PILOTed

SIIA Ed Tech Innovation Showcase Products

12 Innovative Ed Tech Companies

 

At the SIIA Ed Tech Industry Summit (May 3 to 5, 2009), 12 products were showcased as innovative new products in education.

·         Adobe Flash Catalyst

·         ArchieMD: Virtual Autopsy Interactive 3D Platform

·         ClassLink Inquiry

·         Kidos Computer

·         Math Learning Exchange

·         MixedInk Collaborative Writing Tool

·         Filament Games Plex Labs

·         Child’sMind Publishing Predictive Assessment of Reading

·         Quantum Learning SkateKids Online

·         Smarthinking Straighterline

·         EdWeb Professional Networking

·         Grade Cam Corporation assessment scoring

 

These were chosen from over 30 nominees, and here is a quick summary of the 12. One caveat: we are and/or have worked with three of these companies: ArchieMD, ClassLink, and Quantum Learning. We try to pick companies that we think have exciting products and who are fun to work with.

Adobe Flash Catalyst

This is a content creation system. Adobe says that it allows non technical people to create interactive Flash interfaces. We did not actually get to see Adobe Catalyst at work. Adobe offers AIR, Catalyst, and Flex for developers. I’d love to hear from people with experience with Catalyst. Adobe Flash Catalyst won the Most Likely to Succeed award at the Innovation Showcase.

ArchieMD: Virtual Autopsy Interactive 3D Platform.

ArchieMD has built a 3D environment for creating virtual labs using the human body and human anatomical systems. This environment can be used by large school systems or software publishers to allow students to conduct procedures on virtual patients. They showed one example at the SIIA conference, which was one of six virtual autopsies they developed for a healthcare publisher. In this particular instance, a person had been shot. The student had to solve what actually killed the patient, and use geometry principles to determine where the shot came from.

 

Virtual patients or virtual experiments can be built for healthcare applications or a variety of courses such as nursing, forensics, anatomy, and biology.

ClassLink Inquiry

Inquiry is a tool that allows schools to determine what software and what computers are being used, by what students and by what classes. The tool can also cross reference gradebook information to determine if usage can be correlated with student or classroom performance.

Kidos Computer

Kidos Computer is building a way to set up a protected computer environment for kids along with a store for educational and safe applications. They are seeking to expand relationships with education and software publishers.

Math Learning Exchange

Math Learning Exchange is a not-for-profit startup seeking to build a community where teachers can share techniques, applications, and tips for math instruction. They are seeking sponsors and free content.

 

One interesting point, the founder was the first person who advertised prescription drugs to consumers with television commercials for Clariton. As he said, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

MixedInk Collaborative Writing Tool

MixedInk is a free classroom tool that allows kids to write by ripping, reusing, and rating. This tool is truly in the spirit of the social and collaborative Web.

 

Teachers give the students a writing assignment, and they can write, edit, amend, and borrow from what others write. Proper credit is given for all information copied, so students learn about netiquette as they learn to work in groups and improve their writing. MixedInk was runner up for the Most Innovative Learning Tool award.

Filament Games Plex Labs

Plex Labs is in the startup phase of creating virtual labs. These will further the work of the Jason Project.

Child’sMind Predictive Assessment of Reading (PAR)

PAR is based on research from Wake Forest University School of Medicine on the subtasks necessary for learning how to read and the potential problems during the path to reading proficiency. The test is delivered via paper, can be scored in under 15 minutes, and yields detailed feedback about the specific skills that a reader lacks, for example vocabulary, ability to recognize letters, etc. Research shows that this test is more accurate than tests currently used to assess reading problems.

Quantum Learning Skatekids

Skatekids is a game that teaches kids to read. The key to a good education game is that a) kids need to like it and b) kids need to learn. This game was developed by avowed gamers, and the lead designer has a PhD in cognitive psychology. The program has been tested in schools for the past three years, and is just starting to be distributed nationally. SkateKids won the SIIA Innovation Showcase award for Most Innovative Learning Tool.

Smarthinking Straighterline

Straighterline is a series of courses that allow students to pursue college credit online for “an incredibly low cost”. They are looking for institutional partners.

edWeb

edWeb is a forum for educators to discuss and collaborate on education issues. It is organized around communities that offer discussions on different topics, like assessment, teaching chemistry, or collaborative learning. It turns out that a high proportion of the members are actually principals and superintendents.

GradeCam

GradeCam uses ingenious image analysis software so that teachers can offer self grading multiple choice assessments for students. Teachers print out a bubble answer sheet for students, who then take the assessment, go to any scanner, camera, or document camera (like the Elmo), pass the answer sheet, and have their assessment automatically scored. Grades can be passed on to virtually any gradebook software, and students can be provided feedback. Assessments can be electronically assembled from the question banks that come with most textbooks.

An Explanation of Education Recovery (ARRA) Funds

Much has been made about the influx of investment in education by the new Federal Administration. It is surely likely to be impactful, but in order to take advantage of it, it’s necessary to understand the bits and pieces, the nuances in detail, the specifics of the who, what and when that will be a part of the process.

Setting the stage

Understanding the psychology of how the marketplace works is a necessary backdrop for the upcoming events.

Education is notoriously slow at decision-making with regards to expenditures. But in this situation, districts are being asked to make quick decisions, buy relatively quickly, implement, and ensure that these are sound, secure decisions that will have long-term benefit to student performance. Decisions should be made carefully, but fast. These requirements are antithetical to how educational sales traditionally happens. Getting support for your product and a quick decision, while ensuring that the decision is safe and will have long term benefit will require careful communication and intelligent product packaging into offers that meet the requirements the funding has dictated. Administrators are sensitive to making safe choices through an understanding of the research bases of products, brand knowledge, historic spending and government mandates. Companies that can meet three of four of these criteria will have an advantage. The trick will be in creating enough comfort to have decisions happen quickly.

What’s new, what’s not

Some elements of the funding available will fall into familiar categories. Where funding is being routed through provisions like Title I and IDEA, the methods and measurements for distribution will stay the same as they’ve always been. The formulas for distribution to the LEAs will not change, (with the exception that districts with less that 5% Title I population will not get any of the new Title I monies.) In other cases, the distribution of funds still needs to be worked out. We’ll share more information as we get it, and the data in the charts in this document reflect the best information we have so far. Some disbursements will be competitive, though the guidelines for that competition still have to be articulated.

You've heard that a good chunk of the money has already been sent to the states. Much of the IDEA and Title I money has been sent, and it should be winding its way to the local districts in the June to July timeframe.

One concern for districts and states is that, if they cannot demonstrate that they spent this money wisely, they may lose out on the other 30% of the money, which will be parceled out to the states starting in September, and to the districts starting in late October. In talking to districts, you should address this concern. Districts and states will be asked to show that purchases:

1. Drove results for students
2. Increased capacity to do more with less
3. Accelerated reform along the lines of school improvement plans
4. Avoided the funding cliff, making long term gains with moneys spent by November, 2010.
5. Fostered continuous improvement, including measurement of results and feedback loops

Solutions that deliberately address these five concerns have a greater chance of acceptance.

50 states, 50 Rules

We’re all familiar with how state-based education is, and this additional distribution of funds is no different. While much is articulated in the federal guidelines, how monies finally flow in non-formula disbursements will still be determined at the state level. It’s also unclear, in many cases, how long the states will hold the money. The intent of the legislation is to have monies flowing quickly, but quickly, in education terms, can be weeks and months. The best way to know what’s happening will be to stay in close communication with your prospects at the LEAs. And of course, there’s money that will be kept by the state DOEs, particularly for things that involve data and reporting, that need to be centralized.

Long term impact- on Subscription Pricing

Many companies have shifted to annual subscription models which are problematic for short-term spending for long-term impact. It will be important to repackage offerings to front-load the cost, but extend the terms. Examples: Five-year contracts, perpetual licenses, product purchase with small service charges in subsequent years. In all of these cases, like any subscription service, the trick will be in ensuring usage and satisfaction. Managing the growing client base will have to be planned for. And cost of client acquisition may go down, but cost of support and maintenance will be on-going. We’re recommending that you plan carefully for this shift when projecting cash flow and support costs. Also, we’re hearing that five years is considered pretty long range. We’ll watch for confirmation of that, but it does seem to be commonly understood. More to come on that point, and other subscription concerns.

It’s the PD, Stupid.

There’s mention of Professional Development everywhere in these documents, and School Improvement even has its own fund. The language frequently refers to the adequate training of teachers, highly qualified teachers, and teacher training as a critical component of all product implementation. That means you can charge for it. That means you should charge for it; it is an articulated objective. Think about that as you pull together your product offerings and configurations.

These are initial thoughts; we’ll be sharing more information as we get it. These are our opinions and interpretations and should be understood as such. The facts are included in the pages attached. We will be working with clients individually to discuss what the implications are for each company, and you should feel free to contact us with questions.

On the following pages, we diagram all of the different education spending buckets. Please let us know if you find this helpful and/or if you have further questions.

We hope to see as many of you as possible at the SIIA Ed Tech Industry Summit in San Francisco, starting Sunday, May 3. Mitch will be unveiling the results of the SIIA Postsecondary Market report on Sunday, and we will both be participating in various panels on Monday and Tuesday.

Sincerely,

Farimah Schuerman and Mitch Weisburgh
Managing Partners
Academic Business Advisors

The above chart is a summary of the different buckets of funds. The following pages explore each of these boxes in greater detail. Note that you can click on any chart to make it larger.