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D2L Fusion 2024: The Role of the LMS in Transforming Teaching and Learning
Educational technology conferences share the same aspects. Attendees hear ambitious keynote talks and flashy feature announcements, participate in deep-dive sessions and networking opportunities, and navigate huge hotels and long lines for coffee. However, this year’s D2L Fusion conference—held in Toronto—was different in two ways. First, the organizers added an element of local charm to all…
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InstructureCon 2024: A Partnership Unlocking Possibilities
I spent last week at InstructureCon 2024 in Las Vegas, experiencing the city’s scorching heat, with temperatures soaring daily between 45 and 47°C (113 and 116°F). My wife accompanied me as I celebrated the big 50. On our arrival on Monday, we had tickets to a comedy show. Being avid walkers, we thought a short…
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The Impact of the Move to Remote Learning on K-12 Ecosystems
Technology implementations related to teaching and learning in US K-12 school districts increased during the pandemic, with a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21% between 2019 and 2021. Every technology category increased over this period, with Conferencing Systems (105%), Assessment and Evaluation Solutions (22%), E-Learning Solutions (18%), and Learning Management Systems (19%) showing the…
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Different, But the Same
Key Takeaways for This Post Differences in Educational Structures: The text highlights significant structural differences between the higher education systems in Canada and in the United States. Canada has a higher proportion of two-year colleges compared to the US. On the other hand, the US has a notable number of institutions offering programs of less…
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Digital Accessibility in Higher Education: Two Vendors to Watch
According to the most recently available IPEDS data, twenty-one percent of undergraduates and eleven percent of postbaccalaureate students reported having a disability across all US institutions from 2019 to 2020. Yet, many of these students do not consider their accessibility needs met by their institutions. For example, a 2019 survey by Educause showed that “only about half of all…
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Packaging New Requirement Types for LMS RFPs
At the end of our blog post on deconstructing LMS RFPs to find the most popular evaluation criteria, we mentioned that we are working on defining the functional and non-functional criteria. Over the past month and a half, we have worked on grouping the different requirement types. Rapidly, we understood that it’s not a matter…
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Exploring the Benefits of Outcomes-Based Benchmarking
Many instructional leaders benchmark their institutions against others, intending to understand how to reduce expenditures and enhance productivity. Leveraging tools such as Educause’s Core Data Service, these leaders examine how their finances, staffing, and services compare against similar institutions and understand their level of maturity to launch strategic initiatives (analytics, etc.). This approach to benchmarking is…
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Ellucian Live 2024: Illuminate. Innovate. Inspire.
From April 6-9, 2024, I attended Ellucian Live 2024, where James and I were invited as analysts. It was only my second Ellucian conference, but somehow, I felt like a veteran. I was happy to meet up with old acquaintances while making new connections in the edtech world. With this post, I want to share…
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Exploring Why Institutions Change Student Information Systems
At its conference this year, Ellucian highlighted Indian River State College’s recent conversion from another student information system (SIS) to its Ellucian Banner SaaS product. In the accompanying video, Dr. Timothy Moore, the college president, highlighted the functional reasons for the product switch and discussed how he sees the new product as better supporting his…
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Deconstructing LMS RFPs: The Most Popular Evaluation Criteria
Writing a request for proposals to replace your current LMS is one of the most daunting tasks for non-procurement specialists. To help you accomplish this, you may decide to browse listserv archives or again, you may ask your colleagues in other universities what they included in this type of document. As an alternative, you could…
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Relationships Between Institutional Characteristics, Student Personas and SIS
Student information systems (SIS) have significantly evolved since they first appeared in the 1960s, from essentially serving as the central store of student-related data to supporting activities such as class registration, grade management, and transcript generation. With this evolution has come increased demands on the SIS to support different student personas (traditional, transfer, etc.) and…
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Unveiling the Power of Business Partnerships in EdTech
In educational technology, the necessity of cultivating strategic business partnerships is undeniable. As classrooms evolve into dynamic digital environments and learners navigate an increasingly interconnected world, the complexities of integrating technology seamlessly into education become apparent. While considering educational technology, we define a business partnership as a collaborative arrangement between companies aimed at advancing innovation…
