EdTech Show Daily

Datatel Adds IT Infrastructure Partners To Help Clients Build Strategic Academic Enterprises

VCOMP and Sirius to Provide Advanced Hardware with Design and Implementation Services

 

Datatel has partnered with Sirius Computer Solutions and VCOMP Solutions to provide Datatel clients with a secure source for advanced infrastructure design, hardware and software products, and professional services. Both companies bring extensive knowledge, experience and expertise to help build Strategic Academic Enterprises that support student success through optimized IT environments.

“VCOMP is deeply committed to the Datatel partnership, and we believe our solutions, skills, and expertise will be of great value to Datatel customers. VCOMP’s expertise with virtualization and the development of mission-critical solutions specifically built for Datatel environments will set us apart from other solution providers”

These new Datatel partners possess core competencies in sizing, configuration, implementation, and consulting services in a range of areas that includes systems security, networking, and data storage. Both companies are sponsors of the 2010 Datatel Users’ Group Conference and Expo (Twitter: #DUG2010) to take place March 28–31 at National Harbor, Md.

“Our partnerships with Sirius and VCOMP are excellent news for our clients,” said Christopher W. Sheppard, director of partner and external relations, Datatel. “These professionals have the expertise and experience in supporting academic institutions to build stable, scalable IT infrastructures that bring out the absolute best performance of Datatel’s array of products. We look forward to working closely with both companies for the benefit of our clients.”

Sirius counts more than 6,500 client installations in the United States, including more than 400 at educational institutions. Sirius partners with IBM, HP, Dell, Cisco, F5, Microsoft, Oracle, and VMware, and maintains over 3,100 technical certifications in its national team of technical and sales professionals.

“Sirius has a dedicated higher education team that will work closely with Datatel to provide optimized, integrated technical solutions to the Datatel community,” said Tom Neville, senior vice president of sales, Sirius Computer Solutions. “With over thirty years of demonstrated success in a broad array of vertical markets, we offer a breadth of experience unparalleled by our peers.”

VCOMP partners with HP, IBM, Dell, Oracle-Sun, and VMware, among others, and its employees have implemented nearly 200 Datatel installations.

“VCOMP is deeply committed to the Datatel partnership, and we believe our solutions, skills, and expertise will be of great value to Datatel customers. VCOMP’s expertise with virtualization and the development of mission-critical solutions specifically built for Datatel environments will set us apart from other solution providers,” said Bob Panos, managing director, VCOMP Solutions.

About Datatel, Inc.

Datatel is a provider of innovative technology products, services, and insight to higher education. Colleges, universities, and technical schools across North America partner with Datatel to build Strategic Academic Enterprises dedicated to achieving student success. The company has focused on higher education since 1979.

About Sirius Computer Solutions

Backed by 30 years of IT experience, Sirius is a nationally recognized solution provider with a certified team of sales and technical professionals who have the skills, product knowledge, and commitment to help clients develop and implement the right technology solutions to solve their business needs. To help organizations solve complex business challenges and meet business objectives, Sirius has built a nationwide consulting, sales, and services organization that provides best-of-breed technologies from across the full spectrum of information technology, including hardware, software, storage, networking, security, and voice.

About VCOMP Solutions

VCOMP Solutions is a national IT solutions provider focused on the higher education marketplace. Its team of technical professionals has implemented close to 200 Datatel infrastructure projects on practically every platform and database that Datatel supports, in both virtualized and non-virtualized environments. With services such as its Higher Education Recovery solution, VCOMP can keep academic enterprises running in the event of a disaster. Its team of sales and technical professionals has over 250 years of combined IT experience. 

For more information, visit Datatel, Sirius Computer Solutions or VCOMP Solutions.

Scholarship America Selected As Best Buy @15 Partner

“Dollars for Scholars” program to dedicate a percentage of the proceeds to new scholarships for students

 

Scholarship America®, the nation’s leading nonprofit scholarship and educational support organization, announced that Best Buy, Inc. has selected its Dollars for Scholars® program as one of four organizations vying for a portion of $250,000 between now and April 30, 2010.

“We applaud Best Buy’s commitment to education and mobilizing teens to be involved in positive ways in their communities”

Best Buy’s @15 program, At15.com, gives teens ages 13-18 the opportunity to earn points through a variety of activities which they can use to vote for the charity of their choice. The goal of @15 is to give voice to teen perspectives and provide a platform for them to connect and engage.

“Our mission is to mobilize America to make education possible for all students,” said Mim Schreck, Interim President of Scholarship America. “Through the @15 Fund, we’re mobilizing teens to help their peers gain access to college through scholarships. I am excited to announce that Scholarship America will dedicate a percentage of the proceeds from the @15 Exchange for scholarships for students.”

Scholarship America will create three new scholarships – the Dollars for Scholars UHelp Scholarships – with proceeds from the @15 Exchange. The Dollars for Scholars UHelp Scholarships will be awarded to students between the ages of 13-18* who apply through the application on the @15 site. Additionally, Scholarship America will increase its funding for the Dollars for Scholars CVSA/Student Volunteer Scholarship program, which is available only to students in participating Dollars for Scholars communities.

“@15 empowers teens to be the drivers of change by giving them the opportunity to direct Best Buy’s charitable donations through online activities and voting," said Tim Showalter-Loch, senior manager for @15 and Community Relations. "We are thrilled to have Scholarship America's Dollars for Scholars as one of our @15 Exchange organizations and to help further their mission of supporting these same teens in their educational goals."

The amount of funding for these scholarships depends entirely on the percentage of points received by Dollars for Scholars.

“We applaud Best Buy’s commitment to education and mobilizing teens to be involved in positive ways in their communities,” Schreck added. “And we encourage teens to register for @15, explore the site, earn points and give those points to Dollars for Scholars. More points equals more scholarships!”

*Children of Scholarship America employees are not eligible; see scholarship application (available only at https://www.at15.com/points/org/dollars_scholars) for official rules.

About Scholarship America

Scholarship America® is a national education service organization that mobilizes support for students getting into and graduating from college. Since 1958, Scholarship America has awarded more than $2 billion in scholarship assistance to more than 1.7 million students through our three core programs: Dollars for Scholars®, Scholarship Management Services®, and Dreamkeepers Emergency Financial Assistance program.

About @15

Best Buy believes in the power of teens, and @15 is a platform to connect with them, give voice to their perspectives, and invest in our resources – including the energy and talents of our employees – to turn their ideas into action and support their efforts to lead social change. Teens bring passion and enthusiasm to tackling tough issues. They’re also important to our business – they shop in our stores, and they’re our future employees. There’s a real opportunity to listen to – and learn from – what teens have to say. And through the @15 Fund, we’ll put the philanthropic power of @15 directly into their hands.

For more information, visit Scholarship America or @15.

American Claims Evaluation, Inc. Announces Name Change To American Learning Corporation

American Claims Evaluation, Inc. (Nasdaq:AMCE) (the “Company”) today announced that the Company changed its name from American Claims Evaluation, Inc. to American Learning Corporation, effective March 18, 2010.

“We are pleased to have successfully completed our name change to American Learning Corporation. We believe the change is in the best interest of our shareholders and will better reflect our primary services to the investor community at large.”

The Company filed an information statement on Schedule 14C with the Securities and Exchange Commission to furnish shareholders with notification of the name change to "American Learning Corporation" on February 17, 2010. A Certificate of Amendment of the Certificate of Incorporation of the Company was filed with the Secretary of State of the State of New York on March 18, 2010. The Company's common stock, par value $.01 per share, will now trade on the NASDAQ Capital Market under the symbol "ALRN".

Gary Gelman, the Company’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are pleased to have successfully completed our name change to American Learning Corporation. We believe the change is in the best interest of our shareholders and will better reflect our primary services to the investor community at large.”

About American Learning Corporation

American Learning Corporation, through its wholly owned subsidiaries, Interactive Therapy Group Consultants, Inc. and Signature Learning Resources, Inc., offers a comprehensive range of services to children with developmental delays and disabilities.

For more information, visit American Learning Corporation.

Summer School Programs Turning To Educational Video Games From Tabula Digita

Florida & Texas Schools Using DimensionM Multiplayer Video Games Last Summer Saw 19 Percent Increase in Math Scores

Keeping kids engaged, interested, and excited about learning math is always a challenge, but particularly in the summer when kids would rather do anything but sit in a classroom … except, perhaps, if they could play video games while in the classroom. That was the idea presented to several school districts in Florida and Texas last year by Tabula Digita, makers of the award-winning DimensionM™ educational video games.

“We saw firsthand how these games can get students excited about learning math. They were so engaged that they not only caught up to where they should have been the previous year, but many even gained ground, allowing them to start the current school year ahead of the game”

Janet Boatman, middle school math supervisor for Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida, immediately saw the appeal and incorporated the immersive video games, which are aligned to state standards and those of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, into an eight-week summer enrichment program at three school sites. The results were stunning.

“We saw firsthand how these games can get students excited about learning math. They were so engaged that they not only caught up to where they should have been the previous year, but many even gained ground, allowing them to start the current school year ahead of the game,” said Boatman. “As a result the successful summer experience, we have incorporated the DimensionM games at one site this school year and plan to expand next year to additional sites. And of course, we will have three DimensionM summer camps again this summer.”

To encourage other schools around the country to incorporate immersive gaming into their summer programs, Tabula Digita is offering a special tournament guide and prize pack with every summer pilot program purchased before March 15, 2010. In addition, all students who are enrolled in summer school programs using the DimensionM games will be automatically entered in the 2010 DimensionM Summer Math Challenge, an online video game tournament where students from around the nation challenge each other using the DimensionM multiplayer version.

Last July, educators in Austin Independent School District (AISD) in Texas introduced the supplemental video games as part of a pilot program. The intensive 10-day JumpStart program included 350 students in the 8th grade who failed the mathematics portion of the TAKS retest, for the third time. The program, designed to prepare students for 9th grade Algebra I, offered students four hours of accelerated core instruction each day.

According to Dr. Mary Thomas, who oversees state and federal accountability for AISD, “An important consideration in selecting DimensionM for the pilot program was the mounting research showing that game-based learning is a highly successful 21st century teaching and learning tool for today’s digitally-advanced students,” she said.

“The research confirms that all young people are at risk of losing ground academically over the summer months,” said Ntiedo Etuk, chief executive officer of Tabula Digita. “For some students, this academic setback will take weeks, even months to remedy when school is back in session in the fall. We want to help more educators like those in Texas and Florida by putting learning AND fun back into summer school.”

About DimensionM

Designed to teach and reinforce key math concepts, the research-based DimensionM instructional software engages students in a series of first-person adventure missions that incorporate math skills via three-dimensional graphics, sound, animation and storylines comparable to those in popular video games. By successfully navigating the myriad of embedded lessons, students not only earn points but also have the opportunity to review and master math concepts introduced and discussed during the school year.

About Tabula Digita

Tabula Digita is the world leader in the development of innovative educational video games. The award-winning DimensionM and League of Scientists instructive tools currently support mathematics and science curriculum for elementary, middle and high school students, and are currently being used in school districts across the country including New York City Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, Broward County Public Schools and the Ft. Worth Independent School District in Texas.

For more information, visit DimensionM.

Tabula Digita Announces 2010 Megabowl Educational Video Game Tournament Series

Elementary and Middle School Students in New York City; Austin, Texas; and Fort Lauderdale, Florida Will Put Math Skills to the Test Using DimensionM Software

First we used our fingers. Next, the abacus. With today’s generation, it’s educational video games that are propelling student comprehension and mastery of math ahead. And over the next several months, students from New York, Texas, and Florida will go one step further by putting their math skills to the test in “live” educational video game tournaments.

“Making students curious, creative, and collaborative learners is essential if we are going to deliver successful contributors to the 21st century workplace”

Hosted by Tabula Digita, developer of the DimensionU Learning System and the award-winning DimensionM™ Multiplayer video game software, in conjunction with Dell and Intel, large-scale tournaments will be held in Austin, Texas on April 14 and in Broward County, Fla. on May 21. New York City will host its third annual tournament on March 12 at Columbia University.

During the spirited contests, elementary and middle school students will compete against classmates and students from neighboring schools, using their math intelligence to advance through timed video games – with hundreds of their classmates cheering them on. The competitions not only allow the opportunity to demonstrate math proficiency but students will also compete for bragging rights as well as prizes. The winner at each tournament will win a FLIP HD Camcorder. Second-place finishers will receive a Fujifilm FinePix Z30 Digital Camera while a $50 Target gift card will be awarded to the third-place honorees. Teachers will also be acknowledged for their contribution in the classroom with Amazon gift certificates.

Using two of the several distinct missions offered in the DimensionM Multiplayer series, the students will tackle numerous mathematical obstacles that require knowledge of content and swift reaction to score the most points. Topics include everything from prime numbers to graphing linear equations and more.

“Making students curious, creative, and collaborative learners is essential if we are going to deliver successful contributors to the 21st century workplace,” said Ntiedo Etuk, Tabula Digita’s CEO and co-founder. “Accomplishing that sometimes requires that we break through with original, but effective solutions. The DimensionM game-based learning experience is the new model that is making learning more relevant for today’s digital students, leading to increased motivation and improved academic achievement. Progressive schools like those found in New York City, Austin and Broward County really are reaping the benefits of immersive learning.”

To help teachers get their schools in the game, Tabula Digita has added a “Toolkit” feature to its website where teachers can download and print promotional posters and flyers for their students, motivating them to prepare for the district tournament. The interactive website – http://www.DimensionU.com/Megabowl – has information and updates for the three individual tournaments.

About Tabula Digita

Tabula Digita is the world leader in the development of innovative educational video games. Research-based and aligned to state standards, the award-winning DimensionM and League of Scientists instructive tools currently support mathematics and science curriculum for elementary, middle and high school students.

Through its fusion of collaborative, content-rich, immersive learning environments, Tabula Digita’s single and multiplayer products have been proven highly effective in increasing student engagement, time on task, and achievement scores. Tabula Digita games are currently being used in school districts across the country including New York City Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, Broward County Public Schools and the Ft. Worth Independent School District in Texas.

In 2008,Tabula Digita’s DimensionM gaming series was named the Best Educational Game/Simulation from the Software Industry Information Association (SIIA).

For more information, visit Tabula Digita.

Texas Afterschool Centers On Education Utilizing Innovative Technology To Engage Students

 

The Texas Afterschool Centers on Education™ (ACE™) are incorporating innovative technology into the program curriculum through a number of applications designed to engage students. By offering access to online content that enriches academic and social skills, ACE participants benefit from activities that are core to the Four-Component Activity Guide which provides a framework for Texas ACE:

• Academic Assistance
• Enrichment
• Family and Parental Support Services
• College and Workforce Readiness

ACE online activities such as virtual field trips, podcasts, and blogs allows students and parents the opportunity to tap into programs that broaden exposure and encourage participants to think “outside of the box.”

One such example is the Ranger Fit blog (http://rangerfit.blogspot.com/), created by middle school students at Stevenson Middle School in Houston ISD. The blog was designed to increase physical fitness through running and health awareness. Students post their run times and give each other encouragement via the blog. This is an opportunity for parents to participate in the fitness activities and to learn more through this venue about the activities being provided through ACE.

The internet also brings the outside world to students as evidenced at ACE located at Spring Branch Elementary. Students followed Buzz Lightyear on his international space tour provided by NASA Quest. The social network site, Flickr®, was utilized to develop Space Trading cards, which entailed the downloading of pictures from Microsoft®’s WorldWide Telescope. These cards became a lesson and a fun game to play.

Not only are many ACE programs utilizing technology to motivate students, now Program Administrators and Center staff are being provided professional development and, training through new technologies such as webinars and podcasts. Grant leaders can find information about innovative programming on iTunes and via a new secure online learning site at MyTexasACE.org. The site provides the opportunity for ACE staff to:

• Develop an ACE community by sharing and discussing lessons learned
• Obtain support to implement program requirements
• Participate in online courses that are on-demand or facilitated
• Access a variety of resources and tools

A webinar series, Innovative Learning through Technology, has been delivered in 2009-2010 to provide Texas ACE staff training and practical ways they can use new web tools and technology to engage students and families in meaningful activities. They are not only receiving information but becoming active contributors in the digital world, enhancing their learning experiences.

About ACE

ACE is administered by the Texas Education Agency and funded by the Texas 21st CCLC Program administered by the US Department of Education. Edvance Research, a women and minority, employee owned firm, is the provider to TEA for Program Enhancement & Quality Assurance for ACE, and is headquartered in San Antonio, Texas.

For more information, visit The Texas Afterschool Centers on Education.

NEC Display Solutions Develops DLP Portable Projector For K-12 Classrooms

NP216 Enhances User Experience with Advanced Feature Set, 3D-Ready Technology

 

NEC Display Solutions of America, a leading provider of commercial LCD display and projector solutions, announces the latest in the NP Portable Series with the fully-featured NP216 DLP® projector. A dominant player in the education market, NEC Display Solutions now offers both LCD and DLP solutions to education environments. The NP216 provides brilliant images and advanced capabilities in education applications and conference rooms for users that want to take advantage of DLP technology and comprehensive connectivity in a portable product.

“Teachers and corporate users alike will find the expansive feature set to be incredibly versatile and functional, providing them with the tools they need to effectively communicate to their audience.”

Teachers and corporate users will benefit from the advanced feature set in the NP216, such as the dual VGA inputs. This feature enhances the user experience by providing multiple computer inputs and eliminates the time-consuming process of alternating between computer sources from one input. Also included in the comprehensive input panel are improved RS-232 and RJ45 connections for advanced control and asset management. The latest DLP Link technology developed by Texas Instruments offers customers the ability to project 3D images, a growing need for teachers wishing to immerse students in lessons and engage their interest like never before. The interaction students experience through 3D education changes the way they learn by intimately connecting them with the subject matter. Additionally, the variable audio-out feature enables users to connect self-powered external speakers to the projector, which is a must in the education sector to ensure sound is properly amplified.

“NEC’s new NP216 offers educators flexible connectivity options that work for them and allows simple technology integration into the classroom,” said Rich McPherson, Product Manager for projectors at NEC Display Solutions. “Teachers and corporate users alike will find the expansive feature set to be incredibly versatile and functional, providing them with the tools they need to effectively communicate to their audience.”

Lamp life is extended up to 5000 hours with the use of its ECO Mode™ technology and lowers power consumption to 217W (0.49W in standby mode). Power management allows the projector to turn off automatically when an incoming signal is not detected on any of the inputs, and its quick start (3-4 seconds) and shutdown technology allows immediate use and power off functionality without the need for a cooling period. The new remote includes a green ECO Mode button that works in conjunction with the carbon footprint meter to improve the projector’s carbon footprint.

A partial list of features of the NP216 includes:

• Native resolution of 1024 x 768 XGA
• High contrast images (2000:1) from the latest Texas Instruments DLP engine featuring BrilliantColor™ technology, which increases system brightness and color saturation while optimizing color gain across the full color gamut
• Brightness up to 2500 lumens
• Power consumption of 242W (217W in ECO Mode)
• Lamp life up to 5000 hours (in ECO Mode)
• Low power consumption (0.49W in standby mode), which minimizes energy costs
• Enhanced and comprehensive input panel, which includes two VGA inputs, composite video, S-Video, component video using optional 15-pin adapter
• Improved RS-232 and RJ45 connection, which enables quick and easy LAN connection
• Variable audio-out and built-in 7W speaker
• AV mute and video image freeze, which allows users to control the presentation and focus audience attention
• Fine-tuning adjustments such as color temperature, brightness and contrast
• Built-in wall color correction presets, which provide for adaptive color tone correction to display properly on non-white surfaces
• Carbon savings meter calculates the positive effects of operating the projector in ECO Mode, which is encouraged by an optional message at startup
• Green ECO Mode button on the remote control makes the switch between lamp settings easy
• Security features, including Kensington lock, keypad lock, password security system and security bar

The new NP216 will begin shipping in April 2010 with an estimated street price of $1,099. The projector ships with a standard 2-year parts and labor warranty, including the first year of InstaCare. The lamp is covered for 1 year or 500 hours, whichever comes first. InstaCare provides the original owner one year of either limited 3-business-day repair/return or next-business-day exchange. Education and Star Student customers receive two additional years (4 years total) on their NP216 warranty.

About NEC Display Solutions of America, Inc.

Headquartered in Itasca, Ill., NEC Display Solutions of America, Inc., is a leading designer and provider of innovative desktop LCD monitors, commercial- and professional-grade large-screen LCD displays, a diverse line of multimedia and digital cinema projectors, and integrated display solutions. NEC Display Solutions develops leading-edge visual technology and customer-focused solutions for a wide variety of markets, including enterprise, healthcare, education and digital signage.

About VUKUNET

VUKUNET, powered by NEC Display Solutions of America, is the universal advertising platform that connects digital out-of-home networks with ad revenue. VUKUNET is a web-based tool that provides a centralized, automated place for network owners to connect their screens to advertisers looking to place their digital ads. Advertisers and ad agencies can use the companion ADVUKU ad-serving platform to search for the best networks in any location.

For more information, visit NEC Display Solutions of America or VUKUNET.

Summer School Programs Turning To Educational Video Games From Tabula Digita

Florida & Texas Schools Using DimensionM Multiplayer Video Games Last Summer Saw 19 Percent Increase in Math Scores

 

Keeping kids engaged, interested, and excited about learning math is always a challenge, but particularly in the summer when kids would rather do anything but sit in a classroom … except, perhaps, if they could play video games while in the classroom. That was the idea presented to several school districts in Florida and Texas last year by Tabula Digita, makers of the award-winning DimensionM™ educational video games.

“The research confirms that all young people are at risk of losing ground academically over the summer months”

Janet Boatman, middle school math supervisor for Hillsborough County Public Schools in Florida, immediately saw the appeal and incorporated the immersive video games, which are aligned to state standards and those of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, into an eight-week summer enrichment program at three school sites. The results were stunning.

“We saw firsthand how these games can get students excited about learning math. They were so engaged that they not only caught up to where they should have been the previous year, but many even gained ground, allowing them to start the current school year ahead of the game,” said Boatman. “As a result the successful summer experience, we have incorporated the DimensionM games at one site this school year and plan to expand next year to additional sites. And of course, we will have three DimensionM summer camps again this summer.”

To encourage other schools around the country to incorporate immersive gaming into their summer programs, Tabula Digita is offering a special tournament guide and prize pack with every summer pilot program purchased before March 15, 2010. In addition, all students who are enrolled in summer school programs using the DimensionM games will be automatically entered in the 2010 DimensionM Summer Math Challenge, an online video game tournament where students from around the nation challenge each other using the DimensionM multiplayer version.

Last July, educators in Austin Independent School District (AISD) in Texas introduced the supplemental video games as part of a pilot program. The intensive 10-day JumpStart program included 350 students in the 8th grade who failed the mathematics portion of the TAKS retest, for the third time. The program, designed to prepare students for 9th grade Algebra I, offered students four hours of accelerated core instruction each day.

According to Dr. Mary Thomas, who oversees state and federal accountability for AISD, “An important consideration in selecting DimensionM for the pilot program was the mounting research showing that game-based learning is a highly successful 21st century teaching and learning tool for today’s digitally-advanced students,” she said.

“The research confirms that all young people are at risk of losing ground academically over the summer months,” said Ntiedo Etuk, chief executive officer of Tabula Digita. “For some students, this academic setback will take weeks, even months to remedy when school is back in session in the fall. We want to help more educators like those in Texas and Florida by putting learning AND fun back into summer school.”

About DimensionM

Designed to teach and reinforce key math concepts, the research-based DimensionM instructional software engages students in a series of first-person adventure missions that incorporate math skills via three-dimensional graphics, sound, animation and storylines comparable to those in popular video games. By successfully navigating the myriad of embedded lessons, students not only earn points but also have the opportunity to review and master math concepts introduced and discussed during the school year.

About Tabula Digita

Tabula Digita is the world leader in the development of innovative educational video games. The award-winning DimensionM and League of Scientists instructive tools currently support mathematics and science curriculum for elementary, middle and high school students, and are currently being used in school districts across the country including New York City Public Schools, Chicago Public Schools, Broward County Public Schools and the Ft. Worth Independent School District in Texas.

For more information, visit DimensionM or Tabula Digita.

K12 Inc. & Virginia Virtual Academy Welcome Governor Bob McDonnell To Virtual Public School

Virginia Governor and First Lady join an interactive, web-based “virtual” class with students from online public school operated by Herndon-based K12 Inc.

 

Today, K12 Inc. and the Virginia Virtual Academy (VAVA) welcomed Governor Bob McDonnell and First Lady Maureen McDonnell as they logged on to a live, interactive web-based class with students enrolled in the statewide online public school.

“Our students, parents and teachers were excited that the Governor and First Lady took time to personally experience the unique and innovative way that we deliver instruction to students all over Virginia through our virtual public school. It was a tremendous thrill for all of us.”

The “virtual” class was held in conjunction with a field trip to the Executive Mansion in Richmond hosted by VAVA for a group of local students and parents. The web-based class included VAVA students who were logged in from all across the state to participate in a lesson led by a teacher on Virginia’s state government.

VAVA is a K-8 online public school program offered through Carroll County Public Schools in Virginia. It uses the award-winning curriculum and school services provided by Herndon-based K12 Inc., the nation’s leader in online school programs for students in kindergarten through high school.

“We were honored to have Governor McDonnell and the First Lady meet with a group of our students at the Executive Mansion and delighted that they joined us in a ‘virtual’ class with our other students from across the state,” said Suzanne Sloane, VAVA Head of School. “Our students, parents and teachers were excited that the Governor and First Lady took time to personally experience the unique and innovative way that we deliver instruction to students all over Virginia through our virtual public school. It was a tremendous thrill for all of us.”

The Virginia Virtual Academy, along with a similar online public school program operated by K12 in the District of Columbia, also stands out as one of the few public schools that remained open during the devastating snow storms that forced many schools in Virginia and DC-metro areas to close for multiple days. Despite the weather, students logged on to their daily lessons and joined teacher-led classes using interactive web-based technology. Both online public schools were able to fully operate and stay on schedule without any significant interruptions.

K12 provides its curriculum and school services to online public schools in 25 states plus the District of Columbia. Since the company was founded in 1999, it has delivered over 1.5 million courses to more than 150,000 students in the U.S. and across the world.

About K12 Inc.

K12 Inc. (NYSE: LRN), a technology-based education company based in Herndon, VA, is the nation’s largest provider of proprietary curriculum and online education programs to students in kindergarten through high school.

K12 provides high quality, customized education solutions to school districts, charter schools, and directly to families ranging from individual courses to classroom and hybrid programs to full-time virtual school programs. K12 Inc. also operates the K12 International AcademyTM, an accredited, diploma-granting online private school serving students in over 40 countries.

The K12 virtual school program combines a high quality curriculum – using engaging online lessons and hands-on education materials – with professional teachers, advisors, and state-of-the-art technology that connect students to their school program. This gives families the flexibility to school at home, on the road, or wherever an Internet connection can be found.

K12’s mission is to provide any child the curriculum and tools to maximize success in life, regardless of geographic, financial, or demographic circumstances. More information can be found at.

For more information, visit K12 Inc.

BioFlorida Launches Foundation To Foster Bioscience Education & Collaboration

The BioFlorida Institute Will Produce Programs in Science Education, Professional Development and Workforce Training

 

BioFlorida, the statewide trade association founded in 1997 to advance Florida’s bioscience industry, has approved a plan to launch The BioFlorida Institute, a not-for-profit foundation focused on education, professional development and industry resources. The Institute, working in partnership with BioFlorida, will create programs to improve science education and support bioscience entrepreneurs and scientists throughout the state.

“Establishing this new Institute is a major step forward because it allows us to support the growing bioscience industry through workforce training and fostering the next generation of bioscience leaders to capitalize on our strong foundation within the state”

“Establishing this new Institute is a major step forward because it allows us to support the growing bioscience industry through workforce training and fostering the next generation of bioscience leaders to capitalize on our strong foundation within the state,” said Tom McLain, BioFlorida’s Chairman of the Board and CEO of Claro Scientific in St. Petersburg. “The BioFlorida Institute will also create an industry resource center to connect early stage companies with suppliers, partners and service providers in Florida to assure they grow and create jobs here. Both of these initiatives will help to drive near-term and long-term growth in the biotechnology sector of Florida’s economy.”

The Institute’s top priorities include supporting entrepreneurs and scientists who want to bring their concept to the marketplace; fostering better math and science education programs in Florida; providing industry-specific workforce training to help create high paying biotechnology jobs within the state; and researching trends and developments in Florida’s bioscience industry to benchmark its progress.

“The BioFlorida Institute will provide infrastructure and services to an industry that relies on collaboration. Complementing BioFlorida’s member programs, advocacy and marketing will help grow Florida’s bioscience cluster to reach its full potential,” said Russell Allen, President and CEO of BioFlorida.

The BioFlorida Institute is establishing its leadership and organizational structure. Initial fundraising efforts are being sought to immediately build on BioFlorida’s career & education programs for high schools and to create the industry resource center.

About BioFlorida

BioFlorida is Florida’s bioscience industry association, operating as a 501(c)(6) not-for-profit organization and representing the biotechnology, pharmaceutical and medical device industries. The association serves to advance innovations in healthcare, agriculture and energy with more than 200+ members. Members of the association include research and development companies and institutions, drug delivery and diagnostic companies, clinics and hospitals, academia and service providers. BioFlorida is the state affiliate of the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) and partners with numerous state and international organizations.

For more information, visit BioFlorida.