PowerSchool, a leading provider of K-12 education technology solutions, announces that its award-winning student information system, PowerSchool SIS, has been selected by the Organization for Educational Technology and Curriculum (OETC) to power their member school districts in California, Washington, and Alaska with secure, flexible, and easy-to-use technology that plays a central role in K-12 education.
Following a rigorous competitive bid process, OETC chose PowerSchool SIS as a recommended option for members, which they can begin implementing now.
OETC Consortium is made up of more than 1,100 educational institutions across three western states. They expertly negotiate contracts on behalf of their members and make purchasing technology convenient, legal, accessible, and affordable for educational institutions. OETC’s selection makes it easier for their members to adopt PowerSchool’s reliable technology without the need to establish a competitive bid process.
“We’re delighted to be able to offer a competitively-bid PowerSchool contract to our more than 1,100 member districts, who can now experience award-winning unified solutions with a leading provider of K-12 education technology,” said Thomas Richards, executive director of OETC. “Although an SIS has been an important part of the educational marketplace for years now, more and more schools are discovering how to use that data to help students. By gaining real-time insight and pinpointing areas of weakness, schools can see enormous gains in attendance and performance.”
With PowerSchool’s industry-leading SIS at the heart of the educational ecosystem, administrators have access to all the tools they need to make sure their district or board runs smoothly. Educators experience simple scheduling, attendance, state reporting, data management, faculty management, enrollment, and more. And they can ensure their data is secure with Microsoft Azure-backed cloud hosting and adherence to the highest security standards. PowerSchool also offers the largest and most active customer community of hundreds and thousands of users for networking, learning, and best practices.
Hardeep Gulati
“PowerSchool SIS supports tens of millions of students globally and is the solution OETC members can trust to provide a fully flexible, configurable, and scalable student information system that will serve as the backbone of their education technology, and our team is committed to working with districts through every step to ensure their success at every level,” said PowerSchool CEO Hardeep Gulati. “We’re proud to work with OETC and look forward to powering their member districts with modern, integrated technology that helps educators and students realize their potential, in their way.”
Blackboard Inc., a leading education technology company for teaching, learning and student engagement, announces the winners of the 2019 Blackboard Catalyst Awards.
Founded in 2005, the annual Catalyst Awards recognize and honor innovation and excellence in the Blackboard global community of practice, where millions of educators and learners work every day to redefine what is possible when leveraging technology. Winners are selected by a cross-functional team of Blackboard experts. The honorees from across the globe will be recognized during Blackboard’s annual user conference BbWorld, to be held July 23-25, 2019 in Austin, TX.
“We’re thrilled to honor this year’s Blackboard Catalyst Award winners for their commitment to improving the educational experience for all learners through EdTech and sharing these insights with the broader community,” said Lee Blakemore, chief client officer and president, global markets at Blackboard. “Clients like these inspire us to accelerate innovation that drives student success and we’re proud to be a part of their story.”
Below are the winners, listed by category:
Leading Change: This award recognizes institutions that have developed practices and/or technologies that have had a measurable effect on learning outcomes, student performance, or academic progression. The winners are:
Command & General Staff College, US Army, Kansas, U.S., Dr. Michelle Miller
Higher Colleges of Technology, United Arab Emirates, Dr. Abdullatif Alshamsi
North Dakota University System, North Dakota, U.S., Core Technology Services Team
Sam Houston State University Online, Texas, U.S., Dr. Ruth Chisum, Jacob Spradlin, Thomas Sosebee, Ray Scheel, Daniel Walker, Kendall Tew, Ricki Hodges, Madelyn Kilgore
Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Peru, Digital Learning Team
Wake Technical Community College, North Carolina, U.S., Project COMPASS Team
Community Engagement: This award recognizes clients who are improving student achievement by fostering a connection between school districts, institutions, educators, students, and their communities. The winners are:
Florida Virtual School, Orlando, U.S., Marketing & Communications Team
Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Peru, Digital Learning Team
Teaching & Learning: This award recognizes those who have adopted flexible, distance and online delivery, including using mobile technologies to positively impact the educational experience. The winners are:
Boise State University, Idaho, U.S., Dr. Krishna Pakala
Davidson Academy Online, Nevada, U.S., Course Design Team
Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky, U.S., Dr. Margaret Zoellers, Dr. Alison Connell, Dr. Angela Wood, Dr. Brenda Caudill, and Mr. Chris Daniel
Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky, U.S., Dr. April Blakely, Ms. Esther Tattershall
Indian River State College, Florida, U.S., Criminal Justice Department and Virtual Campus Learning Teams
Universidad CNCI, Mexico, Arely Martinez, Ericka Oaxaca, Anai Cano. Sophia Villanueva
University of St. Thomas, Houston, Texas, U.S., Dr. Catherine Barber, Dr. Janet McCollum
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, Texas, U.S., Dr. Ramiro de la Rosa
Inclusive Education: This award honors those institutions whose methods have ensured their pedagogy, content, technology, and educational services are fully inclusive and supportive of all learners with disabilities. The winners are:
Medical University of South Carolina, South Carolina, U.S., Instructional Technology Team
The University of Texas at El Paso, Texas, U.S., Center for Instructional Design Team
Optimizing Student Experience: This award honors those institutions whose educational and administrative innovations have markedly improved the total learner experience. The winners are:
Grand Valley State University, Michigan, U.S., Dr. Szymon Machajewski
Norfolk State University, Virginia, U.S., Shelley Scott-Johnson
Northwest Florida State College, Florida, U.S., NWF Online
Zayed University, United Arab Emirates, Dr. Adam Marks
Training & Professional Development: This award recognizes those who use Blackboard programs to support and enhance professional development within or outside of their organization. The winners are:
Angelo State University, Texas, U.S., Learning Technology Support Team
Instituto Tecnologico de Buenos Aires, Argentina, Juan Manuel Pachon Jimenez
National University, California, U.S., Heather Leslie, Alejandra Lizardo, Ashley Kovacs
Sam Houston State University Texas, U.S., Online Operations Team
The University of Texas at El Paso, Texas, U.S., Academic Technologies Team
Washtenaw Community College, Michigan, U.S., Nancy Collison, Patricia Campbell, Sean Thomas
Student Success: This award recognizes individuals and/or institutions whose creative program application has led to increased retention, increased completion, and/or improved outcomes. The winners are:
Grupo Ser Educacional S.A., Brazil, Distance Learning Education Team
IESE Business School, University of Navarra, Spain, Miquel Hernández, Angel Pallares
Keiser University, Florida, U.S., Online Division Team
Tools4ever, the leading provider of identity and access management solutions in education, announces a new partnership with Blackboard Inc. The partnership brings together two market-driving education solution providers, offering mutual customers an integration of Blackboard’s flagship Learning Management Solution (LMS) Blackboard Learn Tools4ever’s two flagship solutions namely, their Identity and Access Management product (IAM) and their IDaaS product HelloID. The integration facilitates user lifecycle management across the LMS, SIS, and applications, from a single point of entry.
“We are thrilled to partner with Blackboard to offer our many mutual customers seamless integration between our products,” said Dean Wiech, managing director of Tools4ever. “For more than 20 years, we have built a stronghold in the education industry so it is critical that we partner with other market leaders, such as Blackboard, who offer an exceptional education experience for students and staff.”
Blackboard Learn and IAM
Blackboard Learn is a powerful virtual teaching and learning environment. Its capabilities extend beyond those of a traditional learning management system (LMS) by expanding online learning, increasing employee engagement and optimizing learning outcomes. IAM connects the Student Information System (SIS) and the user accounts in the network with other systems to automate user provisioning, self-service access management, helpdesk delegation and access governance processes.
The integration will allow mutual customers to extract information from any Student Information System (SIS) and synchronize it with Blackboard Learn. For example, when a student record is created, updated, or deleted in the SIS, IAM detects the change and shares this information with Blackboard Learn. This connection prevents duplicate records, ensures information in Blackboard Learn is always up-to-date, reduces risk of error, and increases efficiency by saving the IT team valuable time.
Blackboard Learn and HelloID
The integration with Blackboard Learn also extends to Tools4ever’s cloud-based Single Sign-On (SSO) product, HelloID. Both Blackboard Learn and HelloID are deployed on the cloud, offering customers a streamlined user experience.
HelloID is a customizable and user-friendly dashboard where students and staff can access all approved teaching and learning applications, including Blackboard Learn. HelloID’s dashboard can be securely accessed from anywhere, on any device, at any time. If a student does not have access to Blackboard Learn, they can request access via the dashboard with HelloID’s Service Automation functionality. The data owner can approve this request which automatically registers in the IT infrastructure, granting the student immediate access.
Are K–12 schools fully prepared for today’s digital and physical emergencies? According to a recent federal report, schools are becoming safer, partially through the proactive use of technology. Skyward, an administrative software provider committed to a better experience for every user, is helping lead improvements by encouraging school leaders to leverage an existing tool, their student information systems, to amp up security and ensure protection of their sensitive data.
Although statistics suggest schools are becoming safer, a recent poll indicates parents feel schools are less safe today than they were 20 years ago. Skyward’s SIS aims to alleviate those concerns by giving parents the ability to provide student information such as protection orders against unwanted visitors and reunification instructions to ensure students are paired with the correct guardian in the event of an emergency. Parents can also enter vital health information regarding student allergies and medications, which school staff can view and act on during medical emergencies.
“Skyward continues to help us keep students safe with speed and accuracy—the two most important factors during an emergency,” said Jacque Deckard, data management coordinator at Mooresville School Corporation in Indiana.
Skyward’s SIS also provides a real-time notification system, which can send important messages to students, parents, and staff during an emergency. Additionally, school leaders can set up an anonymous tip line within the notification system, offering individuals the opportunity to report incidents such as bullying, self-harm, and possible threats to the school.
“It’s important for our students, parents, and faculty to be heard and feel comfortable. Thanks to Skyward, this is possible because they can remain anonymous and still voice safety concerns,” said Lora Lovelace, data management coordinator at Center Grove Community Schools in Indiana.
While physical threats are at the forefront of security concerns, Skyward is continuing to protect districts against data breaches as well. In 2019, dozens of cybersecurity incidents have affected K-12 schools, and 122 similar breaches occurred at schools in 2018. By partnering with ISCorp, a hosting solution, Skyward offers districts the opportunity to host their sensitive information on a secure cloud service, which provides 24/7 monitoring and fail-safe backups.
“When students and faculty walk through school doors, they deserve to feel safe and confident their information is protected,” said Scott Glinski, CEO of Skyward. “As a system that many districts use, we recognize our role as part of the solution, which is why we will continue evolving our software to defend against all threats, both digital and physical.”
Educators, technology experts and industry leaders from around the world will gather in Austin, Texas, on July 22 though 25 for BbWorld and DevCon 2019. With more than 150 sessions, the four-day event will provide an unparalleled opportunity for attendees to share knowledge, promote best practices and network with peers.
During BbWorld, K-12, higher education, business and government clients will hear the latest on Blackboard’s unique EdTech platform approach and learn how the company is driving the next wave of innovation in EdTech. In addition to the main sessions, the conference will feature DevCon, a day-and-a-half meeting aimed at developers and system administrators.
BbWorld will also feature the Executive Leadership Summit, an invitation-only event specifically designed for university leaders. Driven by leaders in education and technology, the summit will give participants unique insights and perspectives on how to prepare their institutions to be more responsive in a constantly changing world.
Key highlights include:
More than 150 sessions focused on enhancing the teaching and learning experience; fostering inclusive education; supporting the learner beyond the classroom; preparing and leading institutional change; engaging professional development and using analytics to drive learner success.
Keynotes delivered byRobert Reich, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at The University of California at Berkeleyand former U.S. Labor Secretary; Kimberly Bryant, Founder & Executive Director of Black Girls CODE and Aspen Institute Fellow; and Bill Ballhaus, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President at Blackboard.
Executive Leadership Summit, a unique gathering for university leaders to explore the evolving education landscape and how its changes affect institutions, students and policy.
DevCon meeting, with more than 30 sessions focused on Blackboard Data, REST APIs, integrations with SaaS and Ultra, SIS Framework, and dedicated keynotes delivered by Angie Jones, Senior Developer Advocate and Master Inventor, and Tim Tomlinson, Chief Product Officer at Blackboard.
A new Hackboard:Data to provide developers with technical insights and hands-on experience of Blackboard Data.
The Community LIVE, an area for clients to engage with Blackboard, get their questions answered, and network with colleagues. The Community LIVE will offer eight thematic stations, including Knowledge Bar, Ally Lounge, Community Program and Lightning Talks.
The Ultra Lounge, where clients will be able to see Learn Ultra demos, speak with Ultra product experts and discuss their path to Learn Ultra.
Attendees from over 25 countries across Europe, Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Asia, and Australia.
“I am thrilled about this year’s BbWorld as we will showcase how we are accelerating innovation and laying the foundation for the next wave of innovation in education technology,” said Bill Ballhaus, Chairman, CEO, and President at Blackboard. “BbWorld is also a unique opportunity for our client community from around the world to come together, share knowledge and discuss opportunities.”
Avaap, an advisory services and IT management consulting firm, announced its acquisition of Navigator Management Partners, a management and technology consulting firm specializing in ERP systems, business intelligence (BI) and change management.
The acquisition expands Avaap’s capabilities from an Infor-only consulting organization to a best-in-class cross-platform technology advisory and management consulting firm for organizations in healthcare, retail, higher education, nonprofit, government, manufacturing and other commercial industries.
Navigator is based in Columbus, OH. Since its founding nearly two decades ago Navigator has realized success in client realization of return on investment and business benefit when implementing large IT projects, process improvements, or organizational change management support.
Avaap has more than 200 customers in 35 countries. Among the major market drivers, including ongoing pressure to improve efficiency and cut costs, increased merger and acquisition activity, and lack of skilled IT professionals, especially with BI and change management capabilities, Avaap is able to provide highly specialized industry expertise across the major enterprise applications to help customers optimize IT ecosystems, cut costs, and improve workflows.
Avaap’s mission of building deep industry expertise is further strengthened with this acquisition, the firm said.
“The acquisition of Navigator is a landmark step in Avaap’s strategic development,” said Dhiraj Shah, president and CEO, Avaap. “Digital transformation, migration to the cloud, and other industry disruptors are increasing the need for customers to seek an experienced partner that understands their business, not just the technology. Our focus is to have the leading market share in the industries we serve by providing superior end-to-end capabilities.
“This acquisition, along with the continued support from our capital partner NMS Capital, and the new partnerships we inherit, allow us to support our growth goals and extend that commitment to our largest assets; our customers and employee citizens.”
Navigator CEO David Schoettmer added, “We are two growing and profitable companies, both passionate about our shared vision and values. Joining together puts us in a stronger position to build for the future faster and better than before, combining a massive breadth of experienced resources across multiple ERP platforms, as well as BI and change management expertise.
The acquisition will allow our existing and new customers to have access to some of the best people and technologies available to address their critical missions and our employees will benefit from greatly expanded growth opportunities as part of the new company. We see strong opportunities for growth and the combined organization will enable us to have the team and resources to do so.”
