Based in Waterloo, Ontario (Canada), Desire2Learn was founded by John Baker in 1999. It is a provider of Cloud-based (SaaS) learning solutions and it has developed an e-learning suite LMS solution that can be used in schools, universities and governments.
In 2013, the company had over 700 customers and 10+ million users in 20 countries. It has more than 650 employees around the world in its office in Baltimore, Singapore, Melbourne, London and Sao Paulo.
In the last quarter of 2012, it got an $80 million round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and OMERS Ventures (considered as the largest ever in a Canadian software company). It also has established partnerships with Adobe, Aventa Learning, Ellucian, Kaltura, IBM, McGraw Hill Education, Microsoft (Gold Certified), ReadSpeaker, Sun Microsystems, SoftChalk, Turnitin, WebTrain Communications and others.
The company’s system aims to cover virtually every aspect of the online experience. It is a web-based Course Management System (CMS) which includes features like electronic dropbox, calendar, automated gradebook, discussion boards, readings, multimedia files, surveys and quizzes. The latest suite version was released in the second half of 2012 and it includes (layout and interface updated):
Assignment Grader – Facilitate and make quicker the grading of the teachers. It was the first complete offline mobile grading app.
Capture – Lecture capture and webcasting solution, audiences can access live or on demand.
ePortfolio – User-centered application for organizing and storing (and share) any item including documents, images and audios.
Insights – Set of tools and comparative statistics (analytics) for tracking and analyzing learners’ accomplishment.
Learning Environment – It’s a flexible suite of tools to create engaging content and assessments for students.
Learning Repository – Learning Content Management System (LCMS) that allows the efficiently manage and share of learning items.
Mobile – Web support across multiple mobile devices and tablets.
Open Extensibility – Integration with API and open web services including IMS Global Learning Consortium, SCORM and other learning applications.
Besides all the listed products previously, Desire2Learn also offers services like cloud, implementation and customization, migration and integration, learning and creative, courseware development, advisory and consulting, training, customer and support. Some of the latest awards the company has received are:
2015 Deloitte’s Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies (and 2013 & 14)
2015 Waterloo’s Top Employers (since 2011)
2007 to 2010 International Platinum MarCom Award (4th consecutive year)
CONTACT INFORMATION
Desire2Learn Incorporated
151 Charles Street West, Suite 400
Kitchener, Ontario N2G 1H6
Canada
Tel: +1 519 772 0325
Fax: +1 519 772 0324
info@desire2learn.com