Top Honors for Leadership and Innovation Presented at Annual Event for the World’s Largest Educational Technology Collaboration

LAKE MARY, Florida, 24 May 2017 – IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global), the world leader in edtech interoperability and innovation, announced its annual award winners on Thursday, May 18, to a gathering of more than 500 education technology leaders during the Learning Impact Leadership Institute in Denver, Colorado.

Dr. Charles R. Severance, clinical associate professor of information at the University of Michigan School of Information, was awarded the 2017 William H. (Bill) Graves Leadership Award.

Named after the late Dr. Bill Graves, one of the founders of IMS Global, this award honors an individual who is making an extraordinary difference in realizing the mission of IMS Global Learning Consortium to advance technology that can affordably scale and improve educational participation and attainment.

“We are pleased to recognize Dr. Charles R. Severance for his many contributions to the IMS Global community, in particular over 10 years of work dedicated to making the Learning Tools Interoperability^® (LTI^®) standard a reality,” said Dr. Rob Abel, chief executive officer, IMS Global Learning Consortium. “The success we are seeing with LTI is a testament to Dr. Severance’s vision and pioneering work in the edtech community.”

The annual William H. (Bill) Graves Leadership Award includes a $10,000 monetary prize.

In addition to the Leadership Award, IMS Global announced the winners of the Learning Impact Awards competition. The Learning Impact Awards program is the only global competition that recognizes outstanding, innovative applications of technology at an educational institution to support and improve learning based on evidence of impact.

Projects were evaluated by an expert panel using eight criteria for determining learning impact. Attendees of the Learning Impact Leadership Institute, as well as the public, were invited to cast a vote on the finalists, with their combined vote counting as one judge vote. Out of the 38 projects that competed as finalists in this year’s competition, five medalists were selected in the New/Research category for projects implemented within the last 12 months, and four medalists were selected in the Established category for projects that have been deployed for at least 24 months.

The following institutions and organizations were recognized with a 2017 Learning Impact Award for their outstanding achievement:

2017 Winners - New/Research Projects

• Platinum Medal: IBM's Open Badging Program - Pearson Acclaim and IBM (Video, Paper)
• Gold Medal: Texas Gateway CMDS - Trinity Education Group and Texas Gateway CMDS (Video, Paper)
• Silver Medal: Connect2 Open Learning Platform for Higher Education—International - McGraw-Hill Education (Video, Paper)
• Bronze Medal: The IMDA Singapore PlayMaker Programme: Unleashing Creative Confidence in Children through Play and Maker-Centred Learning - Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, Tinkertanker PTE LTD, Preschool Market (Video, Paper)
• Bronze Medal: Bluepulse 2—Integrated - eXplorance (Video, Paper)

2017 Winners - Established Projects

• Platinum Medal: Universal Design Online content Inspection Tool (UDOIT) - University of Central Florida Center for Distributed Learning (Video, Paper)
• Gold Medal: HISD's Analytics for Education (A4E) Dashboards and PowerUser Reporting Environment (PWR) - Houston Independent School District (Video, Paper)
• Silver Medal: InQuizitive use at State College of Florida - W.W. Norton & Company and State College of Florida  (Video, Paper)
• Bronze Medal: PowerUp: Taking Technology Integration to the Next Level in K-12 - itslearning and Houston Independent School District (Video, Paper)

2017 Honorable Mentions

• Access Manager - McGraw-Hill Education (Video, Paper)
• Behavioral Analytics Driving Student Outcomes - Echo360 and University of Cincinnati (Video, Paper)
• Building an Ecosystem Using IMS Standards - Pearson Realize and Berkeley County School District (Video, Paper)
• College for America at SNHU: Degree Programs that Work for Working Adults - College for America at Southern New Hampshire University (Video, Paper)
• CTU Mobile by Colorado Technical University - CTU Mobile and Colorado Technical University (Video, Paper)
• Development and Verification of an e-Learning System that Augments Interest and Inner Motives - Kumsung Pub. and purunet.com (Video, Paper)
• FLVS Playbook - Florida Virtual School (Video, Paper)
• Follett Discover Suite of Products to Support Academic Success - Follett (Video, Paper)
• Hawkes Learning Partners with the University of Louisville on an Emporium Approach to Intervention Courses in Algebra - Hawkes Learning and University of Louisville (Video, Paper)
• HigherEd.org–A New Learning Ecosystem and Portal for Personalized Competency-Based Education - HigherEd.org New Learning Ecosystem and Lord Fairfax Community College (Video, Paper)
• Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) Lab on Wheels - Info-communications Media Development Authority of Singapore (Video, Paper)
• Integrated Learning Analytics for Video using LTI and Caliper - Kaltura and Blackboard (Video, Paper)
• KANTAN (Easy) cloud-based e-learning authoring and delivery service - NetLearning (Video, Paper)
• Learnosity Assessment APIs - Learnosity (Video, Paper)
• LIVE (Learning Immersion in a Virtual Environment) Effectively Reaches Global Audience and Measures Engagement - Ingram Micro (Video, Paper)
• LMS Dynamic LTI Handler - University of Phoenix (Video, Paper)
• LMS LTI Integration with Adobe Connect Virtual Classroom Platform - eSyncTraining and Pasco eSchool (Video)
• M2B System for Data-Driven Education and Learning-Learning Analytics Center - Kyushu University (Video,Paper)
• MyInternshipBuddy@WORK at Republic Poly - Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, Republic Polytechnic of Singapore, Coursepad Pte Ltd (Video, Paper)
• Nebula: A New Design For Canvas Discussion Boards - Northwestern University (Video, Paper)
• Norming student essays using Turnitin Revision Assistant to inform instruction at Newport-Mesa USD - Turnitin and Newport-Mesa Unified School District (Video,Paper)
• Nudging Student Success with UMBC's Check My Activity (CMA) LMS Feedback Tool - University of Maryland Baltimore County and University of Maryland Baltimore County Division of Information Technology (Video, Paper)
• OpenSALT - PCG Education and Houston Independent School District (Video, Paper)
• Penn State Digital Badging Platform - Penn State University TLT Studio and Penn State University Libraries (Video, Paper)
• Pilot on IoT@Schools - Promote Inquiry-based Learning with Real-World Data - Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore and Sciencescope Limited (Video, Paper)
• Robots for Early Childhood Education - Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, Robotics Research University, Nanyang Technological University, SoftBank Telecom Singapore (Video, Paper)
• Scope by Purdue: A lesson in using the Caliper Specification - Purdue Teaching and Learning Technologies (Video, Paper)
• Texas OnCourse CBE Micro-credential System - Learning Objects and the University of Texas at Austin (Video, Paper)
• Transforming learning at scale: How Saint Leo University unified its learning ecosystem for better results - D2L and Saint Leo University (Video, Paper)

An analysis of the 2017 winning projects will be provided in the annual Learning Impact Report, which will be released in the fall. Nominations for the 2018 competition will open early next year.

About IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global)

IMS Global is a nonprofit organization that advances technology to affordably scale and improve educational participation and attainment. IMS Global members are leading suppliers, institutions, and government organizations that are enabling the future of education by collaborating on interoperability and adoption initiatives. IMS Global sponsors the Learning Impact Leadership Institute, a global program focused on recognizing the impact of innovative technology on educational access, affordability, and quality while developing the people and ideas to help shape the future of educational technology.

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Participants will Collaborate and Share Strategies to Lead Advancements in State Assessment Initiatives

LAKE MARY, Florida, 29 June 2017 — IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global), the world leader in edtech interoperability and innovation, announced today plans to organize a State Assessment Innovation Leadership Network (ILN) open to all state assessment leaders that will direct the conversation on the future of digital assessment and the impact of emerging technologies like adaptive testing, innovative items, and other key issues in statewide programs.

State assessment leaders who want to be involved can get more information at www.imsglobal.org/StateILN. Membership in IMS Global is not required to participate.

The State Assessment ILN will be chaired by representatives from the Maryland and Minnesota departments of education who have been actively involved in the digital assessment work and progress within the IMS Global ecosystem.

“Bringing together state assessment leaders to collaborate within the IMS Global community on the development of standards for online testing systems will enable states to design digital assessment programs that are not only more cost efficient but also more valid and reliable,” said Dale Cornelius, program manager online testing, Maryland State Department of Education.

“Requiring interoperability and accessibility of test content and delivery allows states to avoid costly retrofitting of tests and test items to ensure they function across systems and provide access for all students,” said Cheryl Alcaya, supervisor, Minnesota Department of Education. “Participation in the State Assessment Innovation Leadership Network gives states a forum to communicate the needs of end users directly to the developers of online testing systems.”

Details on the State Assessment ILN will be addressed in a roundtable discussion on Creating a Highly Interoperable Assessment Ecosystem to Accelerate Transition to e-Assessment today at 12:30 p.m. (CT) during the National Conference on Student Assessment (NCSA) in Austin, Texas.

For more details on the IMS Global State Assessment ILN and to sign up to participate visit www.imsglobal.org/StateILN.

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IMS Global Learning Consortium Introduces LTI Advantage

The World’s Largest Education Technology Collaborative Announces Next Phase of Open Standards to Enable Next Generation Teaching and Learning

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IMS Global Learning Consortium Releases 2017 Learning Impact Report

Six Key Themes of Educational Impact Emerge from Analysis of Final Projects from Highly Competitive Global Awards Program

Strategic Program Empowers School Districts to Evolve Their Digital Ecosystem and Revolutionize Teaching and Learning

LAKE MARY, Florida, 25 January 2018 — IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS), the world leader in edtech interoperability and innovation, has announced a new four-tiered strategic approach for school districts to adopt and implement open standards. The K-12 Digital Learning Revolution Program enables districts of all sizes and needs to systematically evolve their digital learning environment and provides a foundation for making significant advances in digital teaching and learning practices.

School districts have made extensive investments in educational technology. The procurement of new learning tools and applications or changes to existing resources must align with a district's overall strategic plan. The K-12 Digital Learning Revolution Program was developed under the guidance of 59 IMS member districts, representing over 10 million students, that have substantive experience and knowledge about what it takes to implement and scale integrated learning technologies. The program helps district leaders devise practical strategies and processes for establishing a plug-and-play ecosystem and develop a shared vision with all stakeholders for how open technologies will support the district’s strategic and operational goals. It also facilitates a process for priority-setting and decision-making as they relate to the evolution of the district’s technology in coordination with other leading districts and states.

IMS Global provides support for districts interested in implementing the program. To schedule a consultation and get started visit imsglobal.org/k12-revolution or contact IMS directly at info@imsglobal.org.

Leadership and participation by districts, states, and edtech suppliers are critical to ensuring the adoption and continued evolution of open standards that meet the needs of educational institutions. Broad adoption of IMS standards will improve the efficiency of school operations, reduce costs associated with custom product implementations, and give classroom time back to teachers so they can focus on instruction, not technology.

IMS makes it easy for districts to tap into a rapidly growing ecosystem of plug-and-play resources that have achieved IMS conformance certification—the only way to ensure that suppliers are fully engaged and committed to the latest IMS standards—through the IMS Certified Product Directory at imscert.org.

IMS Global Learning Consortium will be at the Future of Education Technology Conference in Orlando, Florida, January 25-26, 2018. For more on IMS sessions at FETC where you can hear from district leaders who have already committed to the K-12 Digital Learning Revolution Program visit imsglobal.org/event/fetc-2018.

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IMS Global Learning Consortium Announces 1EdTech Ecosystem Initiative

World’s Leading Educational Technology Consortium Announces Commitment by Leading School Districts and Digital Learning Providers to Implement Trusted Registry and Connection Service to Enable Digital on Day One for All Teachers and Students

LAKE MARY, Florida, 21 May 2018 — IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS), the world-leading non-profit collaborative advancing educational technology innovation, impact and interoperability announced that it is launching the One EdTech Ecosystem™ (1EdTech™) initiative, a collaboration between school districts and suppliers that will make it radically easier for school districts to make digital resources and applications available to teachers and students. IMS Global refers to this reliable school software integration strategy for the benefit of maximizing teaching and learning time as “digital on day one of learning.”

1EdTech consists of a secure trusted cloud-based registry and connection service that will enable any educational technology provider to connect to any school district’s learning platform, portal, or student system using the IMS OneRoster^® standard. Once a participant organization has integrated they will be able to connect to any of the institutions or suppliers on the other side. 1EdTech will be free to all IMS member organizations that have OneRoster certified products. 1EdTech is a unique approach because it is a trusted community-sourced and governed non-profit connection service that does not compete with existing marketplace solutions, but rather complements existing solutions.

“The unprecedented adoption of IMS OneRoster has led to a desire by both product providers and institutions to ensure plug-and-play integration that takes into account the variability of implementations,” commented Dr. Rob Abel, Chief Executive of IMS Global Learning Consortium. “The 1Edtech collaboration is an indication that the leading providers of digital learning and leading school districts are rallying together to enable “digital on day one” via a set of community-governed open standards and services.”

The development of 1EdTech is being funded through the support of IMS Global Learning Consortium and a set of sponsoring organizations that include suppliers and non-profit educational foundations.

1EdTech will initially support OneRoster connectivity, soon to be followed with support for IMS’s LTI^® Advantage. These standards enable digital on day one via a variety of application launch and data back scenarios that are being used across a majority of school districts and higher education institutions today.  

In the future 1EdTech will support other IMS standards to enable use of the 1EdTech infrastructure to launch specific learning objects (Thin Common Cartridge^® and LTI Resource Search), access published competencies and academic standards (CASE^®), and perform learning data collection and analysis (Caliper Analytics^®).

A list of Frequently Asked Questions regarding 1EdTech is available on the 1EdTech website.

1EdTech is in its initial development phase with rollout of OneRoster-based integrations planned for a pilot set of school districts and suppliers in Fall 2018. The set of districts that are currently leading the charge for 1EdTech are: Edina Public Schools, Escambia County School District, Forsyth County Schools, Gwinnett County Public Schools, Henry County Schools, Houston Independent School District, Neosho School District, Orange County Public Schools, School District of Lee County, and Volusia County Schools.

If your school district is interested in participating in participating in the 1EdTech Ecosystem Initiative advisory group please contact IMS.

Although the 1EdTech collaborative is in early stages, endorsements have been received by the following learning product suppliers: Accelerate Learning, Achieve3000, Cengage, Classworks, Edmentum, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Knovation, McGraw-Hill Education, Pearson, SAFARI Montage, SchoolCity, and Renaissance.

“I am very excited about the 1EdTech collaborative and the possibilities it will open up for HISD.  As HISD matures in its work with interoperability this really is the next logical step.”  —Lenny Schad, Chief Information Technology Officer, Houston Independent School District

"In Gwinnett County Public Schools our focus is on teaching and learning, with an emphasis on learning. To that end, we're glad to be a part of the community developing 1EdTech which will allow for greater integration across technology platforms, putting better resources in the hands of our teachers. This initiative moves us to a new level of digital learning. It is much more than just random hardware and software solutions. 1EdTech, coupled with the increased adoption of the IMS Global standards by vendors, allows us to enhance tools, better turn data into information, and better support the work of our teachers in the classroom." —Dr. Debbie Durrence, Chief Data Officer, Gwinnett County Public Schools

“One of the core promises of technology is the simplification or elimination of tasks that take away time from teaching and learning. One of the most time-intensive tasks for teachers at the beginning of each year is correctly assigning resources to their students. Automating this process returns precious minutes to individual teachers and hours and days at scale to districts.” —Maurice Draggon, Director, Instructional Systems, Orange County Public Schools

“The 1EdTech initiative is a crucial step in building flexible teaching and learning ecosystems that set all teachers and students up for success,” said Rose Else-Mitchell, Chief Learning Officer, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. “As a learning company focused on improving student outcomes, we’re committed to working with our district partners on creating integrated solutions that engage learners and empower educators. Being a part of 1EdTech is another way to enable us as we partner with districts to make day one of school be Day One of Learning so as to better drive achievement and propel student growth.”

“At McGraw-Hill Education, we believe both open standards and easy-to-use tools are essential in helping schools and universities provide access to their digital learning solutions from day one,” said Stephen Laster, Chief Digital Officer, McGraw-Hill Education. “We think the launch of 1EdTech is an excellent step forward in the widespread adoption of OneRoster, which will significantly ease the integration process for education institutions, who often have to work with multiple vendors to integrate various different learning systems and solutions within their own ecosystem.”

“Pearson has a long history of supporting open industry standards and is excited by the growth in customer demand for high quality, blended curriculum experiences,” said Bethlam Forsa, Managing Director of Pearson Learning Services. “The One EdTech Ecosystem Initiative is a great opportunity to simplify integration and place greater value in the hands of our teachers, learners and administrators.”

“Renaissance is pleased to be a part of this very important initiative,” said Mike Evans, chief operating officer at Renaissance. “As we talk with leaders at schools and districts around the world about their technology needs, interoperability is always one of their main priorities. The edtech community has made great strides in recent years to address these needs, and 1EdTech is a natural next step toward a future of seamless technology integration for all educators and students.”

IMS Global Learning Consortium open standards are developed and managed via a partnership among over 450 of the world’s leading educational technology suppliers, school districts, higher education institutions, and states. IMS Global’s 60 plus school district and state members serve approximately 11 million students. IMS state and state consortium members represent 44 U.S. states. IMS higher education institutional members represent 109 universities serving approximately 4.5 million students worldwide.

About IMS Global Learning Consortium
IMS Global Learning Consortium is a nonprofit organization that advances technology to affordably scale and improve educational participation and attainment. IMS Global members are leading suppliers, institutions, and government organizations that are enabling the future of education by collaborating on interoperability and adoption initiatives. IMS Global sponsors the Learning Impact Leadership Institute, a global program focused on recognizing the impact of innovative technology on educational access, affordability, and quality while developing the people and ideas to help shape the future of educational technology.

IMS Global Learning Consortium Announces
Free 50-State Digital K-12 Academic Standards Registry

The IMS CASE Registry Will Make it Easier for Digital Learning Products to Align to State Learning Standards and Other Competency Frameworks

LAKE MARY, Florida, 21 May 2018 — IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS), the world-leading non-profit collaborative advancing educational technology innovation, impact, and interoperability announced a new collaboration among IMS member organizations to launch a free digital registry of state K-12 academic standards. The IMS CASE^® Registry will be based on the new Competency and Academic Standards Exchange^® (CASE) open standard from IMS Global. The registry is expected to be fully operational September 2018, and will include standards for all 50 U.S. states.

“IMS member school districts, states and suppliers have asked IMS to help solve one of the key challenges holding back adoption of digital materials, namely the need to be able to easily align all digital materials, regardless of source, to a publicly available digital representation of state standards,” said Dr. Rob Abel, IMS Global’s Chief Executive Officer. “The first step was to establish the CASE standard to enable interoperable learning standards and competencies. Now IMS is taking the next step to set up and sustain a freely available public registry.”

Several state educational agencies (SEAs) are already moving to support the CASE standard and IMS will work with SEAs to mirror official versions of state standards. The IMS CASE Registry will be based on the OpenSALT open source software project.  The CASE standard supports a wide range of academic standards, competency frameworks, rubrics and crosswalks between standards. The Registry will become a source for a wide range of IMS certified CASE products provided by the IMS members directly to the market. IMS has made plans to support the CASE Registry for the foreseeable future.

The development of the CASE Registry is being funded through the support of IMS Global Learning Consortium and a set of sponsoring organizations that include suppliers, states, and non-profit educational foundations. For further information on sponsorship send email to CASE@imsglobal.org.

“Georgia is proud to be the first state to fully adopt the CASE standard and see the implementation of Georgia’s Standards of Excellence in a machine-readable format,” State School Superintendent Richard Woods said. “We see this not just as the adoption of a technical standard, but as a mechanism to help us realize one of our strategic initiatives—the move toward personalized learning for every Georgia student.”
—Georgia State School Superintendent, Richard Woods

"Houston ISD is very proud to have participated in the earliest pilot implementation of IMS Global's Competencies and Academic Standards Exchange standard. Working with our partners, we demonstrated the ability to align the Texas Essential Skills and Knowledge (TEKS) to the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) making it possible to provide the STAAR Curriculum Guides to educators. Now the new CASE standards align with the Texas Educational Agency’s Proclamation 2020, which requires machine-readable learning standards to be employed for curriculum resources up for adoption. HISD is now ramping up to the next step—challenging our partners to incorporate CASE-formatted learning standards for all curriculum resources. Doing so will automate our processes for personalizing learning through data collection, auto-recommending learning content, and precipitating new learning connections for our teachers and students." —E. Anne Boothe, Ed.D. IT Manager, Educational Technology, Houston ISD

“The use of technology and technology-based applications in the classroom continues to grow increasing the need and importance of interoperability related standards and solutions. The IMS CASE standard and registry solution will help to fill a critical gap in the education technology ecosystem.”  —Brent Engelman, Director of Education Data & Information Systems, CCSSO.  

“The ability to communicate between systems about learning standards using a definitive set of machine-readable statements, and just as importantly, using a definitive and freely-available set of global identifiers, has long been a dream for SchoolCity, our K-12 District partners, and our vendor partners. The CASE standard made this dream conceivable, but without the IMS CASE Registry, it's likely that we all would have waited years for the dream to be realized. Now we're looking forward to starting to use the IMS CASE Registry with our partners in a matter of months!  The era of personalized learning just got a shot in the arm.” —Vaseem Anjum, President & CEO, SchoolCity

“The creation and maintenance of the CASE Registry for standards, crosswalks and frameworks—like ACT’s free Holistic Framework™—is essential to create an ecosystem where all digital learning tools and modules can work together seamlessly improving educational outcomes for all students.” —Marten Roorda, CEO, ACT

“McGraw-Hill is pleased to be part of this community and to work together to bring the CASE Registry to life. Reliable and open, machine-readable standards, are a key ingredient for a powerful digital learning ecosystem. We are grateful to IMS’s leadership in this area and know that as a community of educators we will benefit from this core service.” –Stephen Laster, Chief Digital Officer, McGraw-Hill Education

IMS Global Learning Consortium open standards are developed and managed via a partnership among over 450 of the world’s leading educational technology suppliers, school districts, higher education institutions, and states. IMS Global’s 60 plus school district and state members serve approximately 11 million students. IMS state and state consortium members represent 44 U.S. states. IMS higher education institutional members represent 109 universities serving approximately 4.5 million students worldwide.

Industry-Leading Suppliers Take a Major Step Toward Enabling a Connected Digital Ecosystem that Supports Better Teaching and Learning Experiences

LAKE MARY, Florida, 22 May 2018 — IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS), the world-leading non-profit collaborative advancing edtech interoperability, innovation, and learning impact announced that 19 educational technology suppliers have committed to early LTI Advantage adoption and IMS certification.

The organizations that have joined the LTI Advantage early adopter program to date are AEFIS, Blackboard, Cengage, D2L, Edmentum, eLumen, GoReact, Gradescope, Hoonuit, Instructure (Canvas), Kaltura, McGraw-Hill Education, Perusall, Realizit, RedShelf, SAFARI Montage, VitalSource/Ingram, Voicethread, and YouSeeU.

LTI Advantage enables faculty innovation and helps reclaim instruction time by streamlining key classroom management tasks and making it easier to integrate multiple sources of digital tools and content in the right place at the right time.

“LTI Advantage was developed under the leadership of IMS members to rapidly grow the ecosystem of learning solutions and provide a foundation for more sophisticated services and functionality that will enable better teaching and learning experiences,” said Dr. Rob Abel, chief executive officer, IMS Global Learning Consortium. “We are grateful for the leadership and early action by these committed organizations to recognize LTI Advantage as the preferred industry standard for learning product integration and meet institutional requirements for IMS certification.”

LTI Advantage leverages IMS Global’s new Security Framework, which aligns with industry best practices for learner privacy and data security giving institutional leaders and end users peace of mind that the bi-directional exchange of assessment results between a learning environment and LTI Advantage certified applications uses the latest security protocols.

Available now for IMS member adoption are the three LTI Advantage extensions: Assignment and Grade Services, Deep Linking, and Names and Role Provisioning Services, as well as, the LTI version 1.3 core specification, which is required for LTI Advantage certification and includes the enhanced IMS-wide Security Framework specification.

At the IMS Global Learning Impact Leadership Institute this week in Baltimore, Maryland, LTI Advantage will be featured in several sessions and a two-day hackathon where participants will be the first to see the new development utilities designed specifically to help institutions and suppliers get ready for LTI Advantage adoption in action.

Educational technology providers who want to learn more about joining the early adoption program and IMS members who want to test LTI Advantage certification should contact ltiadvantage@imsglobal.org.
 
For more information on LTI Advantage go to www.imsglobal.org/TakeAdvantage.
 

IMS Global Learning Consortium is a nonprofit organization that advances technology to affordably scale and improve educational participation and attainment. IMS Global members are leading suppliers, institutions, and government organizations that are enabling the future of education by collaborating on interoperability and adoption initiatives. IMS Global sponsors the Learning Impact Leadership Institute, a global program focused on recognizing the impact of innovative technology on educational access, affordability, and quality while developing the people and ideas to help shape the future of educational technology.

IMS Global Learning Consortium Announces 2018 William H. Graves Leadership Award Recipients and Learning Impact Program Awards

Educational Technology Pioneers and Innovators Recognized at Annual Event of Nearly 600 EdTech Leaders

LAKE MARY, Florida, 25 May 2018 — IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS Global/IMS), the world-leading non-profit collaborative advancing edtech interoperability, innovation, and learning impact announced the winners of its annual awards during the Learning Impact Leadership Institute in Baltimore, Maryland.

Beatriz Arnillas, senior educational advisor, itslearning (formerly the director of education technology at  Houston Independent School District), and Lenny Schad, chief technology information officer, Houston Independent School District were awarded the 2018 William H. (Bill) Graves Leadership Award.

"This year, we recognize two individuals who have made an extraordinary difference in the work of IMS and the educational technology community at large," said Dr. Rob Abel, chief executive officer, IMS Global Learning Consortium. "Beatriz and Lenny envisioned and guided the development and implementation of an integrated digital ecosystem at Houston ISD that enables personalized learning for all students and has been used as a model by K-12 districts across the country."

The Bill Graves Leadership Award is the highest honor awarded by IMS. Named after one of its founders, this award embodies the spirit and commitment of Dr. Bill Graves, a true pioneer in working across the boundaries of academia and industry and encouraging institutional leaders to apply technology to academic strategy.

In addition to the Bill Graves Leadership Award, IMS announced the winners of this year's Learning Impact Awards program—the only global competition that recognizes outstanding, innovative applications of technology at an educational institution to support and improve learning based on evidence of impact.

Projects were evaluated by an expert panel using eight criteria for determining clear evidence of innovation and learning impact. Attendees of the Learning Impact Leadership Institute, as well as the public, were invited to vote on the finalists with their combined vote counting as one judge vote. Out of the 26 finalists, eight medalists were selected for their outstanding achievement:

2018 Platinum Medals

• Blackboard Ally — Blackboard (Video, Paper)
• Georgia Virtual Total Learning Architecture — PCG Education and Georgia Department of Education (Video, Paper)

2018 Gold Medals

• Developing Learners' Soft Skills With YouSeeU — YouSeeU (Video, Paper)
• Supporting the Selection of Quality Digital Resources: HISD App Toolbox — Houston Independent School District Education Technology (Video, Paper)

2018 Silver Medals

• Maplesoft Online Learning Courseware at University of Waterloo — Maplesoft and the University of Waterloo (Video, Paper)
• TAO Assessment Platform in New York City DOE — Open Assessment Technologies and New York City DOE (Video, Paper)

2018 Bronze Medals

• IM Road Safety Savvy — Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, Singapore Road Safety Council, Singapore Police Force and FXMedia Singapore Pte Ltd(Video, Paper)
• Using LMS Interoperability to Power and Drive Student-Centered Learning — itslearning and Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township (Video, Paper)

2018 Honorable Mentions

• Aprendizaje Eficaz — Santillana Global (Video, Paper)
• BenchPrep improves exam preparation — BenchPrep (Video, Paper)
• Cloud Campus: End-to-End Common Platform from Content Production to Course Sharing — CyberUniversity (Video, Paper)
• Digital Skills Course for TAFE Digital — Smart Sparrow and TAFE Digital by TAFE NSW (Technical and Further Education New South Wales) (Video, Paper)
• Establishing models for blended learning environments for Japanese nurses who are trained in Specified Medical Acts — Jichi Medical University and Jichi training center for nurse designated procedures (J-ENDURE）(Video, Paper)
• Flexible, standards-based data integrations — Kimono (Video, Paper)
• Frontier at Colonial School District — eSpark Learning and Colonial School District (Video, Paper)
• Fuji Xerox's "SkyDesk Mixed Learning" Work stylerevolution "ICT x Education" — Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (Video, Paper)
• IMDA Digital Maker Programme — Infocomm Media Development Authority of Singapore, Microsoft Operations Pte Ltd, MicroMaker Asia Pte Ltd, Tinkertanker Pte Ltd and ZenitantPte Ltd (Video, Paper)
• MALO: A web-based application for collaborative learning outside of class in a flipped learning course — Uchida Yoko Co., Ltd. and Kyoto University of Foreign Studies (Video, Paper)
• OER at American Public University System — American Public University System (Video, Paper)
• Practice of Blending Learning for the Next Generation of Agricultural Human Resource Development Using Wearable Cameras and Drones — The Kyoto College of Graduate Studies for Informatics and Green Collar Academy (Video, Paper)
• SchoolCity Personalized Review Assignments — SchoolCity, in partnership with SAFARI Montage and Granite School District (Utah) and Forsyth County Schools (Georgia) (Video, Paper)
• Single Sign-On at Pasco County Schools — Classlink and Pasco County Schools (Video, Paper)
• Smart Sparrow and Oregon State University's Online Interactive Chemistry Labs — Smart Sparrow and Oregon State University (Video, Paper)
• Virtual School Administrator by FLVS — Florida Virtual School (Video, Paper)
• VitalSource Analytics — VitalSource (Video, Paper)
• #haxtheweb - Transforming Knowledge Production — Pennsylvania State University (Video, Paper)

An analysis of the 2018 winning projects will be presented in the annual Learning Impact Report to be released in the fall. Nominations for the 2019 competition will open in January.
 

IMS Global Learning Consortium is a nonprofit organization that advances technology to affordably scale and improve educational participation and attainment. IMS Global members are leading suppliers, institutions, and government organizations that are enabling the future of education by collaborating on interoperability and adoption initiatives. IMS Global sponsors the Learning Impact Leadership Institute, a global program focused on recognizing the impact of innovative technology on educational access, affordability, and quality while developing the people and ideas to help shape the future of educational technology.

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IMS Global Learning Consortium Announces Partnership With New Markets Venture Partners To Help Startups Participate in Largest EdTech Innovation Ecosystem

New Program Streamlines Path for Startups to Become EdTech Market Leaders

LAKE MARY, Florida, 13 September 2018 — IMS Global Learning Consortium(IMS Global/IMS), the world-leading non-profit collaborative advancing edtech interoperability, innovation, and learning impact announced a new partnership with New Markets Venture Partners to help startup organizations participate in the largest edtech innovation ecosystem. Through this partnership, IMS is extending special membership terms to New Markets Venture Partners’ portfolio of early and growth-stage startups as a low barrier entry into the world’s largest and most effective member collaborative.

This program will streamline access to resources and tools that new companies need to deliver innovative products based on open standards. Participants will gain access to the IMS developer community, implementation resources and support, and marketing opportunities associated with the annual Learning Impact Leadership Institute and IMS key initiatives.
 
Qualified new growth companies referred by New Markets that join IMS Global agree to achieve relevant IMS Conformance Certification for their product(s) within one year and keep all certifications current to ensure their products integrate seamlessly—with no additional cost—into an institution’s digital ecosystem.

New Markets Venture Partners is an early and growth stage venture capital firm that invests in and actively supports education, information technology, and business services companies. The New Markets team has decades of experience building high growth companies through deep relationships with centers of education and workforce innovation. New Markets prides itself on adding value before, during, and after the investment process. The partnership with IMS Global will enable New Ventures to extend special IMS membership terms to their education portfolio companies and nominees that are in the early growth stage of market development.

The first two New Markets companies to take advantage of this special partnership are Credly, the leading digital credential service provider for verifying, sharing, and managing digital credentials and badges, and LearnPlatform, the leading edtech management and rapid cycle evaluation system that equips K-12 organizations to improve their budgets and student outcomes. Both Credly and LearnPlatform are building information networks that will grow faster and integrate more easily through the use of IMS open standards. 

“Developing innovative products based on open standards from the ground up allows new businesses to focus on scaling and enhancing their solutions without the distraction of building time-consuming custom integrations,” said Dr. Rob Abel, CEO of IMS Global Learning Consortium. “History indicates that startups that leverage the unparalleled IMS ecosystem become leaders in the education sector.” 

“Over the past 20 years, education technology has become more useful and adoption has become widespread. The average K-12 school district now uses more than 500 edtech tools each month. Colleges and universities likely use more. The most successful edtech companies adopt open standards early in their life and understand the power of standards to accelerate adoption, growth and network effects,” said Jason Palmer, General Partner of New Markets Venture Partners. “We are proud to formalize this relationship with IMS and offer improved access to open standards and interoperability to our portfolio companies and nominees.” 
 
Venture capital firms interested in participating in the Startup IMS Program should contact VCStartupProgram@imsglobal.org.

About IMS Global Learning Consortium
IMS Global Learning Consortium is a nonprofit organization that advances technology to affordably scale and improve educational participation and attainment. IMS Global members are leading suppliers, institutions, and government organizations that are enabling the future of education by collaborating on interoperability and adoption initiatives. IMS Global sponsors the Learning Impact Leadership Institute, a global program focused on recognizing the impact of innovative technology on educational access, affordability, and quality while developing the people and ideas to help shape the future of educational technology.

About New Markets Venture Partners
New Markets Venture Partners is an impact venture capital firm that invests in and actively assists early- and growth-stage education, information technology, and business services companies. The New Markets team has decades of experience investing in and helping build evidence-based, high growth companies through deep relationships with centers of education and workforce innovation. New Markets prides itself on adding value to our portfolio companies before, during and after the investment process, with the ultimate goal of improving student outcomes and improving America’s educational system.

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