Desire2Learn Incorporated (also known as Desire2Learn or abbreviated as D2L) is a provider of enterprise eLearning solutions and develops online Learning Management Systems (
LMSA learning management system is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs, classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training content...
) used at more than 450 institutions around the world. Deloitte Technology's Fast 50 program has considered that Desire2Learn is among the fastest growing technology companies in Canada and is one of the Top 50 Small to Medium Size Employers for 2011.
The company was founded in 1999 by President and CEO
John BakerJohn Baker founded the eLearning or Learning Management Systems company Desire2Learn in 1999 after identifying his own unfulfilled need for learning online while studying Systems design engineering at the University of Waterloo....
. The company is headquartered in
Kitchener, OntarioThe City of Kitchener is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It was the Town of Berlin from 1854 until 1912 and the City of Berlin from 1912 until 1916. The city had a population of 204,668 in the Canada 2006 Census...
,
CanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, and has staff in the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia.
Products and services
Desire2Learn develops an
e-LearningE-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. The information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not, serve as specific media to implement the learning process...
enterprise suite that serves as the
learning management systemA learning management system is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs, classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training content...
for schools, colleges, universities, virtual schools, governments, associations, and organizations. Clients include
University of GuelphThe University of Guelph, also known as U of G, is a comprehensive public research university in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. It was established in 1964 after the amalgamation of Ontario Agricultural College, the Macdonald Institute, and the Ontario Veterinary College...
,
Calgary Board of EducationThe Calgary Board of Education is the public school board in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. As a public system, the CBE is required to accept any students who meet age and residency requirements, regardless of religion.-Size:...
,
Red River College of Applied Arts, Science and TechnologyRed River College of Applied Arts, Science and Technology is located in Winnipeg. The College offers degree, diploma, certificate, and apprenticeship programs in the applied arts, applied sciences, and various trades. The university press, The Projector, is a member of CUP.-Campus:It has a number...
, MnSCU, HACC - Central Pennsylvania's Community College,
University of Wisconsin SystemThe University of Wisconsin System is a university system of public universities in the state of Wisconsin. It is one of the largest public higher education systems in the country, enrolling more than 182,000 students each year and employing more than 32,000 faculty and staff statewide...
,
Colorado Community College SystemThe Colorado Community College System consists of 14 community colleges across the state of Colorado. Created by legislation in 1967, it serves more than 116,000 students annually...
,
Tennessee Board of RegentsThe Tennessee Board of Regents is one of the two systems of public higher education in Tennessee. The TBR was authorized by an act of the Tennessee General Assembly passed in 1972...
,
Virginia Department of EducationThe Virginia Department of Education is the state education agency of The Commonwealth of Virginia. It is headquartered in the James Monroe Building in Richmond. The department is headed by the Virginia Secretary of Education, a position that is appointed by the Governor of Virginia...
,
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue DepartmentThe Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department is a combination career and volunteer organization that provides fire suppression, emergency medical, technical rescue, hazardous materials, water rescue, life safety education, fire prevention and arson investigation services to Fairfax County, Virginia...
,
Deakin UniversityDeakin University is an Australian public university with nearly 40,000 higher education students in 2010. It receives more than A$600 million in operating revenue annually, and controls more than A$1.3 billion in assets. It received more than A$35 million in research income in 2009 and had 835...
, and
Wodonga Middle Years CollegeWodonga Middle Years College is a public school in Wodonga, Victoria, Australia. It is a single college consisting of two campuses, Felltimber and Huon, based on the grounds and facilities of the former public schools Wodonga West Secondary College and Mitchell Secondary College, respectively...
.
The Learning Suite provided by Desire2Learn includes:
- Desire2Learn Learning Environment
- Desire2Learn ePortfolio
- Competencies
- Analytics
- Web Services
- Learning Repository
- Desire2Learn Campus Life
- Desire2Learn 2GO
- LiveRoom
- Desire2Learn Capture
Technology partners
The company has established partnerships with Aventa Learning, Inc.;
Cengage LearningCengage Learning is a publisher of print and digital information services for the academic, professional and library markets, and delivers customized learning solutions for colleges, universities, professors, students, libraries, government agencies, corporations and professionals around the...
; ConnectYard; CourseSmart;
IBMInternational Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
; iParadigms, LLC; Learning Objects; McGraw Hill Education;
MicrosoftMicrosoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
; Perceptis; Respondus;
Sun MicrosystemsSun Microsystems, Inc. was a company that sold :computers, computer components, :computer software, and :information technology services. Sun was founded on February 24, 1982...
;
SunGardSunGard is a multinational company based in Wayne, Pennsylvania, which provides software and services to education, financial services, and public sector organizations. It was formed in 1983, as a spin-off of the computer services division of Sun Oil Company, during a period of low crude oil...
Higher Education; Turning Technologies, LLC;
TurnitinTurnitin is an Internet-based plagiarism-detection service created by iParadigms, LLC. Typically, universities and high schools buy licenses to submit essays to the Turnitin website, which checks the documents for originality...
;
WebTrainWebTrain Communications provides web conferencing services for educational training, business meetings, presentation webinars and live auctions. WebTrain is a privately held Canadian company established in 1999.-History:...
Communications; Design Science (DSI); eLearn Campus; Webducate;
Pearson EducationPearson Education is an international educational publishing and technology company providing textbooks and other educational material, such as multimedia learning tools...
Inc.; and Pearson EQUELLA.
Legal issues
On July 26, 2006, Blackboard, a rival company, issued a press release regarding its recently granted US patent 6,988,138 on "Internet-based education support system and methods" . Blackboard also
filed a lawsuit against Desire2Learn. Desire2Learn appealed the case to the Federal Circuit where the Federal Circuit ruled in favour of Desire2Learn across the board—it affirmed the lower court's ruling that the first 35 claims were invalid, and it overturned the judgment resulting from the jury verdict against Desire2Learn. On December 15, 2009, both companies issued a
joint press release indicating that legal proceedings had ended with both companies agreeing to license each other's software. In the month of November 2010, Blackboard confirmed in an email that "Blackboard chose to abandon the '138 patent in April and not pursue additional appeals," after the patent's official termination by the USPTO.
For more information about Blackboard and , see Legal Issues section of the Blackboard Inc. article.
See also
- Learning management system
A learning management system is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs, classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training content...
- Virtual learning environment
Defined largely by usage, the term virtual learning environment has most, if not all, of the following salient properties:* It is Web-based* It uses Web 2.0 tools for rich 2-way interaction* It includes a content management system...
- E-learning
E-learning comprises all forms of electronically supported learning and teaching. The information and communication systems, whether networked learning or not, serve as specific media to implement the learning process...
- ePortfolio
External links