panOpen and Learnosity Partner to Offer the First OER Platform with Commercial-Quality Assessments and Homework

"panOpen and Learnosity announced today that they have partnered to integrate the full suite of Learnosity’s assessment and homework capabilities into panOpen’s Open Educational Resources-based learning platform. The first of its kind, this partnership creates a resource that preserves the low cost and flexibility of open content while offering advanced digital tools that have previously been reserved for commercially copyrighted content.

The announcement marks a significant step towards the maturation of OER, supporting a clear path toward mainstream use of such content. 'Faculty have faced a stark choice between the low cost and flexibility of OER and digital learning tools that come with the high cost of commercial content,' noted panOpen founder and CEO Brian Jacobs. 'This partnership resolves that tension. Faculty no longer need to choose. They can now use robust digital learning tools to support customizable open content.'

Beyond increasing the capabilities for the subject areas already in the OER platform, the integration of Learnosity allows panOpen to expand homework and assessment capabilities into virtually any subject area, including all areas of STEM education where demand for open content is highest.

'A key part of Learnosity’s mission is to foster collaboration and increase access to quality technology and content in the edtech sector,' said Gavin Cooney, CEO of Learnosity. 'We’re seeing a profound change in the marketplace for educational materials with new models for content production and delivery being created. OER is emerging as an important option for educators and Learnosity is proud to partner with panOpen to deliver on the promise of open content.'

In addition to the Learnosity assessment capabilities panOpen provides curated, peer-reviewed and institutionally-branded OER libraries, tools for customization, editing, sharing, and collaboration, as well as communication features and analytics to support use of open content. The company also offers support services, such as instructional design, a marketplace for Creative Commons copyright holders to generate revenue from their works, and a means to help faculty bring their own content into widespread use and collaboration."