Blackboard Buyer Providence Equity Acquires Personalized Online Learning Platform From PrepMe

Digital learning company Ascend Learning is acquiring PrepMe’s adaptive learning platform and virtual classroom SaaS. Ascend is actually owned by Providence Equity Partners, which just acquired Blackboard for $1.64 billion. Financial terms of the PrepMe deal were not disclosed.

As we wrote in our review of PrepMe’s offering, Coursification is a web-based application for personalized online learning courses. What differentiates Coursification from other course management and online learning platforms is that it helps teachers offer a tailored, personalized curriculum to each student based on their performance and learning schedule.

Each online course begins with a diagnostic assessment that identifies student learning gaps (specialized to the subject). After the diagnostic test, each student receives a personalized study schedule, which the teacher can simply import into the platform. The schedule is customized based on student proficiencies and the duration of the course.

As students complete their assignments online, their comprehension is evaluated in short quizzes and longer tests online. PrepMe’s platform will store and analyze every interaction between the student and the curriculum and adjust the study plan based on progress the student has made. The platform also offers the ability to message and chat with teachers within Coursification and the ability to send files as well. Similar to Blackboard and other online learning SaaS offerings, PrepMe allows teachers to upload source materials, tests, quizzes and more. Over 100,000 students have used courses built on PrepMeā€™s platform and it has been deployed internationally for both core subjects and elective courses.