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IBL News | New York

Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) announced today that it accepted Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s offer to acquire the social media company at $54.20 per share in cash, in a deal valued at $44 billion.

Twitter Board of Directors unanimously approved the transaction, which is expected to close in 2022.

The purchase price represents a 38% premium to Twitter’s closing stock price on April 1, 2022, which was the last trading day before Mr. Musk disclosed his approximately 9% stake in Twitter.

Shares of Twitter Inc. rose 6% Monday to $52 per stock. The stock is still well below the high of $77 per share it reached in February 2021.

Upon completion of the deal, Twitter will become a privately held company by a firm wholly owned by Elon Musk.

Elon Musk secured $25.5 billion of fully committed debt and margin loan financing and is providing an approximately $21.0 billion equity commitment.

Last week, Musk lined up $46.5 billion in financing to buy Twitter, putting pressure on the company’s board to negotiate a deal.

“The Twitter Board conducted a thoughtful and comprehensive process to assess Elon’s proposal with a deliberate focus on value, certainty, and financing,” Twitter’s Independent Board Chair Bret Taylor said of the deal.

“The proposed transaction will deliver a substantial cash premium, and we believe it is the best path forward for Twitter’s stockholders.”

Elon Musk, who is the world’s wealthiest person Musk is the world’s wealthiest person, with a nearly $279 billion fortune, said, “I want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spambots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential – I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”

“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated.”

With 83 million followers on his account, Musk is a prolific writer with a following that rivals several pop stars.

Musk has described himself as a “free-speech absolutist”, but is also known for blocking other Twitter users who question or disagree with him.

In recent weeks, he has voiced a number of proposed changes for the company, from relaxing its content restrictions — such as the rules that suspended former President Donald Trump’s account — to ridding the platform of fake and automated accounts and shifting away from its advertising-based revenue model.

Musk believes he can increase revenue through subscriptions that give paying customers a better experience, perhaps even an ad-free version of Twitter.

After the deal was announced, the civil rights organization NAACP released a statement that urged Musk not to allow former President Trump, the 45th president, back onto the platform.

 

🚀💫♥️ Yesss!!! ♥️💫🚀 pic.twitter.com/0T9HzUHuh6

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 25, 2022

IBL News | New York

The global education technology market will reach $998.4 billion by 2030, with a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 17.3%, according to market researcher P&S Intelligence. The market size was estimated at $237.6 billion in 2021.

The growth will be fueled by the emergence of AI, IoT, digitalization, and EdTech solutions. The incorporation of VR and AR will support a more interactive learning experience.

Additionally, blockchain technology will enable users to store and secure the records of students and learners, thereby allowing administrators and educators to analyze the consumption patterns and make data-driven decisions.

Other driving factors will be the developments in connectivity infrastructure, surging smartphone penetration, increased speed of the internet and 5G technology, smartphone apps, and growing investments by private equity and venture capital firms.

This researcher emphasizes the rising usage of EdTech in China and India, boosted by their government’s financial help. Today, China has 282 million students and 17.32 million teachers in more than 530,000 schools, according to UNICEF.

The COVID-19 pandemic has boosted the adoption of advanced educational technology, forcing many students to enhance their skills and strengthening their reliance on educational technology.

IBL News | New York

The Open edX organization, now called The Center for Reimagining Learning (tCRIL), reorganized the spaces and tools for developers to interact with the software of the platform. The idea is to provide more transparency and facilitate engagement with Open edX product managers across the ecosystem.

• The Open edX Roadmap captures and documents all the contributions to the platform. Now, it includes all the contributions that will be shipped in the Nutmeg release — the last version of the Open edX platform — in June. An issue template on Github, along with a how-to guide and a FAQ page, allows developers to submit their contributions to the roadmap.

• The Open edX Product Management Wiki facilitates the sharing of documentation, UX designs, and discovery findings in the early stage of product development.

• The Open edX Working Group on Slack at #wg-open-edx-product-management works as a public space to engage in product-related conversations, decisions, and updates.

The Product Working Group will meet for the first time at the Open edX conference in Lisbon on April 26-29, agree on a manifesto, and discuss goals and focus projects for the next three months.

IBL News | New York

Cornerstone OnDemand announced this month the acquisition of EdCast, a learning platform featuring a skills engine and a content marketplace that uses Open edX as part of its software stack. The transaction terms — expected to close in Q2 2022 — were not disclosed.

To date, EdCast raised $107.3 million in funding over eight rounds and 21 investors. EdCast has a post-money valuation in the range of $100M to $500M as of Dec 12, 2019, according to PrivCo.

Analyst Josh Bersin wrote that EdCast was around a $40 million company, growing 80% per year.

Himanshu Palsule, CEO of Cornerstone, said that his company and EdCast have “the potential to deliver a next-generation learning and talent infrastructure.”

He added that this acquisition is a strong fit with Cornerstone’s strategy to transform the learning software market.

“Today’s fragmented HR technology landscape is ripe for reinvention as organizations seek new ways to unify people and business in areas most critical to growth — workforce engagement, talent retention, skills transformation, and career mobility,” he explained.

Acquired last year by Clearlake Capital Group for $5.2 Billion, Cornerstone has 6,000 corporate customers and 75 million users.

This Santa Monica, California-based company competes with enterprise learning and talent management platforms such as Degreed, Microsoft Viva Learning, Workday, SAP SuccessFactors, Oracle HCM, Intrepid, and NovoEd. In the area of training-oriented platforms, it competes with Docebo, Valamis, 360Learning, Totara, Absorb, and Learn Upon, Saba, Fuel50, and Gloat, among others.

EdCast was founded by entrepreneur Karl Mehta in 2014 as an Open edX provider. Later, it evolved into a learning experience platform (LXP), competing primarily with Degreed.
.

 

IBL News | New York

“At ASU (Arizona State University), we are creating an environment to prepare students to be master learners,” said Michael Crow, President of Arizona State University, during the ASU+GSV Summit that kicked off in San Diego yesterday.

Education leaders, entrepreneurs, investors, and policymakers gathered for three days to dissect where the educational business is heading.

The 2022 ASU+GSV conference attracted 6,000 attendants, a record number of participants, through an edition well-organized and successfully executed.

The event included the 2022 GSV Cup Top 3, with three start-ups: Clayful, Collective Academy, and Kibo. Kibo was the winner, as disclosed during the closing party last night.

In a Q&A conversation with The New York Times columnist Tom Friedman, Michael Crow redirected the conversation on the future of education into the life-long learning scenario. “Now people will be learning all their life,” he said.

“We need to change pedagogical design and add more tools. We need better ways to teach and learn. Universities need to figure out how to produce better teachers and students.”

Regarding the value of degrees, Crow said, “we have to stop thinking of a college degree in the traditional sense, and we have to think of it as a learning moment on a pathway.”

“It’s a measurement of learning capacity rather than an achievement in itself. We have to move away from the notion of kindergarten through college, and then you’re done with learning, and you go to work.”

ASU started its School for the Future of Innovation in Society to address these issues, Crow said.

“We felt the university sector had missed the boat in trying to understand how to guide technology – not just the market forces, but the social complexities and the disruptive positives and negatives that are occurring.”

Tom Friedman praised ASU’s effort by saying that “you make education hot and cool.”

 

Announcing the 2022 GSV Cup Top 3 – Clayful, Collective Academy, and Kibo!

Join us live for the finale this evening on StageX. #asugsvsummit https://t.co/jTja5nw60F pic.twitter.com/Fyly0oTa0Q

— ASU+GSV Summit (@asugsvsummit) April 6, 2022

The world’s largest pitch competition for “Pre-K to Gray” #EdTech startups unfolds live today at #asugsvsummit. Join us at 4pm for the Elite 200 Demo Round-Robin followed by the Top 20 pitches on Stage X. https://t.co/2EQRK7ZCdB pic.twitter.com/1FHbJQhQD1

— ASU+GSV Summit (@asugsvsummit) April 5, 2022

That’s a wrap on our time at @asugsvsummit! We are leaving San Diego invigorated by the ingenuity, passion, and collective will of this community to advance inclusive, ethical innovation and ensure powerful learning experiences for every learner. #ASUGSVSummit pic.twitter.com/Fcceyf2Dwu

— Digital Promise (@DigitalPromise) April 7, 2022

Plenty of takeaways to reflect upon, thanks everyone attending and presenting @ #asugsvsummit pic.twitter.com/tPEphRjYOi

— cyriloberlander (@cyriloberlander) April 7, 2022

IBL News | New York

“One-third of employees are shifting their hiring practices into skills,” said yesterday Scott Pulsipher, President of WGU (Western Governors University) during a sat down interview conducted by JFF’s CEO, Maria Flynn, at the SWSW EDU conference in Austin, Texas.

The panel titled “The Edges of Learning & Work” explored promising innovations in workforce education along with their potential for equity.

Scott Pulsipher pointed out that his institution’s challenge is based on “how to enhance technology to improve the quality of curriculum design.” “It’s about how to better invest in technology to improve outcomes for students,” he added.

Mr. Pulsipher insisted on the idea of mapping skills and geo-locating them. “WGU has been at the forefront of innovation with its competency-based model,” said Maria Flynn.

SXSW EDU Launch and Student Startup Competitions’ Winners

During the same SXSW EDU event — which concluded yesterday — organizers announced the winners of the 2022 Launch and Student Startup competitions.

In the first competition, the award winner was the Pala Indian Reservation, California-based Our Worlds, Inc. This company provides place-based, primary source, educational content about Native Americans in Extended Reality 360 degrees across the world.

The six finalists pitched innovations ranging from platforms supporting emotional literacy education to speech AI.

The Student Startup Competition winner was AUesome, based in Sunnyvale, California. This company was selected for its work to make therapy more accessible and affordable for children on the autism spectrum.

IBL News | New York

Chegg, Inc. (NYSE: CHGG) announced this week that it named digital education expert and former Vice President of Learning at edX, Dr. Nina Huntemann, as its first Chief Academic Officer, a newly created role.

Dr. Huntemann will be responsible for shaping and implementing Chegg’s learning strategy, as well as measuring its impact.

She also will be focused on deepening Chegg’s relationships with faculty and administration.

Before joining edX, Nina Huntemann was a tenured professor at Suffolk University in Boston, Massachusetts, in the Department of Communication and Journalism. Dr. Huntemann joined Santa Clara, California – based Chegg at the end of 2021.

IBL News | New York

The number of digital credentials issued in 2021 saw a 67% growth, according to Accrediblle. Experts expect that this year will be an explosion of demand. The consensus is that the market for digital credentials platforms and products is on fire.

The Biden Administration’s view is contributing to this increase. During his first State of the Union Address, President Biden supported skills-based hiring, stressing that “millions of Americans without a college degree are needlessly disadvantaged in the pursuit of good jobs, even when they have the skills and knowledge employers need.”

The state of digital credentials is being analyzed this week in Atlanta, Georgia, through one of the first educational in-person conferences. The 2022 IMS Digital Credential Summit (Atlanta, Georgia, from February 28 to March 2) gathered tens of experts and leading players in the industry. [In the picture above, a snapshot of the reception offered yesterday at Atlanta’s Marriot Marquis hotel].

This cross-sector event highlighted the increasing adoption of digital credentials, badges, comprehensive learner records, competency/skills/interest frameworks, and blockchain enabling technologies.

“Digital credentials can provide better ways to reward credit and link to opportunities than current paper transcripts, certificates, and resumes,” said a representative of the IMS Global Consortium. It would affect all the sectors, such as higher education, K-12, business, philanthropy, corporate training, and workforce development organizations.

During a key talk titled “The State of the Digital Credentials Technology”, moderated by Mark Leuba, Vice Presidency at IMS Global Learning Consortium, the five panelists agreed that “digital credentials offer a better way for learners and workers to own and control their achievements, their skills, and their future.”

However, “patterns, policies, and practices are still forming, as are the products that support credential issuance, digital wallets, and talent discovery/selection.”

“He will stress that millions of Americans without a college degree are needlessly disadvantaged in the pursuit of good jobs, even when they have the skills and knowledge employers need. To support skills-based hiring,” #IMSsummit @LearningImpact https://t.co/Hg24K5sjxo

— Ryan Ivers, Ed.D. (@itsrivers) March 1, 2022

The IMS Digital Credentials Summit is the place to be as we learn and draw inspiration from the experts. Together we will bridge the gap between education and opportunity. #IMSsummit pic.twitter.com/1Jycpqeeda

— IMS Global Learning Consortium (@LearningImpact) February 28, 2022

IBL News | New York

The invasion of Ukraine sparked protests against Russia in U.S. universities. Demonstrations and other acts of solidarity took place on American campuses.

Hundreds of people gathered at demonstrations in several schools, including Stanford, Columbia, Northeastern, Georgetown, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Beyond these protests, MIT went further and announced it was cutting ties with a private graduate research university in Russia — the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology (Skoltech) that it helped establish in 2011. [In the picture above]

MIT President, L. Rafael Reif, explained that “this step is a rejection of the actions of the Russian government in Ukraine.”

IBL News | New York

Today’s girls should become tomorrow’s scientists and innovators. This is the message that United Nations officials have started to launch as a way to reduce the gender gap in science, technology, engineering, and STEM disciplines around the world.

UN’s Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that “today only one in three science and engineering researchers in the world is a woman.” He explained that structural and societal barriers prevented women and girls from entering and advancing in science.

The Covid-19 pandemic has increased these inequalities.

Science and gender equality are part of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Experts agree this under-representation of women is depriving science of huge untapped talent.