SALT LAKE CITY, Nov. 21, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today WGU Labs, the research, development, and investment arm of Western Governors University (WGU), announced a strategic partnership with the Learning Design Alliance (LDA), a nonprofit that develops technology solutions for learning design. The collaboration aims to transform educational content creation by leveraging AI to improve quality, reduce costs, and personalize learning.
Together, WGU Labs and LDA will co-create and refine an AI-centered design tool for the creation of learning content. This partnership represents a step forward in reimagining learning experiences, helping educators and learning experience designers (LXDs) generate high-quality content that is grounded in the subject matter expertise of designers and educators.
“This is not just another EdTech solution; it’s a complete reimagining of what education can be,” said Jason Levin, executive director of WGU Labs. “By combining AI with proven principles of learning design, we are setting out to fundamentally change how education is designed and delivered, making it more effective, inclusive, and affordable.”
The collaboration centers on a human-centered framework that empowers LXDs to scale their expertise through AI support while keeping their insights and skills at the core of course creation. This effort enables LXDs and subject matter experts to amplify their impact, allowing technology to handle more repetitive tasks and freeing LXDs to focus on designing meaningful, responsive learning experiences. A critical component will be a tool designed by LDA to streamline learning design through AI and educational data, ensuring that content is not only personalized and contextually relevant but also adheres to rigorous standards, drawing from best practices in the science of learning, learning engineering, and human-centered design.
“The Learning Design Alliance is excited to collaborate with the WGU Labs on this visionary project,” said David Porcaro, president and CEO of LDA. “Our partnership with the WGU Labs team underscores a shared vision of advancing the field of learning design, ensuring that it evolves alongside technology. By focusing on making LXDs more effective and providing a toolset that enhances creativity and precision, together we are setting the foundation for more effective learning outcomes.”
This partnership will leverage AI to automate routine aspects of learning design, freeing up experts to focus on high-impact content refinement and personalized learning that has not yet been achieved at scale due to resource and time constraints. By enabling premier design possibilities, this engagement will help learning designers turn their most ambitious ideas into reality. As AI capabilities evolve, new features will be integrated to keep designers equipped with cutting-edge tools, while human insights at key stages ensure content quality and relevance.
About Learning Design Alliance
The Learning Design Alliance is dedicated to reshaping the future of education by integrating AI-driven solutions with foundational principles of learning science. The alliance brings together experts from diverse fields to tackle the biggest challenges in education today, envisioning a world where technology and human-centered design converge to improve learning outcomes for all. Learn more at learningdesignalliance.org/.
About WGU Labs
WGU Labs is the nonprofit EdTech consulting, incubation, research, and design arm of Western Governors University. Our mission is to identify and support scalable solutions that address the biggest challenges in education today. The Accelerator at WGU Labs provides research, market development, and product enhancement services to early-stage education businesses, advancing the scale and impact of companies that share our vision of increasing student access, lowering costs, and improving outcomes. Learn more at wgulabs.org or follow us on LinkedIn.
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