Education Technology Pioneers Announced as Finalists for SIIA Innovation Incubator Program

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Nov. 6, 2014) – The Education Division of the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA), the principal trade association for the software and digital content industry, announces finalists, and an alternate, for its Innovation Incubator Program. The program will be held during the annual Education Business Forum, Dec. 9-10, at the McGraw Hill Conference Center in New York City. The finalists will feature their products 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 and Faculty Choice Award will also be presented based on votes from K-20 educators and administrators around the world. SIIA will also award prizes from program partners.

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 are even more promising products than in previous years, given their tremendous possibilities,” said Karen Billings, vice president for the SIIA Education Division. “Innovative products like these play a pivotal role in keeping our students engaged and enhancing their educational experience.”

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

-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 finalists will present during the Business Profiles Presentations on Dec. 9, which is immediately followed by the Innovation Showcase & Networking Reception where they will be available for one-on-one product demonstrations and in-depth discussions.

Innovation Incubator Program participants are:

ApplicantLab, ApplicantLab
The ApplicantLab provides an interactive, affordable, step-by-step program that guides college & graduate school applicants through the essay, letter of recommendation, and interview process

Cogent Education, Interactive Case Studies
Cogent Education’s Interactive Cases allow students to act like scientists and solve real world problems. Teachers can see in real-time how their students are progressing, identify pain points, and can intervene immediately.

Continuum Education, Apropos Collaborative Learning Activity
Apropos turns the Internet into a collaborative learning space. Seamlessly blending technology into existing classroom lessons, Apropos enables learners to apply 21st Century Skills in problem-based activities that inform assignments, augment lesson plans and simplify online inquiry.

Edukey Education, Class Charts
Class Charts combines seating charts with a point based behavior management system and provides teachers & school administrators with AI driven behavior analytics.

Gradeable, Gradeable Workflow
Teachers upload questions into a Gradeable template, tag them with common core or custom standards, print the QR coded forms, and hand out to students before the completed assessments are scanned back into the platform with the Gradeable mobile app or a printer/scanner. These digital assessments are stored by classroom and graded automatically by Gradeable or efficiently by the teacher on a tablet or computer. Finally the quantitative (grades) and qualitative (comments) feedback is analyzed to empower teachers with targeted insights for precise instruction.

Listen Current, Listen Current
Listen Current brings authentic voices and engaging non-fiction stories to the classroom. We curate the best of public radio to keep teaching connected to the real world and build student listening skills at the same time.

MathCloud, MathCloud
Each student receives a personalized online learning experience using the world’s first neural adaptive learning platform. Students can master math topics, get better grades, and grow in confidence, and both teachers and parents can track learning progress, academic growth, and achievement.

Mobile Education Store, Crack The Books
Crack the Books is a digital interactive book series designed to foster reading comprehension and student engagement through adjustable reading levels and hundreds of high interest interactive elements.

Second Avenue Learning, TARGETS
TARGETS includes two games: a physical card game, and a digital augmented reality game that takes chemistry concepts and brings them to life in a 3D world where students can solve authentic science problems.

Teachley, Teachley Analytics
Teachley Analytics offers districts a personalized learning solution to support the needs of each student. We analyze gameplay data from apps to help teachers track performance, differentiate instruction and target intervention.

Alternate:

Triumph Learning, Waggle
Waggle is a seamless, all-in-one solution with Personalized Smart Practice. With Knewton’s adaptive learning recommendation engine, Waggle provides true personalization, meeting students where they are and promoting productive struggle.

For more information about the Education Business Forum, visit siia.net/ebf/2014/ or contact Christopher Dyer at cdyer@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 800 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.

SIIA Communications Contact: Allison Bostrom, 202.289.7442, abostrom@siia.net
PR Contact: Saul Hafenbredl, C. Blohm & Associates, 608.216.7300, saul@cblohm.com

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