Education Technology Pioneers Announced as Participants for SIIA Innovation Incubator Program


Education Technology Pioneers Announced as Participants for SIIA Innovation Incubator Program

Ten innovators to be featured at the 2013 Ed Tech Industry Summit in San Francisco

WASHINGTON, D.C. (April 17, 2013) – The Education Division of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) announces participants, and an alternate, for its Innovation Incubator Program. The program will be held during the annual flagship Ed Tech Industry Summit, May 5-7, at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco. Ten products and services will be featured during the event, and awards will be presented to the Most Innovative and Most Likely to Succeed based on votes of conference attendees. The Educator’s Choice Award will also be presented based on votes from educators and administrators from around the U.S.

The SIIA Innovation Incubator Program identifies and supports entrepreneurs in their development and distribution of innovative learning technologies. The program began in 2006 and has provided support for dozens of successful products and companies in their efforts to improve education through the use of software, digital content and related technologies. The program is open to applicants from academic and non-profit institutions, pre-revenue and early-stage companies, as well as established companies with newly developed technologies.

“This year’s Innovation Incubator participants stand out as incredibly original and exciting products,” said Karen Billings, vice president for the SIIA Education Division. “It’s a tremendous value for our members to have early access to these technologies.”

Innovation Incubator Program participants were selected from the applicant pool based on key selection criteria, including:

  • The extent to which their innovation represents a “sea change” in thinking
  • Potential to positively impact education by way of enhanced student achievement, teacher effectiveness, cost reduction and efficiency
  • Education focus and end-user impact/market need for the innovation
  • Representation of K-12/postsecondary market levels
  • Level of originality and innovation

All Innovation Incubator participants will present during the Business Profiles Presentations on May 5, which is immediately followed by the Innovation Showcase & Networking Reception where they will be available for in-depth discussions. After a first round of voting, five finalists will present to a review panel and approximately 300 attendees during the Innovation Incubator Luncheon on May 6.

Innovation Incubator Program participants are:

Citelighter, Citelighter Inc
Citelighter is an academic research platform that allows students to save, organize, and automatically cite content. Once completed they can open Citelighter in a Google doc to have their research next to their writing. As students undergo a critical thinking process (research, organizing, writing) we capture their behaviors and present it back to their teachers so they can see how and where their students need help. This appear like strands of DNA, but they are strands of thought.

Globaloria, World Wide Workshop
Globaloria is a project-based learning platform for teaching any subject through webgame design. A turn-key instructional solution, it integrates an academic curriculum, programming tutorials, and virtual support with professional development tools and a social learning network, making prior programming skills unnecessary. As students research educational game topics and learn content knowledge, they develop digital literacies and STEM & Computing skills by programming their original webgames.

mAuthor, Learnetic S.A.
Learnetic has pioneered an authoring system for creating INTERACTIVE mobile content ideal for publishers and developers and, in its next iteration for teachers. Content displays and functions on any device with any OS/screen size so is ideal for the diverse installed base of mobile devices in schools. Created content can easily be integrated with any website or learning platform. The Cloud based development approach provides maintenance free control of publishing process, content and technology.

Naiku, Naiku, Inc.
Naiku accelerates learning by providing next generation assessment solutions on any web enabled device. With automated scoring and built-in standards-aligned reports, teachers instantly know what each and every student knows. Additionally Naiku’s unique “better assessment” methodology engages students through research backed practices such as confidence based assessment, journaling, and reflection to provide teachers with a more complete picture of student performance than currently possible.

ParentSquare, ParentSquare
ParentSquare is an online platform for schools that makes parent involvement easy. Studies confirm what logic tells us to be true: parent involvement is the key to student success. School-home communication and parent participation are key components of parent involvement and ParentSquare exceptionally simplifies both. Teachers and parents have called it “an effective communication tool,” “an efficient way to recruit volunteers,” “great tool for individual class reminders,” “irreplaceable!”

scrible, scrible
scrible makes online reading and research apps for students/instructors and publishers. Our Web app lets you annotate webpages in your browser and then save, share and manage them in the cloud. Our Student Edition adds academic features (citations, reports, etc.). Instructors use scrible for collaborative e-reading exercises. Our Classroom Edition will empower them to teach critical reading skills using online reading/research assignments. Our annotation tools help publishers make content interactive.

See.Touch.Learn., Brain Parade, LLC
See.Touch.Learn., an iPad visual learning & assessment system, improves the social interaction & communication skills of special needs students. Parents & teachers are turning away from traditional, static picture cards towards See.Touch.Learn.’s easy-to-use & effective personalized picture card learning tool. With stunning images, a community of content created by thousands of users, plus their own personal content, teachers & parents can deliver highly personalized instruction & assessments.

Shmoop, Shmoop University, Inc.
Shmoop is a digital education resources company that innovates education by making learning accessible through understandable language and online materials. Shmoop uses colloquial language & pop culture to make learning fun and easy for students. Also, Shmoop serves as a one-stop education stop from high school to the real world, “specializing” in a gamut of resources, including literature & history guides, online classrooms, teacher resources, online textbooks, test prep, and career resources.

simCEO, Jetlag Learning
Jetlag Learning creates online learning simulations where students compete and interact with one another – instead of a program – to make the environment and the learning more dynamic. Students apply skills in a real-world environments without right/wrong answers. Our first solution, simCEO targets entrepreneurship and financial literacy where students create their own company then buy/sell shares in each other’s companies. Teachers keep the simulation dynamic through news articles.

zondle, zondle
zondle is a unique web and mobile platform that enables teachers and students to create, play and share games to support learning. Teachers choose or create questions to match exactly their teaching aims (multiple formats, any subject, any level, any language). Students play and practice those questions (or questions they’ve created) in any of zondle’s casual games (any topic in any game, to consolidate classroom learning, for assessment, or to prepare for high-stakes tests).

Alternate:

Educator’s Professional Inventory (EPI), TeacherMatch
Educator’s Professional Inventory (EPI) is a research-based pre-employment assessment that leverages statistically validated predictive analytics to determine which teacher candidates are most likely to generate relatively higher levels of students’ academic growth. EPI transforms hiring by providing an objective and economical way for administrators to vet candidates. With the knowledge that every school district is unique, EPI’s analytical engine provides insight over time into each context.

For more information about the Ed Tech Industry Summit, visit siia.net/etis/2013/incubator.asp or contact Liderby Portorreal at Education@siia.net.

About SIIA
The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry. SIIA provides global services in government relations, business development, corporate education, and intellectual property protection to more than 500 leading software and information companies. The SIIA Education Division serves and represents more than 200 member companies that provide software, digital content and other technologies that address educational needs. The Division shapes and supports the industry by providing leadership, advocacy, business development opportunities and critical market information. For more information, visit www.siia.net/education.

Media Contacts

• Laura Greenback, SIIA Communications, 410-533-1943, lgreenback@siia.net

• Saul Hafenbredl, C. Blohm & Associates, 608-216-7300 x25, saul@cblohm.com

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