The SIIA Ed Tech Industry Summit is THE leading conference for the K-12 and postsecondary education technology marketplace.
Please join us at the 2011 Ed Tech Industry Summit conference, taking place May 22-24 in San Francisco.
2010 Conference Highlights:
- Look Who Attended: You'll find an impressiver roster of more than 300 ed tech executives.
- Innovation Incubator Finalists Announced: Check out the innovative ed tech products / services selected to participate in this year's Summit!
- CODiE Award Winners Announced: Find out which companies were selected as having the year's best ed tech products and services!
Industry Summit News 
Ed Tech Industry Summit: Bridging K12 and Postsecondary
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00
Selecting a program focus for the Ed Tech Industry Summit is one of the most valuable, yet most difficult, part of the planning process.
However, given the trends we see occurring within the education institutions and the ed tech companies, this year’s program focus “Bridging K12 and Postsecondary,” was relatively easy.
Closing the Chasm
Historically, there has been a major divide between K-12 and Postsecondary institutions. Years ago, there was little articulation or communication between high schools and colleges. Students in high school chose courses within a college or vocational track, graduated with the required credits and grades, then went off to a two-year or four year school where you started at ground zero with their course requirements.
Nowadays, students are earning college credits while in still high school – either to remain challenged, save money or both. For educational and economic reasons, high schools are becoming more ‘linked’ through:
- The tremendous growth of Advanced Placement courses and exams, where students can earn college credit while in high school
- The focus by US Dept of Ed and the current Administration on having high school students “college and career-ready”
- The development of state and local programs, like:
1) Jump Start to College and Concurrent Enrollment, where students take courses at their high school AND in nearby 2 year or 4 year institutions in the same semester.
2) Early College High School where, in one program, the students take courses that meet high school graduation requirements and provide credit for the courses normally taken during the first two years of college.
The Industry Parallel
The vehicles for acceleration, exam credits and dual enrollments have paved the way for ed tech companies to transition their products and services from one market into an adjacent market.
For some companies, it’s:
- Selling course materials originally designed for postsecondary into the high school market (i.e. changing sales and distribution strategies and sending sales teams into high schools or district administration).
- Repurposing high school content and context to fit postsecondary course needs (i.e. Transitioning Algebra I and II courses into Developmental Math courses).
- Discovering that their professional development programs and assets fit faculty needs, whether it be elementary, secondary or postsecondary levels (i.e. providing video PD segments about pedagogy to pre-service as well as practicing teachers or selling “how to” segments for using a software application to faculty at any level).
In conclusion, we are confident that this year’s theme, “Bridging K12 and Postsecondary”, will:
- help distinguish the program content from previous years.
- provide a basis for selecting the best speakers and contributors.
- exemplify a trend in the education institutions and the industry.
- highlight successful strategies for growing an Ed tech business.
Join us this year on May 6-8 and find bridging strategies that grow your business and customer relationships.
See you in San Francisco!
Karen Billings
VP Education, SIIA
202-789-4487
Karen Billings is Vice President for the Education Division at SIIA.
Vision K20: Achieving Personalized Learning through Public-Private Partnership
Thu, 26 Jan 2012 18:29
[This blog was also published January 26, 2012 by the Alliance for Excellent Education, sponsor of Digital Learning Day.]
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is pleased to be among dozens of education and technology organizations partnering to promote Digital Learning Day (DLD), 2/1/12, sponsored by the Alliance for Excellent Education. SIIA is promoting DLD to its high-tech member software, digital content and online services companies, and asking them to promote DLD through their networks.
For those with the vision and successful use of digital learning, the idea of a DLD awareness campaign — showcasing how technology supports students learning and teacher instruction – may seem unnecessary. But the reality is that too many of our educators and education leaders have not been provided the support they need to understand what is possible, nor the resources to make it happen. This shift is not simply about replacing print with digital or giving every student a computer. This shift is about reimagining how we teach and learn, and creating more customized, engaging, and productive learning made possible through technology and through public-private partnership with high-tech innovators.
SIIA has developed a series of resources to assist education stakeholders in this process, including:
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Vision K-20 Survey: SIIA’s Vision K-20 lays out how we can utilize modern technologies to create a world-class teaching and learning environment that prepares all students as global citizens capable of leading the world in innovation. Educators can review the means, take a benchmarking survey, and review examples and evidence.
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Personalized Learning: Innovate to Educate: System [Re]Design for Personalized Learning is a roadmap for education leaders to restructure our education system around the unique needs of each student. Developed in collaboration with state (CCSSO) and local (ASCD) education leaders, the report, resource page, and symposium archive provide descriptions, practices, policies and examples for personalizing learning.
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Educator Guidance: SIIA’s Software & Technology Guidance for Educators include an implementation toolkit and best practices in use of serious learning games.
For SIIA member and other high-tech companies, we encourage you to support Digital Learning Day:
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Sign up and be counted in this effort
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Add the DLD button to your website, and promote DLD to your customers and partners
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Provide access to your online teaching and learning resources for the day
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Showcase success stories of how teachers and students are using technology
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Visit the DLD toolkits for more ideas and resources.
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Promote SIIA resources for educators, including Vision K20 and Software Implementation Toolkit
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Use your imagination and creativity to promote education technology and Digital Learning Day
Thank you to the Alliance and all DLD partners for this important effort and for including SIIA and the high-tech industry. We look forward not only to A successful day on February 1st, but more importantly to THE day soon when all students will have access to the most relevant, engaging and effective learning opportunities that meet their personalized needs anytime and everywhere.
Learn more about Digital Learning Day at http://www.digitallearningday.org.
Mark Schneiderman is Senior Director of Education Policy at SIIA.
Karen Billings Announces 2012 CODiE Nominations Now Open
Mon, 08 Aug 2011 16:25
Nominations are now open for the 2012 CODiE Awards – until October 7th. Nominate today and check out the 2012 CODiE website for more information.
