IBL News

Category: Top News

  • MITx Passes the Milestone of 10 Million Enrollments on Its Online Courses

    MITx Passes the Milestone of 10 Million Enrollments on Its Online Courses

    IBL News | New York

    MITx announced this week that it passed the milestone of 10 million enrollments on online courses within a decade. This year, between March and June, enrollments doubled the same period last year, until 787,000 registrations.

    This semester, MITx is launching 45 courses, including eight new courses.

    In addition, eight MITx courses–free courses taught by MIT Faculty–have been recognized on Class Central’s list of the top online courses of all time, a list compiled based on the reviews of tens of thousands of learners.

    The new offer of courses includes:

    “The MITx team has been unstoppable working diligently to achieve all of this from home these last seven months; MIT’s generous faculty have adapted their courses and dedicated MITx Digital Learning Lab fellows have worked with faculty to design and run all of our courses,” said Krishna Rajagopal, Dean for Digital Learning at MIT.

  • WSU Campuses Switch from Blackboard to Canvas LMS

    WSU Campuses Switch from Blackboard to Canvas LMS

    IBL News | New York

    Washington State University (WSU) – ditched Blackboard and adopted Canvas LMS this month. In addition, another U.S. college, Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) expressed its frustration with the Blackboard experience, although it has not made a decision to switch yet.

    “As a result of virtual learning, some Cal Poly Pomona students have grown increasingly frustrated with the online learning platform, Blackboard,” explained The Poly Post student newspaper.

    Cal Poly Pomona started using Web CT as its LMS before Blackboard bought Web CT and forced a change.

    “Those that have voiced frustrations with Blackboard’s deficiencies are often students who transferred to CPP from other colleges that use Canvas, Blackboard’s main competitor in the learning management system market,” says the newspaper.

    The switch on WSU extends into all of its campuses. Canvas will replace Blackboard in the Fall of 2021 throughout all WSU campuses. Positive feedback from students and faculty on Canvas prompted the move, according to The Daily Evergreen student newspaper.

    Greg Crouch, Clinical Professor and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies at WSU explained that “Blackboard’s long-term problems include students having difficulty integrating outside tools with the system, as well as issues with student enrollment being added and dropped”

    The university also considered Blackboard Ultra as an option, but the evaluation team found similar complications. “The way Blackboard was fundamentally coded is incompatible with the student information system, so issues connecting would continue to arise,” Crouch said.

    Canvas LMS and Blackboard, the two learning management platform, fight for industry primacy in the U.S., although Canvas leads the race with a market share of 31%, while Blackboard controls 23%.

     

     

     

  • WSU Campuses and Cal Poly Pomona Switch from Blackboard to Canvas LMS

    WSU Campuses and Cal Poly Pomona Switch from Blackboard to Canvas LMS

    IBL News | New York

    Two more U.S. colleges – Cal Poly Pomona (CPP) and Washington State University (WSU) – ditched Blackboard and adopted Canvas LMS this month.

    The two learning management platforms fight for industry primacy in the U.S., although Canvas leads the race with a market share of 31%, while Blackboard controls a 23%.

    “As a result of virtual learning, some Cal Poly Pomona students have grown increasingly frustrated with the online learning platform, Blackboard,” explained The Poly Post student newspaper.

    Cal Poly Pomona started using Web CT as its LMS before Blackboard bought Web CT and forced a change.

    “Those that have voiced frustrations with Blackboard’s deficiencies are often students who transferred to CPP from other colleges that use Canvas, Blackboard’s main competitor in the learning management system market,” says the newspaper.

    The switch on WSU extends into all of its campuses. Canvas will replace Blackboard in the Fall of 2021 throughout all WSU campuses. Positive feedback from students and faculty on Canvas prompted the move, according to The Daily Evergreen student newspaper.

    Greg Crouch, Clinical Professor and Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies at WSU explained that “Blackboard’s long-term problems include students having difficulty integrating outside tools with the system, as well as issues with student enrollment being added and dropped”

    The university also considered Blackboard Ultra as an option, but the evaluation team found similar complications. “The way Blackboard was fundamentally coded is incompatible with the student information system, so issues connecting would continue to arise,” Crouch said.

     

     

     

  • Educause’s 2021 ‘IT Issues Report’ Will Elaborate on Three Scenarios

    Educause’s 2021 ‘IT Issues Report’ Will Elaborate on Three Scenarios

    IBL News | New York

    Educause said during its 2020 annual conference—virtually developed this week– that the “Top IT Issues 2021: Emerging From the Pandemic” report will project this year different scenarios due to the uncertainty of the pandemic.

    This research project—to be fully released in early November—falls into the following three possible post-pandemic scenarios for colleges and universities:

    • Restored: a focus on survival,
    • Evolved: a focus on “adapting to the new normal”; and
    • Transformed: a focus on taking “an active role” in innovating its approach to higher education.


    Susan Grajek    , Vice-President of Communities and Research, wondered whether “the pandemic would prove to be higher education’s extinction event, or would our ecosystem emerge stronger and fitter for the future, or both might be true.”

     

     

  • Develop.com IT Learning Platform Updates Its Brand and User Experience

    Develop.com IT Learning Platform Updates Its Brand and User Experience

    IBL News | New York

    Develop.com online learning platform introduced its new brand and user experience this week, along with new course content and certificates.

    Boston-based Develop provides on-demand courses on IT for business professionals. It was launched this Spring in partnership with Global Knowledge, recently acquired by Skillsoft.

    “The new look and ‘Find Your Track and Develop’ tagline encapsulates the goal of the platform for its end users,” said Kevin Pawsey, Chief Experience Officer (CXO) at Develop.

    “The refreshed brand is fueled by a commitment to serve both technical specialists and tech-adjacent workers by helping them discover what course series best suits their needs in an ever-changing, tech-driven landscape,” he added.

    “Our new site is more user-friendly, visually appealing, and we’ve updated the checkout process to make it easier for you to find the course you want and start learning as quickly and easily as possible,” explained James McNamee, VP of Marketing and Sales at Develop.com.

    Next month, Develop.com will release a Cybersecurity Academy within its platform. It will contain practice with hands-on skills, and include courses on security and password policies, user group management, encryption and firewall implementation, and auditing in Linux domain.

    Develop recently added these courses:

    The new website and platform are built upon an Open edX ecosystem developed by the New York-based IBL Education learning software company.

  • Udemy’s Corporate Learning Division Surpasses $100M In Annual Revenue

    Udemy’s Corporate Learning Division Surpasses $100M In Annual Revenue

    IBL News | New York

    Udemy’s corporate learning division–Udemy for Business–claimed yesterday that its annual revenue reached $100 million annual recurring revenue (ARR) after a 90% surge in enrollments this year.

    “This milestone is further proof of Udemy’s successful business model and rapid growth over the last five years,” said the company in a press statement.

    Privately held and headquartered in San Francisco, Udemy hosts 57,000 instructors over 130,000 courses in 65 languages, while Udemy for Business curates 7,000 of the highest-rated courses.

    Following a $50 million funding round at a $2 billion valuation earlier this year, Udemy serves 80% of Fortune 100 companies, according to its own data.

    Udemy for Business has become Citi’s most used digital learning content library. Other customers of this division include Unilever, Eventbrite, PayPal, Apple, Survey Monkey, The World Bank, Okta, Unicef, Gamestop, Box, Air Force, Fandom, TIBCO Software, The Walt Disney Corp, Tata Inc., NTT, and Toyota Motors.

    Peter Fox, Global Head of Digital Learning and Talent Technology at Citi said that “success in today’s rapidly changing world is impossible without an ongoing focus on continuous learning, up-skilling, and re-skilling”. “Continuous learning is not only essential to thrive in a changing technology landscape but also absolutely crucial for business competitiveness,” explained Anurag Seth, Vice President and Head of Talent Transformation, Crowdsourcing and Business Continuity, Wipro Limited.

  • Canvas LMS Launches a Six Course Certification Training Program

    Canvas LMS Launches a Six Course Certification Training Program

    IBL News | New York

    Canvas LMS will launch on November 9, 2020, its certification training program, designed to strengthen knowledge through hands-on experiences and obtain a mastery of skills.

    The Canvas Certified Educator program will be fully online with four core and two elective courses completed asynchronously within an established date range.

    It will include customized course content for both K-12 and higher education, along with frameworks, models, and instructional practices anchored in research.

    Taught in Canvas by the Canvas Learning Services team, each course takes approximately four weeks to complete. They include:

    • Course Core 1:  Foundational Frameworks – It explores the impact of technology on student learning and the classroom and how Canvas can help educators improve student achievement, motivation, and engagement.
    • Course Core 2: Engagement Strategies –  It examines the ways that Canvas can help enrich teaching practices.
    • Course Core 3: Personalized Learning – It investigates the power of personalized learning and the tools provided by Canvas to create opportunities for student voice and choice within the learning environment.
    • Course Core 4: Transformational Practices – It course evaluates digital learning tools that enhance learning in Canvas as part of its dedication to open standards.
    • Electives: A series of optional K12 or HE courses can be selected by participants based on their interests and needs.

    Participants will receive a digital badge issued through Badgr upon completion of each course and a digital pathway micro-credential upon completion of the full program. Evidence will be reviewed by the Digital Promise team against passing criteria/rubric.

    “Our customers want to have a deeper knowledge of the platform and to have credentials and badges that certify their expertise with Canvas to facilitate professional development and career progression,” said Melissa Loble, Chief Customer Experience Officer.

    • Registration online.

     

  • Coursera Lists Its Enterprise Offering at AWS Marketplace

    Coursera Lists Its Enterprise Offering at AWS Marketplace

    IBL News | New York

    Coursera made its enterprise offering available for purchase as SaaS at the AWS Marketplace (Amazon Web Services). “It streamlines adoption of online learning and makes it easier for companies,” wrote Leah Belsky, Chief Enterprise Officer at Coursera.

    By listing its plan, Coursera revealed its market positioning: 125 user licenses for accessing the Coursera catalog of 4,300 courses and credentials costs $90,000 for 24 months, and $127,500 for 36 months.

    This way, the pricing per user per month is set around $30, an amount aligned with other learning platforms such as Pluralsight or edX.

    Currently, Coursera reports having customers such as Novartis, Capgemini, and Exelon.

    A part of Coursera’s offer is its Skill Development Dashboards, which allows tracking skills that the companies are developing by role, domain, and level of mastery.

     

  • Google Launches a Certificate Program on edX.org that Explains How Its Search Engine Works

    Google Launches a Certificate Program on edX.org that Explains How Its Search Engine Works

    IBL News | New York

    Google launched this month on edX.org a certificate program about power searching skills and techniques.

    The “Power Searching with Google XSeries Certificate” includes two self-paced courses, taught by Daniel Russell, Senior Research Scientist at Google. Its duration is one month (4 to 6 hours per week) and it’s priced at $250.

    “Being a strong searcher and competent as an everyday researcher is an essential skill in today’s complex information environment,” said Daniel Russell, Senior Research Scientist, Google.

    “This Power Searching course aims to equip people with tips and tricks that can help them more accurately and efficiently find what they need to know, be it information for work, school, or the world at large,” he added.

     

  • A Super Student Who Completed 350 Online Courses within Three Months During the Pandemic

    A Super Student Who Completed 350 Online Courses within Three Months During the Pandemic

    IBL News | New York

    A woman from Kerala, India, achieved a world record of completing 350 online courses in 90 days, The New Indian Express reported.

    Arathi Reghunath, on her second-year at MSc Biochemistry in the MES College, spent her free time during the COVID-19 lockdown studying and bagged a world record from Universal Record Forum (URF) by completing 350 courses listed on the Coursera.org platform.

    “It was my faculty at college who introduced me to the world of online courses. With the support of my college principal Ajims P Muhammed, Coursera coordinator Haneefa KG, and class tutor Neelima T K, I managed to finish the courses I signed up for within a few weeks,” she explained.

    Arathi has completed the courses offered by John Hawkins University, Technical University of Denmark (DTU), University of Virginia, State University of New York, University of Colorado Boulder, University of Copenhagen, University of Rochester, Emory University, and Coursera Project Network.