Cool Tool | Schoolfy

Schools worldwide have a common obstacle: outdated technology. Oscar Civantos had this realization a while back when working internationally as a data security consultant. Privacy protections were weak and communications methods were stuck in the 1990s. Besides that, teachers were spending valuable time on tedious tasks that could become automated. Three years ago, this entrepreneur cashed in his successful practice to address these and other problems. His mission: provide cutting-edge technology to educators worldwide – for free. He packed his bags and moved from Madrid — to Silicon Valley. From California, he assembled an international team of software developers, engineers, optimization specialists and educators. The result is Schoolfy, a revolutionary edtech platform that caters to individual teachers and entire school systems. It features free social networks that provide unique timesaving features for teachers and above-average privacy protections. The goal is to put back into teaching a large number of hours that are lost to repetitive administrative tasks. Check back here for an in-depth interview with Oscar coming up soon. Meanwhile, check out Schoolfy for yourself.

When a Bake Sale Isn’t Enough

In-depth with the founders of a ‘Kickstarter for education’.

INTERVIEW | by Victor Rivero

A “fairy godmother for education,” is how Jaime Wood describes IncitED, the company she co-founded. “It’s the magic touch that makes big dreams or even little dreams possible.” IncitED is more literally a robust tool for online education fundraising, collaboration, and replication of ideas that work. Kevilina Burbank is IncitEd’s co-founder along with Jaime Wood. Together, they have been teaching for over twenty years. They are passionate about giving educators a tool to create meaningful change in their communities and have been working voraciously to bring IncitEd to life. “IncitED is the equalizer that will bring diversity to our education system so that all learners are able to benefit, not just the privileged,” says Kevilina. “It is the grassroots solution to our education woes, allowing all stakeholders to participate in building a better way.”

Victor: Very interesting concept. Tell me a little about yourselves. 

Jaime: I’m a cup of dorkiness + two fistfulls of passion + four quarts heart, oh and a bowl of spicy, education obsessed soup on the side. (Jaime, pictured) 

Kevilina: I’m a mama to an amazing teenage girl, an urban goat herder, a chess player, quilter, and an organic gardener; in other words, I’m always making, feeding, or building something.

Victor: Now that’s some color commentary. What were you doing before IncitED?

Kevilina: Well, to be honest, I am still doing what I was doing before IncitED. Being a mama is part of my inspiration behind what we’re doing. I was a teacher, and I still am. My students write reality television shows that benefit society. My goats keep things light and milky. Maybe when things become calmer I’ll compose an IncitED quilt whose squares represent my favorite campaigns!

Jaime: Before IncitED I taught students how to use language to build idea bridges. I still do. Before that, I was a poet. I still am. Before that I was a humanist working for justice. Two years ago, that role manifest through a website called Dream School Commons where any concerned citizen could share his or her dream for education. Kevilina and I have harnessed that energy and fed it into IncitED.

Victor: What was the inspiration for IncitED?

Kevilina: I was tired of being frustrated with every aspect of education; publishing companies and corporations cannot take over education; so many people are striking out on their own to change education; crowdfunding has the potential to kick posterior people want to feel empowered by having some choice in where they spend their money in education and where they send their kids to learn. (Kevilina, pictured)

Jaime: For years I’ve had ideas about what education should be, what it could be with the right support and momentum. And you know what? We’ve known for decades what we should be doing to nurture the minds of learners. But the money isn’t there, so Kevilina said to me one day, “Let’s make a Kickstarter for education.” And I said, YES! I thought of all my friends in education who have big, smart, amazing ways to improve the system, all the people who will make a difference with the grassroots support we can give them through IncitED. And the idea was born.

We’ve been working to build it night and day ever since.

Victor: How did you choose the name?

Kevilina: We read the dictionary; it didn’t seem to contain anything promising. Apparently we missed a word.

Jaime: We brainstormed ideas for days, no joke. Then I handed the list to my husband, Dylan, and he returned it with his own list. All his ideas were better than our dictionary/thesaurus attempts. IncitED stood out as the perfect choice: edgy and passionate. That’s us.

Victor: What makes IncitED special?

Jaime: IncitED is special because we know that education happens everywhere and we’re committed to celebrating real-world learning, whether it’s taking place inside the walls of a classroom, on the side of a mountain, in a community garden, or in a makeshift school on the other side of the world. We know that we’re all teachers and learners. IncitED makes it possible for any powerful education program to flourish. One of the most exciting aspects of what we’re building is our online community space where people can connect, share resources, solve problems together, and help each other replicate models that work. The implications of these tools are huge. With IncitED, educators will be less isolated. They’ll have everything they need in one space to bring their ideas to life.

Kevilina: We’re special because we’re not focused on making money; we’re focused on uniting people who without question are game for changing the way we view education and going for it. We have the vision, guts and planning skills. We want you to plant some seeds! Pick from our garden! Hang out and eat here share your recipes!

Victor: How has the response to IncitED been so far?

Kevilina: The response has been the music to our lyrics. We’ve been moving with the momentum that the universe is throwing at us. People involved in traditional education, nontraditional education; politicians and business owners; parents and kids we’re all in this together, and people realize that what we’re doing is one solution to a problem that just can’t keep on the path that it’s on.

Jaime: The response has been tremendous! You know why? People need this. They’re hungry for change, and so many educators are longing to take the reigns and build the initiatives they know are necessary in a system that’s stopped listening to them. We believe in the wisdom of the crowd. A few determined people and their supporters can do brilliant things.

Victor: Who uses IncitED?

Jaime: Anyone who is working to help others improve themselves in some way through learning is an educator and is encouraged to use IncitED. So far, we’ve hosted education activists, public school teachers, nonprofit organizations, and former school teachers working to build new models of education.

Kevilina: We also want folks who wouldn’t normally consider themselves to be educators to get on board. If you have skills or knowledge or even better, you annoy your friends by talking with them about the field you love we invite you to join in and share that with people who will no doubt want to learn about what you’re up to. If you’re obsessed with preparing your neighborhood for disaster, and you want to have a weeklong summer camp where folks get to learn how to do that, then we want to help you make that happen.

Victor: What’s on the horizon for IncitED?

Kevilina: We’re going to make this hive produce some honey.

Jaime: Over the next few months we’ll be building, building, building. Our online community space will be taking shape. We’ll be establishing relationships with NGOs so we can make an impact in high needs communities around the world. We’re also working to create partnerships with businesses that can provide additional funding to campaigns that match their community interests. So yeah, we’ll be fleshing out the vision we’ve had from the beginning. Keep an eye out. Good things are happening.

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Victor Rivero is the editor in chief of EdTech Digest. Write to: victor@edtechdigest.com

Cool Tool | Junyo’s EdLights

Successful Silicon Valley entrepreneur Steve Schoettler (Zynga co-founder) is building another data analytics solution, except this time it isn’t about virtual tractors. Schoettler has decided to focus his talent and attention on building a data-driven solution for education publishers and suppliers and has gathered a group of talented engineers to make it happen. Steve’s new company, Junyo, has built a deep data set with information about nearly every district and school in the nation. The first tool that Junyo is releasing June 3, 2013, is EdLights, which offers a “digital snapshot” of the nation’s schools. Geared to support those who supply K-12 schools and districts with everything from classroom textbooks and technology to facility infrastructure, EdLights allows publishers and suppliers to research the needs of schools and districts to better understand their circumstances, revenue, expenditures, and learning performance. Why? “It’s all about matching the right materials and solutions to the right place at the right time,” says Steve. EdLights is a refreshing approach for schools fatigued by the endless parade of salespeople who pitch products that aren’t needed. Read about Junyo at: www.junyo.com and about EdLights at www.edlights.com.

The Digitalisation of Education

A peek into the investment required for Europe’s e-learning ecosystem.

GUEST COLUMN | by Benjamin Vedrenne-Cloquet

There is a paradigm shift underway in the education industry as traditional methods of teaching are being challenged by a new breed of edtech entrepreneurs, with e-learning in particular radically changing the future of how education is resourced, taught and consumed. This shift is partly the result of digitalisation – just as we’ve seen in other industries such as media and entertainment – and partly a response to the current skyrocketing costs of education and the accompanying inefficiencies.

According to a recent research report conducted by IBIS Capital for example, education costs have risen by 84 percent since 2000; a huge 46 percent higher than the rise in the consumer price index.  However, the link between this rising education expenditure and educational performance appears to be weak. In the U.S. reading and maths scores have remained stagnant despite the increased spending. Moreover, it is estimated that 85 percent of every dollar spent on education is spent delivering it – the costs of bricks and mortar and teaching staff, amongst other things.

E-Learning has the opportunity to capitalise on these inefficiencies, reducing the price tag associated with traditional education delivery at the same time as improving and democratising standards. Just as the disruptive effects of digitalisation (profusion of new content, audience fragmentation, data centricity and ultimately convergence between content and platform players) transformed the media industry, so will they impact education in the very same way, leading to massive growth. Both industries are after all about delivering compelling content and engaging audiences. Indeed, with e-learning representing $91 billion in 2012 and set to grow at 17 percent p.a. until 2017, there is enormous potential for the e-learning and educational technology markets in the coming years, but both private investment and public initiatives need to be aligned to create a fertile ecosystem.

Large strategic players in the U.S. are already recognising this fact and making acquisitions in this area, while capital markets are responding and VC funding is available. 2012 saw $8.5 billion worth of M&A activity for example, while $1 billion was raised in fundraising initiatives. The U.S. is leading the e-learning field, while Europe accounts for just 6 percent of total fundraising deals, lagging behind both India and China.

The European e-learning market proposition has, however, been growing and the appetite within the industry is becoming more apparent with more than 3,000 e-learning companies seeking to build market share. This nascent industry is characterised by fragmentation and a shortage of investment. The lack of scale and access to capital for these e-learning companies is stifling growth and creating a clear impediment to the development of next generation European education champions.

In order to foster this ecosystem, the opportunities and investment trends need to be articulated to a wider European audience. If established professional learning and education players, innovators disrupting the established market order and leading European institutional investors can share ideas and work together, they can act as a catalyst for the consolidation and investment required in the sector. If private funding becomes more widely available to support innovation and consolidation in the sector and historical impediments to the development of digital education are diminished, the transition to digital education will be even quicker and more disruptive than that observed in the media industry over the past decade.

With the future of education following in the footsteps of the media industries and the e-learning principles for both the US and European markets being very similar, there is a huge opportunity for Europe to step up its role in the education ecosystem. There, of course, needs to be a different market approach to Europe as there has been in the U.S. with varying barriers to entry for each country and region but what is clear is that companies in Europe need the same capital investment that the U.S. is enjoying.

European players are currently stymied due to being undercapitalised even though new, talented, European entrepreneurs are now bringing the expertise required to scale businesses. A large proportion of current industry players are prevented from getting to the next level of product or service deployment due to the lack required capital and a true multi domestic and pan regional consolidation approach which only seasoned management teams and investors with previous experience in other sectors such as Tech or Media could bring.

While capital investments are urgently required, as has been seen in the U.S. market, there is a need to create a strong European e-learning community with a shared vision that defines the business model of distribution and monetization of Educational content on Digital platforms. Once this is established, Europe will start generating the attention and scale it requires.

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Benjamin Vedrenne-Cloquet is co-founder and CEO of Edxus Group. IBIS Capital and Edxus Group are creating a new event for the education technology and e-learning industries. EdTech Europe 2013 will be held in London on June 14. Click here for more information.

Active PD

Generating genuine change in the classroom.

GUEST COLUMN | by Leslie Kerner

At my company, we believe effective professional development is something you do, not something you get. In 2011, that dynamic was at the essence of a Delaware program. An Amplify Insight data coach was assigned to every public school in the state to for 90 minute weekly collaborative planning sessions. The goal was for teachers to learn skills and concepts around using their data to drive their instructional practice.

By the end of our first year working with Delaware public schools, the Delaware Comprehensive Assessment System (DCAS) for grades 3-10 rose 12 percentage points in reading and 10 in math.

Here’s how Amplify Insight data coaches guided teachers, administrators and students to achieve promising results and create a positive example for districts around the country.

Customization

Generic lectures do little to garner audience interest. Every region is different and needs can vary city to city, or even become hyper-local– changing school by school and class by class.

Knowing this, coaches helped Delaware teachers learn how to use their own classroom data, rather than generic data; in our experience that’s the only way to generate genuine change in the classroom. It is immediately meaningful to teachers, who begin to see the impact their data-driven strategies have on student growth. Teachers learned to draw inferences from every source of data at their disposal, from standardized test scores to quiz grades and oral classroom performance— even non-academic data, such as the level of student motivation. We found that teachers were empowered to continue their collaborative conversations outside of the PLCs. One DE high school teacher put it this way: “Now when I go home, I feel like I did something today, as opposed to “I worked today.”

The focus on data was critical because the DOE wanted to establish a consistent process for using it to make a difference in learning. Our trademark approach, TADA™ (Taking Action with Data), helps teachers answer “so what?” and “now what?” using data to inform instruction and identify where students need more help.

Data isn’t the only thing that should be customized for an effective professional development strategy; program formats should be flexible too, shaped around the diverse needs of different schools and districts.

In Delaware, the DOE wanted to provide a structure for teacher collaboration, but not all districts could participate in the same framework. With this in mind, Amplify Insight adapted its program to accommodate different levels of readiness and need, which meant some PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) met with our data coaches in small groups, whereas other schools utilized a “coach-the-coach” approach, in which coaches trained leaders at a given school in the TADA method, allowing them to be the turnkeys for the teachers in their schools.

By contrast, in our Rhode Island professional development engagement, PLCs were not part of the culture; so there we trained leadership teams, as opposed to individual teachers, to lead their schools. While teachers from both states were coached in the same skills, the execution was molded to their available resources to be of maximum benefit to each.

Lasting Community Empowerment

Professional development should have lasting effects. It’s essential to develop a cycle of inquiry that helps teachers build skills to use their data long after our coaches have gone, empowering teachers with career-long skills. Instead of handing teachers the solution to a particular problem, we ask a series of questions that helps them develop skills to solve the problems themselves. Teachers empowered each other through collaborative “data conversations”, which are low-stakes, nonjudgmental conversations with peers about how they apply their own data. By doing this, each school found the best way to draw data from multiple sources and translate that into action; they created student groups by need and lesson plans, got feedback from peers, and found strategies that worked (and didn’t work), and took what they’ve learned to test new strategies in the classroom for differentiated instruction.

Done right, this kind of positive experience extends beyond the classroom and engages all stakeholders—students, families, and the surrounding community. In one school, as part of an action research project, students were asked to evaluate their own work and rate the amount of effort they had invested, along with their level of understanding of the material.

By helping students engage with their own data, we engage parents as well. For example, at one school in Delaware, students presented at Parent Teacher conferences led to an increase in parent participation from 10 percent to 60 percent.

Continual Improvement  

There were a few opportunities for us to receive feedback on Delaware’s experience with our professional development approaches, and we made sure to use what we heard constructively. After the first year in Delaware, the DOE and local districts wanted more Common Core conversations in their Data PLCs, so we expanded the scope of the program and the data coach role to include becoming “Common Core Ambassadors”.

Drawing from another data source, we looked at the results from a survey the Delaware Department of Education had sent to teachers about their experience with the PLCs. Of the 4,500 teachers who completed the survey, the majority of the teachers said the PLCs helped them build skills to collect and use data. Seventy-two percent of middle school teachers rated their coaches as “good” or “excellent”.

This year we have brought professional development to Rhode Island schools, and continue to apply customer feedback to our program. Initially, many schools in the state at the “Basic Level” felt it was too basic. As a result we significantly increased the level of the material beginning with the second round of PD. Also based on similar feedback, we created a new process for year 2 to determine if a school is Basic or Advanced.

Individual schools capture volumes of data about what students know and don’t know, but research indicates that over half of teachers are unsure how to integrate all this data into their instruction. Good professional development will empower every teacher to integrate relevant student data into daily instruction. The effects of learning to use that data will bring better results in the classroom that extend to the larger community, and as the education landscape continues to evolve, so should the programs that help train teachers and their students.

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Leslie Kerner is the general manager of Professional Services for Amplify Insight. Visit:
http://www.amplify.com/services