Education Week article on SXSW --Ed Businesses Seek to Learn What Educators Really Want

See the full article by Michele Molnar about SXSWedu popularity after only 4 years.

Most ed-tech companies attending the South by Southwest education conference last week would probably love to grow at the rate the conference itself has experienced: 650 percent since it began four years ago. "It's a reflection of the community's hunger for these kinds of conversations," said Ron Reed, SXSWedu's executive producer, explaining why more than 6,000 participants were converging for the four-day conference and festival.

Education Technology Startups Raised Over Half A Billion Dollars In Q1

Education Technology Startups Raised Over Half A Billion Dollars In Q1
3/26/14 by Jonathan Shieber (@jshieber) @TechCrunch

 

Education technology-focused startups raised over $500 million already in the first quarter of 2014, marking the single biggest quarter for capital committed to the sector in the past five years...

”Expenditures in K-12 software is one of the fastest-growing sectors in the market,” said Schoology chief executive Jeremy Friedman.

Full article here

Sparking Student Interest in STEM by Brining Industry Experts into the Classroom (from New Schools Venture Fund)

March 19, 2014, By Shauntel Poulson
I vividly remember scouring my bathroom and kitchen cabinets to identify chemicals in the products I used everyday. Sure enough the chemical formulas I was learning to write in chemistry class were listed as ingredients in my toothpaste, shampoo, and laundry detergent...
Read the rest of the article here.

J Harrison Public Relations Picked Among Best PR Firms in EdTech

EdTechDigest announced finalists in their awards program. J Harrison Public Relations Group has been picked as a finalist for the Best PR Firm in edtech! It is nice bit of recognition for nearly 25 years of work in this market.

Adding to the honor is having three clients picked as finalists for the Cool Tools award as well:

1. Schoology as best Learning Management System
2. x2VOL by intelliVOL as best Reporting System
3. SpringBoard from The College Board as best Digital Textbook

 See all the finalists and categories here.

Invite Your Students to Create, Compose and Connect

by MiddleWeb · 03/04/2014

 

 

 

by Jeremy Hyler & Troy Hicks

Even before technology became embedded in the Common Core State Standards, teachers were being asked to make use of the Internet by having students do writing activities using different tools and modalities.

Thoughtful technology integration, however, is no longer about just using a word processor or having students create a slide presentation at the end of a research project.

Read the rest of this article and in particular, a section about Schoology as it is used in a middle school environment: http://www.middleweb.com/13831/invite-students-create-compose-connect/%20

EdNET Insight - Nepris Matches STEM Experts to Classrooms

A terrific article from Anne Wujcik, the editor of EdNET Insight,

Nepris Matches STEM Experts to Classrooms; More on Student Privacy
Anne Wujcik — Friday, February 28, 2014

I don't often write about a single product, but since I didn't make it to either FETC or TCEA, I took the opportunity to see a demo of Nepris and talk with Sabari Raja. Sabari is the founder and driving force behind Nepris. What most struck me as I watched the product demo was that Nepris really does make life easier for busy classroom teachers. Nepris is an online platform that makes it easier for teachers to bring STEM industry professionals into their classrooms, connecting lessons to the real world. When teachers have a curriculum topic, activity or student project that would benefit from an industry connection, they submit a request and the Nepris system finds an industry expert with the skills that match the request...Read more

VIDEO - Nepris Brings Real-world Relevance in STEM to K-12 Students

Nepris Brings Real-world Relevance in STEM to K-12 Students

DALLAS – March 3, 2014 – STEM professionals from throughout the country are meeting face-to-face with students to talk about their jobs in science, technology, engineering and math, and they don’t have to drive a single mile. These connections are being made through Nepris (Nepris.com), which brings real world relevance in STEM to K-12 classrooms through interactive sessions and project mentoring.

Read more on BusinessWire