Pearson has notified customers that LearningStudio will be shut down as a standalone LMS over the next 2-3 years. Created from the Pearson acquisition of both eCollege and Fronter, LearningStudio has been targeted primarily at fully-online programs and associated hybrid programs – not for simple augmentation of face-to-face classes. The customer base has mostly included for-profit institutions […]
MyLabs
Miami, Harvard and MIT: Disability discrimination lawsuits focused on schools as content providers
In the discussions at Google+ based on last week’s post about the Miami University of Ohio disability discrimination lawsuit1, George Station made two important points that deserve more visibility. It’s been a-coming for several years now. Cal State has some pretty strong rules in place for compliance with ADA and state-level disability laws. Still, [Universal Design for […]
Ed Tech World on Notice: Miami U disability discrimination lawsuit could have major effect
This week the US Department of Justice, citing Title II of ADA, decided to intervene in a private lawsuit filed against Miami University of Ohio regarding disability discrimination based on ed tech usage. Call this a major escalation and just ask the for-profit industry how big an effect DOJ intervention can be. From the complaint: Miami University uses […]
Interesting Comment on Pearson’s LMS Plans From Customer
On April 1, long-time eCollege (aka Pearson’s LearningStudio) customer Texas Christian University (TCU) gave an update on their LMS selection process to the student newspaper TCU360. In this article there was an interesting statement1 worth exploring [emphasis added]. “eCollege” will soon be a thing of the past. TCU has narrowed its search for a Learning […]
Dana Center and New Mathways Project: Taking curriculum innovations to scale
Last week the University of Texas’ Dana Center announced a new initiative to digitize their print-based math curriculum and expand to all 50 community colleges in Texas. The New Mathways Project is ‘built around three mathematics pathways and a supporting student success course’, and they have already developed curriculum in print: Tinkering with the traditional sequence […]
Efficacy, Adaptive Learning, and the Flipped Classroom, Part II
In my last post, I described positive but mixed results of an effort by MSU’s psychology department to flip and blend their classroom: On the 30-item comprehensive exam, students in the redesigned sections performed significantly better (84% improvement) compared to the traditional comparison group (54% improvement). Students in the redesigned course demonstrated significantly more improvement […]
Can Pearson Solve the Rubric’s Cube?
Love ’em or hate ’em, it’s hard to dispute that Pearson has an outsized impact on education in America. This huge company—they have a stock market valuation of $18 billion—touches all levels from kindergarten through career education, providing textbooks, homework platforms, high-stakes testing, and even helping to design entire online degree programs. So when they […]