DataWind, the company behind the low-cost Aakash tablet, raised $30 million CAD ($28 million USD), in its IPO at the Toronto Stock Exchange last week. The money will be used to expand the implementation of DataWind’s products in emerging markets. Key Takeaway "Our IPO on the TSX represents a major milestone for DataWind and gives us the resources to implement the next stage of our vision to bring the internet to billions of unconnected people in the developing world." states Suneet Singh Tuli, President and CEO of DataWind in the press release. DataWind first made headlines when it introduced its plans to build a $35 tablet about four years ago. Though the company wasn’t able to deliver on its promise with the first version of the Aakash which was priced at $50, DataWind subsequently managed to set the price at $40 for the retail version of the Aakash 2 that it introduced in November 2012. Students were able to purchase the device for $20. DataWind is currently working on the Aakash 4 which will support 4G networks and is expected to launch this year with a $35 price tag according to NDTV. The company offers its devices with a low-cost Internet browsing solution called Internet Delivery Platform which bundles the device with a prepaid 2G Internet service plan. "The world suffers from an internet infrastructure deficit, however, we believe our patented cloud based web delivery technology can effectively leverage existing cellular telephony networks to deliver affordable internet to 93% of the world population. Our technology holds the potential to help bridge the digital divide - effectively and in the most affordable manner." states Raja Singh Tuli, Co-Chairman and CTO of DataWind. Further Reading DataWind Inc. Opens Toronto Stock Exchange | Marketwire Datawind raises Rs 168 crore via IPO, lists shares in Toronto | Economic Times Aakash 4 tablet development given go-ahead by HRD Ministry, due in 2014: Report | NDTV Related Links It is Reality: Aakash (India's former $35 USD Tablet) launched today | EDUKWEST Aakash 2 unveiled - Price now at $21 for Students | EDUKWEST Links datawind.com | Twitter

Edublogs is sponsoring a teacher challenge for personal blogs and classroom blogs. Each week 2-3 tasks will be sent via email to those who sign up and register for the challenge. You can do the personal blog challenge, the classroom blog challenge or both! The challenge will last for four weeks and is designed for […]

edX announced a new partnership with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Based on the Open edX platform the Ministry of Labor will launch a MOOC portal with the aim to bridge the gap between education and employment in the Kingdom as well as the Arab world. Key Takeaway The new portal will launch with a pilot program to enhance educational opportunities for Saudi women, youth, the disabled and Saudi citizens in rural communities. Besides setting up the MOOC portal the multi-year partnership between edX and Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Labor includes a significant investment in Open edX in return for ongoing support from edX’s support team to Saudi instructors who will work on a curriculum based on localized content from international universities as well as newly developed courses for Arab speaking students. The partnership also includes a research component. "The private sector in Saudi Arabia is growing rapidly and skilled workers are needed now more than ever to meet the rising demands. Women and youth, in particular, are well-positioned to contribute to this need by having access to high-quality vocational training in areas such as IT, healthcare, retail and manufacturing. We expect the initiative to create job opportunities and economic empowerment in Saudi Arabia and throughout the Arab world." states Maha Taibah, Advisor to the Ministry of Labor on Human Capital Development in the press release. In May the Queen Rania Foundation launched Edraak, the first MOOC platform in the Arab speaking world which is also based on the Open edX platform and has a similar goal of providing quality education and help students to prepare for the demands of the job market. Open edX is used by several governments across the world to run MOOC platforms including France Université Numérique and China's XuetangX. Further Reading A Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) portal created exclusively for Arab audiences will deliver vocational & employability skills to women, youth, persons with disabilities and citizens in rural communities | Press Release Related Links Queen Rania of Jordan launches Arabic MOOC platform Edraak | EDUKWEST France puts another 8 million Euro into its FUN MOOC project |EDUKWEST Europe Links code.edx.org

Scott McLeod, technology leader, blogger, author and online colleague is celebrating his eighth year of blogging by proclaiming Friday, August 15, 2014, as #leadershipday14. He blogs at "Dangerously Irrelevant" and has put out a call to all bloggers to write a blog post about leadership and share it on August 15th. He has done this […]

Scott McLeod is celebrating eight years of blogging at "Dangerously Irrelevant" (congrats Scott!) and has proclaimed today "Leadership Day 2014″ In honor of his eight year anniversary and Leadership Day 2014, I am sharing eight ways that ‘teacher leaders’ can demonstrate leadership skills that foster the use of technology in the classroom. Many administrators and […]

Almost exactly a year ago, I wrote about the MOOC movement (and hype) finally reaching India and the country’s first effort to bring some of its higher education online. At the time the three Computer Science MOOCs were still at planning stage, so let’s take a look at what has happened within the last year and the challenges India is facing. Where are Indian MOOCs one year later? Let’s start off with some positive news. IIT Bombay indeed launched three MOOCs this May, an Introduction to Computer Programming Part 1 and 2, the third MOOC is on Thermodynamics. The platform of choice is, unsurprisingly, edX with IITB being a member of the xConsortium as announced by edX in 2013. The three MOOCs by IIT are not targeted toward solely attracting an Indian audience, however, but learners worldwide. Programming Part 1 and the Thermodynamics course are both scheduled to start July 29, with Programming Part 2 starting September 23. So far, the three MOOCs combined have attracted 35,000 enrollments which is decent though far from outstanding taken the demand for MOOCs in India alone (and of course worldwide) into account. So where are the problems? The question is whether this can turn into a mutually beneficial relationship. We know that India is a very important market for both edX and Coursera. Coursera currently has more than 6.7 million learners worldwide, its second largest user base is in India. Of the 1.9 million learners on edX, 15% come from India which makes the country the second strongest user base for edX as well. Until now the US are the no.1 country for both MOOC providers. Of those two remaining major US-based MOOC platforms edX currently remains the non-profit one, but we can certainly see that also edX is now trying to figure out its business model. The March 2014 appointment of Wendy Cebula (formerly from Vistaprint) as President and COO clearly points toward a monetization strategy while Anant Agarwal will focus on the strategic direction, growth and partnerships. Agarwal told Business Line in March that "The response from India has been overwhelming. For MITx’s Circuits and Electronics course, more students enrolled from India (30 per cent) than from any other country, including the US (22 per cent). These numbers are increasing at a rapid pace as we add member institutions, improve access to videos, and increase our capacity to provide multi-language translations." His statement is quite telling. Even if we consider that Indian universities and institutions didn’t have the time to catch up with big US institutions and develop their own compelling MOOC offers, these numbers are a strong indicator that Indian students prefer MOOCs developed by renown foreign institutions. Although this distinction might only be of mild interest to edX, as long as the platform can charge Indian students the $25 for a certificate or monetize its platform in new ways in the future, one could say all is well. That said, it is hard to imagine that Agarwal himself wouldn’t have a particular interest in seeing India further advance and modernize its higher education system with respect to his own childhood and education before pursuing his studies and career in the US. For example, the effort made by the Australian National University in Canberra (ANU) to develop a MOOC in Hindi, called Engaging India which started on April 29, is a good and honorable one given the university’s expertise on the country. However, I must admit, I would have rather liked to see this come out of India itself rather than from an Australian institution (or US, European for that matter). A few of the many challenges Indian higher education faces Since my article last year India has seen a change in government. And as we all know, it is not very likely that a new government has a strong interest to continue and roll out plans initiated and voted upon by the old one. Even though the new Modi government sees online education as a mean for younger and working class Indians to further their education, the promise to set up MOOCs and virtual classrooms is a broad one, and if I may say sounds a bit unstructured - for now. While I’m not an expert on the Indian education system, I do see many of the buzzwords being used right now. This ranges from the flipped classroom, connected classrooms, video learning and MOOCs. I think, the real problem here is how to develop a meaningful solution tailored to Indian needs when there is not enough knowledge and education around how to pull it off. Teacher training is the main problem here, and this is true for K-12 and higher education alike. So far, I personally cannot see that India has already transitioned from being a consumer of educational content (predominantly created by others) to becoming a creator of content. Who can help make change happen? This is the tricky question. When it comes to online education I see quite a bit happening in the startup sector and ideas for educational businesses getting funded. If you are interested to learn more about Indian edtech startups, I invite you to visit our dedicated category on EDUKWEST where you can find all of our Indian funding news. Right now foreign providers are not allowed to establish branch campuses in India, and it is unlikely that this is going to change any time soon. The Modi government doesn’t like to see India as a mere source of revenue for foreign institutions which is more than understandable. But where can change come from? From what I hear, Indian higher education providers and institutions are more interested in selective online courses, so called SPOCS or SOOCs, rather than MOOCS in their pure, academic sense as Massive Open Online Courses with a big O for "open". This is, of course, not to compromise their business model. It will need a massive effort, lots of money, structure and skilled people to come up with an online education platform and coursework that will work for the masses that aspire towards education. Whereas I see lots of initiatives and advancements being made in the private sector, I don’t see the same be true in state higher education and lifelong learning. But maybe that’s because it’s not where the big money can be made right now. Picture License  Some rights reserved by Sudar Muthu

Many schools are moving to a 1-to-1 format where every student and educator has access to a laptop or iPad. Yet many of these programs are not implemented effectively or eventually fade away. There are several reasons the programs are not successful. It all comes to planning and training. 1. Initial training is limited or […]

Earlier this month Pearson launched its new Global Scale of English or short GSE. According to Pearson English "there has never been a globally recognised standard in English - no single way of recognising and quantifying the level of an individual’s English" which is, of course, something the company aims to change with its new product. The release states that GSE has been in development for the past 25 years and has been tested on over 10.000 students in 130 countries. The goal is to provide "one precise, numeric, universal scale for businesses, governments and academic institutions, as well as for the 1 billion plus people estimated to be learning English worldwide." And the timing could not be better as the giant in the space is currently stumbling. ETS Global, the company behind the TOEIC and TOEFL certificates got itself into some serious trouble after the BBC was able to uncover fraud in the UK student visa system from several ETS testing providers in the UK. The investigation proved that students with poor English competencies had passed the TOEIC exam which is needed to obtain student visa extensions. During one part of the test students were being replaced by so called fake sitters whereas during the multiple choice part of the TOEIC the correct answers were read out loud by the invigilator. The story is far from being finished and it is still possible that other countries that are currently still using the TOEIC and TOEFL as basis to issue visa will follow suit which would certainly help Pearson to get its new ESL products ahead of the competition. Pearson GSE replaces the very broad levels of beginner, intermediate and advanced with a granular scale between 10-90, enabling the learner to assess more precisely her current level of English. Along with it comes a new online test called gSET that measures speaking, listening, reading and writing against the GSE. Language learning community busuu was the first company outside of Pearson to implement gSET into its offerings while getting a four months exclusive head start in April. Through the implementation, busuu premium users are able to assess their level on an ongoing basis which I think is the real game changer if we want to use this word. TOEFL and TOEIC, much like most classic forms of certifications and credentials, are a static capture of a moment in time, namely the day of the test. In today’s ever changing, fast moving work place these certificates are anachronisms and Pearson’s approach makes much more sense. Of course, the lower price point of GSE / gSET compared to ETS’ offering, not including the books and tutoring lessons that are often involved, are another argument on the side of Pearson. But Pearson is not the only one challenging ETS’ leadership role in ESL testing and certification. Duolingo is working on its own version of online testing and certifications in the language learning space, aiming to release its product at the very affordable price point of $20. And Duolingo’s global footprint is growing rapidly. The startup just announced a major expansion into Asia with the launch of its free learning apps and website in Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Vietnam, and Indonesia. Video Further Reading Pearson launches world’s first global standard of English | Press Release Pearson English announces major partnership with world’s largest social network for language learning, busuu | Press Release HEDLINE: ETS Global suspended from offering English Tests amid Fraud Investigation | EDUKWEST Europe Duolingo brings free English language learning to 5 new Asian markets | Tech in Asia HEDLINE: Duolingo raises $20 million Series C | EDUKWEST Links english.com/gse | Twitter | Facebook

Applications are being accepted to the ‘Disney Dreamers Academy‘ from now until October 31, 2014 for the 2015 class of Disney Dreamers. What is a Disney Dreamer? It is a 9th - 12th grader that has a dream for their future. It may be to accomplish a civic duty, hold public office or attend a […]

Pearson announced a strategic partnership with Chicago-based startup hub and incubator 1871. Two of the ten edtech startups in Pearson’s latest Catalyst batch joined to the program over recommendations from 1871. Other partners in the startup hub and incubator space include RocketSpace, 1776, LearnLaunch, MaRS and Makerversity. Pearson announces edtech partnership with Chicago incubator 1871 July 21, 2014 Chicago, Illinois - July 21, 2014: Pearson, the world’s leading learning company, today announced a strategic partnership with 1871, Chicago’s entrepreneurial hub for digital startups. 1871 is the largest startup hub in the U.S. with more than 250 member companies at the present time. Pearson has long-standing relationships with many K-12 and higher education institutions in the area, such as Chicago Public Schools and Chicago City Colleges, and this partnership will enable the company to further collaborate with local education technology startups. "At 1871, we’re bringing together Chicago’s brightest digital designers, engineers and entrepreneurs who are shaping new technologies, disrupting old business models, and resetting the boundaries of what’s possible," said Howard A. Tullman, CEO of 1871. "We think Pearson’s deep experience in the education industry and global reach will be extremely valuable to the startups in our community. As a former college president and as an education entrepreneur in my own right, I have worked with Pearson for more than twenty years and look forward to continuing to grow and expand our relationship. " "We’re committed to addressing some of the biggest challenges in education and believe that partnering with the startup community is vital for stimulating greater innovation in the industry and improving learning outcomes," said Diana Stepner, VP of Innovation Partnerships and Developer Relations. "Two of the startups selected for our edtech accelerator Pearson Catalyst for Education, announced last month, were recommended by 1871 and we look forward to working more closely with other startup talent in the area as well." Pearson Catalyst participant Learnmetrics, which provides real-time analytics for educators, will be one of the first digital startups to be working in the newly expanded 1871 2.0 space, which is growing by 50 percent at its Merchandise Mart location this year, thanks to a $2.5 million state grant. "We’re excited to be partnering with Pearson as part of the 2014 Catalyst class," said Julian Miller, CEO of Learnmetrics. "Given that it’s a virtual program, we’re able to continue working with the tech community in Chicago at 1871, while also connecting and collaborating with our Pearson mentors and sponsors from across the globe. It’s the best of both worlds." Pearson works with individuals and organisations of every size to explore smart ideas and technologies that can make education more effective and improve learning outcomes. This means collaborating with developers, global startups in the Catalyst and Edupreneurs accelerator programmes, and a growing community of innovation partners, such as 1871, RocketSpace, 1776, LearnLaunch, MaRS and Makerversity. .... For more information Please contact: Erin Farber / erin.farber@pearson.com / +1 (917) 697-2027 Laura Clark / laura@1871.com / +1 (330) 715-0687 About Pearson Pearson is the world's leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 70 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning. We provide learning materials, technologies, assessments and services to teachers and students in order to help people everywhere aim higher and fulfil their true potential. We put the learner at the centre of everything we do. www.pearson.com About 1871 1871 is an entrepreneurial hub for digital startups. Located in The Merchandise Mart, the soon-to-be 75,000-square-foot facility provides Chicago startups with programming, access to mentors, educational resources, potential investors and a community of like-minded entrepreneurs that help them on their path to building successful businesses. 1871 is the flagship project of the CEC. www.1871.com