Amazon is considering increasing its investment in OpenAI rival Anthropic. According to The Information, Amazon is in talks to invest multiple billions in Anthropic, its first financial pledge in the company since a $4 billion deal struck last year. The new investment is structured similar to the last one — but with a twist. Amazon […]
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Symbiotic Security, which is announcing a $3 million seed round today, watches over developers as they code and points out potential security issues in real time. Other companies do this, but Symbiotic also emphasizes the next step: teaching developers to avoid these bugs in the first place. Ideally, this means developers will fix security bugs […]
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Want to save time and money in the procurement and referendum process? Here is a cool tool that helps with exactly that. With SchoolNetwork, you will find:
A catalog of K-12 bonding efforts nationwide. These include current and past efforts, upcoming, proposed, passed and failed. You can specify the characteristics of the district or project type you want to view and look at the efforts made by districts just like yours. You can set an alert for specific district capital improvement efforts and receive regular updates on their progress. You will learn who the key contacts are for each effort along with links to local news coverage and published articles.
An index of rated solution providers that you can sort by industry. Services to help you with your capital improvement or procurement efforts rated by school district administrators like yourself. Learn the track record of potential solution providers so that you work with the best fit for your needs.
Actual documents used to promote and create procurement and bonding campaigns. Save time and effort by borrowing from documents created for other procurement or bonding efforts.
View the actual Requests for Proposal (RFP) and Requests for Quotation (RFQ) used by other school districts. See the materials used to promote their projects, past and present, nationwide. Upload your own documents for solution providers to see. Receive alerts to see new and revised documents.
For these reasons and more, SchoolNetwork earned a Cool Tool Award (finalist) for “Best Administrative Solution” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more.
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A school district’s director of technology confronts a myriad of devices and lives to tell the tale.
GUEST COLUMN | by Jason Schmidt
I recently came across a report revealing that K-12 school districts in the U.S. are now using an average of 2,591 edtech tools—a dramatic rise from just 300 tools per district during the 2016-17 school year. While many of these are online platforms, classroom device usage has also surged. As the number of devices grows, so does the complexity of managing device refreshes.
‘As the number of devices grows, so does the complexity of managing device refreshes.’
Some of the most common devices used in classrooms today include tablets/Chromebooks, document cameras, smart boards, and 3D printers. All of these devices are aimed at improving learning and increasing student engagement. In the Oshkosh Area School District, we’re also equipping teachers with classroom microphones, ensuring they no longer need to strain their voices and students can clearly hear every lesson. All these devices have a finite lifespan, so staying ahead of refreshes is critical to ensure teachers and students have the tools they need. I follow several criteria that I stick to in my proactive refresh strategy that has kept our district ahead of the curve.
1. Talk with and observe your teachers. The Tech Services team at Oshkosh collaborates closely with teachers to understand their classroom technology needs and challenges, allowing us to identify which tools are being used, which are underutilized, and what may be needed in the future. These conversations give us the opportunity to evaluate whether our educators’ needs are being addressed by a particular piece of equipment. We can also deprecate obsolete equipment. And if tech isn’t being used, we remove it from the classroom and our device refresh list.
GOOGLE MAPS OSHKOSH AREA SCHOOL DISTRICT
2. Understand and validate technology lifecycles. Some devices last longer than others. Keep this in mind when planning for a refresh so you can stay ahead of the curve. For example, we replace student devices like Chromebooks every four years, whereas we expect our newest classroom displays to last up to 10 years. If you have an established replacement cycle, it’s easy to swap out devices on a regular schedule, such as summer break, so that there is little to no disruption in learning.
3. Scope the project and meet the vendors. Once we’ve established our needs, we evaluate different hardware solutions to understand what’s available in the market. Talking to manufacturers helps us understand whether their solutions will meet our needs, how much budget will be required, and whether the vendors will become a trusted technology partner. With this in mind, I recommend talking directly to manufacturers to fully understand the direct capabilities of their products.
‘I recommend talking directly to manufacturers to fully understand the direct capabilities of their products.’
4. Choose the right tech, not the cheapest tech. While budgets always come into play, it’s critical to purchase technology that will last. The cheapest option is not always the best, especially when it comes to total cost of ownership, including setup, training and replacement. For example, we invested in some low-cost document cameras during the pandemic – mostly due to supply chain issues. We purchased several hundred, and within a year or two, more than half the cameras were broken due to faulty ports and cables. There was no real fix, so we had no choice but to e-cycle the cameras and replace them with Logitech Reach and Qomo document cameras. This is why build quality, warranty, and ongoing support play an important role in our RFP process.
5. Implement a rollout plan. Whenever you’re introducing new tech tools, or even replacement devices, it’s critical to set clear objectives and establish a plan to train and support teachers. This helps guarantee they understand and feel comfortable with the devices before using them as part of their everyday teaching. At Oshkosh, we’ll often determine how many classrooms or buildings we can equip with an ideal solution versus trying to equip every room with part of the solution. We then take a holistic approach to refreshing that subset of rooms, which allows us to touch the classroom once and then leave it alone until its replacement cycle is due – whether that’s four, six, or 10 years depending on the technology we installed.
6. Measure success and learn from your rollout. Anytime you place devices in the classroom, you’ll want to consider whether those devices meet your objectives. These may include if the devices are working the way they’re supposed to, staying within budget, and if there’s anything that could have been done better. It’s a constant evaluation, and based on the feedback we receive, our team can tweak things as needed and help drive student engagement, which is ultimately intended to lead to better student outcomes.
Technology in the classroom is an important part of learning in today’s educational environment. But the overwhelming number of devices used in classrooms can be daunting, and the task of managing timely device refreshes can easily become a source of stress for IT departments. By proactively addressing technology needs in your classrooms, you can maintain a well-equipped learning environment that empowers both teachers and students.
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Jason Schmidt is a dedicated educator serving as the Director of Technology and eAcademy principal for the Oshkosh Area School District. With nearly two decades of experience as a classroom teacher, instructional coach, and administrator, Jason brings a well-rounded perspective to his leadership roles. He is passionate about using technology to enhance teaching and learning. Jason is committed to fostering innovation and preparing students for success in an ever-evolving world. Connect with Jason on LinkedIn.
The post Never Fall Behind: The Strategies Behind a Smart Device Refresh appeared first on EdTech Digest.
Het bericht Deze miniatuur-Tesla Cybertruck is stiekem een computer verscheen eerst op DutchCowboys.
How to scale to new markets using pilots with international school operators.
GUEST COLUMN | by Michael Spencer
MAKSYM MAMCHUROV
It’s hard to ignore the ongoing macro market challenges in edtech right now: venture investing is at just 10% of peak 2021 levels, while K-12 budgets in the U.S. are facing a $65B revenue decline due to the ESSR funding cliff, declining enrollment and increasing labor costs.
At the same time, sales to schools has become ‘noisier’ as there are more and more K-12 startups selling products, while US school districts have cracked down after being inundated with sales offers and phishing scams that lead to ransomware attacks.
In this climate, the only viable route to success for edtech companies is adopting a global sales strategy from the get-go.
‘In this climate, the only viable route to success for edtech companies is adopting a global sales strategy from the get-go.’
Over the years, I’ve spoken with many edtech founders about go-to-market and many of them have expressed a reluctance to expand and sell into international markets. They cite long sales cycles, high costs and low success rates among the reasons they don’t want to do it. After all, selling to U.S. schools and districts is challenging in the best of circumstances, so why extend that effort to geographical markets you know even less about?
However, the reality for many K-12 B2B founders, especially if they sell to U.S. school districts and/or organic growth has reached a saturation point, is that to take your startup to the next level, you need proactive early growth into international markets. As a long-time edtech executive turned early- to mid-stage investor, I believe that using channel partners to facilitate growth into thousands of untapped international school operators can be a highly successful way to scale your sales. Expanding into international markets while you’re trying to establish your company may sound daunting, but it’s often the simplest and fastest way to generate scalable, sustainable recurring revenue growth.
So how do you put this into practice? The key is pilots.
What are pilots?
Pilot programs aren’t the same as product demonstrations, or even beta tests. Conducted effectively, pilot programs can help schools and companies together weigh the potential value and impact of new education tools in ways that tests alone typically can’t.
This makes pilots a critical part of the K-12 sales process. They are also a common fail-point for vendors, something I call ‘pilot purgatory’ – prolonged pilots with no clearly defined expectations, measure of success or decision points that don’t then convert to paid customers. The majority of schools lack the resources, know-how, tools and processes to conduct effective edtech pilots, so to make this the cornerstone of a successful global growth strategy, you need to be prepared to take the lead.
What does a successful edtech pilot program look like? What pitfalls should you avoid?
Advantages of pilots
‘Fail fast’ is a famous philosophy among startup entrepreneurs. For product developers, this means rapid testing and re-development to find what solves your users’ pain points most effectively. When testing and evaluating edtech solutions, it is most valuable to do it in the classroom with real teachers and students. This enables:
Overcoming challenges for a successful pilot
1. Identify need – Clearly articulate the specific challenge your solution is trying to address so you can clearly communicate the value you will add to a school’s day-to-day operations. Exploring international markets doesn’t require a shift in mission, values, or approach. Students globally all face the same challenges – all that’s required to succeed in the international market is a strategic channel partner or school operator who knows what works and what they need to maximize your impact, to do your due diligence, and to ensure solutions are presented in a manner that the local market needs.
2. Plan – Agree with the school upon specific pilot objectives to ensure a shared vision and identify data that will be used to determine success. Set agreements with the school that outline roles and responsibilities, timelines and how results will be used.
3. Train and implement – Ensure teachers have training and tech support to enable strong implementation of your solution. Take a high-touch approach to onboarding students.
4. Collect data – Collect quantitative and qualitative data so you can determine whether the pilot objectives are being met. Create formal opportunities (such as surveys, focus groups and post-pilot debriefs) for teachers and students to give feedback. Send usage updates to the school regularly throughout the pilot.
5. Analyze and decide – Analyze collected data to evaluate whether the edtech tool met the pilot objectives.You can pilot something, but without a benchmark and post-pilot review, it is useless. Work with the school to understand and negotiate the total cost of implementing the edtech tool. (Consider ongoing costs for licensing, installation, training and tech support.)
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Michael E. Spencer is founder and CEO of Global Expansion Strategies supporting founders and schools with all aspects of the pilot process. To date, 100% of GES pilots have gone on to full implementation, with significant impacts on student outcomes. Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.
The post Supercharge Your Edtech Startup appeared first on EdTech Digest.
ClassWallet is a purchasing and reimbursement platform for public funds. Founded in 2014, the company’s technology is used by state education departments, districts and public and private schools to get public funds to the right people and ensure they are used for the right purpose – from teacher stipends for classroom supplies to scholarships and other federal and state education grants.
The company’s solution replaces outdated reimbursement processes including teacher/ administrator expense reports and receipts, debit cards and other manual systems which are inefficient and difficult to audit. Managing the compliance around getting public funds to the right people while ensuring those funds are used for the right purpose is very complicated. ClassWallet does it at a fraction of the time and cost compared to legacy processes, in a fully transparent manner, without any sacrifice to compliance.
ClassWallet has emerged as the national de facto technology standard in education with 10% of teachers in America having a ClassWallet account. It is used across 32 states serving 6,200 K-12 schools and more than six million students. The company has helped its clients realize the full potential of over $2.7 billion in public funds.
One ClassWallet school district reported a reduction in purchase orders from 3,772 to 37 and a 42% increase in funds being utilized for their intended purpose, aided by the digital wallet technology. That same district expanded their usage from one to eight funding sources including Pre-K Funds, Special Education Funds and State Classroom Instructional Supplies. For these reasons and more, ClassWallet was named “Best Reimbursement Platform Helping Education Funds Distribution in a Compliant Manner” as part of The EdTech Awards 2024 from EdTech Digest. Learn more.
The post ClassWallet appeared first on EdTech Digest.
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