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Volume 3, Number 10, August 3, 2007 |
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| Editor's Note | |
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Over the past month I've been watching the news with particular interest. Education market companies appear to be in a building phase. Not only do we continue to see significant merger, acquisition and investment activity (ETS/ Thomson Prometric; Houghton Mifflin/Harcourt; Disney/Club Penguin; Bain Capital Ventures and Prides Capital's $60 million investment in The Princeton Review), but companies are expanding services to provide more comprehensive solutions ( Wireless Generation offering PD, Pokémon Learning League adding an online management system; Microsoft venturing into curriculum areas), focusing globally (Britannica Global Reference Center: Intel and One Laptop per Child), and dipping numerous toes in the Web 2.0 pool (mostly podcasts, but also some innovative implementations of Wikis and other community building tools.) Districts seem to be getting serious about harnessing professional development activities to their larger student achievement and school reform goals ( Hawaii Department of Education partnering with TrueNorthLogic for PD management; Los Angeles signs on for Pearson's "Learning Teams" PD model). To me it seems that momentum is growing toward a point at which it will snowball into a transformed curriculum, powered by technology and digital content and focused on 21 st Century skills. But since I'm in EdNET Catbird mode, where I'm called upon to look at trends and try to tease out their broader implication, I worry that I' m suffering from the “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail” syndrome. I know there are still very significant barriers to overcome, but really feel that there is something new about today's atmosphere. I'd welcome input from News Alert readers. Do your customers seem to be in a new place or it more of the same? What are the issues that are keeping you up at night? Where do you think we'll be as an industry in two years? Please drop me a note at anne@hellerreports.com or feel free to call (800-525-5811, x9442) if that's easier. And thanks! |
Lead of the Week A
LEAD FOR YOU FROM QED's SCHOOL PURCHASING MONITOR WHAT: Laptops |
Contents Feature
Story K-12 Market Headlines Higher Ed Market Headlines Internet/Telecom International Headlines Financials/Mergers/Corporate She Snoops for Scoops: The
Personal Side of the EdNET |
Feature Story Americans Want More Technology in the Classroom; Americans Understand Technology's Role in Learning but Disagree on Approach San Jose, Calif., July 26, 2007 - Americans understand that fundamental changes must be made to the U.S. educational system if the country is to remain competitive in the 21st century, a report released today by Cisco® found. Americans especially realize the importance of adopting information technology to upgrade schools, connect communities and improve educational content, but they are often conflicted about these changes. The survey, titled "Education Attitudes 2007," was conducted by Zogby International in May. The majority of Americans said that technology is an important factor in connecting schools to their communities as well as in leveling the playing field among more and less affluent schools by providing equal access to educational content.. Find the full story here. |
K-12 Market HeadlinesCooperative Educational Service Agency 9 (CESA 9) Collaborates with Library Video Company (Library Video Company, August 1, 2007) Los Angeles Educators Take Lead in Transforming Teacher Professional Development Through “Learning Teams” (Pearson Achievement Solutions, August 1, 2007) Interwrite Learning Leads Interactive Teaching Pad Segment with 63 Percent of Sales (Interwrite Learning, July 31, 2007) Wireless Generation Offers Professional Development and Consulting Services To Help Schools Use Data To Deliver Effective Instruction (Wireless Generation, July 31, 2007) Maine Becomes Sixth State To Join the National Partnership for 21st Century Skills (Partnership for 21st Century Skills, July 30, 2007) Voyager Expanded Learning's Vmath Now Integrated with the Quantile Framework for Mathematics (Voyager Expanded Learning, July 27, 2007) One2OneMate™ Introduces StudentMate™ the First Linux-Based Laptop Solution for Education (One2OneMate, June 24, 2007) |
Higher Ed Headlines Unicon Announces Twenty-Six New Customers for its uPortal Cooperative Support Program(Unicon, Inc., July 31, 2007) SAS Helps Oklahoma City Community College Maximize Data To Gain a Clear View of Campus Operations (SAS, July 30, 2007) Northcentral University and Rio Salado College Announce Online Learning Teacher Education Partnership (Northcentral University, July 26, 2007) New Editions of Popular Textbooks Now Being Published by SAGE and Pine Forge (Sage Publications, July 26, 2007) |
Internet/Telecom Logica Holdings Announces Strategic Alliance between Anne's Diary and Web Wise Kids(Logica Holdings, Inc., July 30, 2007) Soliloquy Learning Revamps Website; New Resources, Educator and News and Events Sections Allow for a Richer User Experience (Soliloquy Learning, Inc., July 30, 2007) |
International Headlines (Edustructures, July 31, 2007) International Studies Abroad Expands Program Offerings in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, and North Africa (International Studies Abroad, July 28, 2007) |
Financials/Mergers/Corporate The Walt Disney Company Acquires Club Penguin; Club Penguin Founders To Join the Walt Disney Internet Group(The Walt Disney Company, August 1, 2007) Blackboard Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2007 Results; Second Quarter Revenue Increases 36 Percent to $59.4 Million (Blackboard Inc., July 31, 2007) DyKnow Signs Reseller Agreement with HP; Companies Share Goal of Increasing Educational Achievement (DyKnow, July 31, 2007) Fourier Systems Recognized as Member of Microsoft Windows Embedded Partner Program (Fourier Systems, Ltd., July 31, 2007) NetTutor™ Delivers 1,000,000th Online Tutoring Session (Link-Systems International, July 31, 2007) Laureate Education Reports Second Quarter 2007 Results; Investor Group Completes Tender Offer (Laureate Education, Inc., July 27, 2007) The Princeton Review Receives $60 Million Investment from Bain Capital Ventures and Prides Capital (The Princeton Review, Inc., July 24, 2007 |
Product Announcements
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| She Snoops for Scoops: The Personal Side of the EdNET | |
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Hi everyone! Well, I asked for scoops, and you sent them my way this week-lots of news, so sit back and enjoy! Scientific Learning Corp. has announced that Michael A. Moses and Lance R. Odden have joined its board of directors. A lifelong educator and administrator, Mike Moses is currently chairman of the board for the American College of Education in Chicago and a Distinguished Visiting Professor of Educational Administration at Texas A&M University. From 1995 through 1999 he was the Commissioner of Education for the state of Texas. He also served as superintendent of four Texas districts, including the Dallas Independent School District, and as the deputy chancellor for the Texas Tech University System. Lance Odden is presently a managing director of New Providence Asset Management Corp. and chair of New Providence's Governance Advisory Board. He also serves as lead director of Irwin Financial Corp. and as an advisor to Warburg Pincus, a private equity investment firm. He is a distinguished education administrator, having served for some 30 years as the headmaster of the Taft School; president of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges; president of the Headmasters' Association; and a member of the board and executive committee of the National Association of Independent Schools. He has been an advisor to Scientific Learning Corp. since 2003. Join me in congratulating these two men on joining the Scientific Learning board! Stanley G. Page has been appointed to the newly created position of Vice President of Sales, SAFARI Montage at Library Video Company (LVC). He will lead the national SAFARI Montage sales force and manage the growing customer demand for the Video-On-Demand and digital media management solution. Most recently, Stanley was the District Sales Manager at Pearson Digital Learning, where he was responsible for PDL digital curriculum software products for grades Pre-K-8th in Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan. Before that, he was the Regional Sales Manager for Apple Computer in Chicago, where he managed Apple Computer's K-12 educational markets and worked closely in the implementation of the first 1:1 laptop-computing initiative in the state of Illinois. He also held various management positions for 3M Corporation and later for Imation Corporation, a spin-off company from 3M. Please join me in welcoming Stanley to the terrific Library Video team. Library Video Company (LVC) has also announced the appointment of Shirley D. Crehan to the position of Director of Professional Development, SAFARI Montage. A highly experienced educator skilled in implementing instructional materials services using technology, she will provide top-level professional development initiatives and implementation for the SAFARI Montage suite of products. Most recently, Shirley was the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, Instructional Materials Services/Technology Applications Director in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where she provided a cost-effective and efficient regional delivery service of instructional materials to the 13 member school districts in Bucks County. She was responsible for leadership, adult learning styles, and staff development presentations and programs that included Internet, strategic planning for technology, integration of technology into the curriculum and technology assessment. Prior to working for the Bucks County Intermediate Unit, she was the Lead Media Specialist for the Pennsylvania Department of Education, where she provided staff development by using the trainer of trainers model as well as developed training packages for teachers, specialists and administrators throughout the 501 school districts of Pennsylvania. Shirley has been recognized by the National Association of Media and Technology Centers with the Herb Braselman Award for leadership and outstanding contribution to the field of technology and regional centers across the United States. Creative Teaching Press, Inc. has announced that Chris Campau has joined the company as the International Sales Manager. In this new position, he will be responsible for the company's worldwide sales and marketing efforts under the direction of Ed Miller, Director of Sales and Marketing. Chris will be responsible for all aspects of the international market and will work closely with Kathy Lucus, former International Sales Representative. While Kathy will pursue new domestic sales ventures, Chris will manage existing customers and seek new distribution channels to grow the company's international business. He has more than 18 years of experience in the educational publishing industry and recently served as Key Accounts Manager for Frank Schaffer Publications. Chris has a well-rounded background with experience in both business operations and sales. Beginning his career in 1989 at Frank Schaffer Publications, he held a broad spectrum of management roles including Credit Manager, Customer Service Manager, Key Accounts Manager, and Director of Specialty Market and International Sales. Congratulation to Chris on his new roll. Lisa Schmucki sent me her news that she has this week launched her own marketing consulting firm - Bridgepoint Marketing Services. She has had this dream for some time and is thrilled it has become a reality. MKTG Services has supported her decision, and Lisa will continue to work with them on a consulting basis as well as with Market Data Retrieval, who recently acquired the MKTG Education Division. Congratulations to Lisa on the launch of her new business. Scholastic Corporation has announced that Terence V. Cooney has joined the company as Vice President, Real Estate. He will report to Scholastic Executive Vice President, Chief Administrative Officer, and CFO Maureen O'Connell. Scholastic owns or leases more than 7.5 million square feet of office and warehouse space in almost 200 facilities around the world. Its headquarters office, one of the last designs by the famed Aldo Rossi, blends elements of the traditional cast iron architecture of SoHo with the classic beauty of downtown Manhattan. New York Times architecture critic Paul Goldberger called it a “textbook example of how to design in a historic structure: subtle, brilliantly inventive, it is the sort of building that… will teach generations of architects the proper way to respond to historic structure.” Terence has over 20 years' experience in the real estate management field. He joins Scholastic from the Asbury Automotive Group, where he was Vice President and Executive Officer, Real Estate Management, responsible for all aspects of the company's $1 billion real estate portfolio. Prior to that, as Managing Partner of United Systems Integrators Corporation's New York Metro region, he advised leading multinational companies on real estate matters. He was also Senior Asset Manager and Director of Real Estate Management Services for NYNEX, with responsibility for office management of the company's Manhattan headquarters and its 2,000-site Northeastern U.S. real estate portfolio. In addition, he has advised numerous Fortune 500 companies as a consultant in Ernst & Young's global real estate consulting practice, and was an account manager for the International Service System, a company providing cleaning, maintenance, and related services to airports, hospitals and corporations. A licensed New York State real estate salesperson, Terence is a member of the New York City chapter of CoreNet Global, an organization that focuses on corporate real estate innovation, education, and networking. Please join me in congratulating him on joining the Scholastic team! Apangea Learning has recently hired Michael Greenland as a senior graphic developer. He is responsible for the implementation and maintenance of brand presence for the company as a whole and for its core products. He previously worked for Low + Associates, Inc. on the National Science Foundation account as a senior designer, where he specialized in Flash and Web development. He also worked as a Web-multimedia developer at Danya International, Inc. Join me in congratulating Michael on his new position. And the talented Jeff Angle has been promoted to Vice President of Marketing for Digital & Supplemental products at Pearson Digital Learning. He had previously been Director of Marketing. Congratulations to jeff on this promotion. You likely read the news that The Princeton Review, Inc. reached a definitive agreement with Bain Capital Ventures and Prides Capital under which the two private investors have made a $60 million of preferred stock investment in the company. It was also announced that Michael J. Perik, former CEO of The Learning Company, will become the new Chief Executive Officer of the Princeton Review, effective immediately. He succeeds the company's founder, John S. Katzman, who will remain as Executive Chairman. Michael most recently served as Chairman of Houghton Mifflin Company's Assessment Division. He was previously Chief Executive Officer of Achievement Technologies, which was sold to Houghton Mifflin in 2006. Before that, he was Chairman and CEO of The Learning Company. Stephen Cootey, from Prides Capital, will also join The Princeton Review board as an observer. Join me in congratulating these individuals and wishing The Princeton Review every continued success! Apart from the business news this week, I heard from friends Carol Waugh, VP of Marketing, ScholarCentric, and Kathy Hurley, Senior VP, Strategic Partnerships, Pearson Education. Carol had just returned from what sounds like a delightful weekend with Kathy and her husband Charles Blaschke, President, Education Turnkey Systems, at their summer cabin on the eastern shore of Virginia. Charles took these two fishing and, being the perfect gentleman, he baited their hooks (with LIVE bait, Carol added!) and motored them around Chesapeake Bay. It sounds as though they had a great deal of fun! Carol did confess that she has an extra piercing in her ear from when an errant cast from Kathy went astray - but that's another story for another day! E-mail Carol if you can't picture Kathy relaxing with a fishing rod - she has pictures! Call Kathy if you want to ask about Carol's piercing or hear her side of the story. And send a note to Charles commending him on his courage in taking on those two for the weekend - what a great guy! Carol was on the east coast last week because one of her brothers, a DJ, was turning the big 5-OH, and all his siblings showed up to surprise him. Many of you know Carol is an amazing quilter, and she made an art quilt of a guitar for him. I saw a picture and it was fantastic. She is so talented! Many of you are getting to know Justin Webb, Marketing Coordinator at Quality Education Data (QED) , as he is very busy these days with, among many other things, working with our EdNET speakers and sponsors. But two weeks ago he took time out for one of his favorite summer events - the Back Nine Party. See if you don't agree this is a fabulous theme for a party! He has a number of friends who all live in one neighborhood, and every year they build miniature golf holes in their homes and then come up with a drink associated with the theme of the hole. Then about 40 of them wander around the neighborhood wearing what he described as ridiculous golf attire and drink. I saw a picture of his 2006 outfit, and you know I loved his neon pink hat with a flamingo on it! What a great summer activity! LAST REMINDER - The early bird discount for EdNET 2007 is Friday, August 3rd - don't miss out! We sure hope to see you there! Till next week … Vicki, the Snoop
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The Heller Reports/Quality Education Data News Alert
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