news
Learning transformation the number one
priority Transforming learning is the top priority in 2016 for learning professionals, according to a survey carried out by Towards Maturity. Following the launch of its #MakeItHappen campaign, Towards Maturity asked learning professionals to select only one of five key action areas that will help them deliver impact in the year ahead. The results from over 160 L&D practitioners show that transforming learning is the most popular priority, followed by understanding modern learners and developing the skills of the L&D function.
Laura Overton, managing director at Towards
Maturity, said: “The reason we asked L&D professionals to prioritise where they want to take action, is to help them take the first step. Time and again, L&D as an industry is failing to see the organisational impact of its activities and we have now reached a crunch point. Focusing on just one thing that will make a difference in the year ahead will help L&D professionals do something about it.”
Online university
starts MBA course UoPeople has received accreditation for an MBA programme. University of the People describes itself as the world’s first non-profit, tuition free, accredited American online university. The MBA programme – which UoPeople describes as the world’s most effective – is the latest addition to UoPeople’s offering of Associate’s and Bachelor’s qualifications in business administration and computer science, accredited by the Distance Education and Accreditation Commission (DEAC). The course will start in September 2016. The university’s academic calendar consists of five nine- week terms and students can apply and be admitted to commence in any given term. The university will accept only 100 applicants for the first term, and gradually expand the program. Although there are no tuition or textbook fees, there is a $200 end of course assessment fee (for each of the 12 courses) and students can expect to pay a total of $2,400 for the degree over six terms (15 months). UoPeople’s President Shai Reshef said: “The cost of an MBA today is so expensive that many people who are qualified cannot afford it. UoPeople was set up to open the gates to higher education and to give an opportunity to those who don’t have it.”
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City & Guilds joins in $2.5m seed funding action
The City & Guilds Group has invested in US-based digital credentials service provider, Credly. The second investment from the group’s new venture fund, it is designed to support skills development worldwide by investing in post-revenue education technology companies in return for an equity stake. Credly recognises lifelong achievement by offering the market-leading platform for issuing, managing, sharing and validating digital credentials and badges. Credly serves thousands of well-known organisations from around the globe in industries such as education, talent management, training, IT, finance and healthcare.
The use of digital credentials is rising exponentially due to the widespread use of online CV portals and job sites, and the need to link an individual’s experience, skills and competence to employers’ job role requirements. Carefully designed pathways or combinations of digital micro-credentials can also provide learners with fully accredited,
widely-recognised qualifications from organisations like City & Guilds. John Yates, new ventures director, City & Guilds
Group said: “It’s clear there’s a growing trend for innovation in skills recognition, as more and more people need to showcase their skills on digital platforms. Digital credentials empower individuals to validate their skills and help employers find the talented individuals they need for their businesses to succeed.”
The City & Guilds Group is one of five investors in
Credly, along with University Ventures, New Markets Venture Partners, Lumina Foundation and Lion Brothers Company. Among those investors, City & Guilds Group is the only one based outside of the US and with a focus on vocational education. Collectively, Credly has raised $2.5 million in seed funding. Jonathan Finkelstein, Founder and CEO of Credly
said: “At Credly, we see the world shifting towards a new marketplace of knowledge and skills where digital credentials are emerging as the currency of choice.
E-learning course completion helps to avoid jail term
A young US defendant avoided jail on drug- related offences in March after successfully completing a free online course on ALISON, a leading global free learning platform. Dylan Lewis, a
22-year-old a drug- offender appeared before Judge William J. Watson of the City Court of Lockport, NY, in the 8th Judicial District of New York at 9.30am, Tuesday, March 1st. He was released from the threat of jail due to his having completed two business courses on the ALISON free online learning platform. Lewis completed the courses through home
Dylan Lewis: completed two courses
online learning offers an instrument unavailable to courts to date and it must be explored”. Mike Feerick, ALISON’s CEO who travelled from the company’s headquarters in Ireland to attend the court session, stated that “Using free learning in such an
study and at the Orleans/Niagara BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services (ONBOCES) facility. He took course tests at ONBOCES. Judge Watson stated “If we are to seriously
consider how we can help young men and women not to re-offend, we must look to remedies that change minds, not just physical circumstances. Free
innovative way opens a new world of understanding and capability for offenders, and most importantly, it does so at almost no cost to the state as the learning and basic certification process is free to access. It is a remedy that can be added to many correctional situations worldwide, helping to reduce recidivism among offenders”. Karen Cator, CEO of Digital Promise, a non-profit
organisation started by the US Congress which introduced ALISON and Orleans/Niagara BOCES said: “The partnership between Orleans/Niagara BOCES and ALISON is a great example of how the technology and adult education worlds can collaborate to serve learners who are often ignored.
e.learning age april 2016
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