Posts in category: Press Release

SIIA Expresses Support For National Deepfake and Digital Provenance Task Force
New Legislation A Critical First Step to Combat Digital Forgeries 

Washington, D.C. (July 29, 2021) – Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA) President and CEO Jeff Joseph issued the following statement today regarding the Deepfake Task Force Act introduced today by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Gary Peters (D-MI):

“The bipartisan Deep Fake Task Force Act introduced today is a critical step toward combating the scourge of so-called deep fakes – an abuse of artificial intelligence to create realistic-looking fake media. The goal is simple and important: Establish a National Deepfake and Digital Provenance Task Force to explore ways to verify digital content and begin to create and implement a national strategy to address the growing threat of digital content forgeries.  

“Our members include trusted sources that provide an array of accurate, beneficial information that helps fuel business, drive financial markets and improve outcomes in education and healthcare. The spread of misinformation presents a legitimate threat not only to our member organizations but to our democracy itself, eroding public trust in our institutions and communications channels. This proposed legislation seeks to create a government partnership with the private sector to leverage expertise on both sides to fight misinformation, using the ability of the government to convene experts across different sectors. This strategic partnership is both pro-innovation and pro-democracy.

“Trust in facts is a cornerstone of American democracy and a free and open society. Disinformation and distrust of the media have been major contributors to our socially, politically and economically polarized culture. Our society cannot function without accurate information and the fundamental ability to trust what we are seeing, hearing and watching. The spread of misinformation is real and it is harmful. We support this landmark effort to begin to restore trust. 

About SIIA:

SIIA is the only professional organization connecting more than 700 data, financial information, education technology, specialized content and publishing, and health technology companies. Our diverse members manage the global financial markets, develop software that solves today’s challenges through technology, provide critical information that helps inform global businesses large and small, and innovate for better health care and personal wellness outcomes – they drive innovation and growth. For more information, visit www.siia.net.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Ed Tech Industry Shares Pandemic Best Practices with U.S. Department of Education
Learnings after the pandemic transformed education will improve industry’s future

WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 13, 2021)— The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the only trade association for the education technology industry, is publishing a series of case studies illustrating best practices and critical learnings after a year that changed education forever. The case studies elevating best practices will be submitted to the US Department of Education as part of their Safer Schools and Campuses Best Practices ClearingHouse. Leading up to that report, SIIA will be launching new case studies each week, the first goes live today.

“When the pandemic hit, the entire education system worldwide was shuttered. Educators, students, and their parents were thrust into a moment of profound uncertainty. Virtually overnight the ed tech industry responded by building emergency remote learning,” said SIIA President Jeff Joseph.

“Within days, we worked with the White House on launching Tech for Learners, an important online resource for education. Now we’re working with our members on sharing insights, learnings and best practices of their transformation benefiting hundreds of millions of students and workers.”

Schools weren’t the only affected, millions of workers were suddenly unemployed and in need of reskilling opportunities as their old jobs disappeared for good. These case studies provide critical insights to how the industry responded in an historic event, connecting, educating and closing the gap for the most in-need and at-risk students and will be used to guide the industry in future response efforts. For more information or to read the case studies, please visit www.siia.net/education.

About Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA)
SIIA is the only professional organization connecting more than 700 data, financial information, education technology, specialized content and publishing, and health technology companies. Our diverse members manage the global financial markets, develop software that solves today’s challenges through technology, provide criticalinformation that helps inform global businesses large and small, and innovate for better health care and personal wellness outcomes.

For Immediate Release:

SIIA Announces 2021 CODiE™ Award Winners for Education Technology
46 edtech winners recognized for innovation and excellence

WASHINGTON, D.C. (June 23, 2021)— The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industries, today announced the 45 winners of the 2021 CODiE Awards in education technology. The winners were presented during a virtual awards celebration in light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The announcement drew a global audience with 43 education technology categories, including three new categories developed in response to COVID-19.

All of the nominated education technology products and services were first reviewed by educators and administrators, whose evaluations determined the finalists. Then SIIA members voted on the finalist products, with the scores from both rounds tabulated to select the winners. Winners represent the most innovative and impactful products from technology developers, online learning services and related technologies.

“The CODiE Awards recognize the most exciting and transformative products in edtech,” said Jeff Joseph, SIIA President. “This year, these leaders helped our nation respond to the historic pandemic, enabling learners, educators, administrators and parents to remain connected to each other and to critical educational resources via an array of innovative services and platforms. Congratulations to this year’s finalists for demonstrating the vitality, resilience and importance of this industry.”

Lead CODiE award sponsor, Amazon Web Services (AWS) awarded a total of $2500 in AWS Promotional Credit for evaluating new AWS services and programs to finalists in the following categories. 

• Best Emerging Education Technology Solution for Administrators
• Best Emerging Instructional Technology Solution
• Best Use of Artificial Intelligence in Edtech
• Best Use of Emerging Technology for Learning

“Amazon Web Services (AWS) congratulates the 2021 CODiE Award winners on their achievements to develop innovative and impactful products in education technology,” said Alec Chalmers, Director, GovTech, EdTech, Learning Companies, Amazon Web Services, Worldwide Public Sector. “Three in four of this year’s finalists are using the AWS Cloud, and we’re proud to continue to work with these innovators to deliver solutions to power education.”

2021 CODIE AWARD EDUCATION TECHNOLOGY WINNERS

Best Administrative Solution

ClassLink Suite, ClassLink

Best Advanced Mathematics Instructional Solution

IXL, IXL Learning

Best Advanced Reading/Writing/Literature Instructional Solution

Beable Life-Ready Literacy System, Beable Education, Inc.

Best Advanced Science Instructional Solution

Experience Chemistry™, Savvas Learning Company

Best Advanced Technology/ Engineering (STEM) Instructional Solution

uCertify COURSE, uCertify

Best Coding & Computational Thinking Solution

CoderZ, Intelitek

Best Collaborative Learning Solution for Students

Lumio, SMART Technologies ULC

Best Collaborative Solution for Teachers

Academic Module, Munetrix

Best College & Career Readiness Solution

Wiley Efficient Learning, Wiley

Best Content Authoring Development or Curation Solution

uCertify CREATE, uCertify

Best Cross-Curricular Tool

MobyMax, MobyMax

Best Customer Experience in Edtech

Brightspace, D2L

Best Data Management Solution

Hoonuit, PowerSchool

Best Education Platform for Adult Learning

uCertify LEARN, uCertify

Best Education Platform for PK-20

Tutor.com Learning Suite, Tutor.com

Best Educational Game

OtherWordly, IDEA Games

Best Elective Curriculum Solution

eDynamic Learning Elective Courseware, eDynamic Learning

Best Emerging Education Technology Solution for Administrators

Ask2Learn, Ask2Learn

Best Emerging Instructional Technology Solution

BlueStreak Math, BlueStreak Education, Inc.

Best Formative Assessment Solution

ThinkUp! Standards Mastery System, Mentoring Minds

Best Foundational English Language Arts Instructional Solution

• Imagine Language & Literacy, Imagine Learning
• IXL, IXL Learning

Best Foundational Mathematics Instructional Solution

ST Math, MIND Research Institute

Best Foundational Science Instructional Solution

MobyMax, MobyMax

Best Foundational Technology/ Engineering (STEM) Instructional Solution

SAE International’s A World In Motion® (AWIM®), SAE International

Best Gamification in Learning

Imagine Math Facts, Imagine Learning

Best Learning Management (LMS) Solution

Schoology Learning, PowerSchool

Best Library Reference or Educational Database

Women’s Studies Archive: Voice and Vision, Gale, a part of Cengage Learning

Best PreK / Early Childhood Learning Solution

Gale Presents: Miss Humblebee’s Academy, Gale, a part of Cengage Learning

Best Professional Learning Solution for Educators

ELTeach 3.0, National Geographic Learning, a part of Cengage

Best Remote Learning Partner K-12/Higher Education

Brightspace, D2L

Best Scholastic Esports Solution K-20

NASEF, Worldwide Scholastic Esports Foundation

Best Social Sciences/Studies Instructional Solution

Britannica LaunchPacks: Social Studies, Encyclopaedia Britannica

Best Social Sciences/Studies Instructional Solution

US History Interactive ©2022 / World History Interactive ©2022, Savvas Learning Company

Best Solution for English as a Second Language

Rosetta Stone English, Lexia Learning Systems, Inc.

Best Solution for Students with Special Needs

Brightspace, D2L

Best Student Experience Response

Connect Virtual Labs, McGraw-Hill Education

Best Student Learning Capacity-Building Solution

Rethink Ed Social and Emotional Learning and Mental Health, Rethink Ed

Best Summative Assessment Solution

uCertify LEARN, uCertify

Best Tool for Student Creation or Expression

WURRLYedu, WURRLYedu

Best Use of Artificial Intelligence in Edtech

VirtualAdvisor, CampusLogic

Best Use of Emerging Technology for Learning

The Alef Platform, Alef Education

Best Virtual Lab The Practice Labs Virtual Lab Environment

Practice Labs, Systems Limited

Best Virtual Learning Solution

Connect for Anatomy & Physiology, McGraw-Hill

Best Overall Education Solution

The Best Overall Education Solution was awarded to VirtualAdvisor, CampusLogic, which had the best scores from both rounds of judging of all of the products entered in the education categories.

Lifetime Achievement Award in Education Technology

The Lifetime Achievement Award in Education Technology, which celebrates individuals who have made significant long-term contributions to the education industry – and are renowned for their reputation, leadership, vision, mentorship, career success and philanthropy, was presented to Lillian Kellogg, Senior Vice President, Client Services, ENA. 

Details about the winning products can be found at https://history.siia.net/codie/2021-Winners

About the SIIA CODiE™ Awards

The SIIA CODiE Awards, sponsored by Amazon Web Services (AWS), is the only peer-reviewed program to showcase business and education technology’s finest products and services. Since 1986, thousands of products, services and solutions have been recognized for achieving excellence. For more information, visit siia.net/CODiE.

About Software and Information Industry Association (SIIA)

SIIA is the only professional organization connecting more than 700 data, financial information, education technology, specialized content and publishing, and health technology companies. Our diverse members manage the global financial markets, develop software that solves today’s challenges through technology, provide critical information that helps inform global businesses large and small, and innovate for better health care and personal wellness outcomes.