Infobase Acquires Professional Development and Training Platform, including Content from Hoonuit--Completing Its Full Suite of Educator Solutions

NEW YORK, July 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Infobase, the award-winning provider of the Infobase Learning Ecosystem, which delivers interactive learning experiences and award-winning digital reference content to the school and library community, today announced the acquisition of Hoonuit's Professional Development and Training Platform, the leading solution for educators needing to improve student learning and meet district, state, and department objectives. With this purchase, Infobase empowers educators with the professional development and training resources they need to create college- and career-ready students.

Helping Educators Close Student Learning Gaps
Infobase is now positioned to connect educators with the solutions they need to fill learning gaps, provide social-emotional learning support, and successfully utilize distance learning technology through the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future. 

"Over the last few months, we've listened to teachers, professors, and librarians describe their struggle to deliver the right content effectively and efficiently to students and parents," explained Paul Skordilis, president and CEO of Infobase Holdings. "With the purchase of Hoonuit's courses and learning delivery system, Infobase meets educators where they are, providing the knowledge they need to take action and help their students—and themselves—excel."

"With our hyper-focus on providing industry-leading analytics to education, we're excited to see Infobase further develop and enhance the professional development and training solution," said Paul Hesser, CEO of Hoonuit. "This sale and ongoing partnership will allow us to continue delivering aligned professional learning content through our analytics platform, benefit from improvements that will be made by Infobase, and have greater flexibility to focus more efforts and innovation on data management and analytics."

Infobase's rich history of providing factual and trusted content to K–12, academic, and public library educators is now enhanced by Hoonuit's robust coursework and professional learning delivery system, which provides the ability to create content, assessments, and competency-based micro-credentials.

Digital Technologies Transform Learning
The coronavirus pandemic forced educators into new methods of teaching, and students into new learning environments. While 87% of educators report the move from face-to-face to online instruction was a "very serious" or "somewhat serious" obstacle (Educators for Excellence, May 28, 2020), most studies suggest that online learning, when done well, increases retention and engagement. Hoonuit's professional development and training opportunities support educators in facing these challenges.

The content from this acquisition offers more than 1,600 courses, including 100,000 videos across 50+ topics:

• Digital Literacy and Citizenship
• Digital Tools and Technology Integration
• Whole Child Social-Emotional Learning
• College and Career Readiness
• Special Populations
• Personalized Learning
• Instructional Strategies 
• New Teacher Induction and Onboarding
• School Improvement

Educators Can Earn Professional Development Credit, Utilize Their Own Content, and Assess Learning
Hoonuit's learning pathways are aligned to all 50 states' teacher evaluation standards, as well as the Danielson Framework for Teaching, Marzano's Instructional Framework, ISTE Standards for Students and Educators, the McREL Teacher Evaluation System, and the Standards for Professional Learning. 

Beyond its robust content library, Hoonuit's delivery platform provides the ability to upload courses a district has already built in order to meet certain district initiatives, including adding custom assessments.

Closing Learning Gaps and Using Technology to Enhance Learning
With the purchase of Professional Development & Training Solutions, Infobase empowers educators to optimize their virtual classrooms, engage students through distance learning, and employ social-emotional best practices to reach the whole child, especially through this challenging time. 

While educators will be adapting new teaching strategies and online management tools this fall, the professional learning requirements they'll be obligated to meet, from teacher relicensure expectations to national and state standards, remain the same. With this addition to the Infobase Learning Ecosystem, educators across the globe can truly manage their entire educational experience with Infobase. 

Hoonuit Continues an Investment into Analytics
By divesting itself from professional development, Hoonuit will be able to accelerate its innovation in intuitive dashboards, the use of predictive analytics, research-based workflows, student goal setting, school and program improvement planning tools, and mapping technology—providing educators with the most complete education data management and analytics solution available.

About Infobase:
Infobase, a Centre Lane Partners portfolio company, is a leading provider of award-winning digital reference content to the school and library community. Under such well-known brands as Facts On File, The World Almanac®, Learn360, Credo, The Mailbox®, and Films Media Group, Infobase provides students, educators, and librarians with a broad range of products that both enhance and enrich the learning experience. For more than 75 years, Infobase has been a reliable, authoritative resource for supporting the needs of schools, colleges and universities, and public libraries, providing flexible options for accessing educational content whether in school, at the library, or at home.To learn more, visit www.Infobase.com.

About Hoonuit:
Hoonuit, a leading provider of data management and analytics solutions in education, is on a mission to empower educators and communities with knowledge and insights to improve student outcomes. With robust analytics solutions, Hoonuit is a trusted partner to education agencies of all sizes. Hoonuit supports more than 300 active implementations nationwide and serves over five million students. To learn more, visit www.hoonuit.com/.

SOURCE Infobase

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