On episode 017 of MEP, teacher and founder of Organized Binder, Mitch Weathers, joins the program to talk about teaching character over content and why an Organized Binder is so beneficial to educators as well as students. Don’t miss it! Guest Bio: Mitch’s background couldn’t be summed up better than it was on Jessie Arora’s EdCrunch blog, as part of her TeacherPreneur series for EdSurge. I have included a link here for the skinny on Mitch! Social: Organizedbinder.com Facebook @organizedbinder Email:  mitch@organizedbinder.com Shout outs: Paul Tough and his work on How Children Succeed Lisa Delpit and her work Dinner Date: Paolo Freire - His seminal work Pedagogy of the Oppressed was a great influence on Mitch and his mission in education For more episodes featuring thought leaders in education visit MeetEducationProject.com, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and follow Nick DiNardo on Twitter.

Every day I drive my daughter to high school. As we get closer to the parking lot, I have to be mindful of all of the teenagers wandering in and out of the road like dazed cattle. I also have to brave a four-way stop sign, where I am often the only adult at the wheel of any of the four cars waiting their turn. That stop sign is an every man for himself, Lord of the Flies experience on wheels. I drive a Smart Car, and there have been times where I was glad to make it out alive. A high school parking lot is like an episode of the television show Wipeout waiting to happen, except there are cars involved, and people could actually die. My own daughter doesn’t drive yet, but as intelligent as she is, the occasional lapses in common sense and basic self-preservation that I see in the parking lot still occur at home. All of this tells me that the idea that most kids are fully ready to be valuable contributors to the economy straight out of high school, without any further education or development of their critical thinking skills, is just not true. However, the looming expense for my daughter’s education also tells me that I really want the disruption that is supposed to occur in higher education to come fast, but common sense tells me that it won’t come via the Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) everyone is talking about. Nothing is Free I am a believer in the value of higher education. I’ve written about it here, here, and here. However, the idea that the benefit of a degree has to come at the cost that colleges charge is crazy. Higher education is ripe for disruption, and the disruptive force I read about most are MOOCs. A few weekends ago I watched the CEO of EdX, Anant Agarwal, on CNN talking about how disruptive MOOCs are to higher education, and the staggering number of students enrolling in the courses. EdX is a joint venture between Harvard and MIT, who both provide course content and allow the public to enroll, for free. Coursera, the other large MOOC provider, offers courses from many universities, including some of those prestigious schools in the nation. While I don’t have any personal experience with EdX, I did attend a class offered through the University of Virginia’s Darden Business School—again, for free. It was a great experience, and I recommend it as a good source of professional development. But while the course was free to me, it certainly wasn’t free for the University of Virginia, which speaks to the fundamental problem of MOOCs as a major source of disruption: Without the current model, and the revenue it produces, it would be impossible for a school to offer these courses. Stated differently, nothing is really free. A Strategy for Preservation, not Disruption The higher education industry, particularly the business model of higher education, is under attack in the media on an almost daily basis. As a trade association executive, one of the things I have learned a little bit about is how to strategize and respond to attacks on an industry level. One of those strategies is to develop a response that fundamentally changes nothing, while selling it to the public as groundbreaking. I don’t think Coursera or EdX, or participating schools have done that intentionally, but I think MOOCs as they currently exist have the same effect. One counter argument to that could be that once employers accept 120 credit hours of MOOC courses as the equivalent to a degree, it will be disruptive. When that happens, the incentive for colleges to provide course content for free will completely disappear. All of this aside, I think MOOCs are a great resource for professional development, but they will not fundamentally disrupt higher education. We need to keep looking for what will, and create alternatives other than unleashing teenagers on the world or sending them off to accumulate an unsustainable debt load. Picture License  Some rights reserved by cogdogblog

The U.S. Department of Justice and MOOC platform edX announced the settlement over allegations that the courses hosted on edX were not accessible to students with disabilities. The lawsuit with filed in February by the National Association of the Deaf, accusing Harvard and MIT to provide no or only inaccurate captions in the lecture videos hosted by edX. Under the four-year-agreement, edX has to modify its website and mobile applications to meet industry accessibility standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Though the agreement does not explicitly address the creators of course content, edX will provide content creators with best practices, guidance and the necessary tools to develop accessible content. The settlement does not carry a fine. Further Reading U.S. Dept. of Justice announces settlement with online course provider edX | Reuters EdX to provide expanded website and platform features for learners with disabilities | edX

Tutoring marketplace TakeLessons has partnered with Amazon to provide tutors for its newly launched Amazon Home Services platform. TakeLessons started as a music-centric tutoring marketplace in 2006. The San Diego-based startup has since raised nearly $19 million in venture capital and started to expand into other verticals like online tutoring and language lessons. To boost the expansion TakeLessons acquired its competitor Betterfly in February 2014 to add its user base of tutors to their offering. According to the company, language lessons have grown 25% month-over-month for the past twelve months. Through the partnership with Amazon, TakeLessons’ tutors are searchable through the new Amazon Home Services portal which launched in late March, currently covering Seattle, New York City and Los Angeles. Amazon users can simply book individual lessons or packages through their Amazon account, and also leave reviews and ratings like they would on other purchases. The tutoring market heated up last year with longtime rivals TakeLessons and WyzAnt raising sizeable VC rounds and acquiring smaller competitors. Tutoring marketplace WyzAnt, founded in 2005, raised a $21,5 million round in December 2013 and subsequently acquired its competitor Tutorspree in January 2014. Further Reading TakeLessons Teams Up with Amazon to Pioneer On-Demand Service Commerce | Press Release TakeLessons Continues Expansion into Language Lessons, Critical Job Skills | Press Release Related Links HEDLINE: TakeLessons acquires Betterfly TeachStreet v2.0? Amazon to launch Local Services Marketplace Links amazon.com/services

Professional social network LinkedIn announced its intention to acquire online learning company Lynda.com for around $1.5 billion. The deal is expected to close during the second quarter of 2015 and will be a combination of 52% cash and 48% stock. LinkedIn has currently around 350 million members worldwide. Lynda.com was founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin. The company had grown to over $100 million in annual sales on revenue until it raised a $103 million Series A in 2012 and a $186 million Series B in January 2015. Lynda.com has also acquired a series of smaller competitors throughout the past months. In January, lynda.com offered 5,700 courses and 255,000 video tutorials. The company generated $150 million in revenue in 2014 with 55% coming from individual subscribers who pay $25 per month to access the course library. According to LinkedIn CEO, Jeff Weiner, Lynda.com will be part of the network’s Economic Graph which aims to map the world’s people, jobs, skills and knowledge. LinkedIn has heavily expanded into higher education and certifications over the past months. Through the acquisition of Lynda.com the network adds the missing link, the actual learning, to its portfolio. It is expected that most Lynda.com employees will join LinkedIn. lynda.com Joins the LinkedIn Family from LinkedIn Further Reading LinkedIn to Acquire lynda.com | Press Release LinkedIn + lynda.com: Connect to Learning | LinkedIn Always Be Learning: LinkedIn to Acquire lynda.com | LinkedIn Welcome to the LinkedIn Family, lynda.com! | LinkedIn

How cool would it be to talk with ed tech entrepreneurs about their ideas and businesses, and provide funding to the best, well rounded entrepreneurs to help bring that product or service to teachers and students nationwide (or globally)? Well, that is what Shauntel Poulson does everyday as an Associate Partner at New Schools Venture Fund.  Shauntel joins the program to chat about ed tech, what portfolio companies are getting her excited, and the importance of building entrepreneurial skills in schools.  Don’t miss this episode! Guest Bio: Shauntel Poulson is an associate partner at NewSchools Venture Fund’s Oakland office, where she focuses on investment strategy, due diligence, and management assistance for the organization’s portfolio ventures. Prior to joining NewSchools, Shauntel was a Senior Engineer at Procter and Gamble where she developed product innovations, designed supply chains, and managed technology partnerships for the global laundry business. She also facilitated an afterschool program for Cincinnati high school students from underserved communities. Shauntel is passionate about the intersection of education and technology and has worked with education technology companies globally. As an Education Pioneers Fellow at Wireless Generation, Shauntel recommended program enhancements for the School of One program based on an analysis of student performance data. Shauntel received her BS in Chemical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and her MBA and MA in Education from Stanford University. Shout outs: Big Data - Schoolzilla:  Cloud-based data management and visualization platform for education practitioners that turns operational and achievement data into actionable reports. Brightbytes:  Using data to enable the creation of effective 21st Century learning environments. Mobile - Nearpod:  Mobile app that allows teachers to easily create and share interactive lessons, receive feedback on student device use, assess learning in real time and personalize instruction for students. Content - Newsela:  Publishes high-interest news articles daily at five levels of complexity.  Common Core-aligned quizzes attached to articles give educators and parents insight into their students’ reading strengths and weaknesses.  Newsela develops nonfiction fluency and critical-thinking skills necessary to master the Common Core standards for informational text. Dinner Date: Nelson Mandela For more episodes featuring thought leaders in education visit MeetEducationProject.com, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and follow Nick DiNardo on Twitter.

So you put yourself through massage therapy school, added some professional experience to your resume and today, you can proudly say there’s a crowd of devout clients who turn to you for their massage needs. But is there a "next step" to make you an even better massage therapist? There sure is. Education can continue even after you earn your massage therapy degree. From board certification to extra training in your favorite specialty, there are many ways you can go above and beyond massage therapy school.   Board Certification You’ve heard of board certified physicians. In the same way, becoming a board certified massage therapist means more than a fancy certificate. The National Certification Board for Therapeutic Massage and Bodywork (NCBTMB) administers the certifications. It says board certification is the highest attainable level in the profession. Board Certification Requirements: Take and pass the board certification exam Complete a minimum of 750 hours of education The hours from your massage therapy program Any continuing education taken from NCBTMB approved providers Any courses taken from any accredited college or university* Complete 250 hours of professional hands-on experience over no less than six months from graduation Pass a thorough national background check Obtain a current CPR certification Affirm their commitment to the NCBTMB Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics Commit to opposing human trafficking You’ll also need to be re-certified every two years, which is much easier than the initial certification. *Please see NCBTMB requirements for specific accreditation guidelines   Technique Certifications Think beyond your basic education. Specialty certifications will take you to the next level as a massage therapist. Maria Leonard is a massage therapist and the dean of education at Minnesota School of Business campus in Plymouth, MN. She helped develop the massage therapy curriculum for the diploma and A.A.S as the network dean of massage therapy. Leonard said every massage therapist has a set of skills they are working with. "Usually a massage therapist will specialize in one or two techniques and they will continually hone their skills in those techniques," said Leonard. Liddle Kidz provides training, workshops and education courses specialized in pediatric touch. Not only can you get certified in infant and pediatric massage, but you can take courses in touch therapy for children with autism, childhood cancer, pediatric trauma, cerebral palsy and many more. You can find a list of approved Continuing Education providers through NCBTMB or locate the NCBTMB’s "Approved Provider" stamp for an pproved provider for continuing education. Shortlist of Specialties: Geriatric Massage Oncology Massage Aromatherapy Infant and Child Massage Orthopedic Massage Fitness and Sports Massage Holistic Massage Reflexology Hospital Massage Thai Massage Prenatal Massage Hot Stone Therapy Arthritis, Fibromyalgia Massage Doctorate in Naturopathic Medicine While there is no doctorate program for massage therapy, there is one in naturopathic medicine. Naturopathic physicians don’t focus solely on massage therapy, but they do believe in natural methods of healing and physical medicine like massage and bodywork.  It’s not uncommon to find an ND who is also an LMT. According to the Association of Accredited Naturopathic Medical Colleges, doctors of naturopathic medicine learn all the modalities of proven natural therapies, including massage. NDs will study courses similar to medical doctors, like biomedical sciences, anatomy and biochemistry. Before you even apply to a naturopathic medical school, you will need your bachelor’s degree. Next, you’ll need to attend a four-year, graduate-level naturopathic medical school. The first two years will be spent in the classroom and the last two in a clinic setting. NDs can also choose to complete residencies after graduation (except in Utah, where it is required). Like any education, make sure to choose an accredited medical school.   Disclaimer: There are different regulations for massage training and licenses all over the U.S. and the world. While you may have to be certified or licensed in one state, you may not need to in other states. Do your research before you decide to pursue training and licensure to decide whether it’s the right fit for you. Globe University recognizes the value of certification in conjunction with a student’s academic goals. This is why certification exam preparation is built into the massage therapy diploma and massage therapy associate degree programs. Currently, Globe University does not offer specialty technique certifications or naturopathic medicine doctorates. Our massage therapy programs are not necessarily transferable into a bachelors or higher degree program at other institutions and the transfer of credits is at the discretion of the receiving institution. The post How to Go Above and Beyond Massage Therapy School appeared first on Globe University Blog.

If you're a teacher, you've been making extensive deposits into "data banks" for years. You've frugally saved student information system data like demographics, attendance, formative and summative assessments, college and career readiness and other crucial indicators. Maybe you've meticulously collected and deposited data on your practice. Schools and districts diligently save school-level data such as climate. We’ve even occasionally borrowed some assets such as census data and crime maps. But none of the data we’ve saved in our numerous "banks" (systems, warehouses, etc.) are accruing us sufficient interest. And we never seem to fully enjoy the opportunity to "spend" our data on issues that improve our practices and move us toward our mission: improved student outcomes. So, when do we get to make withdrawals and actually "spend" the data we’ve diligently saved? The crucial question is, "How?" Since our data is frequently siloed in a number of disparate "banks" in various currencies (file formats), we often don’t even know the true "balance on our accounts". What's our true "data net worth"? Our data is rarely aligned properly, so how would we even use it for decision making and improving our effectiveness? Further, how can we properly interpret, or "spend", our data? The U.S. Department of Education surveyed the most data-strong school systems across the nation. Teachers in those districts showed difficulty with question posing, data comprehension, and data interpretation, with teachers correctly interpreting given data in only 48% of instances. Further still, Jenny Grant-Rankin, Ph.D. performed additional studies of randomly selected districts. Her research found educators accurately interpreted data only 11% of the time! This dilemma is precisely why our firm has dedicated recent years in research and development with a single purpose in mind: To empower data users to improve their effectiveness. Our efforts are focused tools to aggregate, align and visualize all this data in meaningful ways so users can identify "low hanging fruit"- reasonable steps to substantially improve their practice and student outcomes. There are a number of other useful resources, including Dr. Rankin's Over-the-Counter Data, which provides several free tools. It's time we started data spending! But let's make smart choices - carefully using that precious data for meaningful value so we don't wake up with an analytics hangover, spender's remorse and a tattoo with of a linear regression graph on our... Picture License  Some rights reserved by bryanpearson

Remember the days when phones were used for calling people, doing research meant checking out library books and the hashtag symbol was just a pound sign? Times have changed, and keeping up with the latest technology can be overwhelming. Both Apple and Android offer so many apps, it can be hard to decide which apps appear the most appealing and applicable to our apparent interests. All puns aside, here is a list of nine apps every college student should download today. 1.  Evernote This is quite possibly the best advancement in note-taking since the mechanical pencil. But notes are only the beginning with Evernote. From recording lectures and uploading photos to keeping a daily planner and marking up PDF files, Evernote will do almost anything you can think of to increase your productivity in school. Well, except maybe attend class for you. 2.  Dropbox Losing an assignment because of a computer crash might not be a valid excuse anymore. With apps like Dropbox, students can store their schoolwork in one cloud-based, centralized location and access it wherever there is internet. The service also allows peer-to-peer file sharing and can hold up to 2GB worth of data for free. 3.  Wunderlist As the name implies, Wunderlist is an app that helps you organize your to-do lists and add due dates, reminder notifications and more. It currently serves millions of people around the world, keeping track of everything from their smallest to-do lists to their biggest vacation plans. It syncs between your phone, tablet and computer and acts as a virtual personal assistant that reminds you of your schedule. 4.  TED One of the fastest and easiest ways to get smarter is to listen to really smart people. Enter TED Talks, a collection of presentations given by very intelligent, creative and successful people for the benefit of others. You can listen to TED Talks while you’re walking to and from class and then impress your friends by quoting something you learned. 5.  Wi-Fi Finder For students who prefer to study off campus, finding locations around town with internet hotspots can be a pain. Smart phones are limited in that they typically can only scan for Wi-Fi access within the current vicinity. The Wi-Fi Finder takes out all the guesswork and finds hotspots for you to do your homework wherever you want to go. 6.  Saviry This app is what cutting coupons looks like in the digital age. From electronics to clothing items, users vote on the best deals and can also follow their friends to see what deals they like.  A money-saving app like this can be extremely beneficial for students whose budget consists of rent, food and the occasional night out. 7.  MyFitnessPal Walking on campus is rarely enough exercise for most college students, and fast food calories can add up quickly. By simply scanning the barcode of the food you’re eating or entering it into the search bar, MyFitnessPal gives you the nutritional value for that meal. With over 1.5 million foods and 350 exercises, you’re sure to reach your health and fitness goals in a matter of weeks or months. 8.  Groupon Speaking of food, Groupon offers great deals on restaurants, events and spas in over 500 cities. Just input your location and watch the deals come pouring in. Finding a good deal can cut the price of date night in half, regardless of the activity. Groupon also keeps a database of regular coupons that are so good, they’ll make you want to go on a shopping spree. 9.  RefMe By the time you’re finishing up a research paper, you’ll probably need to do a citation page. RefMe is the solution to all your citation needs, offering APA, Chicago and Harvard citation styles. Scan the barcode of your reading material and let the app do the work for you. Students who graduated even just a few years ago are envious of this kind of technology, so enjoy it! The post 9 Apps Every College Student Should Download Today appeared first on Globe University Blog.

Name: Genius Games Website: www.gotgeniusgames.com Kickstarter: Ion - A Compound Building Game Headquarters: St. Louis Vertical: K-12, STEM Tech: Physical Product Introduce your startup and give a short description of what you are doing. Genius Games employs the mechanics of game play to systematically teach STEM subjects. Our games meet the ever-growing demand for better science education products that promote in-depth interaction with, and social engagement around, foundational topics in the hard sciences. Who are the founders, how did you meet, what are your different roles in the startup. John Coveyou is a passionate educator, who currently teaches middle school chemistry and physics, but has also taught the core sciences at all grade levels from middle school to college. A St. Louis native, he attended Washington University earning a bachelors’ degree in biology and a master degree in engineering. After seeing the need for more engaging and effective science resources, John started Genius Games with the mission of using games to cultivate a joy for science and stimulate inquisitive minds! His first game, Linkage: A DNA Card Game, was featured in Popular Science Magazine as one of "The 10 Best Things from February 2015" and his games continue to win many accolades. How was the idea for your startup born? Through teaching I noticed that students were intimidated by hard science topics before they even started the learning process. At the same time, I noticed that many students spent a great deal of time playing games, and even "studying" games. I thought to myself, why not make learning science more like playing a game. What is the main problem in education that you aim to solve. The U.S. Department of Education has stated the problem clearly: "The United States has become a global leader, in large part, through the genius and hard work of its scientists, engineers and innovators. Yet today, that position is threatened as comparatively few American students pursue expertise in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)—and by an inadequate pipeline of teachers skilled in those subjects." In the United States, student literacy in STEM subjects (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) has seen a steady downward slide in recent decades - currently, our students rank at the 52nd percentile for STEM literacy globally. Who are your main competitors? What sets you apart from them? There are a few competitors who produce board games but none that produce science-themed games that teach! In which markets / regions are you active. What markets / regions are next. The U.S. education market and branching into the global market currently. Who is your target audience. A survey sent to individuals who purchased our games found that 33% of our customers were parents buying for their kids for "educational fun at home" and 27% of our customers were teachers who bought the games to be used in their science classrooms. What is your business model. How much does your product / service cost. We currently sell products through "Fulfillment By Amazon" (FBA) on Amazon.com. Linkage cost $17.99, while Peptide has an MSRP of $29.99 and Ion will have an MSPR of $24.99 If you raised funding, how much did you raise. Who are your investors. If not, are you planning to raise funding. Currently $60,000 from Kickstarter Are there milestones you are especially proud of and would like to share. Three successful Kickstarter campaigns as well as being featured in Popular Science, Gizmodo, and Scientific America. What are the next steps in growing your startup. Our planned growth strategy is twofold: First, leverage established distribution channels to increase the overall volume of sales, especially to schools and educational suppliers. Specifically targeting specialty locations such as Barnes and Noble, Toys-R-Us, Books-A-Million, GameStop, Target Stores, etc. Second, develop digital versions of our games for the iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac and PC, tapping to this highly accessible global market. How can people get in touch with you. john.coveyou@gmail.com @johnCoveyou @GotGeniusGames

Looking for an alternative to the corporate office? A growing number of women are leaving and starting their own businesses and making their own schedules and policies rather than trying to fit someone else’s expectations. Women are starting over 1,200 businesses per day, almost twice the rate of any other group. And they are having an economic impact. There are now more than 9.1 million women owned businesses in the U.S. and that number is growing. Women-owned businesses: Employ 7.9 million people Generate $1.4 trillion in revenues Make up 30 percent of all enterprises And it’s projected that women-owned businesses will create another 5 million new jobs in the next three years. Why women are starting businesses We know that many of us are struggling to build the career success we want in traditional business settings. Many of us leave jobs because we can’t find the flexibility and work-life balance that we need in a career. The path to leadership can be long and demanding. Building your own business offers a different path to success. One that allows you to make your own priorities, choices and schedule. Technology has made it easier to start a business. Laptops, smartphones and the cloud have decreased the cost of starting a business. It has also made it much easier to be flexible, running your business from home or taking it with you anywhere. Social media and internet marketing have made it cheaper and easier to promote a business. Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are economical ways to reach customers and it increases your reach beyond a physical location. Women are attending and graduating from college in greater numbers than men, giving us the education we need to be successful in business. By running our own businesses, we are gaining valuable experience and building skills in negotiating, marketing and finance. While there are multiple factors that have spurred the growth of women starting businesses, it isn’t all smooth sailing. The struggles of women-owned businesses Women are starting businesses at almost twice the rate of men, but these businesses tend to be smaller than average. The typical privately held business employs two people in addition to the owner, while women-owned businesses average one. Revenues for our businesses are also smaller than average. We have a harder time raising the capital to grow a business. We often choose different industries than men, often in retail. Retail businesses tend to have higher costs, lower margins and higher rates of failure, making banks less likely to lend money. Other industries with a large percentage of women-owned businesses are Health care and social assistance Educational services Administration and support Arts, entertainment and recreation In order to overcome this funding issue, women may need to look beyond traditional financing options. Ashoka is an example of an organization that invests in social entrepreneurs whoare creating positive social change. The good news is that women-owned businesses are growing and thriving. Some to keep an eye out for are: Happy Family Strategic Communications Brightstar Franchising PowertoFly Cenergy International Services LLC Women are creating their own paths to the career success they need. Whether women are starting small businesses or million-dollar corporations, we are making our own definition of career success. Sources http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226564 https://www.nwbc.gov/research/economic-impact-women-owned-businesses-united-states http://smallbusiness.foxbusiness.com/entrepreneurs/2014/03/04/5-reasons-why-women-owned-businesses-are-thriving/ http://www.nationaljournal.com/next-america/economic-empowerment/why-are-women-owned-businesses-so-small-20140821 http://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2013/06/18/the-paradox-of-women-business-owners/3/ https://www.nwbc.gov/facts/women-owned-businesses   The post The Growth of Women-Owned Businesses appeared first on Globe University Blog.

Courtesy e-Learning Infographics

Etsy, a global marketplace for handcrafted goods, had its IPO last week. On the first day of trading the company closed with a solid plus of 86%. While I won’t get into a detailed analysis of Etsy’s business model in this article, or whether I think the company to be worth $3 billion, I will say that it is reassuring indeed to see a company that isn’t selling a digital, social service or app but handcrafted physical products, has achieved to gain traction among a global user base. Etsy’s IPO shows that learning to program is not the only possible career option in the future, and that is really a good thing. The other thing that excites me is how an IPO-powered Etsy will influence the rise of online education startups that cater to creators. Back in January 2014 we wrote about Sympoz, an edtech startup that powers the crafts education site Craftsy. Another player in the space is CreativeLive. Both startups have raised around $30 million in venture capital so far, which frankly sounds a lot for video courses around crochet and knitting. Yet, thanks to vertical marketplaces like Etsy or e-commerce SaaS platforms like Shopify, hobbyists can now turn their pastime into a part-time or even full-time business. According to Etsy, nearly 20 million members bought at least one item on the marketplace in 2014, generating a total sales volume of $195.6 million. As we can expect that Etsy will allocate a sizeable amount of its new money towards marketing, user numbers will grow and more and more hobbyists will eventually get interested in selling their work on the marketplace. In order to stay ahead of the competition, the serious ones will invest in training, may it be in the form of brick-and-mortar based workshops offered by startups like CourseHorse or Skillshare, or video courses on Craftsy and CreativeLive. But for Etsy one major task ahead will be balancing its social mission with its profit objectives, as the New York Times points out. Shortly before the IPO, Etsy made an adjustment to its terms, allowing its creators to grow from individual creators into small companies as long as all products are still handcrafted. Further Reading With $35 million in fresh funding Sympoz is powering the Gig Economy | EDUKWEST Etsy I.P.O. Tests Pledge to Balance Social Mission and Profit | New York Times

Graduation day is just around the corner. You’re anxious, nervous and excited all at the same time because soon, you’ll walk off the stage with a diploma in hand. But before you put on a cap and gown, make sure you’re in the clear to graduate. We’ve put together a handy pre-graduation checklist to make sure all the important tasks are taken care of before your graduation day. 6 Months Before Do you have all of the credits needed to graduate? Start checking, double-checking and triple-checking your degree audit. This is imperative to earning your degree. Talk to your adviser to make sure you are on track to graduate from your program on time. If you’re missing any credits, see if you can make up for it through winter, summer or online classes. These off-season courses are typically shorter and more intensive. Apply for graduation. If you don’t, you’ll likely have to pay a fee or not graduate. Don’t have any plans on what to do with that new degree? Don’t waste any more time. Get to know Career Services. These career experts will help you come up with career goals and a plan to execute them. 4 - 5 Months Before Get your resume ready. Yes, you still have several months before graduation and you probably want to focus on getting school done first. But make your resume a priority because once you’re out of college and you need to start paying for your student loans, you’ll need a job. Talk to Career Services about how to write a resume, cover letter and portfolio for that first job out of college. Network, network, network. As a student, you’re expected to network and schmooze to make connections for future employment opportunities. Turn to your professors because they likely know a lot of industry people. Look through the alumni database and see where people are currently working. Reach out to them through phone or meet up to ask for career advice. Attend career fairs, networking events hosted by your school or professional organization and be sure to bring a copy of your resume and business card. With that resume ready, start applying for jobs. Depending on when you graduate and your industry, different employers hire at different times. For example, jobs that require extensive training will recruit in early fall. Jobs that don’t require training recruit later in the year. That’s why doing your research early on is key. Just because you haven’t graduated yet doesn’t mean you can’t apply. If your future employer wants you, there’s a chance they’ll work with you and your graduation date. 2 - 3 Months Before Receive exit counseling with your school’s financial aid office. If you have student loans, it’s almost payback time. Most student loan repayments begin six months after graduation. Order your cap, gown and accolades like cords or sashes. Check with your college for the regalia order deadline. Call your family and see how many tickets need to be ordered for commencement. Update your permanent address in order to receive your diploma, any refunds and alumni information. Finalize any outstanding work that could stop graduation. If you have credits that still need to be transferred, resolve the issue now. It typically requires paperwork, an official transcript and appropriate review. It could take a few weeks. Don’t hit your senior slide just yet! Study hard for your final exams. It’ll all be worth it in the end. 1 Month Before Check your account balance and pay all outstanding charges on your student account. If you have scholarships that will still be in effect after graduation, make sure to notify financial aid. There’s a chance you will receive a check for remaining scholarship money or it could also be allocated back to the scholarship fund. Be sure to pick up commencement tickets and your cap and gown. Do you know where commencement is happening? Get directions to the venue along with the time and place all graduates are supposed to report. Typically, you’ll need to arrive an hour before commencement begins. Get ready to walk across the stage with confidence and a smile. You worked hard. Be proud of everything you accomplished in order to get where you are today. Remember to thank those who helped you along the way. You did it! This is just a general guideline for soon-to-be college graduates who need a little direction. Deadlines all depend on which college you attend. The post The Graduation Planner: A 6-Month Guide appeared first on Globe University Blog.

The Blackboard User Experience Team is looking for feedback from faculty who teach using Blackboard on which features are used most for teaching purposes and how they might be simplified to most greatly impact teaching. If you teach using Blackboard, take 2 minutes and complete the survey here.

It is a natural human emotion (for most of us) to make excuses about why one should not take action.  Not Jack McDermott.  Jack is 21 years old, and he has taken more action than most of us have in a lifetime.  So, what is the difference between you and Jack?  Find out on Episode 024 of MEP!  Guest Bio: Jack McDermott is in his senior year at Tufts University (graduation is in May 2014).  Jack founded Speech4Good, a web application that provides the simple and effective way to practice proven speech therapy techniques from anywhere.  Jack also founded Fluently, which is funded by Rough Draft Ventures.  He also boasts being a teacher/mentor and curriculum designer of Tufts.io, a mentorship-driven for-credit course on startups and technology offered through the Experimental College at Tufts University. Shout Outs: Boundless Learning FetchNotes Book:  Creating Innovators by Dr. Tony Wagner Book:  David & Goliath, by Malcolm Gladwell Dinner Date: Abraham Lincoln blog.jackmcdermott.me @jackrmcdermott For more episodes featuring thought leaders in education visit MeetEducationProject.com, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and follow Nick DiNardo on Twitter.

Josh Gales, a graduate of the criminal justice program here at Globe University-Eau Claire, is now living his dream as a police officer for the Somerset Police Department in St. Croix County. This is the story of how he got here. Education Josh began school with the intention of becoming a police officer. His program chair, Patti Salimes, said Josh was a good student who worked hard to achieve his degree. Josh was equally complimentary about his time in school saying "having good instructors who were organized and offered solid coaching" helped him be successful. After earning his Associate in Applied Science degree in Criminal Justice, Josh attended the police academy, improving his skills and training for a future career in law enforcement. Experience In addition to the police academy, Josh was hired as a security officer through Per Mar, working at the Veterans Center in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. This experience helped him with insight into security processes and procedures, and it helped him refine his communication skills. Josh never lost sight of his goal of becoming a police office and applied for multiple positions. Although at times the selection process could be long, Josh remained relentless. His advice to students is this. "Keep practicing, interviewing and applying. Get your name out there and get the practice." He now counsels prospective employees to keep an open mind and be accessible to all possibilities. Determination All of Josh’s hard work paid off when he was hired as an officer for the Somerset Police Department. He credits his success to all the experiences and education he acquired over the past few years. As a new officer, he was assigned to work the Somerset Music Festival, which gave him a wide variety of experiences early on in his career. Josh said he encountered all types of situations during this event, and it helped him grow as an officer. Josh is very happy with his new position and encourages everyone to follow their dreams and not give up. Advice Josh also has advice for young people considering a future career in law enforcement. He advises to be conscious of their social media pages and posts. "Don’t post anything you would not want your mother or grandmother to see," Josh warns. "Inappropriate posts can hurt your chances at a good position." The post Globe University Graduate, Police Officer Offers Advice to Students appeared first on Globe University Blog.

This infographic below explores how the traditional education is being disrupted by online education. In fact, 65% of college and universities now say that online courses are a critical part of their long-term strategy. It is clear that this trend is affecting the main stream population of college and university students with 31% of them now taking at least one course online. New technology is fueling online education adoption and enabling it to be very effective. This is why online classes have swelled to enroll over 6.1 million students in at least one online course. Courtesy e-Learning Infographics

I’m Bhavin Parikh, the CEO of Magoosh, and I don’t negotiate salaries. Non-negotiable salaries aren’t about selfishness; they’re not about being a greedy, money-hoarding CEO. They’re about setting a tone for your business and your relationships with employees, maintaining a culture of fairness and respect, and ultimately contributing to the well-being of your company for the long term. Magoosh is proof of that. Our company maintains a healthy and happy culture; we have had zero employee turnover in our five-year lifetime. We’ve also been quite successful with an acceptance rate of over 90% on more than 30 job offers. My employees and I are constantly learning, collaborating, and growing together to build our company. We were even named the 2015 Happiest Company in Education by TINYpulse. Taking a hard stance and saying no to salary negotiation was a scary decision for me, as it would be for any founder or CEO. But ultimately, I knew our company culture would be better for it. In this article, I’ll explain why I disagree with negotiating salaries, what we do instead at Magoosh, and why your company would benefit from taking the same approach. What’s the problem with negotiating? First, let’s be clear. Negotiation in general isn’t bad. In many negotiations you can expand the pie or create win-win scenarios. However, we’re talking strictly about salary negotiation, and negotiating individual salaries can be a dangerous game. As a CEO, I often find myself in positions where I could negotiate salaries for a quick win, especially when it comes to starting pay. I’ve extended offers to promising candidates before, and they’ve come back to negotiate for a few thousand dollars. If I don’t budge in those situations, I risk losing the candidate and having to go through the time-consuming and expensive hiring process all over again. It would be easier (and less stressful) for me to concede. And in a growing startup, it’s easy to think: what’s a few thousand dollars per year in the grand scheme of things? However, even seemingly small negotiations on starting pay—or on bonuses and raises down the road—open the door to a subjective and unfair compensation process, creating harmful long-term effects. Consider these consequences: Two employees performing at the same level in the same role could end up with drastically different salaries. Not only is that unfair to one of them, but if they ever discuss salary, they’ll also feel cheated by the company and by you. Ask yourself: "Would I feel comfortable if all my employees’ salaries went public? Could I explain to one employee why they’re making less than another person in the same role?" Studies have shown that men are more likely to negotiate. By opening the door for negotiation, you might also further contribute to the gender pay gap. At a fundamental level, negotiation sets the wrong tone. You reinforce the belief that compensation is subjective, rather than merit-based. You reward an employee’s ability to negotiate rather than their actual contributions to the company. How about a real life example? Aaron Schwartz is the CEO of Modify Watches and a good friend of mine (so he’s letting me write about this.) A year ago, he faced a common startup issue while giving a prospective employee a job offer. Let’s call him Sam. Aaron offered Sam a range of salary and equity options to choose from. Sam seized the opportunity to negotiate and asked for a salary above the upper end of the range. Aaron, not wanting to lose Sam, agreed to the higher salary realizing it would not significantly impact his bottom line. Sam came away from the negotiations with a certain understanding about how he could do business with his new boss. A year later, Aaron gave Sam a $10,000 raise and additional equity. Sam countered again with a higher salary number, citing that he could earn more at other companies. Ultimately, Aaron and Sam parted ways. Sam was never a good fit for Aaron’s company—he was focused on maximizing salary while Aaron was trying to build a scrappy company where employees were passionate about learning and gaining unique business experience. But by opening up the initial salary to negotiation, Aaron had set a tone that compensation was subjective and could be negotiated. Had he held firm on his initial offer, he may have lost Sam to another company—but he lost Sam anyway a year after investing in his growth. Aaron now holds firm on salary offers and communicates the other benefits of working at Modify. He has not made the same mistake again and neither should you. How do you avoid situations like this? Set up a compensation system that forces you to be as objective as possible. What does that system look like? Your system should allow you to manage compensation—from starting salaries, to raises, to bonuses—in an objective way that’s clear to employees. Let’s call it your structured compensation framework. Our framework consists of three factors that help us be as objective as possible when determining salaries: individual performance, company performance, and market rates. Individual performance: Our managers work with their team members to set goals in several areas including competency and expertise, reliability, ownership, values, and more. I’ve created guidelines in each area so that the goals are consistent for similar roles across departments. The managers then use their weekly 1-on-1s to provide feedback and coaching to their employees based on these goals. The process itself is still a work in progress, but our ultimate goal is that each employee has a clear understanding of how their individual performance leads to an increase in their salary. Company performance: We’ve created targets based on revenue over the past 12 months. As we hit those targets, we provide increases in salary. These revenue milestones affect everyone in the company but have a greater impact on the salaries of those in more senior positions. Market rates: My managers and I review market rates for each type of position quarterly and aim to be in the 50th percentile for similarly-sized startups. (I’ll explain why we decided to do this later on.) Sometimes this means that employees get raises without any change to individual or company performance. Other times we find out we’re exactly where we should be. Determining market rates can be challenging. We stay informed of market rates by talking with other founders/CEOs, using industry compensation surveys from Moz, viewing positions on Angel List, and researching starting salaries at local undergraduate institutions. (Pro tip: use Angel List’s API to scrape all of their job listings.) No framework is perfect There’s no easy path for creating a structured compensation framework. The system will never be perfect and will need continued refinement. But with a set system like this in place, you get rid of subjective salary increases. To make sure your employees aren’t in the dark about these decisions, it’s important to have open dialogue and to communicate your framework. When an employee receives a raise, let them know which factors (individual, company, or market in our case) contributed to the increase. You should also welcome employees to talk with you at any time if they have issues with their pay. At Magoosh, if someone believes they aren’t being paid fairly or according to our philosophy, then we’ll consider updating the framework so that everyone benefits equally, not just the person who broached the topic. In fact, employees have talked with me about compensation quite a few times in our company’s history. Some of those conversations have led to changes in our frameworks and others haven’t, but they’ve all been productive for both the employee and for me. Take on the challenge and try setting up your own framework. It’s tough, but working at it will help you and your employees understand compensation in a larger context. It conveys fairness by rewarding people of equal ability the same amount and it shows employees that salaries can’t be gamed. You’ll also protect yourself from one-off negotiations with potential employees, since you’ll be bound by the framework. You may lose some candidates and employees along the way, but ultimately, your company and the employees who stick around will be better for it. Bonus: Why we don’t compete on salary and neither should you At Magoosh, not only have we decided to do away with salary negotiation, but we’ve also decided not to compete on salary. Now, obviously we don’t try to compete with the Googles and Facebooks of the world (because let’s be honest, what startup can?), but we also don’t try to compete with similarly-sized companies. As I previously mentioned, we aim to be in the 50th percentile of that group, and that includes my salary. You may know that Buffer publicly releases its salary information. Well, my salary and equity are a bit lower than Buffer’s CEO, Joel, even though our companies are similar in size and revenue. The reason Magoosh doesn’t compete on salary is because we want to pay employees fairly but we don’t want them to choose us because of salary. We want employees that choose us for a) our mission: to make education more accessible, effective, and enjoyable; and b) our culture: prioritizing learning and growth for each employee. If you’re a startup, I strongly advise you to have a similar stance. You’ll never be able to compete on salary with the big companies. Don’t try. Instead, set your salary fairly, and compete on the things that big companies can’t provide: transparency in business decisions, opportunities to learn new skills on company time, autonomy and purpose in work, flexible schedules—whatever you believe sets your company apart. This is what we tell people who apply to Magoosh: "We try to pay fairly, but most people at Magoosh could earn a higher salary at another company; they choose to work here because they value the mission, experience, and culture. We also provide compensation increases based on individual performance, company performance, and market adjustments. To date, no one at the company has left for another job-something we’re very proud of!" We’ve had a number of people take over 30% pay cuts from big companies to work at Magoosh because these employees wanted to optimize for learning, not for salary—and in my opinion, that’s a better long-term career strategy. All images created by Magoosh Graphic Designer Mark Thomas.

Since its inception over 125 years ago, Globe University has been dedicated to its mission of providing "relevant, real-world training … to ensure our graduates are prepared to succeed and lead in the workforce." Recently, the City of Sioux Falls has seen the value in such education and is putting their money where their mouth is. Darrin Smith, director of community development in Sioux Falls. Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is fortunate to have one of the lowest unemployment rates in the country. To compound this statistic, the City is continuing to expand its businesses and industries which means capable workers are in high demand to fill a significant number of openings. Yet, what research conducted by both Globe University and the City of Sioux Falls yielded was that employers are experiencing increasing difficulties finding competent talent to fill those positions. Enter the City Council. As part of the 2015 budget process, the City Council included $500,000 to support workforce development efforts within the community. According to Michelle Erpenbach, city councilor, Central District, "Like so many others, we were tired of complaining that more could be done to improve workforce development efforts. This fund represents our commitment to put our money where our mouth is and support local businesses, educational programs and the Sioux Falls Development Foundation in their efforts to attract, train and retain good employees." And fund they did. After the selection committee headed by Darrin Smith, director of community development, poring over 38 applications from local institutions totally $1,932,715, they narrowed the pile to 10 qualified candidates. All 10 of those organizations were invited to present their ideas to the committee and answer a number of questions. Of the 10 applications, eight so far have been granted funding. We are proud to announce that Globe University-Sioux Falls was awarded the full $100,000 amount requested in the proposal to spearhead individualized training programs for businesses that incorporate on-the-job and academic training. The excitement for implementation and recognition of all the hard work that has been channeled into this project since December 2014 currently rings across the campus. Campus Director Aimee Miritello and Director of Career Services Ann Kolbrek. Campus Director Aimee Miritello echoes this sentiment. "The current issues with workforce development in Sioux Falls is not a city issue, or a business issue, it is a community issue," Aimee said. "The only way to tackle this is a collaborative effort from all areas, and that is just what we are doing.  I am proud to be a part of a community that is willing to take a risk to come together for a common cause." The post Globe University-Sioux Falls Awarded $100,000 for Workforce Development Program appeared first on Globe University Blog.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt announced that it agreed to acquire Scholastic’s education technology and services business for $575 million in cash. The edtech business generated $249 million in revenues and $40 million in operational income in the 2014 fiscal year. Through the acquisition HMH aims to get into a leading position in the intervention market as well as strengthen footprint in education technology, early learning and education services. For Scholastic the sale will help the company to focus on its core businesses. The publisher plans to invest the proceeds of the sale, estimated at $360 - $370 million, into its Children's Book Publishing and Distribution, Classroom and Supplemental Materials Publishing and International business segments. The management team of Scholastic’s edtech business is expected to join HMH along with its 800 employees. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter of this year. Further Reading Houghton Mifflin Harcourt to Acquire Scholastic’s Educational Technology and Services Business for $575 Million | BusinessWire Scholastic To Sell Educational Technology Business To Houghton Mifflin Harcourt For $575 Million To Focus On Global Core Children's Books And Supplemental Education Businesses | PR Newswire

Learning Management Systems (LMS) weren’t always the flashy cloud-based software they are today. Going as far back as the 1920s, we have been making steady strides in bringing education and training out of the classroom and to students through technology. The Learning Management Systems History Infographic explores the major milestones in the history of Learning Managements Systems. Courtesy e-Learning Infographics

Globe University-Woodbury Business Law class on field trip at Minnesota Correctional Facility-Stillwater. The Business Law class at Globe University-Woodbury traveled to Minnesota Corrections Facility-Stillwater for a field trip to see firsthand the importance of abiding by business laws. "The purpose of the prison tour was to reinforce the fact that there are laws businesses need to respect. In the last few years, the ‘white collar’ crimes have exploded within our society," said Tom Hakko, business program chair and instructor at Globe University-Woodbury. According to Hakko, this field trip was designed to make students aware that just because a manager tells them to sign a document, there are laws concerning false or wrong information. After students visit a prison, they will be more aware of the consequences if someone asks them to do something illegal. "The Stillwater tour was very impressive with over 1,600 inmates. The staff and guards were very accommodating and answered several questions we asked," said Hakko. "The most striking feature was the size of the cells. We think they are 8 feet long and 7 feet wide. Some of the cells house two men." What is Business Law? The Business Law class provides students with practical legal knowledge of essential business law topics and current legal issues. Students learn the skill sets necessary to identify and manage legal issues effecting businesses, including classifications of laws, contracts, sales transactions, negotiable instruments, employment law and landlord-tenant law. The post Globe University Business Law Class Visits Local Prison appeared first on Globe University Blog.

What could happen if we looked at education from an economic perspective?  Well, we explore exactly that in episode 025 of MEP with Russ Roberts from Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and the host of the long running educational podcast EconTalk.  Don’t miss this one! Guest Bio: Russell Roberts is the John and Jean De Nault Research Fellow at the Hoover Institution. He tries to make economics understandable to a general audience. Roberts hosts the weekly podcast EconTalk-hour-long conversations with authors, economists, and business leaders. Past guests include Milton Friedman, Nassim Taleb,Christopher Hitchens, Jimmy Wales, Joseph Stiglitz, and John Bogle. EconTalk was named podcast of the year in the 2008 Weblog Awards. His two rap videos on the ideas of John Maynard Keynes and F.A. Hayek, created with filmmaker John Papola, have had more than six million views on YouTube, been subtitled in eleven languages, and are used in high school and college classrooms around the world. His newest web-based economics education project is "The Numbers Game," a look at data and charts using animated videos. His latest book is The Price of Everything: A Parable of Possibility and Prosperity (Princeton University Press, 2008). Set on the Stanford campus, it’s a novel that tells the story of wealth creation and the unseen forces around us creating and sustaining economic possibilities. He is also the author of The Invisible Heart: An Economic Romance (MIT Press, 2002) and The Choice: A Fable of Free Trade and Protectionism (Prentice Hall, 3rd edition, 2006). The Invisible Heart explores the economics and morality of the marketplace in the framework of a novel. The Choice, a novel on international trade policy and the human side of international trade, was named one of the top ten books of 1994 by Business Week and one of the best books of 1994 by the Financial Times. A three-time teacher of the year, Roberts has taught at George Mason University, Washington University in St. Louis (where he was the founding director of what is now the Center for Experiential Learning), the University of Rochester, Stanford University, and the University of California, Los Angeles. He was a national fellow and visiting scholar at the Hoover Institution from 1985 to 1987. He holds a PhD in economics from the University of Chicago and received his undergraduate degree in economics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Show Notes: (:31)  Russ’ Journey (4:00) What is it about the economics of education? (5:23)  Importance of School Choice (8:24)  If you could build an educational system from scratch, what would it look like? (13:37)  Deriving an effective educational model for developing countries (17:10)  What gets you most excited about the future of education & learning? (18:55)  What was your favorite interview on current issues in education? (24:15)  Higher Ed (29:00)  If you could have dinner with one person you admire, past or present, who would it be and why? Christopher Hitchens, Milton Friedman & Adam Smith EconTalk episodes on education that were mentioned: Paul Tough on How Children Succeed Eric Hanushek on Education & Prosperity Doug Lemov on Teaching Lant Pritchett on Education in Poor Countries Ed Tech Shout Outs: Khan Academy edX Contacting/Following Russ: Blog:  Cafe Hayek Podcasts:  Econ Talk Twitter:  @econtalker For more episodes featuring thought leaders in education visit MeetEducationProject.com, subscribe to the podcast on iTunes and follow Nick DiNardo on Twitter.