D2L Introduces Virtual Classroom -- Collaborative Video Tool Now Available in Brightspace

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwired - July 19, 2016) - FUSION 2016 -- D2L just improved teaching and learning -- again. D2L, the global learning technology leader and creator of Brightspace -- which has changed the way organizations, schools and universities educate in more than 50 countries -- has added integrated virtual classroom capabilities to its Brightspace Learning Environment.

On stage at D2L's Fusion event, D2L unveiled that in partnership with YouSeeU, the Brightspace Learning Environment now includes a Virtual Classroom. The tool will be available to Brightspace Summer16 customers on August 4th, 2016.

"Today's students are growing up with advanced social and mobile technologies and they expect the same dynamic experience when learning," said John Baker, CEO of D2L. "By integrating virtual classroom capabilities into Brightspace we can make it easy to have visual, two-way communication between learners and instructors that is engaging and collaborative."

"The D2L Brightspace partnership reflects our ongoing commitment to improving learning experiences for students on a large scale, because in the 21^st century classroom, students deserve more authenticity, collaboration, and engagement," said Dr. Jeff Lewis, YouSeeU founder and Chief Learning Officer. "Our software for instructor-driven online sessions is easily accessible for D2L customers and we could not be more excited to serve them."

With Virtual Classroom now included in Brightspace Summer16, instructors can schedule, deliver, and record live video conferencing sessions right from within the LMS with only a few clicks. They can increase engagement by conducting live, two-way discussions with classes, holding video-based training, conducting office hours, and more. Video sessions can be automatically recorded and embedded seamlessly into a course.

This new tool rounds out the video-based capabilities of the Brightspace platform. Brightspace Capture offers one-to-many video broadcast, allowing instructors to deliver live or on-demand lectures to large audiences, or create and add captured videos for learners to find and watch.

D2L currently serves learners around the world and the company's track record of innovation has been widely recognized. In March, Fast Company Ranked D2L #6 on the Most Innovative Companies of 2016 list in the Data Science Category, amongst Google, IBM, Spotify, Costco, and Blue Cross Blue Shield. eLearning Magazine recently rated D2L as #1 in Adaptive Learning, and Brightspace was recently named the #1 LMS in Higher Ed by Ovum Research.

To learn more about Brightspace, visit http://www.d2l.com/brightspace.

About YouSeeU

YouSeeU is an educational technology company, providing synchronous and asynchronous environments that enrich the online learning experience through student- and instructor-generated video. Enabling deeper connections between participants, YouSeeU broadens student engagement, improves outcomes and increases retention. A rapidly growing number of higher education institutions around the world are using YouSeeU to enhance teaching and learning through high-engagement activities such as oral communication assessment, spontaneous response Q&A, presentations, and student demonstrations of key skills. To learn more, visit www.youseeu.com, or find YouSeeU on Twitter and Facebook.

About Brightspace

D2L's Brightspace is an online learning platform that helps institutions deliver personalized learning experiences to people anywhere in the world. Created for the digital learner, Brightspace is cloud-based, runs on mobile devices, and offers rich multimedia to increase engagement, productivity and knowledge retention. The platform makes it easy to design courses, create content, and grade assignments, giving instructors more time to focus on what's most important -- greater teaching and learning. At the same time, analytics reports track and deliver insights into the performance levels of departments, courses, or individuals.

ABOUT D2L

D2L is the software leader that makes learning experiences better. The company's cloud-based platform is easy to use, flexible, and smart. With Brightspace, organizations can personalize the experience for every learner to deliver real results. The company is a world leader in learning analytics: its platform predicts learner performance so that organizations can take action in real-time to keep learners on track. Brightspace is used by learners in higher education, K-12, and the enterprise sector, including the Fortune 1000. D2L has operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Brazil, and Singapore. www.d2l.com

© 2016 D2L Corporation.

The D2L family of companies includes D2L Corporation, D2L Ltd, D2L Australia Pty Ltd, D2L Europe Ltd, D2L Asia Pte Ltd, and D2L Brasil Soluções de Tecnologia para Educação Ltda.

All D2L marks are trademarks of D2L Corporation. Please visit D2L.com/trademarks for a list of D2L marks.