Articles Posted in Education Technology

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1059We are collectively discovering the value of social media tools like Twitter. As we do this we wander blind alleys and make surprising discoveries. Forthwith a peeve and a rave about micro-blogging.

Peeve – People who tweet that they are about to do something. So what? How about you tweet after you have done it and have something interesting to say. “I’m off to the mall” Fascinating – yawn.

Rave – Genuine kudos handed out freely. Yesterday a friend (@perludus) had to return a pair of shoes. He tweeted “Three cheers for @Footwise! Returned my shoes that wore through the sole in 2 months w/no questions asked!” Positive energy put into the system always comes back to you. It also makes others feel positive about the world. All that in 140 characters – cool.

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textFail.jpgDanah Boyd – one of the most incisive thinkers about how new technology is reshaping our lives (and more importantly to readers of this blog the lives of teenagers) – was recently hired by Microsoft Research. She gave a talk that summarized at a high level the history of social media, how teens and adults use it differently, and policy and behavioral implications for all of us to consider.

Social Media Is Here to Stay – Now What?

Its brilliant. Go read it. It will only take about 15 minutes and you will learn something – I guarantee it.

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It has been amusing for the past 10 years to smirk and say “Well, this internet thing – it’s just a fad…” when discussing educational policy with print advocates. The reality is far more sobering and frankly more uplifting than the arch cynicism of the joke.

Below is a chart showing internet usage around the world and the growth since 2000. Staggering growth is an understatement. While we reach saturation in North America (at about 70% of the population) Africa is only at 5.6% and Asia is at 17.2% and already has has the most users of any area even at this low penetration level.

I’m inspired by this data – it speaks to a potential for building connections between people that is expanding at a dramatic rate. In the world of education this brings home how essential the skills of communication, team building, and diversity already are and how central they will be to the world today’s First Graders inherit.

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125x125This article is based on notes from a panel at the Ed Tech Industry Forum in New York that took place in December. The insights the panelists shared are no less relevant now that we are into the new administration and sorting out the economic stimulus.

The panel consisted of:

The panel members are operators which stood in contrast to most of the investor oriented agenda at the ETBF.

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videogamesA new free white paper that tackles the practical challenges teachers face when they use video games was released this week by the Software Information Industry Association (SIIA). I was the author of the paper and the co-chair of the working group that produced the paper.

Barrels of ink and pixels by the gigabit have been spilled trying to answer the question “Do video games work as teaching tools?” We started from a simpler perspective – assuming that games can support learning what are the practical tips that teachers can use to boost the odds of success? We interviewed the pioneers in the classroom and at the companies that have developed successful games and summarized their hard won insights in the paper.

I excerpt the executive summary below and over the coming days will post some of the more detailed findings. For the complete paper visit the SIIA’s website and download the PDF.

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Michele-KingGuest blogger Michele King provides a practitioner’s perspective to Randy Wilhelm’s post Web Content is a Source for Differentiated Instruction. Michele is an administrator at a large urban school district and a former 1st Grade bilingual teacher.

By Michele King

As the Instructional Support Coordinator for a large urban district, I am responsible for transitioning our district away from print-based instructional resources to a database driven solution accessed by teachers over the Internet. I read Mr. Wilhelm’s post with great interest and my experience working with teachers closely aligns with the “Schools and Generation Net” survey results.

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Are you Twitter curious? For the past few months I’ve been on the fence about Twitter – lurking but minimally engaged. Like all new technologies as people play with it they are discovering what it is best for. Recently I’ve watched as my friend Charlene Blohm has begun leveraging it to help drive her business.

Twitter seems to be following a similar path to other new technologies. The enthusiasm of early adopters misrepresents what the technology is really capable of. Think LaserWriters/Postcript and flyers with 23 different fonts on them (circa 1986) or web pages cluttered with frames (circa 1998). Once the dust settled and a “grammar” of usage emerged we all benefited. But every new technology has to pass through a stage of wild and random experimentation to get there.

Twitter is passing out of this stage right now so it is a good time for the rest of us to engage with it.

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Randy_Wilhelm_CEO_2Today guest blogger Randy Wilhelm – CEO of Thinkronize shares insights from the 3rd Annual “Schools and Generation Net” survey.

By Randy Wilhelm

As the father of five school-age children, I am reminded daily that each child is special and each one learns differently. For instance, I have one son who learns best when he can hear the text he is reading at the same time. Another of my children is very tactile and has to touch something to understand it.

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highway-rainbow-nicklen-696533-xlWhat are the prospects for raising capital for education technology companies in the current financial meltdown? Last week at the SIIA Ed-Tech Business Forum a panel of investors tackled this question. The panelists presented some solid and detailed advice for investors and companies seeking capital during the recession.

Key Points:

  • Many investors are seeing Education as a safe harbor in a turbulent market, it is seen as relatively recession resistant. Education’s profile is rising as a marquee investment arena for the next 10 years – it is a good time right now for education.
  • Take in as little as possible at as light a valuation you can get because valuations are going to be low for a while.
  • The strong are going to win big in this downturn. Access to capital is going to be an important differentiator in this market.
  • Most venture firms are not looking at new deals, they are focused on down rounds and propping up existing investments. They are also all moving up the deal chain to safer investments than they make in normal times. If you are raising money be aware of this.
  • It is all about being profitable per customer in this market. Hope isn’t a strategy – go get paying customers and drive a lifetime revenue model
  • Focus down on the core of what you have to provide and strip the organization down to doing just that. Have a crystal clear picture of who your customers will be, how they will find the money, and what are the essential features.

The panelists were:

Chris began with an overview of the market trends. Many investors are seeing Education as a safe harbor in a turbulent market, it is seen as relatively recession resistant. He noted that there is a huge capital overhang – investors have lots of funds but are making few investments. In education fundraising is actually up this year but we are seeing deals that are over capitalized. Later on Frank made the case that this is a bad deal from the entrepreneur’s side.

Most investment groups are setting the bar higher for new deals. Investors are looking for $10m Revenue and $2m EBIDTA which leaves out most K-12 Ed-Tech companies. Companies at this size need capital to invest in Sales and Marketing to scale up. Lots of education companies with good products in the last 10 years have failed because they couldn’t get past this hurdle.

His slides include a list of the private equity investors in education and a list of 100 deals that have been done in the education space in the past two years.

Follow below the fold for details on each panelists comments and the audience Q&A.

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NFImageImportThis panel is made up of seasoned veterans of the M&A markets for Education Technology companies. They addressed the K12, Higher Education / Post-secondary, and general M&A climate.

The panelists are:

It is sponsored by Empirical Education.

Key insights:

  • Look to the UK market – it is an 18 month leading indicator of what is going to happen in the US market.
  • Professional Development is now mandatory for all solutions in the UK. Are publishers using this to hold open source at bay or is this a real switch taking place?
  • The US market is contracting – there are fewer strategic buyers because they have all merged and the Private Equity guys are sitting things out for a while.
  • Buyers don’t want to take any risk right now – only companies with proven business models, strong teams, and organic growth need apply.
  • For profit higher ed is growing – the economy is actually helping with this as people look to expand their skill base.
  • Expect to see many buyers looking for bargains over the next couple of years. Don’t expect to see much in the way of IPOs.
  • In K12 multiples are higher (almost double) for companies that have a strong technology component – but it has to be integrated well – it can’t be a bolt on.
  • Multiples are higher for Higher Ed than K12.

For my more free form notes follow below the fold.

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