WATERLOO, ON--(Marketwired - November 29, 2017) - D2L, a global learning technology leader, announces that North Central Michigan College (North Central) has chosen its Brightspace Learning Management System (LMS) to advance the teaching and learning experience for faculty and students. North Central selected Brightspace due to its intuitive Daylight interface and rich functionality, which will make it easier for students to navigate and access learning materials across any device, and for instructors to quickly update and manage course content and grades. North Central first piloted Brightspace for three semesters and began implementation in the Fall. Faculty and students will be completely transitioned to the new platform January 1, 2018.

"We needed a feature-rich LMS solution that would allow us to transition our full-time and adjunct instructors to a new platform quickly and easily, while at the same time offering robust and accessible multi-modal support to help them grow and feel confident in the new system. Only D2L offered a cost-effective 24/7/365 customer support team to help get us there," said Melanie Leaver, Associate Dean of Instructional Technology at North Central. "Brightspace's interface and step-by-step on-screen prompts have proven to be so simple and intuitive that faculty have quickly learned how to develop and manage courses on their own, which has led to our students spending more time on what's important -- learning."

"Brightspace's deeply integrated communication channels have the familiar feel of social media, which allows instructors to connect and communicate with students in ways that weren't possible with our old LMS. Through texts, mobile app notifications, and visual on-screen cues, students can be as deeply and instantly connected to Brightspace as they are with their favorite social media services. We know that engaged students are successful students." said Leaver.

After a competitive review, which included Blackboard, Moodle, and Canvas, the faculty and administrative leadership at North Central chose Brightspace to take advantage of its deep functionality across several areas. Instructors can now easily create a blended learning environment, mixing online and face-to-face teaching methods, catered to their students' learning needs. Brightspace also gives North Central data-driven oversight of program offerings, particularly in Nursing and Allied Health, and allows stakeholders to track the competency achievement and completion rates of students, and quickly access these records when audited. Leaders are also looking to expand the use of Brightspace outside the classroom. Student Services and College administration, for example, are creating self-paced on-boarding materials for new student and instructors.

"North Central's leaders recognize that today's students require an immersive, personalized, and adaptive learning experience," said John Baker, President and CEO of D2L. "By taking full advantage of the intuitive design and functionality of the Brightspace platform, they are not only transforming how their instructors teach and students learn, but are impacting life on campus more broadly. We are excited to partner with the college during this important journey."

North Central Michigan College is an open-door community college based in Petoskey, Michigan, with additional locations offering classes and services in Cheboygan and Gaylord. North Central's mission is to provide educational, economic and cultural opportunities for student learning, personal growth and community improvement. North Central is an Achieving the Dream Leader College and a Veteran Friendly School.

ABOUT BRIGHTSPACE
D2L's Brightspace is a cloud-based learning platform that makes online and blended learning easy, flexible, and smart. Brightspace is not like a traditional Learning Management System (LMS) -- it is easy to drag-and-drop content to create engaging courses, better uptime, supports all mobile devices, and is accessible for all learners. Plus, Brightspace enables the future of learning with a gaming engine, adaptive learning, video management, intelligent agents, course interactives, full support for outcomes or competency-based learning, and world-leading learning analytics.

Brightspace was recently named the #1 LMS in Higher Ed by Ovum Research and #1 in Adaptive Learning by eLearning Magazine. In addition, Aragon Research included Brightspace in its highly coveted Hot Vendors In Learning list.

ABOUT D2L
D2L believes learning is the foundation upon which all progress and achievement rests. Working closely with clients, D2L has transformed the way millions of people learn online or in the classroom. Learn more about D2L for schools, higher education, and businesses at www.D2L.com.

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.