The transformation of the higher education LMS market continues, and I expect more changes over the next 2 – 3 years. However, it seems time to capture a key segment of the market based on two recent announcements that directly impact large online programs. UMUC Selects Desire2Learn Following a multi-year strategic study and product selection, the […]
Learning Platform
The Billion-Dollar Bet on an Adaptive Learning Platform
Update (2/15/13): Per Apollo Group, the billion-dollar investment mentioned in the Chronicle article (quoted below) refers to total infrastructure – not just the learning platform itself. The total infrastructure includes new CRM, portal, and administrative systems. ***** Earlier this week I wrote about the new patent awarded to the University of Phoenix (the for-profit institution […]
University of Phoenix Patents Adaptive Activity Stream for Its Learning Platform
The University of Phoenix recently was awarded a patent (#8341148 B1) for an adaptive activity stream related to its online learning platform. From an initial reading of the patent, it appears very broad to me (deja vu all over again). From the press release: Apollo Group (APOL), the parent company of University of Phoenix®, today […]
Now UC Berkeley and Charles Sturt University Leave Sakai OAE
Just three months ago, the University of Michigan and Indiana University made a joint decision to “pause investment” in the Sakai OAE project. The latest news is that the University of California Berkeley and Charles Sturt University (in Australia) have also decided to leave the Sakai OAE project. The only schools remaining as part of […]
Piazza – An Example of Free Learning Tool Targeted at Faculty / Student Adoption
In my recent webcast with Patrick Masson for WCET, we described the growing usage of learning tools outside the official LMS solution. Patrick described survey results done by UMassOnline that captured the rich source of (often free) learning tools used in UMass courses. Much of educational technology is moving from an enterprise LMS market – […]
The Search for Differentiated and Engaging Student Experience
One of the trends I highlighted last summer was that the LMS or learning platform market was overlapping the educational content market. The lines are blurring between content delivery systems (e.g. Cengage MindTap, Pearson MyLabs, etc) and LMS. Content delivery and ability to keep students engaged within the content will drive much of the broader […]
What is a Learning Platform?
While I have written (along with others) about the shift we are seeing in the LMS market, where it is moving from an enterprise LMS market to a learning platform market, there has not really been a good definition of what a learning platform is. As Jeff Bohrer asked via Twitter, “What are the hallmarks of […]