Five major publishers — McGraw Hill, Pearson, Macmillan Learning, Cengage, and Elsevier — sued Canadian Shopify Inc., saying that the e-commerce company is failing to remove listing and stores that violate trademarks and copyright. These publishers claim that Shopify is liable for the unauthorized school textbooks, test packs, and solutions manuals sold by websites using Shopify's online tools. The lawsuit was filed in Virginia federal court on Wednesday. Ottawa-based e-commerce start-up, with 1.75 million businesses hosted and a market value of $180 billion, said that its policy outlines that "these practices are not permitted on our platform." "We have multiple teams that handle potential violations, including copyright and trademark infringement, and we don’t hesitate to action stores when found in violation." The plaintiffs asserted that Shopify received detailed legal notices nearly every week since 2017 identifying specific vendors who commit piracy. The lawsuit contends, "Shopify knows that it is assisting subscribers to infringe, but it does not care." (…) "It provides its repeat-infringer subscribers with the tools they need to run their illegal businesses, but also provides them with anonymity, a false veneer of legitimacy, and a safe haven from which to break the law." Textbook piracy, in part, is driven by the soaring prices of textbooks and learning materials. Textbook costs rose 88% between 2006 and 2016, according to a study by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2021 – NEWSLETTER #41 | Breaking news at IBL News |  Noticias en Español 2U + edX • 2U Eliminates the Annual Fees for Current edX Consortium Members • edX Launched a First MicroBachelors Program with IBM in Cloud Application Open edX • The "Freshman Year for Free" Platform Surpasses 300,000 Learners Coursera • Coursera Creates an Assessment Tool to Recommend Content and Develop Skills Faster • Coursera's Stock Continues Below Its IPO Price Despite Improved Results in Q3 Udemy • Udemy's Stock Recovers Until Reaching Its IPO Price of $29 Per Share • Udemy Targets $4 Billion Valuation In a Major EdTech IPO • Udemy Filed for IPO Expecting a Valuation Over $3.2 Billion Instructure – Canvas LMS • Instructure Acquires Kimono to Integrate it with the Canvas LMS Platform • Canvas LMS Will Replace Blackboard as Miami Dade College's Learning Platform • Canvas LMS Announces New Functionalities and Partnerships Acquisitions • Private Equity Owned Anthology Closes the Purchase of Blackboard • ETS Strategic Capital Adds the Thirteenth Company to Its Portfolio of Acquisitions • EAB Acquires and Incorporates Rapid Insight into Its Platform • Labster Acquires UbiSim, a Swiss Leading Virtual Training Platform for Nursing Valuations • French Corporate SaaS Platform 360Learning Raises $200 Million • Employee Well-Being and Support Firm BetterUp Valued at $4.7 Billion • Outschool Reaches a Valuation of 3 Billion Four Months After Hitting Unicorn Status Initiative • Class Central Starts Developing a Social Learning Platform for Open Courses 2021 Events | All of the Key Conferences Listed! • Education Calendar – NOVEMBER | DECEMBER |  Conferences in Latin America & Spain This newsletter was created in collaboration with IBL Education, a New York City-based company specializing in AI-driven learning platforms. We also film and produce courses for universities and business organizations. Read the latest IBL Newsletter  |  Archive of Open edX Newsletters
NOVEMBER – DECEMBER 2021 – NEWSLETTER #47 | Breaking news at IBL News |  Noticias en Español Corporate Initiatives • Google Will Grant Community Colleges Free Access to Its Career Certifications • IBM Says It Will Train on Technical Skills 30 Million People by 2030 • Microsoft Reduces Its Pricing for Educational Customers Leading Universities • Stanford University Launches a Digital Office to Help Underserved High School Students • UPenn Becomes the First Ivy League School to Accept Enrollment Payment in Crypto • Harvard's Endowment Increases $11.3B to a Whopping $53.2B, Despite the Pandemic • Ivy League Colleges Still Offer a Few Online Degrees to "Protect their Reputation" • Western Governors University Partners with the National Governors Association Higher Ed • House Democrats Passed a Massive Spending Bill that Included Billions for Higher Ed • Thirteen Colleges Explore Three-Year Bachelor's Degree Programs • A Family-Owned, Private University in Spain Builds a Campus in a Modern Skyscraper Research • Adult Learners Prefer Universities for Their Career Preparedness • Accenture Finds Six Segments of Students, Based on Learning Mindsets • Retiring After a Career in Higher Ed? Sarasota, Naples, and Daytona Beach, Among the Best Places • Robinhood Confirms that One-third of Customers' Data Was Compromised After a Large Hack Global Education • Experts Say that the Spending in Global Education and EdTech Will Experience a Massive Increase • International Students Enrollment Shows a 68% Increase After the Pandemic • Over 200 Million Children Are Missing Out on Remote Learning • International Leaders Call to Invest More in Teachers — Here’s How Much They Are Paid Job Market • More High Schoolers Dismiss Attending a Four-Year College • Fastest-Growing Jobs that Don’t Require a Bachelor’s Degree • Organizations Change their Learning Strategies in the Light of 'The Great Resignation' Phenomenon 2021 Events | All of the Key Conferences Listed! • Education Calendar – NOVEMBER | DECEMBER |  Conferences in Latin America & Spain This newsletter was created in collaboration with IBL Education, a New York City-based company specializing in AI-driven learning platforms. We also film and produce courses for universities and business organizations. Read the latest IBL Newsletter  |  Archive of Open edX Newsletters
The U.S. House of Representatives on Friday passed congressional Democrats' sweeping $1.85 trillion climate and social spending bill by a vote of 220 to 213. No Republicans voted for the legislation, dubbed as the Build Back Better Act (BBB). Representative Jared Golden of Maine was the only Democrat to vote against it. The legislation now heads to the Senate, where it's expected to undergo changes. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, said the chamber "will act as quickly as possible." In addition to a large investment in clean energy on tax credits, the BBB legislation includes substantial funding to universal pre-K, provides child care subsidies covering 20 million children, and extends an expanded child tax credit for one more year. It also includes billions of dollars in new investments for higher ed: • $550 increase to the maximum Pell Grant, • $2.35 billion for Black, Tribal, and Hispanic universities, • $500 million for college completion and retention grants, • $20 billion for workforce development. U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona [in the picture above] said in a statement that the passed act will be "transformative." He added: — "Free universal pre-K and dramatically improved access to child care, so all our children can start their learning journeys from the same starting line." — "Increased resources for HBCUs, Tribal Colleges, Hispanic Serving Institutions and other institutions that unlock opportunities for students of color and unleash their potential in our communities." — "Expanded access to affordable college with increased Pell grants for anyone who dreams of getting a degree." — "A stronger workforce pipeline with workforce development resources, for better pathways to the middle class."
Over 200 million children in 31 countries do not have the resources to learn via online education during school closures. A study by UN Children’s Fund, UNICEF, revealed this data last month. "We aren’t making enough progress to ensure the next time students are forced out of the classroom, they have better options," said Henrietta Fore, the UNICEF Executive Director. The report measures countries' readiness to provide remote learning when in-person education is disrupted while examining the limitations of remote learning and inequalities in access. Benin, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Congo, Ethiopia, Madagascar, Malawi, Niger, and Togo, are among the countries with the most significant need for educational improvement. Meanwhile, Argentina, Barbados, Jamaica, and the Philippines have the highest level of readiness. The key seems to be, according to United Nations officials, to leverage the tech power. And while there is no replacement for in-person learning, schools with "robust" remote learning systems can provide a degree of education. Through the Reimagine Education initiative, UNICEF and partners have set the goal of reaching 3.5 billion children and young people by 2030, providing them equal access to quality digital learning. . Every child must be able to continue learning during emergency school closures. Yet, at least 200 million students live in countries unprepared to deliver remote learning, leaving many without any form of education. https://t.co/3q3RqdVefD — UNICEF (@UNICEF) October 28, 2021
