Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Technology Distribution on a Low Budget

In the Boston area, where I live, cities and towns are struggling desperately to maintain staffing and service levels under very tight budgets. Layoffs, budget cuts, and regionalization grab local headlines every spring. Similar conditions certainly exist everywhere else. All these issues make it very challenging for school districts to fund broad-scale technology initiatives.
 
Still, a growing number of school districts in Massachusetts are pursuing 1:1 educational technology implementation at a rapid pace. At the most aggressive level, the goal is one mobile device for every student, teacher, and administrator in every building and at every grade level. I know of one community that boasts it has launched 1,000 iPads.

(See my complete column on the topic at www.educationalit.com)

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Plan a Successful Google Apps Rollout

A growing number of school districts are exploring cloud-based computing, and Google Applications for Education is the platform of choice for creating and sharing classroom assignments.
 
As I noted in a recent blog, there are plenty of reasons for liking Google Apps: the ability for students to collaborate on work; the ability for teachers to review and comment on student work in real-time; the ability for anyone to access their work from anywhere and anytime; and revision history features that track all contributors and contributions to a file.

(Read my entire column at www.educationalit.com)

Monday, March 25, 2013

LearnLaunch aims to create new ed tech Hub

Boston, Massachusetts has long been known as “The Hub”, and executives behind the new LearnLaunchX (www.learnlaunch.org) educational technology accelerator aim to make it the new center for ed tech startups.

The founding of LearnLaunchX was announced at the ed tech conference “Across Boundaries: Innovation & The Future of Education”, held recently at the MIT Sloan School, in Cambridge, MA. The  conference brought together leading educational technology visionaries, academics, vendor company presidents, and public school administrators for two days of intensive discussion on where educational technology investments stand today, and where they need to go.

Keynoting the event were Anant Agarwal, president of the online learning initiative of MIT and Harvard University; Seth Reynolds, a partner with The Parthenon Group; Luis Rodriguez, director of the Office of Digital Learning in the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education; Gregory Bialecki, secretary of the Executive Office of Housing & Economic Development; John Katzman, founder of Noodle and The Princeton Review; and Anthony Kim, founder and CEO of Education Elements.

Just launched itself, the new startup accelerator has already announced plans to invest in 40 companies in the first three years of its program. LearnLaunch is the networking and advocacy side of the house, while LearnLaunchX serves as the funding arm. LearnLaunch and LearnLaunchX “will provide selected startups with early seed funding, deep domain insight, direct access to learning marketplace leaders and channels, and mentoring by experts in ed tech, learning markets and start-up investments,” according to a recent announcement by the organization.

LearnLaunch was formed in December as a non-profit to foster the creation and growth of ed tech companies in New England. It was started by Boston area investor Jean Hammond, EdTechup founder Marissa Lowman (who is serving as executive director of LearnLaunch), and Sankaty Growth Partners founder Eileen Rudden.

The selection of Boston was no coincidence. “Boston is known as a center for both excellent education and technology innovation,” explains Lowman. “Massachusetts also has strong roots in the development of U.S. education, having invented public education and currently leading the initiative to promote high state standards, also known as The Common Core (www.corestandards.org)

The goal of LearnLaunch is to provide support to entrepreneurs at critical stages of their development, and help them reach the next level of growth by providing unprecedented access to peers, investors, mentors, and even potential users. The company plans to offer five rounds of funding over the next three years, and has begun taking applications for the first round.

“Experts with deep connections to the market will provide hands-on mentoring to help entrepreneurs transform startups into successful ed tech companies,” Lowman says. “Startups will receive guidance and strategic direction on a full range of issues, from product feature decisions and beta testing, to the nuances of management team development and market entry in the learning industry.”

Lowman notes that a growing number of venture capitalists and angel investors are deciding to invest in the ed tech sector. She says that 134 ed tech companies nationwide received such funding in 2011, the largest number in a decade. Investments in ed tech have also tripled over the past decade, she says, increasing from a reported $146 million in 2002 to $429 million in 2011.

The local market is certainly a ripe one, and LearnLaunch has already identified over 150 educational technology and learning-oriented startups in the Boston area.

LearnLaunchX will work with approximately eight startups at a time, and provide up to $18,000 in seed funding. In return, LearnLaunchX will receive a 6% equity stake in each startup. To support the accelerator program, LearnLaunch welcomed three co-investors -- Mark Miller, Vinit Nijhawan and Jakan Satiroglu -- as co-founders of the accelerator.

Previously the chief officer of college and career preparation for the Chicago Public Schools, Co-founder Eileen Rudden concludes: “I was struck when I moved back to Boston in the fall of 2011 at the level of excitement and activity in the learning and ed tech space. I attended EdTechups (a networking program started by Lowman), which have brought together over 800 people, and Kids Club meetings, which have engaged over 50 companies in collaborative peer learning. I found close to 150 startups and dozens of growth firms. Jean, Marissa and I want to see the ecosystem grow even more rapidly to create value for entrepreneurs, educators, investors and students.”

Friday, March 22, 2013

Doctor extends good bedside manner to debt collection by starting Debt M.D.

Any patient will tell you that a good bedside manner is just as important as solid medical credentials. As far as Dr. Hubert Fu is concerned, that extends as much to the practice of debt collection as it does to the practice of medicine.

Hoping for a kinder and gentler experience for both patient and physician, Fu co-founded Debt M.D., a collection service that operates on a philosophy of patient respect. It is a unique debt collection model, and one that is drawing quick attention. Debt M.D. is also believed to be the only physician-owned and -operated collection agency in the country.

(Read my complete column on the topic in Healthcare Finance News)

Thursday, March 21, 2013

Community paramedicine programs offer savings

Several areas across the country are trying out community paramedicine programs in an effort to increase healthcare services and decrease healthcare costs.

Community paramedicine programs enable traveling paramedics to perform a variety of services for elderly patients, low income patients and patients in rural areas and help eliminate unnecessary or repeat trips to hospitals, or provide care that the patient otherwise wouldn’t receive.

(Read my complete column in Healthcare Finance News)

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Mobile app dev: Outsource or in-house?

The Weather Channel, with some of the Web's most popular mobile apps at 90 million downloads and counting, supports some 1,200 different mobile devices -- and does it all in-house.

But it wasn't always that way, and TWC's mobile development strategy has evolved over time, says Cameron Clayton, president of the company's digital group.

(See my complete article on the topic at Computerworld)

Choosing a cloud

Look at school districts across the country these days, and you'll see a lot of educators with their heads in the cloud. Driven by educators' needs to provide remote access, save money in licensing fees, and help students share their work, cloud-based computing is making serious inroads in education.

Two regions are leading the way: The state of Oregon is two years into the first statewide rollout of Google Apps for Education (aka Google Docs), while the Clarksville-Montgomery County (TN) School System (CMCSS) last year became the first countywide school district to launch Microsoft 365 for Education. Each of these ambitious projects can offer lessons to school districts considering a move to the cloud.

(See my complete article on the topic at www.thejournal.com)

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Companies challenging 2012 NLRB rulings should be cautious

On Tuesday, the National Labor Relations Board announced it will appeal to the Supreme Court a decision by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals that invalidated appointments to the NLRB made by President Barack Obama last year while lawmakers were on break. The validity of all board decisions made since the so-called recess appointments hangs on legal wrangling, but in the meantime, at least two healthcare providers are actively opposing decisions made by the board in 2012.

(See my complete column on the topic at Healthcare Finance News)

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Reflecting on new trends in technology and electronics

Every two years, global accounting firm KPMG honors its retiring partners. The firm hosts a gala event -- this year in Orlando -- and produces a book with the collective profiles and biographies of those retirees.
 
I had the honor to work on that book project for this year’s celebration. I also had the pleasure of getting to know nearly 90 retiring partners from the United States, Canada, and Japan, in the process: each of whom had a wonderful life and career story to tell.
 
In the course of those interviews, I asked partner John Mendonco, of KPMG’s Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, office, for his thoughts on what trends to expect this year in the area of finance and technology. During his early days at KPMG, John headed up the computer Audit group. During his later years, John specialized in technology and electronics companies, and was in charge of the Information, Communications & Entertainment Audit practice for Greater Washington DC.
 
“The topic I hear a lot about is ‘big data,’ John says. “The amount of information gathered from people using the Internet is immense: whether it is from shopping, social media, or search engines.”
 
“How this data can be analyzed and used over the next few years will drive how advertising dollars are use, what content is delivered to user and what new products are launched,” John believes. “There will be a huge demand for people who have the analytical skills to analyze the data, so education in this field has to grow.”
 
“I also see the continued demand for bandwidth as a major driving force,” John continues. “With the seemingly endless expansion of smart phones, tablets and smart TVs, and the connected home, there have to be improvements in the delivery mechanisms.”
 
At the time I last communicated with John he had just returned from the Consumer Electronic Show.
 
“This year I thought there were very breakthrough products,” John notes. “Lots of improvements in TV size and picture; and emphasis on Smart TV. But, frankly, I personally don't see what a smart TV does for me if my TV service comes from Verizon FIOS, and I am locked into their programming.”

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Know Your Board Members: Jeff Johnson


If there is one critical, all-important issue that Jeff Johnson is keeping his attention on, it is the 2013 Packers draft. “Isn’t everybody,” Jeff asks. “They could really use some strength on the line.”
 
A shameless Cheesehead, Jeff was born and raised in Mukwonago, Wisconsin, population 3,000. He learned to fish with his dad on nearby Phanton Lake, and early on became a devout fan of the Packers.

(See my complete AFP profile in Exchange Magazine at www.afponline.com)


 

Monday, March 11, 2013

Charitable Contributions


When Ira Madin discusses his ideal job candidate, he uses such terms as “passion,” “interest,” “mission” and the “desire to give back.”

Those might seem to be secondary qualities for a job candidate in the senior treasury ranks. But Madin is hiring for nonprofits, where personal fit is every bit as important as professional pedigree.
 
(See my complete article on the topic at www.afponline.org)
 

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Ed tech conferences highlight trends to watch in 2013


It is always traditional at the beginning of each year to ponder the one just past, and make predictions on the one underway.

Fortunately, a series of educational technology conferences and mini summits in my area made the job a bit easier for this year. From the break-out session speakers and keynote at the large Mass CUE Conference (www.masscue.org); to the more intimate discussions at the Massachusetts Education Technology Administrators Association technology director event (www.techdirectors.org); a number of trends are expected to dominate ed tech in 2013.

Here are the collective trends to watch from educators and administrators in this state which will no doubt resonate with educational technologists across the country.

Digital disconnects – This use to mean the difference between those online and those not. It has taken on new meaning as the growing inequality of technology software and hardware investments within the same districts, whether by building, by class, or by grade level. I have heard lots on this topic, as districts begin rolling out pilot Google Docs, Microsoft 365, or 1:1 initiatives. Technology budgets don’t seem to be getting any larger, so this will probably become a growing concern.

Digital citizens – The ability for all students to have a digital presence in their school district and beyond, including student accounts, profiles, email, and collaboration tools. It used to be that you weren’t a real business if you didn’t have a web site of your own. The same is quickly becoming true in education with student profiles and email accounts. This will become even more so as we head toward national core standards testing in two years.

Collaboration in the cloud -- No matter who you talk to in education these days, it seems that everyone’s head is in the cloud (singular). Whether the motive is student-teacher collaboration, student-student collaboration, or simple a cost savings measure, more and more school districts are investigating cloud-based computing. Google Docs remains the most popular foray for many, but Microsoft 365 for educators launched in 2012 to offer the same features, along with all the Office Suite favorites.

Bring your own devices (BYOD) – As I listen to educators discuss 1:1 initiatives in local school districts, it is apparent that many favor the ability for students to bring their own devices (BYOD) to school, whether they are smartphones, tablets, MP3 players or e-readers. This certainly makes sense for those districts that can’t afford to invest in a single device program, but it certainly increases the support issues for technologists.

Big data in the classroom – Thanks to evidence-based learning, Big Data has gone beyond the board room, and is firmly entrenched in the classroom. Education is becoming all about data and analysis, and measuring how individual students, grades, and schools, measure up. This is both good news and bad news. It gives school administrators desperately needed information on where changes may be needed. It is also turning many instructional technologists into full-time testing and tech support roles, rather than being curriculum enhancers.

Responsible use policies – Acceptable use policies are certainly well understood and common place. But some school districts are favoring responsible use policies, where nothing is shut off (well, technically it is by grade level), but students are encourage to police themselves online. In theory this sounds fine, but the jury is still out on how well such policies will work in practical terms.

Content producers – Merely doing your homework and keeping up with classroom won’t cut it anymore. Increasingly, schools are opting for the total educational experience, and students are expected to come up with all sorts of related media and social media elements that further brand their work. This is actually a great thing, and may be one of the most important tools for teaching students how to think creatively, stretch their imaginations, and learn how to promote themselves among their peers.

BIO: Weldon is a freelance education and technology writer in the Greater Boston area. Contact him at DWeldon646@comcast.net.