Education IT News For VARs — November 26, 2014
By Christine Kern, contributing writer
In news this week, Pluralsight has acquired Smarterer, a startup that uses crowd-sourced assessments to evaluate students’ understanding of tech tools and skills. In other news, sales of interactive displays fall in Q3, and LinkedIn launches new education features. EdX also joined the ConnectEd initiative to offer free certifications.
Pluralsight Acquires Smarterer For $75M
According to EdSurge, in a $75 million deal, Pluralsight has acquired Smarterer, a Boston-based startup that uses crowd-sourced assessments to evaluate students’ understanding of tech tools and skills. This acquisition is the fifth in the past 15 months for Pluralsight, a provider of “hardcore developer and IT training.” According to Pluralsight CEO Aaron Skonnard, the Smarterer deal is different because it represents “a shift in our acquisition strategy from content to expanding the capabilities of our platform.” His company’s 6,500 enterprise customers, including Fortune 500 companies, “have been asking for a credible way to measure where people are with their skill sets.”
Interactive Whiteboards And Flat-Panel Display Sales Fall Across U.S. School Districts
During Q3 2014, U.S. sales of interactive whiteboards and flat-panel displays to school districts experienced a decline — but those sales should rebound in 2016, says a report by Futuresource Consulting Ltd., as Education Week reported. Budgets were stretched this year to prepare for online Common Core assessments set to begin in 2015. Interactive display devices are already present in about 60 percent of classrooms, and Futuresource says by 2019, they anticipate 73 percent of classrooms will employ some form of interactive display.
LinkedIn Launches Education Feature
According to Tech Crunch, LinkedIn has launched a feature that will allow professional education companies and colleges to provide certifications for LinkedIn users who have completed their courses. TechCrunch also reports that LinkedIn is contemplating a pilot for a program with online educators where LinkedIn would be an online destination for students to do coursework. The new certification feature follows a year-long test program that launched with a small number of companies, including Coursera, Lynda.com, and Microsoft.
MOOC Nonprofit EdX Joins ConnectED Initiative
According to Campus Technology, EdX has launched a program to provide MOOCs offering free certification for teacher training and AP preparation as part of the White House’s ConnectED program. The announcement was made during an event at the White House that brought together superintendents from all over the nation, and was touted by President Barack Obama himself. EdX's ConnectED offering will include free “verified” certificates for the associated courses.
Education IT Talking Points:
A new philanthropy initiative in San Francisco is getting tech companies involved in schools to help inspire students to pursue educational pathways that will bring them back to these high-tech jobs, according to District Administration. Among the companies participating in the “Circle the Schools” initiative are Dropbox, Eventbrite, and Xoom. As part of the program, company reps lead field trips, read aloud to students and teach classes to build relationships with students and improve schools.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s Education IT Resource Center.