Online Trade Education Receives $18M Investment: Meratas Memo Weekly Roundup

Welcome to the Meratas Memo’s Weekly Roundup! This is your weekly fix of higher education and alternative financing news. Here are this week’s stories: 

 

The Case for Audio Books for Kids

Many of us have those fond memories of our parents tucking us in at night and reading us a bedtime story. It was the highlight of our nights right before dozing off to sleep. For many of us too, this was a time of learning as a child, even if we weren’t the ones actually reading the book. 

In this post by Edsurge, they make the argument that audiobooks can have the same benefits for children of all ages. They will learn and absorb equal amounts of information from audiobooks as they would from traditional reading. Edsurge also includes a list of the some of best audiobooks for kids. 

Read the full story on Edsurge here. 

 

$18M for an Essential Trade Learning Platform

While many in higher education focus on the tech sector and other fast-moving industries, one area of the workforce that is often overlooked is the trade sector. Professions like plumbing have a large skill gap in need of qualified workers. But what if you could learn these trade skills online? 

That’s exactly what Austin-based Interplay Learning aims to do. Interplay just raised over $18m in Series B funding to bring this idea to life. They look to bring a digital education service that has long since been missing to trade and vocational training. 

Read the full story on Edsurge here.