D2L Collaborates with Microsoft to Offer eBooks and Education Content on Windows 8 Devices

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE--(Marketwired - July 14, 2014) - FUSION 2014 - D2L - the EdTech company that created Brightspace, the world's first truly integrated learning platform (ILP), today announced it has collaborated with Microsoft to offer D2L Binder™ on all Windows^® 8 devices. The app, created by D2L and Microsoft, will be available for the September 2014 back to school season and will enable students to consume, organize and annotate their eBooks, course content and learning materials on the Windows 8 device of their choice.

In future, D2L also plans to include a differentiated Microsoft Office 365 integration beyond Single-Sign-On (SSO), new apps, and Lync online integration into Brightspace.

To increase the productivity and usability of Binder for Windows 8, D2L has also signed agreements with five of the US major textbook publishers-Cengage Learning, McGraw-Hill Education, Macmillan Education, Nelson Education, and Wiley. These agreements enable students to purchase and rent eBooks on the web and through Binder, potentially saving up to 75 percent of the cost of buying textbooks.

In future releases, D2L will continue to add content partners from the higher education, K-12 and enterprise market segments and develop additional joint offerings with Microsoft. The solution will initially be available in English (US) with plans to internationalize in a future release.

"Microsoft is a trusted advisor with strong relationships within the education sector. They are a key D2L partner because of their size and visibility into prospective accounts," said John Baker, President and CEO, D2L. "With Binder on Windows 8, we're delighted to empower students with a cost effective, Windows 8 mobile content solution and institutions with a competitive differentiator to attract more learners."

"At Microsoft, we are committed to supporting a community of partners who share a similar passion about making a difference in students' lives - and Desire2Learn is a shining example of one we are proud to call an education partner," said Anthony Salcito, Vice President, Worldwide Education, Microsoft. "We thank you for your support and collaboration - we look forward to mutually growing our businesses together in FY'15 and the years ahead."

The announcement was made at FUSION 2014, D2L's annual users conference.

ABOUT D2L

A global leader in EdTech, D2L is the creator of Brightspace, the world's first integrated learning platform. The company partners with thought-leading organizations to improve learning through data-driven technology that helps deliver a personalized experience to every learner, regardless of geography or ability. D2L's open and extensible platform is used by more than 1,100 clients and 15 million individual learners in higher education, K-12, healthcare, government, and the enterprise sector - including Fortune 1000 companies. The company has operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia, Brazil, and Singapore. www.brightspace.com, www.d2l.com.

The D2L Family of Companies includes Desire2Learn Incorporated, D2L Ltd., Desire2Learn Australia Pty Ltd, Desire2Learn UK Ltd., Desire2Learn Singapore Pte Ltd and D2L Brazil Soluções de Tecnologia para Educação Ltda.