Back in my pre-startup life running corporate development for a large educational publisher I saw dozens, if not hundreds, of education technology companies passionately focused on solving a single problem for instructors, students or administrators. While the focus should have simplified everything they were doing very few of them emerged from the morass to become compelling, scalable businesses with sustainable economics. Why is that? In speaking with educators - across K-12 and higher education - they were literally drowning in the number of small point solutions available, none of which talked to each other. So the educators most willing to experiment might try a polling tool, linking some videos from YouTube or an online simulation in addition to their core curriculum but struggled to put it all together into a cohesive and coherent experience for students. In speaking with hundreds of students, they were similarly overwhelmed by the number of things to click on, download, manage in new windows, tabs or on different devices. From the consumer side, one significant lesson learned since the launch of the iPhone in 2007 is the entirety of the user experience matters and that the bits of friction that all of us dealt with for the first 20 years of PC's can be carefully, and thoughtfully, removed allowing users to focus on -- wait for it -- the experience that they are seeking.  Nothing more, nothing less. Chris Dixon at A16Z, the current Valhalla of Silicon Valley VC, has a great post about the entirety of the experience being what matters. His short-hand is the Full Stack Startup, if you haven't yet read his post I'd highly recommend it. Uber, Nest and Tesla are some of the examples he cites - all end-to-end user experiences where the complexity of what they do is largely, if not completely, invisible. Back to education, when we started on the path two years ago to what has become Junction we unfortunately didn't have the benefit of Chris' insights, but we knew it was critical to deliver a complete experience in a simple, easy-to-use wrapper because focus and time on task matter. So we shrugged off the advice of more than a few friends and industry pundits to build an integration layer for college course materials. Fast forward to what happened next. Instructors and students find Junction to be MORE engaging, MORE effective and MORE affordable than anything else out there. Remove the distractions and you've created an environment where learning can happen. And it scales. And we're already generating millions of rich data points informing how to improve the study and learning process for students. And we're using data to drive recommendations on how to improve the course design and development process for instructors and instructional designers.  And... we're still just getting started. Is it hard to deliver a beautiful user experience, collect rich data and turn it into valuable insights and directed actions and interventions without it looking like a Frankenstein application? You bet. But the payoff in terms of user delight is massive. With over $1 trillion a year in education spending in the U.S. annually (2.6% of GDP just on post-secondary) and sub-par degree attainment and completion rates it's just a question of time until the investment community finds its way into education in bigger numbers where the impact - social and economic - will be more profound than a ride-sharing app or two. We're long the full-stack / whole product approach as being a prerequisite to outsized success in education, come join us on the journey. Picture License  Some rights reserved by Robert S. Donovan

For the next 3 days (April 9-11), I’m attending the 7th Annual International Symposium on Emerging Technologies for Online Learning, a joint symposium of the Sloan Consortium and MERLOT. This conference is devoted to the emerging and innovative uses of technology designed to improve teaching and learning online. The conference focuses on the technologies that drive online learning effectiveness, highlighting research, applications and best practices of important emerging technological tools. Not only will there be fantastic keynote and plenary sessions, workshops, featured and information sessions, but also an unconference where participants set the agenda, discuss, and share just-in-time! I look forward to participating and on-site as well as the backchannel conversation on Twitter, hashtags #et4online and #unet4online. The Launch Pad is one signature element of this conference, showcasing online education startups who are helping shape tomorrow’s online learning spaces. Whether you are attending in person, virtually, or simply wish to follow the backchannel, I encourage you to take advantage of this great opportunity to learn more about cutting-edge uses of emerging technologies for online teaching and learning. Follow @SloanConsortium, @MERLOTorg, and @et4online on Twitter as well as hashtags #et4online and #unet4online. Also, follow Sloan Consortium on Instagram @SloanConsortium Looking for an easy way to follow the conference backchannel? Try setting-up a custom subscription for #et4online in Flipboard following steps here. My blog posts related to the conference are here.

There have been many exciting announcements coming from the massage therapy program here at Globe University-Eau Claire in recent months. From the new offering of a Friday/Saturday program, which allows working students more flexibility when earning their degree, to numerous on campus events aimed at promoting self-care and wellness, there is certainly a lot to talk about. Adding to all the buzz is now a series of continuing education courses here on campus for existing licensed massage therapists. According to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, "Beginning with the renewal period commencing on March 1, 2015, each Massage Therapist/Bodywork Therapist must complete 24 hours of continuing education, including two (2) hours of ethics, to renew a license." The series offered here at Globe University-Eau Claire, includes a wide variety of topics such as ethics, aromatherapy and also self-care. Program Chair, Joan Hamilton, is excited to be able to offer continuing education classes here on campus, which have been approved by the National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork. Joan says, "The classes are a great way to expand the offerings here on campus and help massage therapists in need of continuing education.  They also allow us to increase our interaction with the massage therapy community and create a strong partnership among all therapists as the profession continues to grow." Therapists can choose to attend individual classes or the entire series, which will take place on campus Friday June 12th and Saturday June 13th, 2015.  The schedule of classes is as follows:  Ethics Class: June 12, 2015 from 9:00 AM - 12:00 PM Registration Fees: Early Bird - $90, Non-Early Bird - $120 (After May 22nd) Aromatherapy Class: June 12, 2015 from 1:00 PM - 5:00 PM Registration Fees: Early Bird - $150 plus $20 for Essential Oils, Non - Early Bird - $200 plus $20 for Essential Oils (After May 22nd)   Self-Care Class: June 13, 2015, 9:00 AM - 1:00 PM  Registration Fees: Early Bird - $120, Non - Early Bird - $170 (After May 22nd) Those interested in attending can contact the massage therapy program chair, Joan Hamilton, at 715-855-6639 or by e-mail at jhamilton@globeuniversity.edu for more information or to register. *Continuing education (CE) courses are for the purpose of massage professional development activity and are not recognized within the scope of Globe University’s accreditation.  Completion of CE hours does not result in a recognized credential and the hours will not count toward course credit from the institution. The post Globe University Massage Therapy Program Offers CE Classes appeared first on Globe University Blog.

Wed, 4/9/14, 10:30amUnconference Lounge, Exhibit Hall Let’s talk during this unconference spark session at ET4Online about incorporating mobile technologies into the online learning environment. How does the online learning environment change when participants all have mobile devices (and expect to use them See findings of recent study by Chen & Denoyelles (2013) at http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/exploring-students-mobile-learning-practices-higher-education for background on student preferences for mobile. What strategies can we incorporate in the design and delivery of online courses to make them mobile-inclusive? How can we actively engage students online using their mobile devices? Join us at the Unconference Lounge in the Exhibit Hall and bring your ideas! We’ll take notes in the Google Doc here as well as tweet our shared ideas and takeaways using hashtag #unet4online

On this episode of MEP, CEO & Founder of Straighterline, Burck Smith, joins me to chat about self paced learning, educational policy, and where he sees the future of education moving.  DO NOT miss this! Guest Bio: Burck Smith is the CEO and founder of StraighterLine. Ten years before launching StraighterLine in 2009, he co-founded SMARTHINKING, the largest online tutoring provider for schools and colleges. Burck has written chapters for two books on education policy for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) and is working on a third. He is a member of the American Enterprise Institute’s Higher Education Working Group. Prior to starting SMARTHINKING, Burck worked as an independent consultant who contracted with for-profit and non-profit educational organizations, including clients such as the Gates Foundation, Microsoft, Computer Curriculum Corporation, the CEO Forum on Education and Technology, the Milken Exchange on Education and Technology, Teaching Matters Inc., Converge Magazine and others. As a writer about education and technology issues, Burck has been published by Wired Magazine, Wired News, Converge Magazine, University Business and the National School Boards Association. In the early 1990′s, he wrote articles on a variety of subjects including creating community telecommunication networks, electronic access to political information, telecommunications deregulation and the ability of utilities to serve as telecommunications service providers. Burck holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government and a B.A. from Williams College. Recent publications include: Post-secondary, Post "Access" Higher Ed Reform, from the Chapter "Rethinking Accreditation," College 2.0, an Entrepreneurial Approach to Reforming Higher Ed, Kauffman Foundation, June 2012 Public Policy Barriers to Post-Secondary Cost Control - Prepared for the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) conference, "Increasing Accountability in American Higher Education," November 17, 2009. It was published by Macmillan/Palgrave in a book with the equally scintillating title of Accountability in American Higher Education. Price Competition and Course-Level Choice in K-12 Education: Lessons from Higher Ed - Prepared for the American Enterprise Institute Conference, "More Than Just Schools: Rethinking the Demand for Educational Entrepreneurship," December 7, 2009. It was published by Harvard Education Press in The Future of Educational Entrepreneurship. College by Subscription - American Enterprises Institute, September, 2009. For more episodes featuring thought leaders in education visit MeetEducationProject.com, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and follow Nick DiNardo on Twitter.

Accolades are in order to the 145 Globe University-Online  and 165 Minnesota School of Business-Online students who have had exceptional academic performance to meet the recognition of Honors or Highest Honors for the Winter 2015 quarter. In order to receive Honors recognition a student must achieve a quarterly grade point average of 3.5 or above.  To achieve Highest Honors a student must have a quarterly grade point average of 4.0. Congratulations to the students who have dedicated themselves to their class work to achieve Honors and Highest Honors. Globe University Honors Minnesota School of Business Honors   The post Honors Announced for Globe U & Minnesota School of Business Students appeared first on Globe University Blog.

Thu, 4/10/14, 10:10-11:00amLone Star C4 During this session at the 7th Annual International Symposium on Emerging Technologies for Online Learning, learn about one instructor’s use of YouTube’s free and easy-to-use features for recording, editing, captioning, and embedding video into his online course. An overview of the steps for recording, editing, captioning, video in YouTube were provided as well as examples shared for various approaches for seamlessly incorporating video into any online course. While the session featured the integrated "video anywhere" YouTube features in Blackboard, the principles provided will be applicable to an online course in any learning management system. A summary of feedback survey results from students regarding their experiences with video in the course was shared as well as lessons learned by the instructor for those wishing to follow the same suggested steps for incorporating video in their own course. Participants had the opportunity to ask questions throughout the session and see first-hand a demo by the instructor of how the video was seamlessly incorporated into the LMS. Accompanying slides are available here and links included in slides shared below. Resource Links Blackboad Learn Quick Hit: Video Everywhere Building Block Sample YouTube Account Profile Verify Your YouTube Account Sample Course Playlist on YouTube Sample Captioned Course Welcome Video Sample Screencast Course Tour Sample Screencast Group Tour Sample How-To Screencast for Video Discussion

Name: +1 Math Website: www.plus1math.com Headquarters: New York, USA Vertical: K-12, STEM Tech: Web App, Mobile App Introduce your startup and give a short description of what you are doing. We are creating an online and mobile math app that will help students of all levels master math in a fun and relaxed way. +1 Math is a gamified, social app for smartphone, tablet and desktop computer that prepares students for standardized tests such as The Common Core, and it lets them learn at their own pace. We want everyone to have this program, regardless of income, so we're giving this program away for free to students from low-income families. Who are the founders, how did you meet, what are your different roles in the startup. Elie Venezky - Educational Director Phil Cohen - CEO Founder Bios: www.profnetconnect.com/philcohen www.profnetconnect.com/elievenezky We met through mutual friends many years ago and discovered similar interests and philosophies about education and helping children grow and learn. We came together to form Prestige Prep, an academic tutoring and test preparation company in NYC. How was the idea for your startup born? When The Common Core was first introduced, we got a frantic call from Phil's son's math teacher, who said he didn't have enough questions to prepare his students for the test. So Elie created 200 questions that the school used to help kids get ready. The stress around The Common Core is clear. And Elie and Phil both realized that teachers and students needed something extra to get them prepared and confident about the test. So +1 Math was born. What is the main problem in education that you aim to solve. Students aren't learning math in a way that's usable or in a way that sticks. Government tests and standards are moving us away from true math knowledge, not towards it. And on top of that, it's adding stress and anxiety. When you see an 8 year-old crying because she's afraid of an exam, you know we have a problem. So we're trying to teach math in a fun, relaxed way that meets students where they are (technology, games, social interaction) and relieve the anxiety around math that so many students and their parents feel. Who are your main competitors? What sets you apart from them? Ixl, Udemy, Aleks. +1 Math is gamified and has a strong social component that makes it more attractive to students. +1 Math is easier to use for both students and parents. The presentation of questions on +1 Math is more similar to actual tests than our competitors' presentation of questions, so our program is better at preparing students for their actual tests. In which markets / regions are you active. What markets / regions are next. We'll be active all over the US. Who is your target audience. Student users grades 4-12 Parents Teachers who would like to use technology in or outside of the classroom for student-personalized skill building, and to augment standard curriculum. Any student who wants to improve in math. Any student who loves math. Any student who fears math. Parents who want their child to succeed in math and feel more relaxed around the subject. Parents who are nervous about standardized tests. Parents who care about education. How do you engage with your target audience. How do you convert them into users of your product. We're meeting students where they are, which means a mixture of gaming and technology. Plus, students have a lot of anxiety around math. When they see that +1Math is a calming, fun way to learn, they'll want to play. On top of that, there are built in social and (optional) competitive aspects that will attract students. What is your business model. How much does your product / service cost. You can find our executive summary as part of our online pressroom: http://budurl.com/plus1math $60 for a year's subscription. Free for students from low-income families. If you raised funding, how much did you raise. Who are your investors. If not, are you planning to raise funding. We will have raised over $75,000 from a Kickstarter campaign, and we are now talking with investors to raise a half million. Are there milestones you are especially proud of and would like to share. We are very proud of achieving our Kickstarter goal. It shows that there is a real need for a math program that students want to use. There is so much anxiety around math. The fact that we are helping alleviate that, and can bring calm to families, makes us very proud. What are the next steps in growing your startup. Our beta is in production and we're starting testing with students. We're also speaking with investors to raise capital. How can people get in touch with you. Email: plus1math@gmail.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/plus1mathapp Twitter: www.twitter.com/plus1math Instagram: www.instagram.com/plus1math Web: www.plus1math.com Virtual Press Room: http://budurl.com/plus1math Operation Top 10 Grassroots Movement Google Group Google Community Email: operationtop10@gmail.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/operationtop10 Facebook: www.facebook.com/operationtop10 Instagram: www,instagram.com/operationtop10 Prestige Prep: www,prestigeprep.com Telephone: 800.381.3266 Anything else you would like to add. Math does not have to cause such anxiety. There are clear and direct ways to teach math so that most people can understand and use it. These skills are important for a lot of jobs. We love helping students and we love helping families feel relaxed around education, so they can enjoy each other and concentrate on being together and having fun and less on math homework. With this program, we can help a lot of people.

We’ve all been there. You’re about to get dressed for something important and you look in your closet and think to yourself, "I have nothing to wear." As a member of the Globe University-Madison East Career Services team, I can tell you, we’ve hear this a lot from students or new grads about to embark on interviews. We wanted to eliminate that frustration. Thus, the Career Closet was created! Madison East staff, faculty, and students celebrate the ribbon cutting of the Career Closet. The Career Closet is a closet located on campus in room 214 which acts as an amazing resource for students and alumni in need of some interview clothes. Students or alumni can check out a piece or pieces of clothing just like they would in the library to wear for an upcoming interview or networking event. How does it work? There are four easy steps: Students or Alumni check out a key from the front desk. Head to the closet and pick out the items they’d like to check out. Lock the closet, return the key, and check out the clothing at the front desk. When you are finished with the items, simply launder the items and return them to the front desk. Not only does the Career Closet offer dress pants, suit jackets, ties, blouses, cardigans, skirts, and shoes, but it also has professional padfolios for students to check out and use for job interviews. "Our goal is to support our students and grads through every step of the job search process," said Director of Career Services Elizabeth Disch. "This clothing resource is one more way we are helping our students become successful professionals, particularly as they take on that all-so-important job interview." The post Nothing to Wear? Visit the Career Closet appeared first on Globe University Blog.

I recently attended this fantastic WCET webcast, The Upcoming Higher Education Act Reauthorization: Why the e-Learning Community Should Pay Attention in which a moderated panel will began with a brief history of past HEA reauthorizations and then turn to a conversation among policy experts about what to expect, when to expect it, and how to engage. Anyone involved in the administration or support of distance education or interested in federal policies that impact higher education will find this webcast of value. The chat log, presentation slides, and recorded webcast are all available.