Six months after the Gates Foundation pumped $3.6 million into a U.S. national certification program for teachers of remedial college courses, a new initiative will dole out grants to ed-tech projects aimed at improving college readiness, especially among low-income students. The Next Gen Learning Challenges program, launched in late June and headed by nonprofit ed-tech supporter Educause, will aim to raise America’s high school graduation rate–which hovers around 50 percent among Hispanic, African American, and low-income students–and ensure that college freshmen are ready for higher education without having to take non-credit-bearing remedial classes. Source: eCampus News