Monetizing Web 2.0
March 22, 2008
One repeated challenge that we face in the educational technology industry is: how do you monetize Web 2.0?
In the Web 2.0 world, a 21st Century Literacy Specialist from Bangkok can rise to prominence and social networks exist with the sole purpose of integrating technology into the classroom. Therefore, Web 2.0 is not conducive to traditional resellers pitching products.
Also, most services in the Web 2.0 world are free! What does the educational technology business world look like in the era of free tools such as free-reading, ning, pbwiki, twitter, and blogger? Chris Anderson just wrote a major article in Wired about how $0.00 is the Future of Business.
Nobody seems to know the answers yet. Some would argue that monetizing Web 2.0 requires a platform such as Sharepoint. I am confident that there is a platform independent business model to partnering with school districts to bring innovative solutions using free tools.
The only certainty is that the world of IT and education is transforming. Those that do not consider the influx of Web 2.0 will be left in the past.
If you are interested in exploring these questions with me, please do not hesitate to drop me a line, comment on the blog, or message me on Twitter sharing your thoughts.
LaunchTown Announces Second Annual $20,000 Northeast Ohio Student Entrepreneurship Competition
March 3, 2008
I have been participating in the Second Annual Northeast Ohio Student Entrepreneurship Competition. It is a great forum for College students in NEO to pitch their business ideas to a panel of experts. I have not been as active in this organization as I would have preferred, but I still encourage you all to come to the competition at John Carrol on April 7.
Here is the press release:
LaunchTown is pleased to announce the Second Annual Northeast Ohio Student Entrepreneurship Competition to be held April 7, 2008 at John Carroll University. The winners for the best idea for new business, product, or service will receive more than $10,000 in cash prizes and $10,000 in business services.
LaunchTown has been made possible by generous grants from the John P. Murphy and Burton D. Morgan Foundations. Nancy W. McCann, President and Treasurer of the John P. Murphy Foundation said, “We are delighted to be sponsoring the LaunchTown Competition. This region originally blossomed because of the creative entrepreneurship in the early 20th century. Encouraging future entrepreneurship is vital to the economic health of our region in this the 21st Century”.
There are additional LaunchTown sponsorship opportunities available. Interested organizations should contact Ali Manav at Ali.Manav@launchtown.org.
The competition is open to students of any Northeast Ohio four-year college. Students, individually, or in 2-4 person teams, submit a 5-10 page essay describing their new business, product, or service. The best ideas will receive $10,000 in cash prizes, including a $5,000 grand prize, and over $10,000 in business services to help them bring their idea to reality.
Complete competition rules are available at www.launchtown.org.
Colleges participating in this competition include; Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland State University, Baldwin Wallace College, Ashland University, Kent State University, The University of Akron and John Carroll University. In addition there is an Open Category for any student of a four-year college in Northeast Ohio. Contacts and detailed submission information for each college and the Open Category are available at the www.launchtown.org site.
Dr. John C. Soper, Professor of Economics and Chair in Entrepreneurship at John Carroll University said, “Silicon Valley, Boston, Austin, Triangle Park, and other booming regions all owe their success directly to seeds planted and nurtured in local universities. Most of our graduating college seniors will find jobs in relatively small, fast-growing enterprises that were created by entrepreneurial business owners who plan on staying in Northeast Ohio. We need to reach these students before they graduate with the idea that entrepreneurship is vitally important to our region, that it is rewarding to active participants, and that they can be a part of the growth process through entrepreneurship.”
For additional information on LaunchTown, contact Charles Stack at cms@flashlinepartners.com or visit www.launchtown.org. LaunchTown is presented by the Entrepreneurship Education Consortium of Northeast Ohio www.eecneohio.com . LaunchTown is sponsored by Akron ARCHAngels, NorthCoast Angel Fund, The Tom Barratt Companies, Thundertech, Flashline Partners, Meyers Roman, Squire Sanders, Ohio Venture Association, Omniasoft WebDev, Carney, Gluntz & Associates, PCT Law Group, Entrepreneurs Association, Concierges Connection, Marsh USA, Palitto Consulting Group, MedXSales, InSpire One Consulting, Smart Solutions, Campus EAI Consortium, and NorTech.
LaunchTown is a business idea competition and an example of what happens when a select group of successful Northeast Ohio business leaders and area colleges and universities put their minds together to encourage brain gain.CONTACT:
Charles Stack
LaunchTown Committee
Phone: 216 220-4580
cms@flashlinepartners.com
Website www.launchtown.org
Unnecessary Technology
February 12, 2008
One of the dangers of selling education technology is selling unnecessary technology. I was talking to Jeanne Hayes from the Hayes Connection yesterday, and she was telling me about her workshop on the topic of how Large Scale Technology Implementations Fail.
Then, today, this article from the Washington Post crossed my desk:
The problem? What a former Alexandria school superintendent calls “technolust” — a disorder affecting publicity-obsessed school administrators nationwide that manifests itself in an insatiable need to acquire the latest, fastest, most exotic computer gadgets, whether teachers and students need them or want them…
To paraphrase the movie “Field of Dreams,” if a computer company makes a classroom gizmo, the Alexandria school system will buy it.
We are trying to develop a number of methods to protect us from this tendency:
- Aim to become the long-term strategic technology partner for the school as opposed to a short-term sales person
- Choose our technology partners wisely and make sure that our partners’ philosophy is in line with our philosophy
- Help administrators understand the professional development needs that surround any new product
- Understand that buy-in will be required by the teachers, administrators, curriculum directors, and IT directors before adoption of any new technology
Jon Becker from the blog, Educational Insanity, writes about the “people” issue in technology adoption:
educational leaders/policymakers are guilty of installing systems without regard to the personnel…the ed. tech. policy agenda has been dominated by a focus on infrastructure development supported by a bit of professional development. In other words, the “systems” have been installed and the leaders are then forced to try to fit the personnel into the system.
One of the largest initiatives at SSI K12 this year has been developing a professional development practice for these reasons exactly. If we want to be a technology partner for every school in America, we need to understand how training and professional development fit in this picture.
FETC 2008 (Day 2)
February 8, 2008
I never had a chance to finish blogging about FETC 2008. Let me post some more highlights:
Steve Dembo introduced us to some hot new products that I had never heard of: Curriki ; Ustream ; and Digital Native.
I also got introduced to some web2.0 products that I knew about, but never dove into until after the conference. At the top of this list is Twitter. Check out my profile here.
Other than that, products that I want to learn more about are Moodle, a collaborative classroom management tool, and Ning, a free social network creator.
Finally, the best workshop of the day was by Jeanne Hayes of Hayes Connections. She talked about a virtualization solution by Parallels. Virtualization seems to be a no-brainer for any educational institution. It is a great way to consolidate servers, use less power, and improve support. (Of course, Smart Solutions has experts in virtualization if your school is interested in our services!)
Overall, it was a wonderful trip.
eTech Ohio
February 1, 2008
Greetings from Smart Solutions K-12!
We look forward to seeing many of you next week at eTech Ohio 2008. As you may or may not know, Smart Solutions K-12 has undergone dramatic changes over last year. We have positioned ourselves to become the premier technology partner for schools across Ohio and the Midwest.
We have assembled an all-star team including:
-An E-rate specialist
-Educators dedicated to training and professional development
-A charter school founder
-Web 2.0 specialists
-And more…
Our new practice represents a solid addition to our stellar team of certified engineers, project managers, technicians, and IT consultants working in your schools every day.
We’d like to invite you to our presentation on Monday, February 4, 1:45-2:30 in Room E151.
The topic is “Assessment, Value-Added, Web 2.0: Putting it all Together.” Also, be sure to stop by and see us at Booth #515.
If you want to see the slides, discuss our offerings, make an appointment, or be added to a monthly Smart Solutions newsletter, please do not hesitate to call or e-mail!
Sincerely,
The K-12 Team
FETC Day 1
January 24, 2008
I understand that today was not FETC day 1 for everybody, but this was my first day in town. I am going to post my general observations about this conference.
-This is probably wrong to say in education technology circles, but I like this conference much better than NECC. I went to NECC last year, and it was overwhelming. There were thousands of workshops, vendors, and things happening – and it felt chaotic and disorganized to me. FETC is a lot more manageable and seems to attract higher quality speakers and vendors.
-It is wonderful to see so many personal and online friends and colleagues attending the same conference. I am meeting my friend, Anna, from wireless generation for dinner this evening. Her FreeReading.net program is being adopted by Florida! My old buddies from SchoolNet are in attendance.
-Alexander Russo, Will Richardson, and Lee Wilson are other prominent bloggers in attendance.
-At the vendor booths, the variety of product knowledge is staggering. There are some products where the vendors understand every detail about their product, its market, and its advantages – and these vendors are a pleasure to listen to. Other vendors are unclear about what they are selling and how it fits a school’s needs.
-I also had the opportunity to watch Steve Dembo from Discovery (and Teach42) speak about the Web 2.0 revolution in education. Steve had great energy and energized the crowd. I heard comments after his speech that people were incredibly impressed with his passion and ideas. As a heavy Web 2.0 user, I found his speech to be a bit boring. I believe that people who are not exposed to these tools need to get their hands dirty with these tools to truly understand them. But it was still a good time.
Overall, I have been quite pleased with the conference. It is well attended and presents the perfect opportunity to build relationships with new partners and vendors in our space.
Welcome to Smart Solutions Blog/Web Page
January 14, 2008
Note: Please click here to read the full blog. Also, please do not hesitate to e-mail me or call me at 216-374-6723.
Welcome to Smart Solutions new K12 web page. First, let me introduce myself.
My name is Nitin Julka and I have been “blogging” since 2002. I am an avid consumer of the news, politics, blogs, think tanks, magazines, podcasts, and other media. If you google me, you will find a lot of results. To save you the energy, you can read about me on my personal web page.
I am committed to improving education through the use of technology. Smart Solutions is my family business, and after completing an undergraduate degree in Computer Science (and Psychology) from University of Wisconsin-Madison, a stint in Consulting at CRA International, and finally an MBA from Columbia Business School, I have returned home to the business.
While we are not a large company with a large marketing department, I find that blogging is a good way to create a “voice” for my enterprise. Therefore, following in the illustrious footsteps of Richard Edelman, Andy Rotherham, and John Halamka, I have started this blog.
This blog will focus on Ohio, education technology, and education policy. I always welcome feedback and suggestions – please e-mail me any questions or comments that you have about anything. I am especially interested in building a community of educators who are committed to furthering collaboration, 21st century skills, and education through the use of technology.
If you are an educator in Ohio and Michigan, and wish to learn more about our company or services, please contact k12@ssik12.com .
Looking forward to getting to know you!