a manner inconsistent with the dignity and reputation of the University,” explained the institution.

    The Board named former U-M President Mary Sue Coleman as Interim President. She will serve until a new President is named, expected for this summer.

    U-M released Dr. Schlissel’s communications on the university’s website, as well as the letter sent to him. “Messages also demonstrate that you were using official University of Michigan business as a means to pursue and carry out a personal relationship with the subordinate.”

    Dr. Schlissel was ordered to return all property “associated” with his presidency and vacate the presidential mansion within 30 days.

    In October 2021, Schlissel announced that he would step down from the Presidency in June 2023, a year earlier than the end of his term.

    In November 2020, the University of Michigan agreed to pay $9.25 million to eight women whom Martin Philbert, a former provost, harassed during his tenure.

     

  • A DoD-Funded VR Initiative Will Upskill Manufacturing Workers

    A DoD-Funded VR Initiative Will Upskill Manufacturing Workers

    IBL News | New York

    The Pittsburgh-based ARM Institute announced it will create a virtual reality prototype aimed at upskilling manufacturing workers for robotics and automation jobs. The Office of the Secretary of Defense’s Manufacturing Technology (ManTech) program will provide the funding.

    The goal is to offer a prototype by fall 2022 that will give incumbent manufacturing workers the ability to earn knowledge, skill, and ability-based credentials via VR immersion.

    For this initiative, ARM Institute will team up with SimInsights Inc., APT Manufacturing Solutions Inc., and IBL Education — the parent company of IBL News media outlet.

    These assessments tend to occur on the site of manufacturing and other heavy industry-type environments and without the need to pursue technical school or by taking classes, according to Linda Wood, the ARM Institute’s senior certification manager, who is running the prototype’s development.

    “I want everyone who’s working on a robot today to have that same ability without having to find a robot, find a certification program, and be able to take a robot out of production in order to be assessed on it because manufacturers aren’t going to do that,” Wood said.