Founded 2014 Website unizin.org | Key people Amin Qazi, CEO | |
Unizin (pronounced [ju.nɨ.zɪn] (IPA) or "yo͞o-nə-zin") is both a consortium of higher education institutions and a service provider. The Unizin consortium was founded in 2014 by Colorado State University, University of Florida, Indiana University, and University of Michigan. On July 22, 2014, Unizin named Amin Qazi its founding CEO. The Unizin service debuted its first offering, Canvas by Instructure, in late summer 2014. The goal of the Unizin service is to establish the standard gauge rails of digital learning, creating common standards that enable collaboration within the higher education community. Unizin, Ltd. is a registered 501(c)(3). Unizin’s Chief Executive reports to the Unizin board of directors.
Contents
Background
In June 2014, Internet2 and each of the four founding member universities separately announced Unizin. On October 1, 2014, Unizin announced three additional universities had joined, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Minnesota, and Oregon State University. On December 18, 2014, Unizin announced it had added three additional members: University of Iowa, Ohio State University, and Penn State University. In June 2015, Unizin also welcomed the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Representatives from each of the founding institutions comprise the Unizin board of directors. In July 2015, Unizin announced its first subscribing member and first university system the State University System of Florida. On May 1, 2016 Unizin became an independent incorporated 501(c)(3) nonprofit, Unizin Ltd. Unizin is currently accepting new members from not-for-profit higher education institutions.
Components
Unizin is a cloud-scale service operator and integrator. It will provide services to support the Digital Education offerings of its members including services for Content, Software Platforms, and Analytics.
Content
According to Unizin.org, member instructors “will be able to share their own teaching content, and gain access to a repository of shared digital content from campus colleagues and others at member institutions." In July 2015, Unizin acquired the software and trademark for Courseload, an eText reader and collaborative tool. Unizin's COO, Robin Littleworth said in a blog post that Courseload will form the foundation for Unizin's Content Relay. "The Content Relay is aimed at making two problems easier to address," said Littleworth. "Creating and supporting simple and sustainable workflows around 1) the deposit and distribution of faculty/institutionally generated content; and 2) the discovery of content that can be used in classes, labs, and experiential learning settings (e.g., repositories, OER, institutionally licensed content, publisher paid content, etc.)." Unizin also makes content discoverable and portable, providing higher education institutions with an exit strategy should they choose to switch service providers.
Platform
Unizin announced that Canvas by Instructure would serve as the learning management system (LMS) for its members, though members could continue to run other LMSs in parallel. Members chose Canvas in part because it meets IMS Global open standards; also much of the LMS is open source software. The Unizin consortium has not announced details of additional platforms that may be part of the Unizin service.
Analytics
By operating on common platforms, Unizin members will be able to create analytics of learner outcomes both within and across institutions. Unizin further states that analytics will not only help improve learning, but also be available for research.