Woo hoo, it’s Friday, friends—and I haven’t been this excited about Friday since last Friday! Go check out the scoops I have for you as we end this week….
New roles for colleagues and friends….
While many ed tech startups are comprised of young, eager new faces to the industry, one new startup is bucking that trend. With K-12 schools now spending in excess of $3B annually on subscriptions for applications, learning platforms, and digital content, school district leaders still remain unable to determine if the resources purchased deliver fidelity or are ever really used at all. Developed by a team of ed tech industry veterans, PAPERbasket’s new user analytics solution offers a brand new patent-pending method of distinguishing active versus inactive use, providing more objective and accurate data than any tool on the market. That’s a far cry from the internal user data provided by content providers or “hit counters” that schools may be relying on today.
Leading the new organization is its President, Mark Onderko. Mark has served for over 30 years in various leadership roles with Dell, RM Education, HP, Lego Education, and most recently with Promethean. Leading as Vice President of Customer Success is Blanca Duarte. Blanca has nearly 20 years in ed tech and is also chief enablement officer for LogicWing, a highly regarded professional development firm she owns with her husband and business partner, Anthony Martini. In total, the team is now a baker’s dozen and growing!
What really stands out for PAPERbasket are just some of the names on their board of advisors, including some of the “OG” of ed tech. Combined, this company’s team and advisors have over 200 years experience in ed tech. They include:
- Kathy Hurley, former Pearson SVP and current CEO of Girls Thinking Global
- Tom Greaves, veteran of IBM, NetSchools, and Plato Learning and current President and Owner, The Greaves Group
- Tom Fitzgerald, veteran of Apple, Dell, Gateway, and former CEO of Fourier Systems, currently Senior Vice President of KinderCare Education
- Elliott Levine, director of education at HP
- Ann McMullan, former director of education technology for Klein (TX) ISD and currently an education consultant
- Mike Belcher, director of ed tech innovation at HP and former lead at Gateway
The solution is sold via local resellers across U.S. and Canada, and they are signing up new ones right now, as it gives them real differentiation in their 1:1 services to local schools. You can learn more about PAPERbasket by visiting them online, and send warm wishes to Mark and team at mark@paperbasket.com.
Arizona State University (ASU) has selected Lev Gonick, Ph.D., an internationally recognized leader in innovative technology strategies and solutions, to serve as chief information officer (CIO) starting November 1st. Lev will lead the University Technology Office (UTO), responsible for providing technology services and support to ASU’s more than 72,000 on-campus students, 28,000 online students and 15,000 faculty and staff. He will report to Mark Searle, executive vice president and university provost, and Morgan R. Olsen, executive vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer. He will also hold the rank of professor of practice. Lev will replace current CIO Gordon Wishon, who retires at the end of the year.
Lev will serve in a consulting role prior to starting in his official capacity. Presently, he concurrently serves as chief executive officer of DigitalC, a nonprofit that catalyzes innovative technology for community impact; and OneCommunity, an award-winning organization he co-founded that enables innovation, collaboration, and productivity through next generation broadband networks.
From 2001 to 2013, Lev was chief information officer at Case Western Reserve University, where he and his colleagues were internationally recognized for technology innovations in community engagement, learning spaces, next generation network projects, and organizational development.
Inside Business magazine named Lev to its Power 100 list in 2015, and Government Technology recognized him as one of the “Top 25 Doers, Dreamers & Drivers in Public-Sector Innovation” in 2011. That same year, Crain’s Cleveland Business named Lev one of its “10 Difference Makers” in Northeast Ohio and Broadband Properties honored him with a Cornerstone Award for “using fiber to build an inclusive society and empower individuals.” In 2010, he was honored as “Visionary of the Year” by the National Association of Telecommunications Officers and Advisors. He has been recognized by ComputerWorld as a Premier 100 IT leader and by CIO Magazine with a CIO 100 Award.
A frequent international speaker and consultant, Lev currently serves on the boards of Luminance, Civitas Learning, DigitalC, Coalition for Local Internet Choice, Jewish Family Services Association, Macromedia University, US Ignite, Groundworks Dance Company, Northeast Ohio Sustainable Community Consortium, OneCommunity, and New Media Consortium.
Lev holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Ohio State University, master’s degree in political science from Binghamton University, and Ph.D. in political science from York University.
This is great news for Lev and for ASU! Join me in wishing Lev every continued success in his new role!
And Marc Bagley has joined the awesome A Pass Educational Group team as Vice President, Business Development and Educational Partnerships, Higher Education. Marc has an extensive resume including Apple, Pearson, Blackboard, and Desire 2 Learn.
Join me in sending him congratulations on his new role at marc.bagley@apasseducation.com.
Travels….
Our friends Ellen Bialo, President, Interactive Educational Systems Design (IESD), and her partner Jeannette Downes, a freelance professional developer focused on educational technology and special education, just returned from a three-week trip to Namibia and South Africa. Ellen describes the safaris as incredible with lots of animals—cheetahs, leopards, porcupines, over 60 different species of birds, rhinos, kudu, zebra, springbok, and lots more. They visited some schools where children, some as young as 7 years of age, live so far away that they board for four months and then return home for two months. A visit to several community-based organization projects included an a cappella group comprised of eight young men, a new pre-fab kindergarten under construction, and a workshop where women and girls learn to bead and sew. Namibia just became independent in 1994. Ellen said it is a place she highly recommends for a visit, adding the people are warm, intelligent, and welcoming. Their pictures were fabulous, and it looked like an amazing trip. Check in with Ellen (iesdinc@aol.com) and Jeannette (jeannettegd@gmail.com) to hear their stories!
This is your last chance!
Today is your last chance to join the prestigious list of sponsors supporting EdNET 2017. Sponsors tell us the majority of the cost of sponsorship is returned to them in benefits before, during, and after EdNET. Don’t miss out on this great visibility for your organization! If you are interested in sponsorship and have been dragging your feet, get in touch with me TODAY at bighamv@aol.com.
Who’s Coming to EdNET?
Starting next week, I will share with you each week leading up to the conference the organizations with whom EdNET attendees will have the opportunity to connect. Be sure you have registered and also be sure to complete your profile in the Networking Directory! This online community has many features you won’t want to miss.
The Snoop is so ready for a weekend, with a much too long to-do list. But….the husband is traveling, the dogs are boarded, and I just might make a big dent in that list. Enjoy your weekend, everyone! Till next week….Vicki, the Snoop
[Send me your scoops at bighamv@aol.com and be sure to follow me on Twitter @Snoops4Scoops #SheSnoops]
