MENTAL health and wellness provider UWill today has acquired student telehealth company Virtual Care Group, further expanding its burgeoning student client base of more than 2 million.

UWill is an online mental health service which ‘matches’ university students with a licensed counselor for personalised online care.

It is partnered with more than 300 colleges around the world, but mainly in the US, its clientele includes Babson College, the University of Michigan, and Columbus State Community College.

The company hopes the acquisition of Virtual Care Group will enhance its reach and extend its digital offerings to more institutions.

Michael London, founder and CEO of Uwill, said: “Virtual Care Group has a well-earned reputation as a trusted partner for college leaders and students alike. Together, our reach, popularity, and digital capabilities meet the needs of any college in the world.”

Addressing student mental health

According to the American College Health Association (ACHA), an estimated 77% of college students now struggle with mental health.

However, research suggests that half of students with a mental health condition never access care, and a third of students report that they do not know who, or where to turn while experiencing a mental health crisis.

London said: “College students globally are grappling with a range of mental health issues, including stress, anxiety, and depression related to academic pressures, life challenges, and future uncertainty.”

He added: “While the core issues tend to be consistent, the intensity and specific challenges can vary by region and time of the academic year.”

As well as offering a matching service, UWill’s complete solution includes access to crisis and psychiatric support with trained and licensed medical practitioners, and access to wellness resources for yoga and meditation. It also has a data and analytics service where students can access their mental health reports and track their progress.

London said: “Online and digital mental health tools are crucial because they provide accessibility, flexibility, and immediacy, which are often barriers in traditional mental health services. Students can access support from anywhere, at any time, which is particularly important for those with busy schedules or who are studying remotely.”

Danny Zusman, founder and CEO of Virtual Care Group, said: “This acquisition marks a significant achievement for the digital mental health sector within higher education. Through the integration of our extensive nationwide reach with Uwill’s focused technological investments, we aim to enhance the support and resources available to the students, faculty, and staff we are dedicated to serving.”

If you found this article helpful, check out How to safeguard students’ mental health while learning from home. 

Featured image: Valeriy_G, iStock. 

The post Uwill Acquires L.A.-Based Mental Health Startup appeared first on eLearningInside News.

Autism spectrum is a neurological disorder that affects the way certain people process information. The condition can result in significant learning and behavioral challenges, including difficulty communicating and interacting with others. It’s estimated that 1 in 54 children has autism, and the number is rising.

Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disorder in the U.S., and it’s showing no signs of slowing down anytime soon. A study published in the ResearchGate Journal shows that the disorder is more common in developed nations. Moreover, it is four times more common in boys than in girls.

Autism can impact how a child understands things, posing educational challenges. However, eLearning has proven to be an impactful solution for this. In this article, we will discuss how eLearning is transforming education for autistic children.

Understanding Autism Spectrum Education Challenges

It’s important to understand the specific challenges autistic children face in education. There are many differences between autistic and non-autistic children, but one of the most notable is their ability to communicate with others.

Here are some key challenges and considerations in providing education for individuals on the autism spectrum:

Sensory sensitivities: Many individuals with autism experience sensory sensitivities. This can include hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity to stimuli such as lights, sounds, textures, and smells. Classrooms may need to be adapted to accommodate these sensitivities, with considerations for lighting, noise levels, and sensory-friendly materials.

Communication differences: Communication challenges are common among individuals with ASD. Some may have delayed speech, while others may have difficulty with nonverbal communication, such as gestures and facial expressions. Teachers may need alternative communication methods, such as visual supports, picture schedules, or augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices. An article from PsychCentral states that some differences in communication include a lack of eye contact and difficulty engaging in small talk.

Social skills development: Individuals with autism often struggle with social interactions and may have difficulty understanding social cues. Social skills training and structured social activities can be beneficial. Peer support programs and inclusion efforts can also help foster social development.
Individualized instruction: Due to the wide variability in the presentation of autism, one-size-fits-all approaches may not be effective. Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) are commonly used to tailor educational strategies and goals to the specific needs of each student. Regular assessment and adjustment of these plans are crucial for ongoing success.

Executive functioning challenges: Many individuals with ASD experience difficulties with executive functions, such as organization, time management, and task initiation. Teachers may need additional support, such as visual schedules, explicit instructions, and organizational tools.

The Rise of eLearning in Autism Education

The rise of eLearning in autism education is a welcome development. The benefits are clear: it’s a cost-effective way to meet the needs of children with disabilities, who often require more support. But this isn’t always an easy transition for autistic students. Several factors contribute to the growing prominence of eLearning in autism education:

Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs): eLearning platforms allow for creating highly individualized learning plans that cater to the specific needs and strengths of each autistic learner. Customization can include adjusting the pace of learning, incorporating multimedia elements, and adapting content to different learning styles.

Visual aids and multimedia resources: eLearning platforms often integrate visual aids and multimedia resources that can be particularly beneficial for autistic individuals, who often prefer visual learning. Videos, interactive simulations, and graphics can enhance understanding and engagement.

Flexibility and accessibility: eLearning provides flexibility regarding when and where learning can occur. This flexibility is crucial for autistic individuals, allowing them to learn comfortably and minimizing potential sensory challenges. Additionally, eLearning materials can be accessed repeatedly, reinforcing learning in a way that suits the individual’s pace.

Social skills training: Many eLearning programs for autism education incorporate social skills training modules. These modules may include interactive scenarios, virtual role-playing, and social stories that help autistic individuals develop and practice social skills.

eLearning also helps autistic individuals indirectly by allowing eligible individuals to get the necessary education and knowledge to help autistic children. According to Ithaca College, individuals with a degree in speech-language pathology can help educate autistic children. In fact, the website states that around 56% of the professionals with a Master of Science in Speech-Language Pathology are in education.

SLPs can conduct comprehensive assessments to evaluate the communication abilities of autistic children. This includes assessing speech and language skills and social communication skills. They can work collaboratively with other professionals, such as psychologists and educators, to contribute to understanding the child’s communication needs.

They can also develop and implement individualized treatment plans based on the specific needs of each autistic child. These plans may address speech articulation, language comprehension, social communication, and pragmatic language skills. They can collaborate with other educational team members to integrate speech and language goals with the child’s educational plan.

eLearning can help students interested in speech-language pathology learn all the details required to enroll in the right course. They can also enroll in an online course on an eLearning platform. Such speech-language pathologist college programs can enable qualified individuals to get the required license to start helping autistic children.

Customization and Personalization in eLearning

Personalization is a key component of eLearning that can help autistic children learn more effectively. This is because it allows them to engage with the material at their own pace and work in ways they are most comfortable with. This can include:

• Adjusting the presentation style of content and activities (e.g., video vs text)
• Providing opportunities for learners to interact with others online or through social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter.
• Allowing learners to create their digital portfolios based on what they have learned throughout their course.

Technology as a Facilitator in Autism Education

Technology can help autistic children learn, communicate, and socialize. It also helps them practice new skills and understand the world around them.

For instance, a ScienceDirect Journal study shows that up to 50% of autistic children have issues with inhibitory control challenges. This relates to a lack of ability to manage distractions and maintain concentration. Such children also have decreased perseveration.

However, with the technology, teachers can include multiple media files in the training material to improve engagement. This can increase autistic children’s concentration and help them learn more.

Here are several ways in which technology supports autism education:

Adaptive software: Technology allows for the creation of adaptive learning software that can adjust the difficulty and pace of lessons based on an individual’s progress. This ensures that the material is tailored to their needs.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Devices: Apps and devices that support communication through visuals, symbols, and text help non-verbal or minimally verbal individuals with autism express themselves.

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR): These technologies can create immersive environments that assist in sensory integration therapy, helping autistic individuals manage sensory sensitivities.

Educational Games: Technology enables the development of entertaining, educational games that promote learning and skill development.

However, one also has to keep in mind that children suffering from ASD also have intellectual disabilities. A study uploaded on the Frontiers Journal website concludes that 50% to 70% of autistic children have this disability. Intellectual disabilities affect their social, cognitive, and adaptive skills.

Thus, they have problems participating in research-based activities.

Hence, teachers and parents need to select the right technology that can help autistic children instead of overwhelming them. A platform or software with a simple User Interface (UI) is required to ensure easy navigation. Tech applications with complicated UI might not be able to be of much help in educating autistic children.

As we’ve seen, eLearning is a powerful tool for helping autistic children to learn. It allows them to be engaged in their learning process and progress at their own pace. The classroom environment can also be more inclusive of people with special needs by using technology such as speech-to-text dictation software. This can make it easier for them to understand different concepts and learn quickly.

If you found this article interesting, check out Higher Education: Using AI to Meet Student Needs. 

Featured image: Jatuporn Tansirimas, iStock. 

The post How eLearning Transforms Education for Autistic Children appeared first on eLearningInside News.

DECEMBER 29 – The number of reported cyber incidents in K-12 schools and districts in the U.S. stands at 1180. Covid-19 and the introduction of remote and hybrid learning have only made cybercrime more frequent and sophisticated in the education sector. In the past 30 days, Microsoft Security Intelligence has seen 8,253,516 devices in the education industry encounter malware, making education the largest affected industry in front of retail, healthcare, and high-tech.  That number will only increase in the new year.

The K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021 was passed by President Biden on October 8th. This legislation comes as a direct response to the growing rise in ransomware and data breaches occurring in K-12 education, as found by the Government Accountability Office (GAO).

From the day of its passing, the director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is to conduct a 120-day study into the specific risks impacting K-12 institutions.

60 days after the study, the director will develop a list of recommendations, including cybersecurity guidelines designed to assist K-12 institutions with potential crimes.

120 days after this, the director will then develop an online training toolkit for K-12 superintendents and officials, both to inform them of the recommendations of the study and to provide strategies on how to implement those recommendations.

Last year, the K-12 Security Information Exchange (K-12 SIX) reported the types of incidents and growing threats present in 2020. Cybercrimes included: Data breaches, class invasions/denial of service, ransomware, and phishing. Such common incidents occurring recently range from holding personal student information for ransom to hijacking a superintendent’s board meeting to project racial slurs.

One explosive incident occurred in March with Buffalo Public Schools, where hackers were able to shut down classes for days, steal sensitive student and employee information, and destroy vital school records. This attack resulted in a $10 million pay-out. A recent exclusive found that IT staff were cautious of an attack months prior, but due to bad judgment and an absent cyber insurance policy, they failed to stop the attack.

The transition into hybrid working has shifted the priorities of IT staff and cybersecurity managers, creating a brittle environment in which they have little experience of working. These attacks have followed a distinct pattern, in which specific types of cybercrime have been identified. The range and scope of these incidents have also been tracked across America.

A team of researchers at CompariTech studied data breaches in U.S. schools across 15 years. The highest number of recorded breaches were found in Nevada with 717,626 exposed records.

Districts most affected included Washoe County (114,000) and Clark County (559,487), both were hit by the Pearson data breach, as were many around the U.S. Regarding ransomware attacks, CompariTech found Nevada again to be the most affected, followed by Texas, Virginia, and Maryland. From both data breaches and ransomware attacks, big school districts have been affected the most by cybercrime.

Dr. Hanine Salem, a managing director at Novus Consulting Group (NCG), who has over 20 years’ worth of experience in public-sector development, explains what types of schools are most exposed to these incidents. “According to research from the K12 Security Information Exchange: larger school districts are at a significantly greater risk for experiencing a cyber incident than other types of school districts, as are school districts located in more densely populated parts of the county. It reports that there are a few reasons that might explain this pattern. First, larger school districts manage more technology devices and systems than smaller enrollment districts and have more students and employees using that technology. Smaller enrollment translates to offering a smaller threat profile to malicious actors and a lower chance of being affected by user actions (whether intentional or by mistake). Second, incidents that occur in smaller school districts may be less likely to become publicly disclosed than in larger, more urban school districts.”

Interestingly CompariTech found no incidents of breaches in Wyoming. According to Governing, Wyoming has one of the smallest numbers of school districts (48), and lowest student enrollments (92,563). These numbers are in parallel to high-risk states like California and Arizona, which were hit the hardest with data breaches. Their total number of districts are (941) and (226), respectively.

There is a clear pattern indicating that schools and districts that deal with a larger number of students, thus larger volumes of information, are most affected by cybercrime.

Dr. Hanine Salem explains how schools are not doing enough to protect and inform students about the cybercrime affecting them.

“With federal funding as a result of COVID, right now, schools have a unique opportunity to pay for training courses like the Cyber Citizenship course.” Said Dr. Salem. “If a school, is improving cybersecurity to better meet the educational and other needs of students related to preventing, preparing for, or responding to COVID-19, it may use Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) funds.”

NCG’s Cyber Citizenship course was designed to teach students the fundamentals of cyber security and how to stay safe online when using technology. Non-governmental cybersecurity platforms have been tirelessly providing online resources and information on cybersecurity since before the pandemic, and have only been developing their services. K-12 SIX has their K-12 Cybersecurity Resource Center, which provides an up-to-date map of recorded cybercrime incidents in K-12 schools, and a cybersecurity self-assessment service intended for K-12 IT and cybersecurity managers. Fortinet and Dell Technologies also provide cybersecurity software and information for K-12 schools and districts, with solutions for network and cloud security. Along with these companies, there are numerous courses available online concerning K-12 cybersecurity and how to stay safe online from Coursera to Udemy.

EdTech companies are holding the fort for both assisting schools with their security and teaching students about cybercrime.

“Students need to learn to be their own best defense against cybercriminals. Children and youth are often considered to be soft targets, mainly because they have not yet been trained on basic cybersecurity subjects and ways to protect themselves and their devices, making them an easy gateway into the more valuable home and school devices and networks.” Said Dr. Salem.

The results of the CISA director’s study will be revealed in early 2022. With a large amount of information and resources available online from EdTech companies and organizations, the government can provide K-12 schools with a stronger line of defense from recurring cybercrime.

Featured Image: Mikhail Nilov. 

The post The K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021 and The State of Cyber Crime in Education appeared first on eLearningInside News.

With the growing accessibility of online training and learning resources, the need for a formal tech education may seem unnecessary. After all, today’s young people are exposed to smart televisions, tablets, and the internet in general from a young age. This level of connectivity is nothing new – it’s something they were born into and grew up with.

However, while they are undoubtedly more comfortable with technology as a concept from younger ages, this familiarity cannot necessarily replace a structured approach to teaching.

Indeed, it remains the responsibility of educators to ensure that young people not only have access to technology but are informed of its wide-reaching uses beyond entertainment and communication.

1. Many Jobs of the Future Don’t Yet Exist

Some suggest that 85% of regular jobs in 2030 do not yet exist. Of course, that might be an overestimation, but the coming years could mark the most significant shift in attitudes to work since the industrial revolution.

Just because young people have access to technology, that doesn’t mean they’ll stay on top of the job market, especially the rapid shifts. So while educators cannot predict what all of these new jobs will be, it’s imperative to ensure that young people are prepared for whatever comes next.

The workplace is already seeing the benefits of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Everything from work order management to computer-aided design involves significant tech influence. But, crucially, those rapid developments won’t be positioned front and center for young people that spend most of their time online on games and social media.

What is education if not to prepare someone for a career, even if it doesn’t yet exist? Formal technology training can ensure that these new opportunities don’t pass young people by.

2. There’s a Risk of Complacency Replacing Education

Some teachers of an older persuasion rightly assume that many young people broadly understand technology better than they do. However, a knowledgeable audience is a reason for further discussion and a structured approach, not a lack of additional effort.

In the pre-internet days, there were young people in education with a better grasp of algebra than their math teachers. Some students could write more compelling prose than their English teachers. This was never previously a reason to avoid honing and directing their skills towards a career, and it shouldn’t creep into modern technology learning.

3. There’s a Need for Skills to Complement Unprecedented Information Access

Even for young people that do not know a world before the internet, education remains the best approach to encouraging them to harness this information.
Research papers, scholarly articles, and general information are more accessible today than ever before. No longer are students reliant on a solitary textbook as a resource. Instead, technology education can provide vital life skills in conjunction with this unprecedented information resource.

Many students query the need to learn and retain information. With Wikipedia and other resources just a couple of clicks away, it’s reminiscent of a time when math tutors would boldly proclaim that students “wouldn’t always have a calculator in their pockets”.

Whether educators view that as a concern or not, it’s an opportunity for critical thinking, data analysis, referencing, and seeking out multiple sources. In effect, technology education provides a platform for developing life skills that technology itself may undermine.

4. There Remains a Need for Online Etiquette and Cybersecurity Training

No matter how long people spend online, they rarely go out of their way to learn the rules or understand the best way to conduct themselves. For all its benefits, technology has also driven an increase in cyberbullying, the discussion of unethical ideas, and fewer boundaries between different groups.

The nature of technology means there’s a divergence between the online world and reality. Once again, however, it represents an opportunity to reinforce humanistic values that are so often in short supply online. In addition, it’s a chance to demonstrate to students that, no matter whether they’re online or off, actions have consequences.

Meanwhile, cybersecurity threats affect education, along with the wider world, and they’re on the rise. Dealing with personal information, financial details, and online assets is not only critical for personal development but a core component of preparation for the world of work.

Wrapping Up

The days of one computer to a classroom are gone, and technology will remain a crucial component of everyday life. As a result, there’s an opportunity for educators to combine dedicated IT training with other skills that were previously considered as being separate from core tech training.

There may come a time in the near future where there’s no longer a need for dedicated IT training. Most students will already grasp the basics. However, the use of technology beyond the basics of communication, entertainment, and research will continue to play a role no matter the subject. It is to be embraced, although, in some cases, that may require teaching methods to be brought significantly up to date.

While dedicated tech training may change, it is still needed today and likely always will be.

Featured image: Jason Goodman, Unsplash. 

The post 4 Reasons Young People Still Need Formal Tech Education appeared first on eLearningInside News.

As Covid variants make the current school year for both K-12 and higher education a continued balance of hybrid and in-person learning, education institutions are staying firmly in the crosshairs of cyber attackers. Just recently, Stonington Public Schools in Connecticut was forced to bring in a wave of the third-party breach investigation, mitigation, and response experts — and even seek assistance from the FBI — after it fell victim to a ransomware attack. And before that, an attack on Howard University that compromised its network and rendered WiFi unusable forced the school to cancel all its online and hybrid undergraduate classes.

Indeed, when vulnerable schools fall into the hands of crafty cyberattackers, the fallout is often dismal from both a monetary and reputational standpoint, but also because of the severe inconvenience caused too. A concerning reality for teachers, administrators, and IT teams across the country as they seek to protect the post-Covid classroom, where distance learning will undoubtedly remain in some capacity for the foreseeable future.

And while the Biden Administration’s recently signed K-12 Cybersecurity Act is a positive step forward for schools preparing for the future, the state of cybersecurity in education is one with a lot of room for improvement. Because the reality is that every educational institution is under more pressure than ever before to protect its endpoints against attackers who are becoming harder and harder to detect. The number of U.S. educators who say hackers targeted their school or institution is multiplying year-over-year is evidence of this, with the number of K-12 schools attacked jumping from just 9% in 2020 to 21% in 2021.

Unfortunately, there are warning signs that this is only going to get worse post-pandemic. Here are three lessons to help school districts and universities reverse this, and strengthen their classroom cybersecurity.

School Boards Need to Speak Up on the Cyber Threats Endangering Classrooms

The cybersecurity crisis has dominated headlines almost as long as Covid has. Yet, it seems like school boards have been relatively lax when pulling together a strategy to thwart attack attempts — or even talk to their teachers about the severity of the crisis. According to Morphisec’s 2021 Education Cybersecurity Threat Index, which surveyed 500 U.S. educators to gauge how increasing cyberattacks have impacted them, just 17% of superintendents or chancellors and 15% of school boards have expressed concern about the threat of ransomware to their institution.

This silence is placing students’ and teachers’ data at even greater risk, as school boards’ delay in educating their staff about the escalating consequences of cyberattacks means some educators are probably not aware of how damaging they have become. This silence also leaves their school or institution more susceptible to attack. Cybercriminals will likely have more vulnerabilities to exploit within a district or organization that doesn’t treat cybersecurity with the sense of urgency it deserves.

In the post-Covid classroom, where hybrid learning will be a long-term reality, superintendents, chancellors, and school boards must become more vocal on the cybersecurity issues threatening continuous learning and the safety of their most sensitive data. Failure to do so will undoubtedly have negative consequences, something the laxest districts and institutions shouldn’t wait to find out after they become a victim of a cyber attack.

IT Teams Must Call into Question Their Vendors’ Security Hygiene

This year’s supply chain attacks like the devastating SolarWinds and Kaseya breaches will go down in history as among the largest cyber attacks. They’re also becoming increasingly popular, due to how they allow attackers to target hundreds or even thousands of organizations by infiltrating just one. Data from the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC) shows that supply chain attacks increased 42% in the first quarter of 2021 and impacted about 7 million people in the U.S. This is why it’s unsurprising that 40% of U.S. educators believe third-party vendors pose the biggest cybersecurity risk to their school or institution, more dangerous, they say than students (31%), faculty (24%), and parents (5%).

These concerns are certainly substantiated, with a March attack on Austin ISD proving that schools remain vulnerable to their third-party vendors’ security flaws. Austin ISD was breached when one of its technology providers, PCS Revenue Control Systems, was hacked. Even the SolarWinds attack, which prompted a probe from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, affected several colleges and universities, including Kent State University, The University of Texas at San Antonio, and Iowa State University. Meanwhile, Kaseya’s breach disrupted learning and forced 11 schools in New Zealand offline.

With the frequency of these types of attacks likely to increase — alongside the damage, they have the potential to inflict — IT teams and education decision-makers need to put more pressure on their third-party vendors to boost their cybersecurity protocols.

Decision-Makers Need to Allocate More Cybersecurity Resources to IT

Schools and education institutions across the country have been trying for too long to fend off attackers with few resources. A reality that has disproportionately impacted public schools and state colleges, whose funding sources are far less prominent than larger, private institutions. As mentioned prior, this is something the current Administration is addressing through the K-12 Cybersecurity Act and also within its $1 Trillion Infrastructure Bill, which has set aside money for state and local governments and school districts to protect themselves from worsening threats. Yet the question remains as to whether or not these districts and institutions will leverage this funding. As it turns out, some don’t have the best track record.

According to Morphisec, just 18% of U.S. educators say they’re aware of their educational institution or school inquiring about government grant programs and initiatives designed to assist them with implementing strong cybersecurity standards and protocols. This is despite 44% stating that they believe providing their IT department with more resources would be most valuable to their school to handle cybersecurity. The current cybersecurity landscape is far too dangerous for it not to be a top budget priority. And in truth, investing in an effective security strategy is a lot less costly than falling victim to ransomware, with the average victim spending more than $2 million on remediation costs alone.

However, tackling this crisis is most definitely a collaborative effort between school boards, administrators, educators, and students. They must all educate themselves on the specific threats targeting their counterparts across the country. There must be pressure from parents too, who have demanded little of their children’s educators until now. (Only 18% of K-12 and higher-ed educators say that more parents have inquired about their institutions’ cybersecurity policies over the past year-and-a-half of remote-first learning versus the prior 18 months). As these learning institutions prepare for the post-Covid classroom, reducing their attack surface within in-person and remote learning environments must be prioritized.

Featured Image: Sigmund, Unsplash

The post The State of Education Cybersecurity: 3 Lessons for Protecting the Post-Covid Classroom appeared first on eLearningInside News.

From universities to corporate offices, learning management systems (LMS) have become an essential tool for people who want to share and distribute information online. CYPHER LEARNING, a leading provider of learning platforms across multiple mediums, has re-invented the way we use LMS, prioritizing user accessibility and retention.

Early last month, CYPHER LEARNING launched a range of new features for its suite of learning management systems, this includes its new graphical dashboard system for administrators, teachers, and students, the dark mode feature, and their site-wide surveys feature. These additions came fresh from their previous LMS updates, one of which is their integration with the popular payment service YooMoney.

We caught up with the CEO of CYPHER LEARNING, Graham Glass, to discuss the new developments of the company’s LMS.

“A lot of the learning management systems are pretty clunky, they’ve got tons of features, but when you log into them, it’s like 1980 or something,” said Glass. “We wanted to build something that was like the Apple of LMS […] we wanted to do a consumer product, but at the same time a very deep, very rich feature set. So we spent a lot of time on the user interface design of our product.”

CYPHER LEARNING’s LMS operates beyond the education sector. They provide LMS to universities and schools with NEO LMS, businesses with MATRIX LMS, and most uniquely, entrepreneurs with INDIE LMS, which the company is planning to invest more into in 2022. When discussing the different LMS, Glass explained how users across all sectors are looking for more accessible ways to share, and that even though NEO, MATRIX, and INDIE cater to different audiences, what attracts them to LMS are many of the same features.

“I was predicting that K-12 would love gamification the most followed by higher education followed by business and it’s actually the opposite way round,” said Glass when discussing which demographic responded most vehemently toward the LMS user interface.

Gamification is becoming an important factor in learning management systems, and online learning as a whole. Systems like Blackboard and, most recently Microsoft SharePoint have taken further measures the embed game mechanics into their products, as it has shown to drive user engagement. A report from Fortune Business Insights, which forecasts the trends in the LMS market for the next seven years, highlights the driving force for success in LMS is with platforms that give users the ability to “administer, report, track and automate the process of online learning courses.” This is why many organizations and companies, as the report lays out, have adopted LMS platforms to implement online learning methods.

MATRIX LMS has been adopted by businesses across America, from retail chain COSTCO to personal care brand Dermologica. Earlier this year, CYPHER LEARNING managed to secure a $40 million growth equity round from Invictus Growth Partners, marking their first outside financing.

Talking further on the mechanics of the LMS and their appeal, Glass explained, “if you use automation and gamification and some of the other features that are built into our platform, it’s almost like you are a moviemaker, you can script out the adventure that your students are going to have with your course, and you can make it so your course really surprises and delights. It’s not a boring thing anymore.”

According to a recent report by Adroit Market Research, CYPHER LEARNING is a key player in the international Corporate Learning Management System marketplace

The learning provider currently hosts over a million users across 20,000 organizations, their LMS specifically, supports 40 languages. The worldwide reach of CYPHER LEARNING is due in part to their focus on giving users a sense of community. As Glass puts it, by expanding to 25 offices around the world and providing an automatic translation feature for all LMS, users “in Poland or Malaysia or the Philippines if they want to select a learning platform, the fact that we actually have an office in their country, we speak their language, we know their customs, we adapt to their local pricing, all that kind of stuff, it’s really appealing to them.”

This push in international reach and scope in features are CYPHER LEARNING’s effort at creating an LMS which can operate on all levels, so users do not have to work outside the system to carry out necessary tasks. LMS which do not adapt to the needs of users in terms of accessibility and ease, rarely fair well with their audience. It is with this incentive that CYPHER LEARNING has developed the features it has, from their survey feature, or their in-system report card feature, a new NEO feature more typical of student information systems (SIS). Glass has mentioned this new addition will be launching in the coming weeks. The inclusion of adaptable features is important for LMS, especially at the height of remote and hybrid learning, as it eliminates the need of using different tools to complete an otherwise simple task, like filing report cards.

LMS as a Learning Companion

Developing LMS with multi-functionality and an acute focus on personalization pushes toward CYPHER LEARNING’s biggest goal for 2022.

“So one of the things we’re doing with NEO is that we’re incorporating matching learning and artificial intelligence so that NEO is going to become an active learning assistant. So if you are a student and you learning biology at school, or you’re in a large company and you are in technical support, and you’re doing various courses, our site is going to give you recommendations on how to improve your learning goals. We’re are also going to allow students to include their own learning goals, and we’re going to allow tutors and teachers to include learning goals on behalf of the students. Our learning platforms are going to be like this intelligence platform which is going to start helping people proactively on their learning journey.”

CYPHER LEARNING, much like its competitors, is in a constant state of innovation and improvement. The push toward an AI-backed system is a new development in the EdTech sector and one which proves most in line with the LMS 2021-2028 market report. Whether it be synchronous in-person learning or asynchronous remote learning, CYPHER LEARNING is leading a growing trend among LMS providers, in making learning management systems the first point of directory for learning and working online.

Featured Image: Van Tay Media, Unsplash 

The post CYPHER LEARNING and the Reinvention of Learning Management Systems appeared first on eLearningInside News.

The past three years have highlighted the growing reliance students have on online learning platforms, accelerating our use of both training sites to learning management systems. The catalyst of COVID has seen an explosion in the EdTech sector, according to Grand View Research’s 2021 report, the market size was estimated at USD 89.49 billion in 2020, and is expecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of almost 20% from 2021 to 2028. With all this attention from investors, it is important to remember the audience of EdTech companies and the fundamental communication needed with them for online learning to work. The Institute For Education Innovation (IEI) consists of over 60 of the nation’s most innovative superintendents, who are dedicated to working with education technology providers to make learning more engaging and accessible to K-12 learners.

eLearning Inside connected with CEO of IEI Doug Roberts to talk about the fresh insight superintendents bring to the EdTech conversation and the launch of the organization’s Supes’s Choice Award:

You mention on your website how due to COVID your organization had to transition to smaller, more virtual, events and meetings. How has COVID changed the landscape of K-12 education, both for students and education bodies?

A: While at-home learning works well for some, and flexibility in learning modalities is important, there is broad recognition that students need to be in schools.

There is a lot of talk about “learning recovery,” but superintendents aren’t looking back — they’re looking ahead and focused on meeting the needs of their students and families where they are now. That requires flexibility, adaptability, and innovative thinking — qualities our superintendents demonstrated manifestly throughout the pandemic.

In addition to instruction, school districts are increasingly being asked to provide a multitude of services to students and their families, including social, professional, medical, counseling, mental health, dental, and food services. The more roles we ask our schools to play, the more critical they become.

The pandemic also changed the relationship between school districts and technology providers. EdTech companies have done an incredible job of rolling out solutions for the many challenges brought about by the pandemic. But at the same time, there is still a disconnect between some of the technology being offered to school districts and the solutions they actually need.

What do superintendents bring to the EdTech conversation? Do they represent perspectives lacking in other areas of the field?

A: The pandemic demonstrated how dedicated, adaptable, and entrepreneurial the nation’s superintendents are. They know their districts better than anyone and can offer valuable insights to solution providers about use cases, the feasibility of business models, and implementation plans. Superintendents understand the classroom, the procurement process, the budget, and the politics of the boards and communities they serve.

At the Institute for Education Innovation (IEI), my role is to bring together education technology providers and superintendents to engage in constructive problem-solving and innovative thinking around technology in schools. Companies, investors, or philanthropists considering rolling out a new education solution can come to IEI, meet our superintendents, get feedback on their idea, and hear from superintendents about their districts’ particular needs. Entrepreneurs and executives seeking to scale up or continue to grow their existing services or solutions can work with IEI to grow their relationships with some of the nation’s most innovative district leaders

Are there any online learning platforms that have stood out to you during the pandemic?

A: The pandemic was a reminder that one size doesn’t fit all when it comes to technology. Every school district has unique challenges that require specific solutions. School is ultimately an engagement system, so whatever tools can best support that critical engagement between teacher and student, is the technology that’s most needed.

That said, we have seen a rise in the number of solutions providing direct instruction to students and those helping districts manage multiple platforms for digital instruction. The pandemic exposed that our industry has produced a wide variety of high-quality solutions and services, but districts were left to connect dots among a disconnected patchwork of independent solutions. IEI hopes to lead the charge to galvanize the EdTech industry around the needs of districts through the leadership of some of the nation’s most forward-thinking superintendents.

You recently launched the Supes’ Choice Awards, what features do you look for in a good EdTech product?

A: Each school district has unique needs and the technology required to meet those needs will vary. What works well for one school district won’t necessarily work well for another, depending on its demographics, location, size, culture, etc. It can be difficult for superintendents to weed through the many emails they receive from well-intentioned solution providers, and it can be just as difficult for those companies to understand the needs of the districts they are pitching.

Edtech companies often make the mistake of overthinking features before they have spent time listening to superintendents about what their school districts need. IEI superintendents don’t look for features. They look for partners. The younger the company, the more priority they place on the people who started and run the company. You may not have figured it all out yet, but if you bring your product team onto a

Zoom with a district leadership team to scope out a potential new feature or report, you’ll earn a district’s partnership for several years. The “features” that IEI superintendents look for are humility, an ability to listen, and an unrelenting commitment to the students they serve.

That’s why IEI launched the Supes’ Choice Awards — to give EdTech companies of all sizes an opportunity to have their products reviewed by school district superintendents and receive valuable feedback about what a good product looks like for their district.

Supes’ Choice Awards uniquely offers feedback to all entrants, not just the winners. There are 15 categories that companies can enter (and companies can enter multiple categories), including Innovator of the Year, Best Pivot on a Dime, Equity and Anti-Racism Champion, and STEM/STEAM Instructional Solution. Entries are due October 30.

In parallel, what features do you think EdTech companies should avoid when developing their products?

A: What superintendents prefer, and what works best, is when companies engage with school districts about their individual needs and specific challenges, rather than just pushing the latest product or “kitchen sink” solution on them. These two-way conversations, which IEI helps to facilitate, unfortunately, don’t happen often enough but can provide tremendous value for both parties.

There are no silver bullets, so if you pitch one, the conversation is over before it starts. And the surest way to get ignored by district leaders is to email them that you have a solution for “learning loss.” That’s a red flag that you are not listening to what districts need.

What do you think EdTech companies should be paying attention to when it comes to what students need from online learning?

A: While it’s great that companies are working on solutions to support virtual and remote instruction, the core of the K-12 experience still occurs within the “four walls” of a classroom at the direction of a trusted classroom teacher. Solutions that seek to support students outside of the school day should include opportunities to engage classroom teachers.

It’s also really important that all solution providers pay attention to equity in not only their business models and use case designs, but in staffing their leadership teams. Districts increasingly want to work with providers whose teams look like the students they serve.

What new advancements in EdTech are you looking forward to/ keeping an eye out for in the future.

A: My hope is that EdTech companies will do a better job of engaging with the districts they are doing business with in order to learn more about their specific challenges and needs and then invest in technology to address those needs. There is too often a disconnect between the products being created and the actual needs of a school district. Focus less on features and focus more on people. The way to build your business is not by building features, it’s by building relationships. That’s what we do at IEI.

Featured Image: Compare Fibre, Unsplash

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Due to COVID-19, 2.4 million women have left the job force nationwide and the labor participation of women in the workforce has dropped to its lowest level since 1988. The pandemic exacerbated many issues that already existed as women were disproportionately affected this past year compared to their male counterparts. With the spread of the Delta variant, it remains to be seen how long this trend will continue.

I became one of those 2.4 million women when I lost my job unexpectedly. This occurred as I was preparing to have my first child, and unfortunately I was unable to continue my education degree under the circumstances. While I was incredibly grateful for my growing family, I also felt an unbearable weight on my shoulders as I was facing the harsh reality that my role in the workforce was not valued.

Women Left the Workforce in Record Numbers at the Outset of COVID-19

With that being said, it is critical that we address the undeniable truth that we need women in the workforce. Women need options and support as they recover from the pandemic. Getting an education is something that can provide stability, routine, and structure for a family – and this is what I wanted for my own family during that time of challenging circumstances.

It wasn’t too long after losing my job that I enrolled at Western Governors University (WGU) Indiana in a flexible, affordable online program. I was given a scholarship that supported me on a new path to pursuing my elementary education and special education degree. This kind of learning model allowed me to be a stay-at-home mom and student while pursuing my dream career.

While I didn’t know I wanted to be a teacher early on, this passion has grown immensely over the years. When I was younger and in grade school, I often would bounce around to a lot of tables during lunchtime, sitting with different groups of students. It was then that I realized there are so many unique people out there that I want to meet, understand, teach, and learn from.

Being a part of a diverse group of people has always been important to me. This is one of the reasons I’ve always been drawn to being an advocate for the special needs, and under-served populations. I want to continue being a voice for all students of varying needs to ensure they have the tools and resources to succeed.

I always think about the following scenario: If a monkey, elephant, and a penguin are asked to climb a tree, and then were to be assessed on how well they climb said tree, only the monkey will succeed. But in fact, the elephant and penguin have strong, unique talents that the monkey does not. This applies to all of us – we all have different abilities and strengths, and we need teachers to help students grow and shine in their own unique way.

The Need for Special Educators

And while nearly 7.3 million children in the U.S. receive special education services, there’s a shortage of special education teachers. This is due in part to teachers not being adequately trained or not having received the needed credentials – ultimately leading to large turnover rates, especially in high-poverty schools. If teacher candidates and current educators felt supported and respected, burnout may not end up being the number one reason why teachers leave the profession anymore. It is important for not only higher education facilities to support students who are pursuing an education degree, but the community as a whole.

It has been a long road for women this past year – and women often feel like they have this impossible choice to make: be a mom or go to work. Being able to grow professionally, while caring for a family, is an option that all women should have. Looking ahead to my future as a teacher, I believe my experience being a mother will enhance my teaching. I will more deeply understand the value of being nurturing while also providing the needed tools for learning.

Without access to the degree programs built to support me as a mother and in pursuit of my career as a woman in today’s unique workforce, I would be feeling quite defeated right now. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is for society to understand and support women’s varied roles and goals, whether as a mother, professional, or both. So to all of the women and mothers who are looking to pursue a career in any given industry: we can make it happen.

Camille Comet is an Indianapolis-based educator with a passion for supporting children’s growth in the classroom. She’s actively pursuing her bachelor’s degree in elementary education and special education from nonprofit, online university WGU Indiana.

Featured Image: Augusto Lopes, Unsplash.

The post When COVID-19 Broke Out, I Was Fired, Had a Child, and Started Pursuing My Degree in Special Ed Online appeared first on eLearningInside News.

If you’ve ever been a student, you’ve probably worked in a study group at some point. Whether it was the desire to commiserate with others, find camaraderie in the study process or get motivated, there are many factors that draw us to groups of people working towards similar goals.

It’s also in our human nature to imitate and luckily, study groups use our natural instinct of imitation to our advantage. It’s simple: we want to work because those around us are working. We see it all the time — students going out of their way to meet with friends in the library or work in a cafe when they have a big project due.

COVID-19 Wiped Out the Social Element of Studying

But, what happens when that’s not physically accessible? The COVID pandemic raised that very question. Libraries were locked down, cafes weren’t safe to meet in, and it seemed like all we could do was just stay home. Same responsibilities, but with less freedom and significantly less access to social support.

But in today’s hyper digitally-connected world, there had to be another way to simulate the concept of a study group but in a virtual space. So that’s what I did: I built a virtual studying platform.

In October 2020, Hours began as just a fun project, based on the popular productivity technique called Hours where people study one-on-one with an accountability partner for hour intervals. I shared the first version, which was pretty scrappy, with my mom as well as a few close friends. After seeing the impact it was having on this select group, the hobby quickly turned into a more serious venture.

Throughout the next 3 months I took advantage of product feedback and user interviews that I conducted on a weekly basis. I focused on growth shortly after because I wanted to impact as many students as possible. I knew that organic and word-of-mouth marketing would be highly effective, and also cost-effective. I also attended a YC Entrepreneur school and did a lot of YouTube binging to help get the marketing juices flowing.

Frankly, I knew that my main users would be high school and college students and that Discord servers were public and easy to find, so I joined 80-100 different study servers and started hosting and inviting others to join sessions on Hours. If a student enjoyed the platform, I thought they might invite their friends and become informal ambassadors of the product, which is exactly what happened.

Hours Picks Up Steam — and Gets Picked Up

After six months of product iterations and proactive outreach on Discord, Hours had served more than 20k students across 130+ countries and was soon after acquired by Fiveable, a social learning company.

Virtual study spaces open up opportunities to work with people one may never get to meet in real life. Despite libraries and schools opening up, studying remotely will remain the most accessible option for students around the world. As we come to understand just how much technology can empower us to carry out everyday responsibilities, people will be less inclined to go into a physical institution or location. After all, convenience and community are two of the major elements that today’s students seek out to elevate their learning experience.

Students will always struggle to find motivation and enhance productivity. We as education advocates should always be asking questions like: ‘what can we be doing to address this’ or ‘how might we be able to leverage technology to make the transition to virtual support as seamless as possible?’

Virtual study spaces will undoubtedly be embedded in the way future generations study together, so let’s continue to iterate. If a platform like this can be built in just six months, what else can we develop to make the future of learning more community-driven, productive and accessible?

Calix Huang is a 16-year-old self-taught coder, engineer, and developer with a passion for startups and consumer tech. He founded Hours and currently works as a product manager at Fiveable.

Featured Image: Ralston Smith, Unsplash.

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We often wonder how to keep up with rapidly changing technology. But there’s an even bigger challenge: How do we keep up with the ground-breaking insights that technology is providing — insights that are causing entire disciplines to step back and re-evaluate some of their fundamental approaches?

You Can’t Always “Just Look It Up”

My colleagues, neuroscientist Terrence Sejnowski, educator Beth Rogowsky, and I have watched as neuroscience has exploded with vitally important new findings over the past two decades. In fact, Terry, as the Director of the Computational Neurobiology Laboratory at the Salk Institute, has played a role in some of those breakthroughs.

At long last, neuroscientists are beginning to understand some of the fundamental processes underlying the neural structures of learning. Perhaps surprisingly, these insights are turning some educational adages topsy-turvy. One such idea is that “you can always look it up,” so there’s no need to learn anything by heart. As it turns out, if you don’t have key information internalized, there’s no way you can ever become an expert in the subject. Could you speak French if you always went to Google translate to “just look it up?” Other myths, such as the idea of “drill is kill,” are also being debunked. Well-constructed drills, as it turns out, actually lead to deep levels of skill and can ultimately make learning more enjoyable. Drill, in fact, can lead to skill!

Calling all teachers! Are you looking for new ways to engage your students? In the new course, Uncommon Sense Teaching, you will learn the science of how we learn and explore ways to help your students learn effectively, and feel motivated. https://t.co/IIvQklwQfM

— Coursera (@coursera) July 16, 2021

Neuroscientific breakthroughs have profound practical applications in the classroom. Differences in students’ working memories, for example, can mean that approaches that work well for some quicker-to-learn students (“race car” learners) may actually backfire and turn off “hiker” students who learn more slowly. What’s important here is that hiker students can learn just as well, or even better than race cars, if their learning is carefully scaffolded by the teacher. What is the practical upshot of these findings? Some approaches currently encouraged in education involve letting students direct their own learning. This can be the equivalent of handing the keys to the car to a student — before the student has learned to drive.

These types of findings have extraordinary practical applications for teachers in their everyday work. Educational institutions, like any institution, have their own inertial processes. How can these new ideas and approaches be spread in practically useful ways? In fact, how is it even possible to communicate these interdisciplinary ideas broadly?

Enter a Massive Open Online Course

Enter Coursera, a massive open online course (MOOC) platform. Seven years ago, Terry and I created a course, Learning How to Learn, that has since become a standby on the platform and reached over three million learners.

Because nearly every teacher in the world had to rethink their pedagogy during emergency remote teaching, Terry and I figured now was a good time to provide updates for instructors and teachers at all levels about the insights coming from neuroscience.
Our colleague, Beth Rogowsky, a professor of education at Bloomsburg University with postdoc experience in neuroscience, agreed. We wrote a book together, Uncommon Sense Teaching, that helped us find a common language. Our approach incorporates solid neuroscientific findings in an easy-to-understand, visual way. And then we set about making a massive open online course to bring the findings to even more vibrant life.

It wasn’t easy. Terry was at the Salk Institute in San Diego, which had its own studio setup. Beth flew out from Pennsylvania to film in my garage studio in South Dakota, where we were both able to film together. Thanks to the magic of the greenscreen, we all appeared together virtually seamlessly on screen. Each video was carefully scripted and imagery was prepared—a process that took many months. Surprises were in store—Beth, a serious senior educator, turned out to have a Jane Curtin-like SNL comedic flair; her turns as a good witch and inept yoga master helped bring the course to spirited life. The video editing team, led by Juan Aristizabal, pulled off a near-television-like set of animations that made complex neuroscientific findings seem as simple and easy-to-understand as listening to a choir (literally—a bizarre choir is one of the key metaphors used in the course).

As an aside, you might wonder how one finds good video editors. It helps to ask around and look for talent. Video editors can either make you or break you. It also helps to have done a little video editing yourself, so you know whether you’re asking for a trivial tweak or a 12-hour rework.

This kind of carefully thought-out, intricately scripted production can, in the end, make everything being taught look simple. Because the reality is, it is simple. The hard part is putting together the complex production required to make the learning look easy. But the results speak for themselves.

Technology has led to invaluable breakthroughs in neuroscience—breakthroughs that have an impact on many different disciplines. And technology has led as well to home-studio breakthroughs, so that educators can film with virtually the same quality in their garage as can even world-class institutions like the Salk. It is not easy to sync very different disciplines in seamless, easy-to-understand fashion. This is where the enormous economies of scale of online platforms like Coursera can do everyone a great service, allowing scientific breakthroughs to have an impact in the community much more quickly than in the past.

Barbara Oakley is a professor of engineering at Oakland University and McMaster University. Professor Oakley’s MOOC, Learning How to Learn, is one of the most popular courses of all time on Coursera.

Featured Image: Franco Alva, Unsplash.

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