Digital Discourse / Archives for Karen Billings

Navigating Next

December 19, 2012 By

What IS coming next in the teaching and learning process and in the post-PC world?  And how do we in the industry not just prepare for it – but help build the infrastructure, products and services to support the changes that schools want or need?

We know there is an increased focus on choice and accountability within both K-12 and postsecondary institutions.  This focus drove many of the sessions and conversations at the recent SIIA Ed Tech Business Forum: Doing Business During Seismic Shifts. Speakers and attendees discussed the changes happening in today’s schools, the factors driving these changes, and how they expect even more change in the near future.

The ed tech companies who develop digital products and services for the K-12 and/or postsecondary sectors see many opportunities—and of course challenges—in the coming year and beyond. Just what are those opportunities and challenges – and how well will we address them?  While the program isn’t fully developed, here are some topics that we plan to address:

Support for:

  • personalized learning, via adaptive curricula and authentic assessment, and from micro-courses to “flipped” classrooms
  • the increased emphasis on educator and institutional accountability, from the institutions who want to evaluate teachers, their resources, or programs.
  • data-driven decision-making, especially those institutions who are using learning analytics to facilitate intervention, predict future performance, and improve instructional approaches
  • online and blended learning, especially the new modes for delivering instruction

 Learning more about and working with:

  • government entities and education foundations developing free open education resources and management systems
  • the many organizations developing  technical standards for product development
  • new social learning models which are effecting our traditional distribution channels

To remain successful, education technology companies look ahead and navigate the “next’ that will affect their segment of the marketplace. Since education shifts do not happen overnight, the companies have time to change business models or product development strategies where needed.

We will look at these new business models and development strategies at the Ed Tech Industry Summit on May 5-7 will focus on the opportunities and challenges of ‘Navigating Next’, as well as leverage the fact that we’re in San Francisco. Of course, we also celebrate the work of our Innovation participants, CODiE finalists, and those selected to receive the Ed Tech Impact Award and the Lifetime Achievement Award.

The Steering Committee is set to start planning the program and there’s room for a few more ‘worker bees’ who can help SIIA recommend topics, speakers, sponsors, and Innovators,  then help extend the invitations, review the applications, and help us promote the conference. It takes a great deal of work to plan and run this conference and while SIIA has great staff to much of the heavy lifting, we rely on our members to provide the thought leadership, and help guide the content, program, and promotion.

To help companies be successful at “Navigating Next” and adapt to the seismic shifts in education, we will make it a priority at the Ed Tech Industry Summit to help attendees understand where the customers are today and where they’ll be in the future.

Join us in San Francisco on May 5-7!

Karen BillingsKaren Billings is Vice President for the Education Division at SIIA. Follow the SIIA Education Team on Twitter at @SIIAEducation

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Filed Under: Ed Tech Industry Summit, Education

SIIA Education Division Announces 2013 Board of Directors

November 7, 2012 By

The Education Division is excited to announce the new members of our Board of Directors. These newly elected and appointed executives from SIIA member companies represent a broad spectrum of corporate interests, and their visionary leadership will help guide the education technology industry during this time of seismic change.

As board members, these individuals represent more than 190 SIIA Education Division member firms that provide software, digital content and other technologies for educational needs. The new board members will help to develop the Division’s initiatives and determine the projects, activities and events to be undertaken by the board.

Eight executives were elected to serve two-year terms, while five representatives have been appointed to serve one-year terms.

Newly elected board members serving two-year terms:

  • Susan Adelmann, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, Follett School and Library Group
  • Katie Blot, President, Education Services, Blackboard Inc.
  • Diana Gowen, Alliance Manager, Intel
  • Mimi Jett, Vice President, Business Development, Avant Assessment
  • Andy Ross, Vice President, FLVS Global Division, Florida Virtual School
  • Mitch Weisburgh, Managing Partner, Academic Business Advisors, LLC
  • Bruce Wilcox, Vice President of Carolina Science Online, Carolina Biological Supply Co
  • Cathy Zier, Vice President of Content, Channel & Alliances, Promethean

Board members appointed to one-year terms:

  • Christopher Lohse, Vice President, Strategic Affairs, Pearson
  • Andrew Matorin, Director, Corp Strategy and Bus Dev, Scholastic Inc.
  • J Rollins, Senior Vice President, Solution Strategy, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • Susan Silveira, Senior Manager, Business Development, Qualcomm Wireless Reach
  • David Stevenson, Vice President, Government Relations, Wireless Generation

Board members serving one more year of their elected two-year terms:

  • Lisa Barnett, Chief Operating Officer, Atomic Learning, Inc.
  • John Bower, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, uBoost
  • Adam Hall, Independent
  • Robert Iskander, Chief Executive Officer & Founder, EduTone
  • Vineet Madan, Senior Vice President, New Ventures and Strategic Services, McGraw-Hill Education
  • David Samuelson, Chief Marketing Office, Achieve3000
  • Jessie Woolley-Wilson, President and Chief Executive Officer, DreamBox Learning, Inc.
  • Johann Zimmern, Marketing Manager, WW K12 Education, Adobe Systems

This board represents some of the education technology industry’s leading thinkers, voices, and advocates. SIIA welcomes the new board members, and we value the opportunity to work collectively on advancing the industry’s interests.

Karen BillingsKaren Billings is Vice President for the Education Division at SIIA. Follow the SIIA Education Team on Twitter at @SIIAEducation

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Filed Under: Education Tagged With: , ,

Growing our Leadership Role in Education Technology

September 4, 2012 By

SIIA’s Education Division is looking forward to growing its leadership position within the education industry when we host the annual Ed Tech Business Forum on November 26-27 in New York City. We’ve seen increasing attendance at our Education Division conferences in recent years, which parallels the growing use of technology in K-20 institutions. This year’s Ed Tech Business Forum will support the dramatic increase in new, innovative companies, as well as the expansion of capital investment in the ed tech industry. And the most remarkable thing is that such impressive growth is happening during a period of severe budget cuts to education institutions, and other seismic shifts in the industry.

This Year’s Theme: Embracing the Seismic Shifts

The 2012 program will reflect the key business challenges facing ed tech companies today, given the seismic shifts in the K-20 education community. These shifts are occurring in our classrooms and administrative offices, online and face-to-face, and in both formal and informal learning environments.

One of the most popular program topics at SIIA’s Ed Tech Industry Summit held last May in San Francisco was about the seismic changes in education. Randy Wilhelm, the CEO of Knovation (formally netTrekker), and moderator of this great Q&A session, reminded everyone that the changes are about far more than the digital transformation going on in schools today. It’s also about the transformational changes in the culture of K-20 education – from teacher accountability to student expectations to school funding to academic standards.

But as these shifts are occurring, how do businesses adapt to stay successful? Here are a few questions related to that session that you’ll see woven into the program at the Ed Tech Business Forum.

  • What education trend will have the greatest impact on K-20 education in the next three years?
  • What’s the key to adapting to these trends and seismic changes?
  • What innovations – and investments – will be most responsible for the impact?

So join us at the Ed Tech Business Forum for a major conversation about these seismic shifts in education. Hear about the success stories and challenges as K-20 institutions move to personalized learning, new delivery models, learning analytics, mobile platforms, and social learning.

The program focus this year will be on the shifts that education companies are seeing and the transitions they are making to be successful in this market. In the morning, we’ll focus on the ‘ignition points’ and investments occurring in the K-20 space with topics such as:

  • Where’s the Venture Funding and Ignition Points for VC’s?
  • Who’s Buying Whom – and Why? What’s the Latest in the World of M&A?
  • What are the Disruptions Created – by the Start-ups to the Legacy Companies?

In the afternoon seminars, attendees will have a chance to focus on the details of making the shifts successfully, with topics such as:

  • Distribution in the Era of Consumerization
  • Public Private Partnerships That Produce Products and Customers
  • Forecasts for Education Funding Post- Election
  • Demystifying IP – Who Owns What at the End of the Day?
  • It’s All About Mobile Now
  • Exit Strategies Beyond the IPO
  • Changes in How Products are Being Developed, Marketed and Sold

We’re now in an era where every education company is becoming an ed tech company. There’s a growing ‘consumerization’ of education given the availability of curriculum for learning outside the classroom and the prevalence of wireless devices that are shifting the delivery platforms.

We know that technology is changing, and will continue to change, the way we think about education – both in regards to the content and the delivery of information. However, in order to successfully adapt to these changes, we need to make it a priority to reflect on our current state of education and think about how what we’re doing now, both individually and collectively, will impact the future.

The Ed Tech Business Forum is one place of many where we will have these conversations!

Note: A Change in Venue

We’re expecting a record attendance again this year – but this time we’re prepared for it because we’re hosting it in the McGraw-Hill Conference Center. Their auditorium will hold everyone in one room for the morning general sessions and the break-out rooms will hold more people for the afternoon Innovation Incubator presentations and the topical seminars. So join us in New York right after Thanksgiving.

Karen BillingsKaren Billings is Vice President for the Education Division at SIIA. Follow the SIIA Education Team on Twitter at @SIIAEducation

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Filed Under: Ed Tech Business Forum, Education, Education Events

SIIA Vision K-20 Survey Finds Technology Progress in U.S. Schools and Universities

July 18, 2012 By

The SIIA Education Division today released the full report from the 2012 Vision K-20 Survey, its fifth annual national survey to measure U.S. educational institutions’ self-reported progress toward building a framework that embraces technology and e-learning. SIIA presented the results during the Campus Technology Conference in Boston. The comprehensive report surveyed over 1,600 educators and education administrators, and suggests that K-20 institutions are maintaining current levels of technology growth despite difficult budget conditions. The preliminary findings were presented at the ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) conference in June.

Overall Results
• More than 75 percent of both K-12 and postsecondary participants rate the importance of technology integration and its ideal level very highly.
• This year the postsecondary response to the survey increased greatly. Twenty nine percent of postsecondary respondents were from two-year institutions and 71 percent were from four-year institutions.
• Overall, 24 percent of all participants reported their institution at high levels of technology integration.

The final 2012 report is available at: www.siia.net/visionk20/

The 2012 Vision K-20 Survey was developed to provide benchmarks against which educators and administrators can measure their institutional progress in using technology to provide 21st century tools, anytime/anywhere access, differentiated learning, assessment tools, and enterprise support.

As the voice of the educational technology industry, SIIA developed a vision for K-20 education that ensures all students have access to a technology-enabled teaching and learning environments capable of preparing them to compete globally and lead the world in innovation. A successful pilot survey was initiated in 2008, with follow-up surveys conducted in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 to support the initiative.

The Vision K-20 Survey request was distributed to educators and administrators with the help of many partner organizations, including: Tech & Learning, Campus Technology, eCampus News, eSchool News, University Business, Education Week, The Big Deal Book, CoSN, Curriki, edWeb, Education Talk Radio, iNACOL, EDUCAUSE, The League for Innovation, Today’s Catholic Teacher Magazine, Educause, SmartBrief Education, Naviance, APU, C. Blohm & Associates, Adobe, Collins Consults and Measured Progress. SIIA also recognizes the lead partner MMS Education, for their work on the Vision K-20 Survey analysis and report.

Karen BillingsKaren Billings is Vice President for the Education Division at SIIA. Follow the SIIA Education Team on Twitter at @SIIAEducation

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Filed Under: Ed Tech Business Forum, Education Tagged With: ,

Initial Findings of SIIA Survey Show School and University Progress in Technology and E-learning is Encouraging

June 27, 2012 By

SIIA’s Education Division today released the preliminary results of the 2012 Vision K-20 Survey, its fifth annual national survey to measure U.S. educational institutions’ self-reported progress toward building a framework that embraces technology and e-learning. The comprehensive report surveyed over 1,600 educators and education administrators, and suggests that K-20 institutions are maintaining current levels of technology growth despite difficult budget conditions.

Overall Results:
• A record number of respondents, over 1600, replied to this year’s survey. This is more than triple the number from last year.
• This year the report included new questions asking educators to assess their ideal level for each of the Vision K-20 benchmarks. The findings show that of those surveyed, their ideal levels are much higher than the current implementation.
• Overall postsecondary institutions were further along in all technology goals and ratings than K-12 institutions.

The 2012 Vision K-20 Survey was developed to provide benchmarks against which educators and administrators can measure their institutional progress in using technology to provide 21st century tools, anytime/anywhere access, differentiated learning, assessment tools, and enterprise support.

As the voice of the educational technology industry, SIIA developed a vision for K-20 education – one that ensures that all students have access to a technology-enabled teaching and learning environment capable of preparing them to compete globally and lead the world in innovation. A successful pilot survey was initiated in 2008, with follow-up surveys conducted in 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012 to support the initiative.

The Vision K-20 Survey request was distributed to educators and administrators with the help of many partner organizations, including: Tech & Learning, Campus Technology, eCampus News, eSchool News, University Business, Education Week, The Big Deal Book, CoSN, Curriki, edWeb, Education Talk Radio, iNACOL, EDUCAUSE, The League for Innovation, Today’s Catholic Teacher Magazine, Educause, SmartBrief Education, Naviance, APU, C. Blohm & Associates, Adobe, and Measured Progress. SIIA also recognizes the lead partner, MMS Education, for their work on the Vision K-20 Survey analysis and upcoming final report.

The final 2012 report will be available in mid July. The 2011 final report is available online.

Karen BillingsKaren Billings is Vice President for the Education Division at SIIA. Follow the SIIA Education Team on Twitter at @SIIAEducation

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Filed Under: Ed Tech Business Forum, Education Tagged With:

An Honor to Present Education Awards to Industry Veterans

May 16, 2012 By

Presenting this year’s education awards during the recent Ed Tech Industry Summit in San Francisco was very special for me personally. It was great to be up on stage with two very key people in our industry as we honored them with SIIA’s education awards. We presented Charles Blaschke with the Ed Tech Impact Award, an honor we started just four years ago. We then presented Dr. Patrick Suppes with a Lifetime Achievement Award, the first time this award has been given at the Summit.

Each of these awards were given after reviewing quite a list of candidates. Our education technology industry has a growing number of veterans who have contributed ideas, products, and services for some decades– and some for over 50 years!

Our Ed Tech Impact Award went to Charles Blaschke, Founder and President of Education TURNKEY Systems, Inc., an education industry veteran whose work goes back over four decades. He is president of his Washington D.C.-based firm, where he provides data and analysis about Federal funding policies and K-12 technology spending, including Title I, IDEA/Special Ed, the new ARRA stimulus funding, and other related Federal programs.

Many of those in the audience raised their hands when he asked if any were or had been his clients. I raised my hand, remembering how I would get his monthly reports that my company had subscribed to. I would then share those reports with our sales reps who were always interested in Charles’s specific state-by-state funding information.

It’s become a tradition for the new Ed Tech Impact honoree to receive the award from the last recipient. The first awardee, Ellen Bialo (IESD), presented it to Tom Greaves (The Greaves Group) two years ago and Tom presented it to Kathy Hurley (Pearson) last year. This year Kathy, now with the Pearson Foundation presented it to Charles Blaschke, this year’s awardee and her husband!

For the Lifetime Achievement Award, we chose Dr. Patrick Suppes, now the Lucie Stern Professor of Philosophy Emeritus at Stanford University. Suppes began conducting research using computers to teach students in the 1960s and even though he recently turned 90 years old, he is still doing online instructional development! He founded Computer Curriculum Corporation (CCC) in 1967, and served as CEO for many years, while maintaining a large class schedule at Stanford University.

We were lucky to have Ron Fortune, a colleague and CEO at CCC, introduce Dr. Suppes by providing background information about his 50+ years of experience in education technology. Dr. Suppes accepted the award from SIIA President, Ken Wasch, and gave very insightful comments about how far we’ve come – and haven’t come – in our industry. He pondered on the effects of cross-age tutoring via online, as well as the opportunities with voice recognition technologies. After his award, many in the audience came up to congratulate him and request pictures; some were SIIA members who had worked at CCC at the same time as Suppes and Fortune.

Few attendees with start-ups and early stage companies attending this year’s Ed Tech Industry Summit likely knew either of these men – or were aware of their work – before we presented them with the awards. Jenny House, President of RedRock Reports who sponsored the awards luncheon, remarked afterwards that the audience at the Summit luncheon was ‘getting older and – at the same time – younger’.

But we also agreed that whether young and old, the audience really appreciated the accomplishments and contributions the two awardees have made to our industry. It was truly an honor to introduce Patrick Suppes and Charles Blaschke to everyone in the audience, but in particular, to those very young companies who will grow and advance the use of technology in K-20 education.

Karen BillingsKaren Billings is Vice President for the Education Division at SIIA.

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Filed Under: Ed Tech Industry Summit, Education, Education Events Tagged With: ,

SIIA Announces Top Innovators in Education Technology

May 9, 2012 By

SIIA’s Education Division recognized three ed tech solutions yesterday with five awards for their originality, innovation, and industry promise.

During SIIA’s bi-annual Innovation Incubator program held in connection with this week’s SIIA Ed Tech Industry Summit, Language Express and Filament Games were voted by 350 conference attendees as being the Most Likely to Succeed (first place and runner-up, respectively). Filament Games and Language Express were also voted as the Most Innovative (first place and runner-up, respectively.)

The Innovation Incubator Program supports innovation in the education technology industry by raising the profile of promising new technologies while connecting these innovators with captains of industry for mentorship, expert advice, investment opportunities, and partnerships to support growth.

Overall, 73 applicants were assessed for the Innovation Incubator program on a broad range of criteria, including the education focus, end-user impact, market need for the innovation, representation of K-12/postsecondary market levels, and the level of originality and innovation. Ten finalists and two alternates were selected for the program and their participation was subsidized by program lead and co-sponsors Blackboard Partnerships and Texthelp Systems.

In addition to the recognitions announced above, Blackboard Partnerships™ continued its tradition of identifying the Innovation Incubator most aligned with their own initiatives, providing Smart Science Education Inc. with a complimentary year-long membership as a Blackboard Building Blocks™ partner in the Blackboard Partnerships program. Among the many benefits, partners have access to the thousands of clients using the Blackboard Learn™ platform. Program membership also includes a developer copy of the Blackboard Learn software, a product listing on the Blackboard Extensions online directory, personalized guidance and mentorship on the partnership, and participation at members‐only events.

Karen BillingsKaren Billings is Vice President for the Education Division at SIIA.

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Filed Under: Ed Tech Industry Summit, Education Tagged With: ,
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