D2L Appoints Tony Maguire As Regional Director For Australia And New Zealand

Maguire to support D2L’s education and corporate clients adapt to new world of online learning

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — August 4, 2020 — D2L, a global learning technology leader, today announced the appointment of Tony Maguire as Regional Director for Australia and New Zealand (A/NZ) to head the region as it supports education and corporate clients in their rapid evolution to deliver online learning and professional development remotely.

Maguire will lead D2L’s A/NZ team helping schools, universities, and businesses adapt to the changing societal and economic needs that require students and employees to learn remotely – changes that have been rapidly accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Maguire is a veteran of the education and technology industries, having spent 15 years as a primary school teacher before taking on senior roles with EdTech vendors including Apple’s K-12 business in Queensland, Northern Territory, Victoria and Tasmania, and Oracle’s A/NZ higher education consulting services arm.

He joins D2L with more than 20 years’ senior leadership, sales and partnership experience, including with RMIT Online and multiple EdTech consulting firms.

“Education has always been a central pillar for everything I’ve done throughout my career – particularly the role technology plays in improving learner engagement and outcomes,” Maguire said. “With both campuses and businesses forced to shut down due to the pandemic, the role of technology in delivering personalised, intuitive, and engaging courses is more important than ever – whether you’re in grade three learning to spell, studying for your HSC, completing a thesis, or reskilling for a career change.”

Maguire said the higher education sector would play an essential role as Australia and New Zealand entered COVID-19 economies, and he took the role as D2L’s Brightspace platform offered a premier platform for schools, universities and vocational education providers to deliver the training required to manage the transition.

“Even before COVID-19, educational institutions were transforming to digital-first experiences – and the current pandemic has just pulled the future forward,” he said. “In just two weeks, blended and on-campus learning was forced to go completely online and the challenges that posed were enormous. Now universities and tertiary educators alike are getting serious about finding ways to use technology to improve student support, give better insights into student well-being, and alleviate the burden on faculty.

“Importantly, education doesn’t finish with a degree. Learning continues long after graduation and many businesses are struggling to deliver the professional development their employees need while they’re working remotely.”

During his time as an independent EdTech consultant, working with local and international institutions including RMIT, UTS, University of Sydney, Western Sydney University, Arizona State, and University of Pennsylvania on their migration journeys to SaaS platforms, Maguire said Brightspace was the most complete, frictionless, and intuitive platform he’d seen.

“Cloud-based platforms are the only way to deliver the training and upskilling our economy will need at the scale required, and Brightspace is the only Learning Management System I’ve seen that can actually deliver on the promises of SaaS,” Maguire said.

“Tony’s experience with some of the most renowned institutions, and his deep relationships across the industry, will help D2L support our clients as they develop new business models centred on building a digital and online learning experience that is as delightful as the traditional campus,” said John Baker, President and Chief Executive Officer, D2L.

“Digital delivery of education, re-skilling, and upskilling courses used to be seen as a ‘nice-to-have’, now it’s a ‘need-to-have’. This rapid transformation of the system is the greatest challenge we hope we ever face. We need to come together as a sector to make the investments to improve student experiences and equip workers that have been displaced with new skills for their next opportunity. Tony’s intimate understanding of both the traditional teaching experience and the wider EdTech industry mean he’s perfectly placed to help our clients successfully navigate this change.”

ABOUT BRIGHTSPACE

Brightspace is a cloud-based learning platform built by educators, for educators that works on any device. It’s secure, worry-free technology that puts customers first — allowing you to create engaging courses within your existing technology to fit your unique needs. With Brightspace, you can easily set up individualised learning paths for your students, keep them on track with automated nudges, provide them with personalised feedback and increase their engagement through gamification, social tools, video and other powerful features. To learn more, visit the Higher Education and K-12 pages on our website.

ABOUT D2L

D2L believes learning is the foundation upon which all progress and achievement rests. Working closely with organisations globally, D2L has transformed the way millions of people learn online and in the classroom. Learn more about D2L for schools, higher education and businesses at www.D2L.com.

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