The 10 most innovative edtech solution providers 2018

www.insightssuccess.com March 2018

The

10

Most Innovative

EdTech Solution Providers

2018

EduTalks Leveraging the Potential of Gaming into Education

Karen Chung CEO & Founder

Learn & Grow Integrating Technology into the Educational Environment

Improving the Lives of Millions

Editor’s Note

Education and Technology: Then and Now!

T

echnology is a gift of God. After the gift of life it is perhaps the greatest of God’s gifts. It is the mother of civilizations, of arts and of sciences - Freeman Dyson

The above quote broadly signifies the significance technology has had on our lives. It has impacted every little corner of our lives, and education is no exception. Or maybe it isn’t? From an unconventional perspective, education seems to have hardly changed since its origination.

A famous illustration by Laurentius de Voltolina can be considered as a prime example. The picture depicts a university lecture scene during the medieval period in Italy. The scenic depiction can be recognized as a mirror reflection of the modern day education landscape. The image shows a teacher or master standing upfront in a podium in front of a sea of students, sitting in rows and listening. However, a closer look gives an opposite indication. Some of the students are seen conversing with their neighbors while others seem to pay close attention to the class with their books open. One of them is even asleep, while a few have a bored look hanging upon their faces.

Strikingly, the scenic depiction closely relates to a modern day classroom environment, wherein some of the students are engrossed into their tech devices like laptops, tablets, or smartphones, completely oblivious of the teachings in class. This comparison itself would be enough to convince a cynic that technology has played no role in changing the education landscape over the years. However, the truth stands far from this.

Technology has influenced the education section in vast and profound manner. It has enabled a largenumber of people to access education, an opportunity far-reaching in the past. Medieval times only saw a handful of elite or privileged ones to taste or access educational opportunities. Individuals had to go above and beyond in terms of travelling to visit learning centers to gain any form of structured knowledge. Today, owing to large volume of information online, knowledge can be accessed and subsequently gained with the touch of a button or rather screen. EdTech as an industry has continually strived to ameliorate the process of education by integrating technology into its membrane. Whether it is ease of learning, access to education, teaching pattern, or personalized learning, technology has flourished the educational scene to generate a sense of interest and excitement amongst the minds of modern students.

Taking the rising integration and adoption of education technology across classrooms, Insights Success has shortlisted “The 10 Most Innovative EdTech Solution Providers 2018,” which are using their extensive business knowledge to curb imminent challenges and promoting growth in the education landscape by leveraging the potential of technology.

Featuring as our Cover Story is Special Learning, which is dedicated in bringing Applied Behavior Analysis intervention to the world; by teaching parents, educators and professionals how to implement quality ABA programs, we provide 70 million people in the world living with autism a chance to achieve independence.

Alongside this the magazine also includes, DESIGNATION, which is a design boot camp that trains people of all experience levels to be UX and UI designers over 12 weeks; The dominKnow Inc. Platform is a web-based authoring and publishing solution that helps teams collaborate in real-time, share and re-use content, and easily engage subject matter experts in the review process; Kahoot!, which is a game-based learning and trivia platform used in a multitude of settings - in K-12 and university classrooms, corporate offices, social settings, and major sporting and cultural events; LaptopsAnytime designs, manufactures, and services specialty automated kiosk equipment that dispenses a wide-variety of laptops and tablets from major manufacturers; No Isolation, which is a Norwegian startup company which develops technologies that reduce involuntary social isolation; and NUITEQ®, which is an education technology software company that created the award-winning collaborative software Snowflake, that makes education more fun, engaging and memorable.

Also, make sure to flip through our articles, written by our in-house editorial team; as well as CXO Standpoints of notable industry personalities.

Let’s start shall we?

Sourav Mukherjee

CONTENTS Cover Story

Special Learning: Improving the Lives of Millions

EduTalks

26

Leveraging the Potential of Gaming into Education

10

Articles Industry Insights Efficacious People Constantly Chase the Impossible

Highlights Learn & Grow Integrating Technology into the Educational Environment

38

Role of Innovative Leadership in Innovative Businesses

Mentor Mind Popular Technology Waiting to be Scaled

22 34 40

DESIGNATION: A Specialized Platform Empowering Aspiring Designers

18 dominKnow Inc.: Creating eLearning Software for Organizational Learning

Kahoot!

Redefining Learning with a Magical Touch of Technology

24 LaptopsAnytime: Leading the Way to Move beyond Desktops

No Isolation: A Technological Hand to Reduce Social Isolation

20

30

32 ÂŽ

NUITEQ : Creating a Renaissance in the Education System

42

Pooja M. Bansal Anish Miller Sourav Mukherjee Jenny Fernandes Kedar Kulkarni Assistant Editors Brian Smith Kaustav Roy Visualiser David King Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Associate Designer Vijaykumar Dudhbhate Co-designer Aparna Vanzul Art & Picture Editor Paul Belin Jayant Khanna Senior Sales Manager Passi D. Business Development Manager Peter Collins Marketing Manager John Matthew Business Development Executives Steve, Joe, Alan, Rohit Sales Executives David, Kevin, Mark, Jagdish Technical Head Jacob Smile Technical Specialist Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza Online Marketing Strategist Alina Sege, Shubham Mahadik, Vaibhav K SME-SMO Executives Prashant Chauhan, Uma Dhenge, Gemson, Irfan Research Analyst Chidiebere Moses Circulation Manager Robert, Tanaji Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes Editor-in-Chief Senior Editor Managing Editor Executive Editors

sales@insightssuccess.com

March, 2018 Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com

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Cover Story

Karen Chung CEO & Founder

Improving the Lives of Millions

Special Learning is passionate about helping those in need.

Cover Story

W

ith a staggering 70 million people in the world - 3.5 million people in just the U.S. alone -struggling with autism, it is fair to say that there is no greater challenge facing schools today than the increasing number of students diagnosed with autism and other special needs. Parents are demanding more than just standard therapy, and are instead hoping for a solution to rescue their children from a lifetime of disability.

In response, educators are developing new techniques and approaches to assist children with autism. Too often, good initiatives tend to succumb under a shortage of resources and financing. However, that grim picture might be beginning to change.

Much of that change can be attributed to Karen Chung and her company, Special Learning, Inc., who strives to improve the lives of 70 million people in the world living with autism and other developmental disabilities.

The Spark While working on a consulting project in 2010, Karen attended an Autism Society conference in St. Charles, Illinois. She began conversing with a behavior analyst at a booth that marketed educational toys and materials for children with autism.

“We look at what we do as something very simple. At the end of the day, we are striving to create independence through access.”

The two-hour long conversation introduced Karen to Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA). ABA is an incredibly effective intervention therapy, boasting a success rate of nearly 50% in mainstreaming kids with autism.

Karen learned that there was a huge gap in the delivery of autism-related services - nearly 1 million out of the estimated 3.5 million people with autism in the U.S. had no access to this life-changing intervention. Worse yet, people outside of the U.S. had virtually no access to ABA. The realization that tens of millions of people in the world were deprived of a chance to live independently imbued Karen with a newfound sense of purpose. She subsequently

founded Special Learning with a mission to improve the lives of millions by bringing Applied Behavior Analysis to the world.

Delivering Solutions that Matter Although the company currently has over 200 SKUs, that number is continually rising as Special Learning continues to develop new, innovative solutions to meet the insatiable needs of the global autism and special needs communities around the world.

Special Learning’s offerings primarily fit into three categories: Training, Educational Materials and Expert Virtual Services for parents, educators, behavior analysts and healthcare professionals. “We look at what we do as something very simple. At the end of the day, we are striving to create independence through access,” explains Karen.

The company firmly believes that in order to become their child’s therapist, parents should have ready access to all the requisite resources. It strives to achieve this by developing products that are suited for parents – content is less technical, specific to situations and circumstances that parents would experience in their home and communities, and terminology that is appropriate for the level of knowledge most parents possess.

By leveraging its clinical subject matter experts, Special Learning creates real solutions to address acute problems in the field which have not been addressed by other individuals or organizations.

Understanding the importance of inter-disciplinary collaboration, Special Learning has embarked on a very aggressive initiative to develop a training series to address the knowledge gap among various disciplines. With the launch of its Autism Intervention Team Collaboration series, it seeks to promote collaboration through bi-lateral exchange of information designed to create awareness, share knowledge, and introduce simple, relevant and actionable collaboration frameworks to help bridge this gap.

“People with autism receive intervention from multiple professionals, including educators, Speech Language Pathologists, Pyschologist, Occupational Therapists, Social Workers, and others. By teaching professionals in these other disciplines what ABA is and how it’s used, and vice versa - by teaching ABA professionals how professionals in other disciplines help their clients - we can bridge the chasm by removing those obstacles that get in the way of progress.”

By enabling parents and educators to help children with autism progress through their journey to independence with specialized training, education, and expert consultation and supervision, Special Learning ensures that they have the tools needed to attain mastery and generalization.

Karen breaks it down, “Everyone’s definition of mastery may be different, but just as all ABA programs are customized to the student, our comprehensive array of products and services allow our clients to create their own customized solutions to meet their unique needs.

“We empower parents, teachers

If you look at each product or service as a Lego piece, you can begin to understand the power of being able to create unique, customized solutions, no matter who you are or where you are in the service delivery process so that you can create your own system to meet your current level of knowledge.”

and professionals with resources to help those with autism and special needs maximize their potential.”

They have also made strong inroads with health professionals who provide care to individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities by pushing the boundaries of knowledge for experts in the field of ABA. This is accomplished by providing them with access to knowledge possessed by the world’s foremost experts in the field of ABA. By using a differentiated teaching methodology it provides clinicians with the information that is highly relevant and immediately accessible.

Comprehensive Digital Autism Solutions As with any new company, irrespective of industry, Special Learning had to tackle significant challenges before it found its footing.

Special Learning originated as a product-based company by developing the tools necessary for the implementation of ABA programs. It created educational materials like flashcards, which are required to teach language and communication skills; social stories, which are a highly effective means for teaching social and life skills; and mobile applications to teach language.

Cover Story

After investing substantial resources and investing several years developing and launching its products in the U.S., it began to tackle the International markets. Special Learning realized very quickly that the most pressing problems for international parents and educators was virtually zero access to behavioral experts and lack of access to quality resources. As parents and educators were starting from ground zero in terms of their knowledge of ABA, training was the key to beginning the process of change. By providing parents and educators with access to quality ABA materials that systematically addresses this knowledge gap through training and quality educational materials... they began the process of empowering parents and educators to become ABA practitioners, capable of directly helping their own children or students.

From inception, Special Learning supported Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), experts in ABA, with advanced training to push their boundaries of knowledge, while allowing them to acquire continuing education hours to meet their licensing and certification requirements.

“We think beyond the way things are done and always envision how it can be done better.”

“This led us down the path of creating a broad array of training products for expert behavior analysts.”

As its inventory of training products expanded, Special Learning decided to move down the educational curve to train teachers, health professionals and parents on how to use Applied Behavior Analysis with their students, patients and children.

As the company already possessed an extensive portfolio of training and educational materials, by adding

virtual consultation and supervision with expert BCBAs to its portfolio, they were able to provide a comprehensive “solution” to enable any person in the world with the ability to create and maintain an ABA program.

“With these three pillars of success – training, educational materials and virtual services, we can now proudly call ourselves a ‘Comprehensive Digital Autism Solutions Provider.”

A Leader Fomenting Change As the CEO and Founder of Special Learning, Karen Chung has dedicated her career to autism intervention and has courageously shouldered the responsibilities of the firm to lead it to where it is today.

Karen, a native of South Korea is an active speaker and tireless advocate for access to quality resources for the international behavior analysis community and for parents of children, adolescents, and adults who have autism or other special needs.

Karen is passionate about promoting exceptional ethical practices among

quickly identify problems and to develop innovative solutions to affect systemic change.

Her educational portfolio includes a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting from the Northern Illinois University, and a Master’s degree in Business from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Needless to say, Karen is the driving force and innovative genius behind Special Learning’s mission to become the best and most comprehensive special needs provider in the world.

practitioners who provide autism intervention. She is very successfully achieving this through partnership with the world’s foremost experts in the field of ABA, by advocating for standardization of services, and by developing rigorous global credentialing standards, training and other quality resources.

As an entrepreneur and investor, Karen possesses over 20 years of experience across a wide range of industries and functions. Her diverse background, knowledge and perspective have provided her with the unique ability to

“We know that when our passion takes the front seat, everything else will fall into place.”

Going the Extra Mile Special Learning prides itself in thinking beyond the way things are done and envisioning how they can be done better.

“As soon as mobile apps became known an effective way to deliver education and therapy services, we wasted no time in developing one that children on the spectrum can use to learn,” Karen reveals. The company consistently evaluates new and emerging technologies to determine how they can be applied to develop real solutions.

Speaking about the power of technology, she says, “We believe the real power of technology is the ability to connect us with people - parents, educators, health professionals and other thought leaders - to build a bridge to collectively create systemic and sustainable solutions to positively impact the world.”

Currently, Special Learning is in close consultation with companies offering VR and AR. The aim is to explore potential partnership opportunities that utilize these breakthrough technologies to create innovative solutions.

Although Special Learning is a forprofit business, it is not driven by competition or monetary accomplishments. “We’re driven by a strong, deep-seated desire to see more families and children smile as they relate their autism success stories. We know that when our passion takes the front seat, everything else will fall into place.”

Becoming Better, Stronger and Faster Being an innovator and thought leader, Special Learning is always looking to become better, stronger and faster. Its close relationship with global behavior analyst communities continues to provide it with opportunities that lead to unique, actionable solutions that don’t yet exist or are not accessible to the masses.

2018 will see Special Learning bring about quality ABA to Russian-speaking countries by training professionals in the education system on how to help children with autism and other developmental disabilities.

Ultimately, Special Learning is driven by a singular focus - to lead the charge in ensuring that members of the global autism ecosystem are given the ability to access the resources that they need to bridge the gap between the "haves" and “have nots” so that we can collectively make the world a better place.

“From information comes understanding. Through understanding, we may be able to achieve the wisdom to transcend our current reality and focus on what really matters --- helping people with autism and other special needs around the world attain the skills they need to achieve independence to live happy, fulfilling lives,” concludes Karen.

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CORPORATE OFFICE Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754,(302)-319-9947 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription : www.insightssuccess.com

Company Name

Management

Brief

Addigy addigy.com

Jason Dettbarn Founder & CEO

Addigy’s cloud based IT Mac Management solution ensures your data to be secure; your Macs are safe and you have a current inventory of every machine you manage.

BoomWriter boomwriter.media

Chris Twyman CEO

BoomWriter strives to change the way one reads and writes.

DESIGNATION designation.io

Aaron Fazulak Co-founder & CEO

DESIGNATION is a design boot camp that trains people of all experience levels to be UX and UI designers over 12 weeks.

dominKnow dominknow.com

Luke Hickey CEO

dominKnow Platform is a web-based authoring and publishing solution that helps teams collaborate in real-time, share and reuse content, and easily engage subject matter experts in the review process. Content is ready for delivery from virtually any location — all from a single-source.

GlobalEnglish globalenglish.com

Karine Allouche Salanon CEO

GlobalEnglish is a global technology company that helps clients realize the potential of diversity in the workforce and improve lives of global workers through the learning and application of Business English.

Kahoot! kahoot.com

Erik Harrell CEO

Kahoot! is a game-based learning and trivia platform used in a multitude of settings - in K-12 and university classrooms, corporate offices, social settings, and major sporting and cultural events.

LaptopsAnytime laptopsanytime.com

Matt Buscher Co-founder & Principal

LaptopsAnytime designs, manufactures, and services specialty automated kiosk equipment that dispenses a wide-variety of laptops and tablets from major manufacturers.

No Isolation noisolation.com

Karen Dolva Co-founder & CEO

No Isolation is a Norwegian startup company which develops technologies that reduce involuntary social isolation.

NUITEQ® nuiteq.com

Harry van der Veen CEO

NUITEQ® is education technology software company that created the award-winning collaborative software Snowflake, that makes education more fun, engaging and memorable.

Special Learning special-learning.com

Karen Chung CEO & Founder

Special Learning is a company dedicated to bringing Applied Behavior Analysis intervention to the world; by teaching parents, educators and professionals how to implement quality ABA programs, we provide 70 million people in the world living with autism a chance to achieve independence.

DESIGNATION: A Specialized Platform Empowering Aspiring Designers

‘‘

Good design can change the conversation, but great

design can

O

Aaron Fazulak Co-founder & CEO

ne of the most exciting results of the proliferation of technology is the manner in which it is driving down the cost of education, thereby making skills acquisition more accessible. Driven by this trend, online program providers are also able to expand rapidly by leveraging lower operating costs.

The technological evolution is helping individuals acquire skills across diverse fields of study. However, digital revolutions are particularly effective in attracting individuals of all ages to creative professions like content and software creation, fine arts and design.

Of these, the design profession perhaps has the greatest potential to influence the world. Strangely enough, it is also the least celebrated. One of the reasons behind the limited appreciation for the creative profession is a limited area of reach.

change the world. Join us over 12 weeks in our creative, collaborative workspace and let’s make something that makes a difference.

Previously, the absence of a global platform to learn and share design education meant that many capable designers were limited to working locally. The salaries they earned were not commensurate with the talent they possessed.

DESIGNATION stands tall as a pioneer in the creation of this essential global design platform. Its 24-week online and in-person program allows

18

March 2018

talented designers to learn the skills necessary to turn professional, and quickly put those skills to use in the real world.

Over five hundred students have already used DESIGNATION as the springboard for a career in design, and many of them are today employed in some of the world’s largest and most influential companies. In fact, DESIGNATION can boast of an unmatched hiring rate of 96% since its inception in 2013.

Catering to All Levels of Design DESIGNATION UX and UI designers get the opportunity to work with 2 or 3 real-world clients as part of their progress under the oversight of a project manager and creative director.

This gives them the opportunity to gain the practical experience necessary to solve difficult problems, while building a solid, focused portfolio.

DESIGNATION offers a variety of career advancement paths for experienced designers through exciting opportunities in leading teams, mentorship, client engagement, and public speaking. Additionally, it runs on-site design thinking workshops for large organizations and their employees.

The company also gives back by providing pro bono design services that empower small companies and startups.

Inspiration, Foundation and Initial Struggles The company was founded in late 2013 during the boom of coding bootcamps.

At one such camp, a team of proactive participants asked themselves the question, “Why can’t we create a similar program for design?”

While they were inexperienced and had a limited background in traditional education themselves, the motley crew March 2018

of talented designers, developers, entrepreneurs and problem-solvers came up with an innovative plan. They created a unique way to teach design where people could more quickly gain the experience and skills necessary to be employed in the field.

Initially, DESIGNATION began with an inexpensive 10-week program. The founders quickly realized that teaching design was very different from teaching software development, and 70 days was not nearly enough time. Over the course of a year and after a lot of feedback from customers, designers and employers, they decided on a 24week format.

This continues to be the main format offered by the company today. It includes live client projects as part of the curriculum and is widely regarded as one of the most promising options for any aspiring designer.

An Emphasis on Human Interaction DESIGNATION believes that, “To be a great creative professional in design, you still need to work with people face-to-face.”

Every design course the company runs always includes some sort of humanto-human interaction. It is the first program provider in alternative education that focuses exclusively on design.

DESIGNATION understands the importance of a comprehensive design platform and has added features accordingly. Individuals graduating from its courses possess the ideal balance of technical knowledge and the interactive human touch.

The company stresses, “We work with real companies with users, revenue and challenges that require our designers’ help. That allows us to boast about our 96% placement rate and career support rivaled by none.”

Passionate CEO Leading from the Front After eight months running its first design course, DESIGNATION’s graduates achieved a stellar placement rate of 93 percent. The program was working. However, because the concept was so new, the company struggled to find customers and was running out of money.

With less than two months of cash remaining, DESIGNATION’s Cofounder and CEO Aaron Fazulak decided to liquidate his 401k, removed himself from payroll, and took out a personal credit card to buy the company three more months of operating cash.

Aaron then personally emailed people interested in the program, tripling conversion rates overnight. He has always led the company with that pure devotion and aims to continue to build an intelligent team which can sustain the quality of its services.

“Quality isn’t only a necessity in the field of education,” he explains, “It’s a responsibility.”

Combining Online and In-person Experience DESIGNATION aims to grow by adhering to its philosophy of creating the highest-quality programs that blend both online and in-person experience.

The platform is going to offer these experience across unexplored cities, and has been consistently working on advanced course offerings correlatively.

The company ensures every designer in the DESIGNATION community will always have the skills necessary to be employed today, and still be prepared for the challenges of tomorrow.

19

‘‘

Deliver it anywhere

dominKnow Inc.:

you want, anytime.

Creating eLearning Software for Organizational Learning

B

Luke Hickey CEO

ased in Canada’s capital, Ottawa, dominKnow is a cloud-based eLearning authoring tool provider that believes you don’t just build learning content and forget about it. The organization feels strongly that it’s all about creating and sharing great learning experiences, and then maximizing that content’s use and value in as many ways possible.

For two decades, dominKnow has been creating eLearning software for small teams and large organizations. During this timeframe, the company has developed Learning Content Management Systems, online authoring platforms, and formal and informal learning products used across almost all sectors of business and government.

The Steadfast Leader With extensive experience in the software and information technology industry, Luke Hickey is the CEO of dominKnow. According to his philosophy, dominKnow is a learning company that builds software and training solutions, as opposed to a software company that builds products to develop learning content. Thanks to

20

March 2018

this approach, and Luke’s passionate pursuit of product excellence, the education industry has a content authoring and publishing platform specifically designed to meet their unique challenges. This, combined with Luke’s insistence that all of dominKnow’s content authoring and publishing tools be built using an open protocol, standards-based approach, means that educators have viable solution that will serve them both today and tomorrow.

An Organization with LearnerCentric Approach dominKnow’s existence of more than twenty years in the business and its ‘learner-centric’ approach to tools development makes the organization distinctively unique across the space.

With a combination of powerful features and simplicity-of-use, dominKnow’s content authoring and publishing platform, dominKnow One, can compete with different classes of tools — from enterprise level learning content management systems to singleuser desktops solutions. Organizations get the best of both worlds, the power of a cloud-based Learning Content Management System (LCMS) for both managing and delivering large amounts of content, with a rapid, easy-to-use authoring and publishing experience desktop users have come to depend on. dominKnow One can be deployed on its own or as part of a larger system. Its open protocol, standards-based approach means easy integration with LMS or LRS solutions, and ensures future-proof capabilities.

Bringing a Wave of Change According to dominKnow, there’s a rush for authoring tool vendors to get on the responsive content bandwagon, which is great for those wanting to develop material that can be accessed March 2018

on multiple devices and used in multiple ways. However, not all responsive tools are created equal.

Most authoring tool vendors try to impose a dumbed-down and limited approach to learning content development. Templated, fill-in-theblank, or block-based tools help get stuff out of the door and meet the responsive check-box, but often they don’t satisfy the learning need. dominKnow’s approach allows all the same powerful, rich content development, the organization is known for, while providing an intelligent content authoring framework with dynamic themes and components that take care of the underlying details. This “true responsive” methodology means educators can build rich learning experiences without worrying about specific devices, multiple versions of the same content, or what sized devices the future will bring.

From a measurement point of view, the emergence of xAPI is a very exciting development for the educational space. xAPI is an open specification for learning technology that makes it possible to collect data about the wide range of learning experiences a learner has — both in and outside the classroom. This learner-centric approach to learning analytics will increasingly be important for forwardthinking instructors and content developers, who continue to deploy varied learning strategies. Thanks to the xAPI integration, instructors, content developers, learners, and managers will now be able to access metrics related to content access and interaction that will allow them to measure and assess its effectiveness. In addition to these, dominKnow One fully supports the xAPI standard, providing a wealth of tracking capabilities out-of-the-box with no extra effort or programing required by the content author.

Tackling Rough Days The status quo is dominKnow’s biggest competitor, and its biggest challenge. Change is hard; with limited resources and time people tend to keep doing things as they always have done, even when there’s recognition of issues or problems.

According to the organization, there are a number of good content authoring tools available, but only few of them cover the same ground as dominKnow.

The organizations’ dogged focus on the collaborative development of multiuse, truly responsive content makes it unique. To date, the company has won several industry awards related to content management, content authoring, mobile authoring, and mobile access, which speaks strongly to how well that focus is paying off.

The Future Ahead With the recent launch of dominKnow One, which is the latest version of the organizations’ content authoring solution, comes major advances in single-source, multi-use content authoring, true-responsive content output, software simulation, and the most complete support of xAPI in the industry — all in a single platform.

Even with the focus on these enhancements, dominKnow didn’t lose sight of the importance of a powerful but simplified authoring experience. To that point, dominKnow One continues to flesh out the organizations’ robust offering of rich templates, stock images & characters, responsive pre-made components, buttons and gauges, builtin actions, and a large integrated asset library that educators can easily add to and share as they develop their own learning experiences.

21

Industry Insights

Efficacious People Constantly Chase the

Impossible S

uccessful entrepreneurs typically possess a growing mindset. Rather than trying to prove they are better than others, they emphasize on trying to improve themselves. Such leaders have faith in building strong, collaborative teams and are driven by pure optimism as they see themselves as geniuses who only need helpers to implement their ideas. The person having the right attitude and smart decision making skill is greeted by success.

Businessmen who dare to lead a life striving for their personal best knows the mirage of perfection and knows well that perfection is not always possible, in fact, it's hard to achieve.

One is continuously evolving, changing, and moving through life. It is the focus on chasing perfection and attaining excellence for results, what takes them forward.

Business is a shared experience guided by shared perception of roles and objectives. Successful people have

22

the zeal to chase the perfection and end up meeting with excellency.

Altering The Path is an Approach to a New Choice Successful people are where they are today because of their goals. Goals determine 95% of a person’s behavior. It is very important to know the difference between the goals that inspire and goals that trap. Perfectionism is perhaps the most common goal setting trap. Goals, by definition are meant to be the ideals. The best stories about entrepreneurs are full of fresh beginnings and unexpected detours. If you find yourself criticized by others on what you’re doing, or feeling frustrated even when things are going well, think about making a new plan.

Success looks different to different people Success looks different to everyone. Being successful actually requires the zeal to drive, the ambition and to work March 2018

constant, logical, and sustainable improvement throughout the organization. This allows continuous improvement to go beyond being a slogan on a poster, so it becomes the way company operates at all times.

It is by the ability to learn that one finds Success. The successful entrepreneurs often are inspired by someone iconic or they set their minds in viewing their bosses or mentors as an inspiration. They are resources for these people to be open to. If one goes into any situation believing that the issue has already been figured out, he stunts out the ability to become more successful. When one is not caught up in proving himself or showing off his skills and talent he is more relaxed and is open to learn. Things are not frantic. The person is open to listen and observe, which allows one to progress.

The Correct Attitude and Effort to Create Future Believing in the effort one has to put always gives fruitful results. Businessman should believe that to achieve greatest potential in life one has to learn to monitor the attitude and its impact on the work performance, relationships and everyone around him. Attitude talk is a way to override the past negative programming by erasing or replacing it with a conscious, positive internal voice that helps one face new directions. The internal conversation—that little voice one listens to all day long—acts like a seed in that and leads to the programming in the brain and affects behavior.

efficiently. It involves numerous failures and the ability to come back from those failures and continues to strive for success, is what drives people to be successful. For entrepreneurs, they may look at success in terms of their bottom line. Once they achieve certain financial milestones, they believe that they have made it. Success can be defined in so many other ways. If we just focus on money, we lose the sight of the bigger picture in life. Striving to make the bottom line at all costs while disregarding people, the environment and the community, may provide short-term prosperity, but once again, it has the “I win” mentality while putting down or disregarding the effects on others.

Finding Immense Room for Improvement There is a saying- Humans always resist change as they fear to go out of their comfort zones. It is a natural and reassuring thing to resist putting ourselves in new situations. One needs to encourage a philosophy of March 2018

Believing That There Exists an Angle It is their belief that in any situation to come up with something good there has to be some lows. There cannot be good without bad, hence it is the spirit of finding creative and fruitful angle to every dreadful situation they face during their entrepreneurship career. These businessmen tend to mend themselves in such a way that they find an angle to come out of the state from which they were struggling to fight. Acknowledging the fact that their service is something larger than the rough time they have been facing allows them to emerge in a much better way.

Achieving perfection may never happen but the results can lead to outcomes that were never imagined. The people who are known to be achieving success might be daringly slaving away in the background for years; decades even, to turn their dreams into reality. To go through each stage of success, one has to master that level of ability and then the next step would unfold naturally.

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‘‘ Kahoot!

Our mission is to unlock the deepest potential of

Redefining Learning with a Magical Touch of Technology

each and every learner, of all ages and in all contexts. We do

S

Erik Harrell CEO

ome say there is a child residing in the heart of every adult who looks back at the past and wonders what happened. Although this may be a little exaggerated, there is an element of truth to it. Children are born with a pure and simple worldview which has the power to turn reality into an unforgettable experience with the help of gamification and competitiveness, fun and games. Many adults often forget the principles of simplicity and their power to imagine a different world in the midst of productivity and never-ending deadlines. Hence, adults forget that gamifying experiences can be used to make the world a far more productive place, at the same time, a fun place to live in. This is why the classrooms and corporate offices around the world are searching for ways to bridge this gap.

that by making learning fun, magical, inclusive, engaging and shareable through games.

Bridging The Gap in Learning; The Kahoot! Way One company which helps adults and students use their imagination with simplicity to learn and be more productive is Kahoot! The company is a game-based learning and trivia platform used in a multitude of settings

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March 2018

such as classrooms, social settings, corporate offices and major sporting and cultural events. Kahoot! has successfully appealed to such a wide audience in a personal manner because the idea was envisioned by someone who devoted his life to learning.

Kahoot! platform was envisioned by a Norwegian computer science and game technology professor, Alf Inge Wang.

The idea was coined at the Norwegian University of Technology and Science (NTNU) in Trondheim. Hence, it is not a surprise that Kahoot! integrates a universal and real appeal to make learning more fun, magical. It has over 50 million monthly active unique users today.

The Convenience of Technology Delivered with a Human Touch The Kahoot! platform has gained a lot of attention in the United States where it has become a rage to reach over 35 million monthly active users. Kahoot! has become a sensation as it encourages students to actively participate in classrooms. The company relies on intuitive technology and a fun learning experience to drive learning. The company also encourages students and teachers to compete, enriches them with interesting information; provides ample space for collaboration and group discussions.

This is also why Kahoot! is as useful for a K-12 student as it is for a corporate trainer.

Kahoot! deploys their technological resources to offer quizzes on wideranging subjects such as History, Math, Science to further the understanding and learning of students. Kahoot!’s online platform is used to host online quizzes for any audience size which makes it even more productivity oriented. Additionally, the online quizzes can be accessed by students as individuals or in groups to learn something new. Currently, there are March 2018

over 20 million already existing quizzes available for teachers and corporate trainers and they can further customize it to suit their specific requirements.

The Battlefront of E-Learning The Kahoot! platform currently is available for Android and iOS as a mobile app. Students can also play virtual games on the app against their colleagues, fellow classmates or by themselves which makes Kahoot! an indispensable resource for fun learning. Subsequently, teachers and corporate trainers can assign homework using the Kahoot! app for easier access to work, which can be completed on the go. Kahoot! currently offers a large selection of ready-to-play games for K-12 students, called Kahoot! Studio, which are aligned with their curriculum. On the other hand, Kahoot! offers Kahoot! Plus, a premium version for corporate employees to foster teamwork and productivity in offices.

At its inception, Kahoot! faced a strategic challenge while developing its platform. Kahoot! appeals to a wide range of consumers, hence it was difficult for the company to formulate a clear focus to advance their business.

In reply to the daunting challenge, Kahoot! decided to double down on K12 schools in 2017, and offer a premium product to make the learning experience of corporate employees a special focus of their offerings. This practical approach paid handsome dividends for Kahoot! as the company’s corporate users jumped to a whopping 1 million active monthly users. The online platform is used by 25% of Fortune 500 companies for corporate learning. The company has revised their goals to add users who wish to learn outside the physical classroom environment.

When A Proven Leadership Challenges Destiny Kahoot! has faced many challenges since its inception. However, all these challenges have made the company more determined and successful with the help of their leadership. Kahoot!

CEO Erik Harrell joined in 2016 and during the same year, he helped the company double their user base and register 60% annual growth. Erik is determined to take Kahoot! to greater heights, as great potential lies ahead in the future for the company. More and more classrooms across the United States are demanding digital transformation to positively impact learning. Furthermore, the corporate sector is also witnessing a demand in ‘gamification’ of learning to promote learning in offices. Kahoot! has a clear business plan to satisfy its clients. In the near future, Kahoot! plans to enhance their mobile app and current products to promote learning outside the classrooms as well, and deliver a better return on investment for their corporate clients. With a solid focus on their strategy and a proven leadership at the helm of affairs, the e-learning juggernaut is set to become an unbeatable force for competitors.

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EduTalks

Leveraging the Potential of Gaming into Education “

G

o outside!” “Read a book!” “Go to bed!” These were some of the common phrases from my childhood, because I had discovered video games, a portal into an amazing dimension where I could explore and use magical powers! As an adult game designer, I thought to myself -- how can I leverage this natural tendency for play to actually teach something useful?

We started with mathematics, because it felt easy to turn elementary math concepts like addition and fractions into game mechanics. Many kids will tell you that they HATE math, but, when looked at from the right angle, mathematics is downright beautiful and fun to learn.

Edward Frenkel, a famous mathematician from UC Berkeley, is known for saying that if art was taught like math, we’d be told to paint a fence red 1000 times until we got it right. Would it be any surprise if people thought they hated art because it was taught this way?

But, this is exactly how math is taught! It doesn’t have to be this way. Leveraging my many years of gaming--ahem, market research--as a child, I worked with my co-founders

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to build a game that measured up to the experiences I was used to. You don’t play Starcraft, Half-Life, and Diablo without learning a thing or two about fun engagement. And so, Mathbreakers.com, and later SuperMathWorld.com was born. The idea behind these games is simple: Starting from solid, fun mechanics, build a game on top of a solid foundation of math, so that the emergent gameplay is naturally mathematical in nature, while retaining a playfulness that allows you to jump right in without feeling like you’re being tested.

In this, we were extremely successful. We actually have many of our customers (parents and teachers) telling us their kids play the game for fun; one parent even commented that their kids would rush through morning chores in order to get more time on the game. Now that’s product success! If you have a kid aged 8 - 12, I encourage you to check out Mathbreakers.com and SuperMathWorld.com -- there are free trials and you may see their attitude change from “math sucks/is boring” to “this is amazing and fun” in a matter of minutes (it’s happened many times before).

March 2018

However, that’s not the end of the story. It turns out that making a successful business is more than just making an awesome product that your end users love. The remainder of this article will focus on the extreme challenges facing the ed-tech market today.

1. Schools are slow. You won’t see hockeystick style growth with a product in schools, because the sales cycle can be up to a year.

Furthermore, they’re slow to adopt -- in the curve of user adoption, schools tend to lump towards the “late adopters” side. Not good for startup sales.

2. Schools are SLOW. Even after multiple playtests on site that had kids literally screaming about how awesome the experience was, and even after clearly learning fractions from our game, it wasn’t enough. At one playtest an 8-year old boy was using a sword to chop numbers. Half, Fourth -easy! Just chop the numbers up until you get the right amount. Until he got to 7/8ths -- that was a tricky one. He thinks aloud to himself -- what’s 7/8? It’s.....3 and a half 4ths! Yes, Billy, it is, and congratulations, you’ve achieved a solid understanding of fraction composition. Jo Boaler would be proud.

It didn’t matter. Communicating these kinds of results to schools is like trying to talk to a whale about global warming. It’s critical information, but whales are huge and don’t speak your language.

3. Parents are difficult to reach. Every other math app out there -- and there are *thousands* -- claims to be as fun and engaging as ours. I’ve seen enough side-by-side playtests to tell you they’re flat out wrong, and can’t hold a candle to our game. I don’t mind saying it, because it’s really true.

But it doesn’t matter. To a parent looking at marketing material, it all seems the same. Standing out is an expensive proposition, one that requires investor backing (or possibly some luck and skill that we missed). But even if you get that part right, there’s even more bad news.

March 2018

Charlie Van Norman Co-founder Mathbreakers

4. The market is tiny. Math apps in the US are valued at about $1.2 billion for parents and teachers. If you don’t know anything about market sizes, I’ll give you two comparisons. Painting residential interiors is upwards of $50 billion. A single metal-scrapping company can be worth $1.2 billion alone -- the industry is worth $500 billion globally. In other words, a $1.2 billion market size simply isn’t big enough for most investors to care.

So what’s the future of games in education?

There will continue to be innovative and powerful solutions in ed-tech, but they will be small and you’ll have to hunt for them. The market will continue to be saturated by giants fueled by government grants and philanthropy, which makes the gems that startups create harder to find. So the future of games in education is fuzzy, but if you’re lucky, you’ll be able to find the pearls that will make a world of difference to the young learners that find them.

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Omnichannel Agent and Customer Engagement Solutions Simplify and personalize the customer experience, empower agents and achieve business success with one workspace for all channel interactions, application integrations, and CX reporting.

LaptopsAnytime: Leading the Way to Move beyond Desktops

‘‘

Our service is designed to give you access to the right technology at the right time.

U

ntil most recently, the EdTech industry relied upon desktops to make up for its computer labs and circulation counters to manually hand out mobile devices.

LaptopsAnytime brought forward a better alternative to this trend, through its self-service automated kiosks to move beyond desktops and reduce the staff burden of circulating technology devices for short-term usage.

Matt Buscher Co-Founder & Principal

Incepted in 2008, LaptopsAnytime began with a motive to design, manufacture, and service specialty automated kiosk equipment that dispenses a wide-variety of laptops and tablets from major manufacturers including Dell, HP, Lenovo, Apple, and Google. Its kiosks can be outfitted with bar code, swipe card, or RFID readers and can store, lock and recharge devices, reset devices to pre-set state, inventory devices, authenticate users to local database(s) and provide full audit reports and management control and accountability over self-service device checkout programs.

Maintain, Expand and Modify LaptopsAnytime is known for encouraging local branding, which it

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March 2018

provides, as well as kiosks that mix-nmatches more than one device type within a given kiosk system, separated by row module. The company is committed to maintain, expand, and modify its systems in this field to accommodate device model changes over time, thereby benefitting the customers from automation.

The customers of LaptopsAnytime span a “Who’s Who” of ForwardThinking Public Sector customers, including major Universities, Community Colleges, and Public Libraries and currently encompass 30 states and 4 continents.

Delivering Technology that BringsForward Value A major hiccup for the company during its initial phase was the unwillingness of institutions to change, as is the case with most new and emerging technologies. Once the company started attending industry trade shows, the scene dramatically changed as the secret spilled out that LaptopsAnytime could solve facility issues related to automating device checkout without any staff involvement.

LaptopsAnytime delivers automated Laptop and Tablet Dispensing Kiosks, which can be mixed-n-matched to suit different configuration sizes and different technology checkout needs.

Through its solutions and products, it reduces long-term costs from technology services, reduces the space of footprint involved, and all in all, increases technology access for users.

It does so by facilitating a powerful, scalable approach of delivering technology device access to users and helping local administrators manage all aspects of a device checkout program.

Translating Vision into Reality Matt Buscher, Co-Founder and Principal of LaptopsAnytime, is a unique visionary with over 12 years of industry experience who foresaw the March 2018

need for institutions to move beyond desktops with their public-facing computers, to avoid being left behind.

With his unwavering passion towards productivity and automation, Matt has worked to develop a completely automated checkout kiosk that is flexible, scalable, and acceptable to institutional and user needs; while at the same time, providing self-service and round-the-class access to technology.

Many Access” to laptops and tablets for the benefit of anyone who needs a laptop, which brings control and practicality to managing device checkout programs but also dramatically increases technology access.

Matt’s goal is to continue being involved with innovative kiosks and new ideas, which would facilitate growth in global markets. Formerly, Matt has served as the Sales Director, Project Leader, Software Designer, and individual contributor on various kiosk-related projects. His background also includes 20 years of experience in the hotel and restaurant industry.

The Future of Continued Innovation With every passing year, LaptopsAnytime brings with itself new innovations to surge ahead of its competition. This year itself, the company is poised to achieve a staggering 2 million Automated Device Checkouts across more than 100-plus public sector locations.

Rising Above the Competition LaptopsAnytime is the first company in this industry to develop a system that performs all aspects of a device checkout program for a wide-range of devices. Its system is built with optimum quality and supports heavy usage. A typical 12-bay system, for example, can easily handle 10,000-plus checkouts per year; while a 30-bay system can easily handle 25,000-plus checkouts per year. LaptopsAnytime’s system handles up to 2 foreign languages, in addition to English and institutions routinely adding companion stations to initial starter stations to expand its device checkout programs over time.

“Most institutions that deploy LaptopsAnytime systems find new efficiencies and increased customer satisfaction,” adds Matt.

In the imminent future, LaptopsAnytime will continue to build systems that dispense more laptops and tablets, and in doing so will achieve millions and millions of more automated checkouts, thereby benefitting a much wider audience across the globe.

The company also has high hopes for its latest launch, ChargersAnytime.com, which dispenses 110V Power Chargers for those facilities that simply do not have enough wall outlets. Through this, one can access a wall outlet in their hand to charge their laptop, tablet, and even phone – all at the same time.

Increasing Efficiencies and Customer Satisfaction “Though technology access has become critical for everyone within the Education Landscape, lugging around one’s own laptop all the time is a tall task for most people,” mentions Matt.

LaptopsAnytime Automated Dispensing Kiosks facilitate “1-to-

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‘‘

We create

No Isolation: A Technological Hand to Reduce Social Isolation

tailored communication tools to put an end to loneliness.

M

Karen Dolva Co-founder & CEO

ark Zuckerberg once said that “It is not enough to have a purpose for yourself; you have to create sense of purpose for others.” Some innovations are not merely a sparkle of change, rather the sprinkles of magic dust that proceeds to change millions of lives. Illustrious tele-presence robot — AV1 is an optimum example of the same. An Oslo-based start-up, No Isolation was founded to reduce involuntary social solitude, and developed its first product, mentioned-above, which offers a tech solution to parents, schools, or CSR-committed organizations that eagerly supports, children whose health conditions are either life-threatening or temporarily debilitating. The developed countries like the UK have around 70,000 suffering, with long-term illness; AV1 is a foremost abettor for such physically incapable yet ambitious individuals.

The Gilt Edge Technology Children suffering from long term illness, almost entirely spend days, weeks, and months either in their home or in hospitals. However, academic progression of such child is deeply affected due to physical inabilities.

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March 2018

Some parents prefer to hire a private tutor to educate their child, while some choose in-house education. Opting for private tutor is highly expensive, whereas in house training is technically insufficient. The school environment is essential for analyzing a child’s capabilities and interests, as it facilitates the first competitive social platform for a growing individual.

Interactions with fellow students, discussions with different teachers are contributing factors that upshots the overall growth of a child. School authorities and institutions are required to accommodate these facilities; thus, a product which can provide real time social communication to bed ridden or hospitalized individual is surely commendable.

No Isolations’ physical avatar, AV1 allows children and adults who are forced by illness to take extended time away from school, to maintain a presence in the classroom, communicate with friends, and socialize by utilizing robotics technology. Karen Dolva mentions, “AV1 is a portable robot equipped with a microphone, speaker, and two motors that connects with a live-streaming app controlled by user. Those unable to attend school can see, listen and react in real time, on running processes from wherever they are.” For e.g. AV1 robot marks a physical presence in classroom on behalf of long term illness suffering child, and the child can watch and listen the progression from his house through a tablet which is connected to present in classroom robot. The product also provides a real-time reaction feature i.e. the student can raise hand via robot to ask questions and can even interact with classmates.

This technology minimizes loneliness, and reduces the short and long-term educational and developmental impacts of absence.

A new revolutionary product, KOMP is also launched by No Isolation in March 2018

Norway. KOMP is one button computer designed to enable senior citizens to stay connected to their family network. Although conventional technological advancements have been improving communication methods and reducing the distance barrier, they are unsupportive for senior citizens with limited knowledge of technology.

KOMP is compassionate companion that allows senior citizens to connect with their family through one button computers.

Inspirations for Compassionate Founder No Isolations’ Co-Founder and CEO, Karen Dolva, identified the primary need of technology in educating long term ill children when she met a lonely mother Anne Fi Troye, who lost her teenage daughter to cancer in 2005.

Anne Fi consistently worked on improving the lives of children in hospital after the loss of her child. The knowledge of Anne Fi about user experience and continuous interactions with her sparked the urge for Karen to design a tech-based solution, eventually leading to the development of Av1.

In 2015, she began to research what was available already for these children, their issues, helping organizations, and also about the facilitating products and obstacles attained by them. During her exploration, she established durable relation with Norway’s biggest hospitals and key organizations, such

as The Children’s Cancer Society, as well as with several families willing to reduce their child’s sense of isolation.

Karen further associated with Cofounders, Marius Aabel and Matias Doyle, and invented the fruitful product.

Essentiality of Stand-out Innovation Products of No Isolation are answers to specific problems. “Continuous contact with the users has been essential for the development of AV1.

For instance, after feedback we added a feature where AV1’s head lights up blue if the child at home is tired, and wanting to pay attention without engaging” asserts Karen.

The technology can make education more accessible. A conventional technology allows interaction, but AV1 accords kids to be in the classroom and experience the environment. Hence, it stands as a major face of change in the education technology.

Mission to End Loneliness Technologies developed by No Isolation are driven by one purpose, to end loneliness. The company endeavors to invent valuable techbased solutions for every group of lonely people. It is currently focusing on creating a range of technologies for senior citizens and is determined to provide a technological support to physically incapable individuals that will help them witness their desired environment.

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Role of

Highlights

Innovative Leadership in

Innovative I

Businesses

nnovation in business acts like fuel for the vehicle, business simply cannot run without it. Innovation and research done by scientists do not always depend on the requirements and expectations of consumers. They are free for invention of new technologies depending on their goals and targets. While in business, new research and innovation is always customer oriented.

Necessity of Innovation Conventional way of doing business with the same technologies and products is not favorable for long time running businesses. In all types of business, companies need to add some new useful technologies and products with the emerging inventions, to run business successfully.

from their competitors, in and to deliver more user-friendly products to their customers.

To cultivate new innovation and technology in institutes ‘Innovative Leaders’, are necessary, who can implement their ideas not only in their products, but also in the infrastructure and strategy of the company. Innovative leaders not only ‘think creatively’ but also motivates people around them to turn those ideas into reality. As, “Successful business is not an effect of lonely efforts, but is a result of mutual efforts done by all the elements of the organization,” organizations are searching for capable leaders for their team.

Customers are adapting to new products and technologies while leaving the old rapidly. This is a reason behind reconstruction of all business models that we are observing today. This is a condition of ‘INNOVATE OR DIE’ to survive in this competition for all business.

Some of the Innovative Businesses Apple is one of the best examples of Innovative business under the Innovative leadership of ‘Steve Jobs’. Apple is continually implementing new research, ideas and technologies in their products and always made to the top of customer satisfaction, by adding new specifications and services Apple makes their products more attractive and more convenient to use and became the top brand. Even after Steve Job stepped down from the responsibility of CEO, current CEO, Tim Cook, too turns out to be an Innovative leader. In reference to innovation in Apple’s products, Tim once said, “You kind of want to manage it like you’re in the dairy business. If it gets past its freshness date, you have a problem.”

Business Nowadays In all the sectors of business (like Automobile, IT, Telecom, Service and Hospitality), we have seen rapid changes in their technology used in that products and services. All big companies are implementing R&D centers for new research and innovation to make their products special and different

Google’s Android operating system, is another example of innovative business. Google is continuously adding new versions of software to their operating system depending on customer’s requirement, new technologies and ease to use.

It can be said that innovation played major role in putting Android OS as the world’s top mobile OS today.

There are a number of examples of Companies sticking to their old technologies and specifications for their products and services getting vanished in this competitive market.

The vision of the future has not only touched the makers, but also the customers, hence customers’ needs and expectations are growing with every passing moment.

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March 2018

Implementation Techniques Arrival of new innovations and ideas is being a continuous process and it has no end. On account of this anybody can’t add everything in their products. This needs proper realization and planning. For this, the necessity of some checks and planning should be done before any modification in product done or for a new product is launched.

and services. Only by implementing new ideas and technologies in their products do not help any firm to be always successful, in addition to that strategies like acquisition of other similar or supporting firms (companies) for increased resources and to reduce future competition are needed.

Mark Zuckerberg the CEO of Facebook acquires Whatsapp messenger which adds more resources to his firm and Application of new technology reduces competition, is one of the examples of doing Some aspects have to be checked before implementation of business innovatively. He is an innovative leader who made new technology and ideas for the better outcome. Is this Facebook a top social sites by continuously improving the technology really going to be useful to the customer? Is this services and facilities. technology really in demand? Is this belonging to the considerable long time span? Is this financially correct? If It can be hence summed up that today, Successful business not, then no need of modification. If yes, then it needs to go is the product of innovation and a strong vision of the for the next check. leader with the combined efforts made by the whole organization.

Realization of resources New product or modification in the product means changes in the production process, resources and finance depending on the type of industry. There is a need of examining all types of resources available. Can the resources withstand for modification? With changes in product all staff really flexible for it? Can our vendors also easily adapt this? Are we having leaders who can make this possible? By checking all aspects we can go for planning.

Planning of product Planning of product includes the financial arrangements (like opening of the IPO), designing of the product, development of product, production process, inventory management, supply chain management (vendor selection), testing of product, sales and operations.

Advertisement Without advertisements, the audience will not be aware about the new products. It needs the proper advertisement of products. The advertisements should be effective by using all means like print media, digital media, etc. Proper advertisement makes the product more attractive and userfriendly to the customer.

Innovative Leaders As discussed earlier, Innovative Business does not only depends on new technologies and ideas, but also on the vision of the leader. ‘The leaders who grab future opportunities by their vision and research in addition to effective utilization of their resources can be called Innovative Leaders.’

These leaders having long term vision for their products March 2018

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Learn & Grow

D

ecoding the Future of Education.

connection. Next, technology can free students from being stuck in one room or building and take blackboard working method into 21st century possibilities of learning.

We are in the verge of an exciting change within the field of learning and teaching. Rising acceptance of the usage of technology as a tool for educational purposes is emerging and will eventually lead towards the disruption of education in a very fundamental level. The previously well-sealed doors of education governance are finally opening up to the real life challenges from the classroom. This adds to the worldwide connection capability and reachability of devices, creating an equation that sets the learning free.

Little by little companies and startups have taken baby steps to create platforms and content for digital education. Still, Education Technology remains “in the womb of its mother.”

Luckily, the change has begun and now it relies on our actions to give the future of education the chance and the direction it is looking for. Once that snowball gets rolling, within the next few years, we will witness the hockey stick effect in the amount of different digital learning solutions available the market.

Our world has changed a lot within the past hundred years.

The only thing that still remains true to its traditional practises is education. Some marginal change within the pedagogies used is happening, yet the essence of how teaching and learning is constructed lies its base to days when we were raising people into doers in industrialised workforce. The current day and the future behold so much more for its habitants than working in a certain cubicle from 9-5. Technology is already liberating people from the offices to work anywhere with reasonable network

One very fundamental tone I personally wish to see in this field of change is the rise of open source material available for everyone. When we are able to free ourselves from the restrictions of sharing knowledge, it is only then when we can truly talk about the freedom of learning. The value of some material interfering with the reality of spoken word, new data and knowledge arising from human experience, violates the academic rights of any student, anywhere in the world to learn, teach and participate in the evolution of education.

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March 2018

About the Author My truth on some topic can be very different than yours.

Yet if we can create a bridge of understanding between our perceptions in the same topic, we can learn from each other.

Most of the conflicts in this uniting world spring from fear or misunderstandings. We as human are very keen to stick into our inner visions of life, and when that understanding is confronted with something different we tend to feel even threatened or scared as we don’t feel familiar with the topic.

The very root of learning demands something that brave children are very good at, facing new things every day and growing to know them. So the first change that you can or rather need to do is to begin within yourself. No matter what the topic or issue is, think of it as something which you can achieve. You can learn and you can understand, if not at that very moment, but later for sure. Thus, let go of your fears and have faith both in people and in your own capabilities to learn and grow.

March 2018

Kirsi Ekberg, Founder of ViLiKe, is one of the pioneers in the education sector. Boasting years of experience as a startup entrepreneur, Kirsi strives to harness the potential of technology to bring-forward a digital evolution beneficial for the people and the world. e ICT Management and So ware Development graduate, follows a simple mantra in life of being brave and embracing the change.

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Mentor Mind

T

he millennials are all born with a keen sense of technological acumen. At an age when baby boomers were being introduced to the concept of computers, millennials are well versed with the intricate workings of modern computers. Today’s students are experimenting with 3D printers and are having full access to all the books found in a library right from their homes.

So, yes, the internet is a serious revolution if you consider every sector operating in the world. But, how far have the solution providers been able to properly harness the full potential of these latest innovations in the field of education, is a real concern?

What the millennials want to learn?

With improvised learning tools and some suave gadgets, students are actually much more engaged in their learning objectives than ever before. Math is actually turning out to be fun for many with a dedicated perseverance from many Math-lovers to increase its fan base. Software modules are the latest norms that have been implemented with regards to learners of different levels.

However, these software modules need to be constantly upgraded with latest updated subject materials and citations or else they stand to go obsolete. This is where AI and Machine Learning are being perfected upon. There are few researches going on and some companies are already preparing to incorporate both into their learning modules.

According to one ongoing research, Artificial Intelligence is being developed, so as to be able to understand the learning patterns of the learner, their grasping power, the kind of citations they can relate to, the difficulty level of tests, and the points where the module itself is not capable of convincing the learner. The modern Artificial Intelligence systems are being designed to learn about the student while

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the student is learning on the modules. This way, the system learns about the student's interest in various topics and hence the lessons can be crafted accordingly, similar to the way videos are recommended on video hosting sites.

Social Media – The Power of Collaborative Learning There is no doubt that social media plays a very proactive role in everyone’s life today. The popularity of various social media platforms is already being tapped by institutes in every corner of the world. The only concern, however, with social media is, keeping them engrossed into the educational topics and not the usual fun and frolics that social media attracts.

Social Media could be the most powerful learning tool with the right, well-focused groups and erudite discussion sessions. Such groups do exist in most of these platforms, but like many, they are hardly unbiased and hence, could not be relied upon for doing complete justice to the purpose. Once again, Artificial Intelligence comes to the rescue. Many of the newly developed social media platforms are investing highly into the power of real-time Artificial Intelligence-based Analyzing technology to keep the students engrossed in their learning activities, much like the current social media platforms.

Virtual Reality – Learning from a Whole New Perspective Currently, this technology is popularly being used in the gaming industry. With the requirement of advanced processing technologies and sophisticated programming, Virtual Reality would really take some time to get adopted

March 2018

for the financially backward learning industry. However, there are many non-profit organizations that are taking huge strides in making it a reality as soon as possible. The cardboard cut-out, smartphone-enabled, budget virtual reality devices available today are considered too naïve to be adopted for the current lot of students. That is, it doesn’t have the ability to keep a student engaged for a long time.

This, however, is a matter of developing the content that leverages the complete potential of the VR Technology.

Holographic Projectors – Making Classroom Sessions Lively The science-fiction phenomenon that has been continuously portrayed as a thing of the future is soon going to be a reality. We already have laser projector keyboards and mouse and other motion-enabled, holographic-based user interfaces. The Holographic projectors certainly seem to be the next frontier in the smartphone era and inevitably it will be the next best thing to happen in the education sector.

Videos of classes being conducted using the holographic technology seems very promising and with an engaging user interface, holograms are going to make the topics very interesting and easier to grasp.

3D printing – Harboring the Future Designers This is the most happening tool that has got the entire research world excited. From printing a prosthetic limb to a synthetic DNA strand and even a whole building, the possibilities with 3D printing is endless. This is exactly what makes it the most demanded tool in almost every industrial sector in the world.

However, the biggest drawback of a 3D printing equipment is its cost. It is beyond the reach of most of the research institutes and its accessories also come at a premium. Yet, there are some premium schools that are incorporating the know-hows of 3D printers and making their students accustomed to the basics of its operation. In the near future, craft activities using clay and paper are going to be complemented by the use of 3D printers. Even though it is shunned by many, there are still some art installations that are garnering attention around the world, just for being developed on a 3D printer.

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Cloud and IoT – Evaluating Performance on Different Levels This technology cannot be termed as the future, but is being heavily exploited by the present system itself. Students no longer need to haul heavy books in their backpacks. But there is more to this technology than just data storage.

There are programs coming up that aims to implement Big Data Analytics in student's study patterns, their overall performance in various subjects and consequently, their scope of creativity.

There has been a long-standing argument regarding the removal of the present evaluation system where the students are evaluated based on their scores in various subject matters. However, there are some revolutions coming up that consider the performance of an upcoming sportsman, a scientist, a civil servant and many more. Proposals have been going around to give equal considerations to every student showcasing different strata of interest in different activities. Using the cloud-based performance evaluation tools, it is possible to evaluate different students on varying benchmarks and hence, they could be recommended for the most apt career options. In a way, the world would be getting the most productive citizens through this program.

As per an undergoing program, students’every little academic activity will be monitored through smart cameras installed in every nook and corner of the campus, which would be equipped with spectral technology, motion trackers (even for the eye that senses your level of interest for a particular subject) and other gimmicks. These cameras and other sensors, won’t be just tracking the students' academic activity, but also their personality and their social interactions. The entire information will be processed, analyzed and evaluated to determine the further course the students need to follow. The only glitch to this collaborative technology would be the level of sophistication to acquire the required level of accuracy.

With the advancements in the timeline of Mankind, the amount of data and knowledge will only go on increasing and the upcoming generations are bound to learn many things in a much shorter amount of time. However, the latest technologies stand to be the only respite to the growing concerns of the educational institutes. Be it in preparing an engaging curriculum or in the smooth functioning of the institute, students are going to reap the benefits of the latest advancements in the technology.

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‘‘ NUITEQ : ®

Creating a Renaissance in the Education System

To empower educators to help kids learn in a playful way.

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Harry van der Veen CEO

n the recent years, the fast evolution of technology and the next-gen strategies have transformed the way students used to learn and educators used to teach. Due to this rapid growth, the EdTech sector keeps on growing, and many/multiple innovative companies along with people possessing great ideas came/entered into the scenario to answer the needs of 21st-century education system. NUITEQ is one such organization, which is a pioneer in collaborative touchscreen software that enables natural interaction. The company is reimagining and redefining education, meeting room and entertainment technology. Its software suite of collaborative apps helps to attract audiences, engage them and leave them with memorable impressions. Over 70 countries use the company’s Snowflake software.

NUITEQ’s vision is to empower educators, business professionals, and companies in their day-to-day work through the use of touchscreen technology.

Path Breaking Solutions When it comes to offering solutions, NUITEQ offers three path breaking software solutions.

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Snowflake MultiTeach® Snowflake MultiTeach® is the only educational software suite in the world, that allows for a touch screen to be divided into independent interactive personalized zones. The software enables teachers and students to tell engaging interactive stories that are closely aligned with the curriculum, it provides safe community for online and small group collaboration, and it provides simultaneous personalized instruction making curriculum relevant to students’ lives.

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Snowflake Business Snowflake Business is a collaborative multitouch software for corporate meeting rooms. In the digital era, multi-user touchscreen software Snowflake Business gives users collaboration tools that are easy to use and help to improve the way one works. It helps to captivate audiences by delivering memorable presentations.

It reduces decision-making time and operational costs by collaborating processes more efficient collaboration is leveraged by using Zones in drafting or tabletop orientations. Even multiple devices can connect simultaneously. It aids in the sharing of information and helps people to discuss it in real-time.

Many of the company’s clients give credit to its innovative solutions by saying, “Thanks to Snowflake Business, being effective has never been this easy.” Ÿ

Snowflake Entertainment Snowflake Entertainment is a multitouch software suite for interactive kids’ corners, public spaces, and corporate branding. The software brings a world of fun to the users’ fingertips. It helps to create emotional connections between users and organizations’ corporate identity.

Snowflake Entertainment helps to highlight a brand with a wide range of fast-paced, active games, and at the same time, it attracts people at events.

This suite is also an optimal tool to use in public spaces, such as kids’ corners, Ÿ

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to keep children happy and entertained while their parents keep themselves busy in shopping.

A Multi-Talented Leader Harry van der Veen, is the multiaward-winning CEO and Co-founder of NUITEQ. He left friends and family behind and moved from his birth country Holland to the vast and changing landscapes of Northern Sweden to commit himself to the company. He was no stranger to the concept of exploring untouched territories. Passionate about his dream to change the way people interacted with technology, it was there where it all started.

Back in 2006, just before the launch of iPhone, this driven interaction design graduate was one of few people in the world who had engineered a multi-user multitouch display that could be used by multiple people simultaneously.

This pioneering and groundbreaking achievement was the founding spark of NUITEQ. Standing Out Amongst the Crowd and Leaving a Mark in the Education Landscape NUITEQ’s world-class support in the multitouch industry is unprecedented as the company prides itself on giving its customers the best possible experience. Snowflake’s high performance and stability are the reasons why companies like Intel and Lenovo have chosen the product over other alternatives. The absolutely unique capability of the software, which no other company in the world offers as far as known, is that it allows users to interact with content simultaneously in different Zones on the touch screen. The software is also ahead when it comes to content creation on mobile devices combined with large format interactive displays and YouTube videos.

Nowadays online videos have a massive impact on education. Each day

YouTube gets more than 500M views when it comes to educational content and it’s the third most popular reason why people visits the site. The only challenge is that the psychological research shows that retention is low when viewers just watch a video.

When Going Gets Tough, and The Tough Gets Going NUITEQ is a true pioneer and the company was at the beginning of the creation of an entirely new industry.

One of the most prevalent challenges that the organization has experienced was the fact that almost nobody knew that this technology was possible. So, NUITEQ literally built an industry from the ground up, educated and explained what benefits of the technology are, how it could be used, and why people should purchase it.

Later on, after the launch of iPhone, it became significantly easier for NUTEQ to explain what the technology entails, but it still took a quite some time before the mainstream audience knew that this tech was possible even for large format displays.

Picture of the Future At NUITEQ, its all about natural user interfaces, making systems natural, easy, and intuitive to interact with.

Currently, the organization is completely focused on multi-touch interfaces. However, NUTEQ also has the required experience with gesture technology, touchless interaction, image recognition, voice recognition, AR, VR, and other exciting technologies that can interact with contents that are more intuitive and fun.

In future, one can expect the organization to develop more web and mobile technologies. Also, the company will be focusing more on creating the best possible creative activities that are linked to the best educational video content from YouTube.

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